Eyes Locked

With only six more weeks to learn and fine-tune all the songs in Dropbox, there is a lot of work to be done for us all to keep on top of all the numbers we will be performing at the concert.  The last two weeks will be dedicated to refining the performance aspects. Essentially, the work is never done, as exemplified by Matthew & Son.

We went over Only You, making sure that the ‘Ba das’ are sung gently, especially by the Basses who sing with Tenors, so they are not overwhelmed.

Ba das needs to be a heavier sound, so pronounce it as ‘Bar, dar’ with a lightness on the ‘dar’

When singing the ‘Ba da’s, listen to the Sops as they are more important than you and they need to be heard as they are singing the lyrics and telling the story.

You don’t need to look at your music score when singing the ‘Ba da’s, look at Eamonn and keep your eyes locked on him, and he will keep you in perfect time.

Sops, squeeze those oranges under your arms when singing the top notes on the ‘Oohs’ and ‘All I needed.’

‘Only you’ sung at the end does not slow down! Tenors and Basses, you are not on the tune for the last ‘Only you’.  (No surprises there!)

The Sound of Silence (originally "The Sounds of Silence") is a song by the American folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, written by Paul Simon.  Paul Simon wrote The Sound of Silence when he was 21 years old, later explaining that the song was written in his bathroom, where he turned off the lights to concentrate better. "The main thing about playing the guitar, though, was that I was able to sit by myself and play and dream. And I was always happy doing that. I used to go off in the bathroom because it had tiles, so it was a slight echo chamber. I'd turn on the faucet so that water would run (I like that sound, it's very soothing to me), and I'd play in the dark. 'Hello darkness, my old friend / I've come to talk with you again.

Art Garfunkel, introducing the song at a live performance (with Paul Simon) in Haarlem (Netherlands), in June 1966, summed up the song's meaning as "the inability of people to communicate with each other, and not particularly internationally but especially emotionally, so that what you see around you is people who are unable to love each other.

Eamonn’s version is very different to the original.  The timing is critical to give the atmosphere and drama of the song, so it is imperative to keep your eyes locked on Eamonn to know when there are breaks in the music and how long they are, as they differ each time.

Although the Tenors and Basses are singing the same parts, the Basses don’t join in and only start singing ‘And in the naked light I saw…’

The song is quite repetitive, with notes that remain mostly the same throughout; however, the piano part changes underneath to give a different feel to the verses, and the tempo doesn’t change, so it doesn't slow down.

‘silence’, ‘prayed’, ‘made’ are long notes, as is ‘halls’

You know what to do, keep your eyes locked on Eamonn for direction and cut-offs.

Put a definite ‘d’ on ‘sound’ and ensure there is no hissing sound with the ‘s’ sound at the end of words.

Make the verses sound full of drama and mystery, enunciating each word.

We managed to surprise Eamonn with our rendition of Every time We Say Goodbye and only had a comment about keeping the ‘t’ sound loose, e.g. ‘aboud it’ instead of ‘about it’ and ‘liddle’ instead of ‘little’.

Cloudbusting is getting there, and we were impressed with Anyone Who Had a Heart, which was the first time Eamonn had heard us sing it.

Side by Side was next, new to some of us.  It is a popular song by Harry M. Woods, written in 1927, who practised songwriting only as a sideline, wrote numerous 1920s standards, including When the Red, Red Robin (Comes Bob, Bob, Bobbin Along), I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover, and Try a Little Tenderness. He composed his songs on the piano, despite being born without fingers on his left hand. The song is best known in a 1953 recording by Kay Starr.

Unlike The Sound of Silence, Cloudbusting and With or Without You are fairly true to the originals, so have a listen to them and familiarise yourself with the songs if you don’t already know them.

We need to keep on top of the practice at home.

Don’t be the one who hasn’t been working on their voice parts; you will be found out!

Who Me?

Remember, we are rehearsing downstairs next week. 

Give it Some Looove

Loooooove that note!

The main point from last night for all the songs we have covered is that we need to fall in love with the long notes at the end of phrases and sing them right to the end of the bar with the same energy and intensity. Don’t let the note fade away. Give it some love.

You have to love falling in love with the long note.

When talking of giving in With or Without You, we need to emphasise ‘give’ in ‘Give yourself away.’ 

A strong ‘G’ and ‘V’ with a slight ‘ee’ sound, e.g. ‘GeeVe yourself a way. Sing ‘give’ with intensity right to the end of the phrase and drive through the note.

Cloudbusting is getting there.  It is a very sectional song, so take the time to get the feel of each section and know what to expect.

‘But every time it rains’ is a very muscular and quick burst of lyrics with long notes that need to be sung, with love, to the end. The ‘Oohs’ under this need to be built up in volume.

The ‘Oohs’ at the end are in pairs.  The first pair is shorter than the second pair, but there is no slowing down, even at the last pair of ‘Oohs’

Every Time We Say Goodbye has a beautiful melody, but its beauty comes from the Altos, who only have two notes to sing. They are the lynchpin for the harmonies, so give them some love and make them your melody.

The part ‘major to minor’ does slow down, so watch Eamonn for the timing.

There are long phrases in this song, so you sing them to the end and do not breathe until you get there!

Only You, a new song for some. Please ensure you have printed out the latest version to minimise page turns. (Also, Side by Side has an updated version)

It is a song by English synth-pop duo Yazoo. Vince Clarke, a member of Depeche Mode at the time, wrote it, but he recorded it in 1982 after he formed Yazoo with Alison Moyet. It was released as Yazoo's first single on 15 March 1982 in the United Kingdom, taken from their first album.

The Flying Pickets recorded an a cappella cover of Only You, which was the Christmas number one in the UK in December 1983 and reached number 17 in Canada in April 1984.

Vince Clarke had written Only You as a sentimental ballad and wanted to find a vocalist who could sing with emotion. Singer Alison Moyet placed an ad in Melody Maker looking for a new band, and Vince Clarke had heard Alison Moyet perform with a few other bands in the pub circuit, and felt she was a good fit for the song. He responded to the ad and asked Alison if she wanted to sing for a demo. She was initially reluctant, as she never aspired to perform pop songs, and noted, "A part of me was thinking I'll never hear the end of it if I go and sing with this pretty boy". She eventually agreed, saying she needed the money and could not make a demo alone. The song may have initially been about Vince Clarke's uneasy relationship with Depeche Mode, but Alison Moyet turned the lyrics into the story of a person "looking through a scrapbook of photo-like memories”

The Basses and Tenors are singing together, and Eamonn’s arrangement gives us lots of "ba bas" and "ba das," sung by the different voice parts at different times, creating an amazing effect. 

Make the Ba bas bouncy with emphasis on the first ‘Ba’ and slightly softer second ‘ba’ or ‘da’

Sops, keep ‘Only you’ clean and precise. ‘Gave’ is a long note, so remember to give it some love!

Keep up the practice, the clock is ticking.

The clock is ticking tick, tick, tock.

Look Out for Specs!

Specs, I see no Specs?

It's only two months until our Summer Concert, so we have a lot of work ahead of us.  We have all the material that Elliot arranged and taught us, some of which Eamonn has not heard us sing yet, as well as Eamonn’s four new songs and some old ones he will be bringing back (although these will be new songs for a lot of us who haven’t sung them before)

We went through Without or Without You this time to the end of the song.

It is critical to know when to come in for the Altos and Sops, so listen for a little ripple in the base at the end of the bar, and that is your entrance.

Altos; ‘See the stone set in your eyes…’ and Sops & Altos: ‘Sleight of hand and twist of fate…’

‘Through the storm ….’ The Tenors and Basses are together until a split ‘..and I’m waiting for you’ so don’t be tempted to carry on singing the same tune together.

In the section ‘and you give yourself away…..’, the ‘gives’ are all off the beat and need to have a little push on the sound, apart from the last ‘give’ (which has a pair of specs over it ), which is on the beat.

Give ‘give’ some looooooove.

Listen to each other even though you are singing different notes. Primarily through the section with a call and response: ‘My hands are tied, my body bruised’

Tenors, think of ‘My body bruised, you got me with’ as one long phrase.

DO NOT BREATHE: ‘Nothing to win and nothing left to lose’ It is a long phrase, so drive through it to the end to create endless tension.

Ultimately, the pattern of notes remains the same; they begin as ‘Aahs’, but the last pair is ‘Oohs’, which provides a softer ending. Sop 1s, start your ‘Aahs’ a little louder and confidently.

Sop2s and Basses, the phrases you sing over the Aahs and Oohs seem quick by comparison, but keep the momentum going

Every Time We Say Goodbye is a song we have previously sung, although this is an updated arrangement, so ensure you have the 2025 version.

This is a popular jazz song with lyrics and music by Cole Porter, published in 1944.

The lyrics celebrate how happy the singer is in the company of the beloved, but suffer equally whenever the two separate. Describing it by analogy as a musical "change from major to minor", Porter begins with an A♭ major chord and ends with an A♭minor chord, matching the mood of the music to the words.

Sopranos 1's and Basses are together.  Love the long notes in this, especially on ‘time’ and ‘bye’

Basses watch out for the specs in your music  showing where you are not on The Tune, but have your own tune to harmonise; ‘Why the gods above me…’

Tenors you are on and off the tune, so just learn it as Your Tune.

‘...must be in the know’  , the ‘muuuuust’ is a long vowel sound.

Any Dream Will Do was sung through. Eamonn will go through this again.

Next week we will go through Cloudbusting, With or Without You. 

Look out for anything new in Dropbox and keep practising EVERYTHING. 

Let the hard work begin!

And looking towards the future, The Sound of Silence. A real favourite.