Do Do Do- Learn them by Heart

With Eamonn supercharged, the keyboard connected to speakers, the music is much louder; therefore, we need to sing out and project our voices to be heard!

We are now at the stage where we have all the music for the concert, and we will be going through as many songs as possible on Tuesdays from now on. Please keep them all fresh in your minds and build up your muscle memory, so there are no surprises when we sing through them.

Everyone should now be familiar with their respective roles.  So SING OUT!

If there are areas you are unsure of, concentrate on those with your voice part in Dropbox. 

Eamonn will now concentrate on performance, bringing the songs to life with dynamics, from loud to soft, and an ebb and flow, knowing when to breathe and when not to.

This may sound daunting to some of you, but be comforted by knowing that if you watch Eamonn, he will guide you.  He is not called the Musical Director for nothing! He is encouraging us to tell the story and make it interesting for our audience.

The key to watching Eamonn is to know your music so well that you don’t need to keep your eyes on the score all the time; instead, have the confidence to look up and follow Eamonn’s instructions.

Cilla Black or Shirley Bassey. You decide? Eamonn is challenged with some of the songs as he has inherited arrangements from Elliot. Fortunately, he likes the arrangement of "Anyone Who Had a Heart," which has a strong rhythm, is relentless, and sounds as if it is going to stop but then carries on; drive through this.

The Doo doo be doos should be punchy and Halloween like and then the contrast of ‘Anyone who ever loved, could look at me ….’ Would be buttery and silky.

Be melodramatic!

In the section where Altos, Tenors and Basses sing, ‘Anyone who had a heart. Anyone who had a’; do NOT breathe after heart; join ‘heart. Anyone together.

Please note that the ending has changed with a slight pull back on ‘why won’t – you’ with no big gap between ‘won’t’ and ‘you’.

Every Time We Say Goodbye has very long phrases.  Do NOT breathe after goodbye which will help to emphasise ‘die’.

There is only a light pull back the first time we sing, ‘major to minor’

The humming section is hard work, so smile and open up the inside of your mouth so the ‘hum’ resonates and can be heard. It should be like the string section of the orchestra.

‘Goodbye–oh’ does not slow down and do NOT breathe!

Matthew and Son, another relentless song that needs drive, punchiness and attack giving the feeling of being overworked and underpaid!

Keep ‘years’, ‘dares’, and ‘arrears’ short.

Altos takes ownership of your ‘do do dn do do’s at the end.  Make them sassy and lean into them and feel it! Learn them by heart.

Side By Side was magnificent apart from the Doo, doo dah doos by the Altos, Tenors & Basses. 

Feel that internal pulse and keep the rhythm. Learn them by heart.

The Sound of Silence is not like the original.  There are gaps where you least expect them.

Mark your music score so they are not a surprise! 

Believe me, you do not want an Eamonn glare in the concert if you fall into one of his dunce holes, and there are plenty in this song!

At the end, ‘sounds’ slows down, but ‘silence’ is back on tempo.

Cloud busting is nearly there.  Ensure that when you get to ‘But every time it rains….’ It comes in like a thunderbolt and with pizzazz!

Walking on Sunshine is to be reviewed with a slightly different arrangement, so put this one on hold and keep an eye on Dropbox. Should we send this version to Eamonn?

There are a lot of Doos, dahs and doo be doos in several songs.  Learn these by heart so you can feel the pulse of them and look up a watch, Eamonn, enabling us to all come together crisply and cleanly.

Keep up the good work, and we will create a beautiful sound.