Feel the Beat
After the whirlwind start last week, we went over Daydream Believer and completed it to the end.
Work on the harmonies at the beginning and Sops, do not slide when singing the high ‘Do’.
Keep it strong and long right to the end. Don’t let it tail off.
In the part ‘…do we really need’ it is only the Tenors and Basses singing ‘need’, so it must be loud so it can be heard over the ‘do, do, do,dos’.
On Bar 64 the ‘doo’ at the end is long and remember it is a ‘da’ the second time which is slightly shorter.
The trick with the high note is to think you are there already and think high from the start.
The ‘Ba, ba, ba’ section should be playful and have intensity like a brass band; it is not a Mozart requiem!
The last ‘Cheer up sleepy Jean…..’ doesn’t have a ‘homecoming queen’ at the end it just goes into repeats of ‘daydream believer..’ gradually getting quieter until if fades out.
Keep this song bright all the way through.
At first, Donnie Darko can seem confusing or even absurd, but it becomes clearer when viewed through ideas of parallel realities, fate and the fourth dimension. Donnie appears to be trapped in an alternate world where he must play a specific role to prevent catastrophe, with Frank acting as both guide and symbol of rebellion. The film questions whether people truly have free will or whether their choices are part of a larger predetermined plan, while also exploring the consequences of disrupting that order. Donnie’s eventual sacrifice gives him the role of a saviour or martyr, reinforced by references to The Last Temptation of Christ, while his confusion, rebellion, first love and questioning of his purpose also make the film an allegory for adolescence. By combining science fiction, religion, psychology and philosophical questions about destiny, Donnie Darko becomes an unconventional and enigmatic film whose ambiguity has helped make it a cult classic.
Mad World is a 1982 song by the English new wave band Tears for Fears. Written by Roland Orzabal and sung by bassist Curt Smith. It was originally written on acoustic guitar when Orzabal was 19 after being inspired to write a new wave song in the vein of Duran Duran's Girls on Film. After a few false starts with Orzabal on vocals, he suggested Smith sing it and "suddenly it sounded fabulous". Retrospectively, it has been suggested that the chorus Mad World was partially inspired by the bridge of Cat Stevens' 1966 hit single Matthew and Son, a similarity that has been referenced by Stevens in live performances.
The promotional video for Mad World was filmed in late summer 1982, in the grounds of Knebworth House. It was Tears for Fears' first music video and features Curt Smith staring out of a window while Roland Orzabal dances outside on a lakeside jetty. A brief party scene in the video features friends and family of the band, including Smith's mother as well as his then-wife Lynne.
According to Curt Smith, "When we made the video in a country estate on the cheap, we bussed all our friends and family up from Bath and had a fun day. The woman who's having the birthday party in the video is my mum."
This song is all about extremes. It has a ghostly ethereal sound which is weird. Keep any vibrato out of your voice.
Feel the beat with the ‘Nm, nms..’ which gives it a bell-like quality. Emphasise the second ‘nm’ in each pair. Basses you have a slightly different rhythm as you are on the beat and this helps to keep the timing.
Sops you are singing over the ‘nms’, but no sliding on ‘up their glasses’
Elongate the vowels especially on ‘best’ in ‘… best I’ve ever had’ so it doesn’t sound snatched.
Make sure you sing ‘world’ to the end in ‘Mad world’ as it is a long note.
In the verses try not to make it staccato, even though that is tempting. Elongate the phrases instead and make them flow.
In the section with the long ‘through’ and ‘me’ be ready to come in on ‘And I find it kind a funny….’
We just need to be confident on our notes and then the dynamics of soft and loud will follow.
Check the notation when practising at home. p/pp id soft and f/ff is loud.
Make Me Feel Your Love
is a song written by Bob Dylan. It is one of the few songs to have achieved the status of becoming a "standard" in the 21st century, having been covered by more than 450 different artists. The best known cover versions are ones by Adele, Michael Bolton, Neil Diamond, Elkie Brooks, Boy George, Bryan Ferry, Joan Osborne, Garth Brooks, Nick Knowles and Pink.
Adele was initially hesitant to record a cover song on her album, as she was worried it would imply she was incapable of writing enough of her own songs. Nonetheless, she listened to the song under pressure from her manager, Jonathan Dickins, and loved it. She said "I wrote nine songs in a short space of time, all about this awful relationship I was in. I never quite got down what I was really feeling in those songs, though. It wasn't that I was holding back or anything, but I just couldn't get it down. I was bitterly upset and then Jonathan Dickins played me this Bob Dylan song, Make You Feel My Love. The lyrics are just amazing and summed up exactly what I'd been trying to say in my songs. It's about regretting not being with someone and it's beautiful. It's weird that my favourite song on my album is a cover, but I couldn't not put it on there. I'm not normally a Dylan fan either.
In our version, Sops start us off. Remember ‘case’, ‘face’ and ‘embrace’ are short and crisp with elongated vowels, so no hissing!
With the ’oohs’ don’t anticipate the downward scale as it will sound terrible.
Altos & Basses, ‘When the evening shadows and the stars appear…’ comes on the first beat.
‘I could hold you for a million years…’ is on the second beat.
Sops & Tenors, take a quick breath just before Bar 24 between the Ooh and Aah section.
Remember that ‘we’ has to notes in ‘that we met’ with a strong ‘t’ on ‘met’.
‘I’d go hungry I’d go black and blue’ – ‘black’ is long.
‘I’d go crawling down the avenue’ is a bluesy sound and it not the tune. Learn it as it will be YOUR tune
‘…you ain’t seen nothing like me yet’ goes into ‘I could make you happy….’ Which is on the first beat. There is no rest, so don’t be late with your entrance.
Keep ‘love’ long with elongated vowel. Slow right down at the end, but keep it clean and don’t be indulgent!
Have You Ever Seen the Rain
is a song by American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival, written by John Fogerty and released as a single on 29 December 1970.
John Fogerty has said in interviews and prior to playing the song in concert that it concerns tensions within Creedence Clearwater Revival themselves and the imminent departure of his brother Tom Fogerty from the band.
"That song is really about the impending breakup of Creedence. The imagery is, you can have a bright, beautiful, sunny day, and it can be raining at the same time," Fogerty told Rolling Stone magazine in 1993.
In a literal sense, the song describes a sunshower, such as in the lyric "It'll rain a sunny day" and the chorus, "Have you ever seen the rain, comin' down on a sunny day?" These events are particularly common in the Deep South due to localized atmospheric wind shear effects.
The Sops start this song and Basses don’t join in until page 2.
When singing ‘water’ make it a softer ‘d’ sound like ‘wa-der’
After a loud, ‘I know’ it is very quiet and soft ‘it’s been coming for some time’
We will revisit this and finish it next week along with Monday, Monday, Sit Down Your Rocking the Boat and Poor Wayfaring Stranger.
Please look at the ones for next week so we can achieve as much as possible and don’t forget to keep on top the ones we’ve already done to keep them fresh in your mind as we don’t want to go back to square one and go over all the notes again.
It was suggested you listen to choral and barbershop singing so you can take in the different styles of singing and bring them into your style when you sing.
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