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.