Go With The Flow
- Trills on a Tuesday
- 3 hours ago
- 4 min read
Another week with Tim who took us
through The Rainbow Connection, a song from the 1979 film The Muppet Movie, with music and lyrics written by Paul Williams and Kenneth Ascher. The song was performed by Jim Henson as Kermit the Frog during the film's opening number, where it opens with Kermit sitting alone on a log in the swamp, playing the song on his banjo. The song is an integral part of Kermit's character's arc, since it establishes his dream of "making millions of people happy", which motivates his journey to Hollywood throughout the film.
Jim Henson told them that the opening scene should feature Kermit the Frog by himself, singing and playing the banjo. Williams and Ascher wrote most of the song quickly at Williams's house but got stuck trying to think of appropriate words for the part in the chorus that eventually became the phrase "the rainbow connection"; they were looking for a way to tie in the chorus to the song's theme of rainbows. As they sat down for dinner with Williams's then-wife, Kate Clinton, they explained to her their predicament of looking for a phrase that would provide "a rainbow connection", then realized, while explaining the problem to her, that the phrase "the rainbow connection" would itself be a good fit. Williams and Ascher used "When You Wish Upon a Star" from Pinocchio as inspiration for the song.
Williams has said that his favourite lyrics in the song are in the second verse, which begins with "Who said that every wish / Would be heard and answered / When wished on the morning star?", because they imply that "there's power in your thoughts". He also noted that the lyrical phrasing was written weirdly with Kermit's speech patterns in mind.
This song should be flowing and smooth even though there are so many short phrases; don’t make them choppy. Especially in, ‘So we’ve been told and we choose to believe it…..’ Keep it long and legato and make sure you have enough breath for the long ‘see’. Ensure ‘see’ is kept going and builds up to a crescendo and doesn’t die before you get to the end!
Sop 2 on the ‘So we’ve been told…..’ section you are all on the same note all the way through apart from ‘told’, ‘...lieve’ and ‘see’
The ‘Oohs’ and ‘Aahs’ should have a soft sound with no glottal stops. Think about how you say ‘yoghurt’ and incorporate that soft sound.
‘What’s so amazing that keeps us stargazing...’ put the emphasis on ‘star’
When it gets to the key change singing ‘….magic’ make it bright with a feeling of anticipation and lifting it to another level.
All the voice parts are singing different things at different times. Think of it as a beautiful tapestry.
Do watch out for the dunce hole (this is a feature of many of Eamonn’s arrangements) after ‘the lovers, the dreamers’ (gap) ‘..and me’. There will be no particular count for the length of this gap, it will be determined by Eamonn, so watch his direction or be prepared for The Glare if you mess up!
Keep the flow from ‘… dreamers (gap) and me’ into the ‘La da dee da da….’ Until the final ‘dum’ which is more like a ‘dm’ with a smile. Imagine you are Kermit with his banjo smiling as he finishes singing this whimsical song
This song needs to tell the story of lovers and dreamers and me, so feel the flow of emotions.
Paul Williams also wroyte the lyrics to 'Evergreen.'
The House of the Rising Sun we had previously sung through with Eamonn, so was fairly familiar to those who haven’t preformed this song before.
Again, you need to tell the story by keeping it flowing and not choppy.
Basses, keep the tempo going at a consistent pace while the other voices are singing their ‘Oohs’ underneath you. You must keep the momentum going.
The ‘gamblin’ man…’ phrase has ‘ga-a-m blin’ man’ so a long two notes on ‘ga-a-m..’
The ‘Oohs’ need to have that soft, yoghurty sound; be laid back and relaxed and keep it in the back of your throat to give it a dark sound. Remember you are the backing vocals, so don’t drown out the tune.
There is the dreaded timing of ‘suitcase’, which drives Eamonn crazy when we get it wrong. Tim gave us a tip of throwing up a ball and catching it. So, think of ‘suit’ as you throw it up and a longer ‘case as you catch it. Don’t snatch at the ‘suit’ and make it very short, but remember to make ‘case’ long.
At the very end of the song there is one note on the last page. Please physically write that one note on the penultimate page and write ‘Do not turn over’. It gives a very unprofessional look if some people turn the last page over unnecessarily. Anyway, you shouldn’t need to look at your music score by this time and be looking up at Eamonn for the crisp ending in unison.
Impossible Dream finished our rehearsal. Again, the Basses shine and start us off and the Altos join in with their Oohs followed by the Sop 2s joining them. If possible, stagger your breathing so it flows and sounds seamless. The ‘oohs’ should be dark and resonant.
Link the consonants onto the next word e.g. ‘this is my quest..’ would be ‘this is my ques……tto follow’ and ‘To fight for the righ….twithout question or pause’ I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it and this technique seems to come up in many of the songs we sing, not just this one.
Emphasise ‘no’ in ‘no matter how far’ and ‘to’ in ‘to fight for the right…’
The section, ‘willing to march into hell ….’ Make this flow and not be choppy and sound like a stalling car!
Emphasise the ‘sc’ sound on ‘scorned’ and ‘scarred’ ‘That one man. (quick breath) scorned and covered with scars…’
Next week we will have Eamonn back. He may send out a list of songs; he may not. Bring everything just in case.
Always check Dropbox regularly as more songs are dropped in.
Eamonn is aware the vocal lines to California Dreamin’ are missing and he will rectify this in due course.
Term dates for those who are uncertain.
We finish on 24 March
We resume on 14 April
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