Hey, Can You Hear The Altos!!!!
- Trills on a Tuesday
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
This week we focused on our head and chest voice. Jan explained how we can tell the difference. Eamonn backed this up and told us that Altos and Lady Tenors will mostly use their chest voices, while the Sops will mostly use their head voices.
Altos need to belt it out and get that effect by saying’ Hey!’ as loud as possible from their chest voice.
Sops, on the other hand, don’t belt it out, but sound twangy or ethereal with their head voice.
For Gents, it is slightly different as they have their falsetto voice for the higher register instead of a head voice, which uses the vocal folds.
Eamonn wanted to hear as many songs as possible to see what shape they were in starting with Vincent.
Stretch the rhythms of the phrases and look up for the endings e,g, ‘night’, ‘hills’ which are short.
Chill out when you are the backing vocals in the ‘For they could not love you…’ section so the Sops can sing out without being too polite and be heard!
There are many ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ in this song – keep them bright and love every one of them.
You’re the Voice needs to start with super exciting ‘Oohs’.
Smile and be happy with this song.
‘How long’ – ‘long’ is shorter than you expect. ‘..can we look at each other’ with ‘other’ being slightly longer than you expect. Watch Eamonn and he will guide you with the timing.
Sops remember there is a slightly different tune the second time you sing. ‘down the barrel of a gun’
Sops use your chest voice for ‘We’re all someone’s daughters…….’
The echo on ‘This time’ – don’t rush it!
This is a relentless and repetitive song and will probably be the last song of the concert!
Here Comes the Flood should be flowing with no breath in the early phrases.
You can be more robotic in the ‘When the flood calls…..’ section.
The ‘up’ in ‘Drink up dreamer….’ is short
Do not breathe at the very end.
The House of the Rising Sun when the Altos come in with, ‘O Mother tell your children….’ Use your chest voice, but take your time, especially on ‘children’. Don’t rush it as if you want to get it over and done with as quickly as possible.
At the very end, Sops, Altos and Tenors sing ‘Ng’ instead of ‘Mmm’ and keep it going until Eamonn tells you to stop!
Irish Blessing Sops sing the whole of the first verse which needs to be learnt by heart!
This way you can look up and engage with the audience and watch Eamonn.
‘Until we meet again…’ keep ‘again’ going until the end of the note. Don’t let it fade away.
Altos and Tenors give texture and interest to the second verse. Chest voices for richness and warmth.
A quick breath after ‘palm’ but no breath during ‘of hiz hand’
The Rhythm of Life was in a much better place than expected. It takes stamina.
Altos come in boldly (think Hey!) with your chest voice to set the tone of the song. Make sure you breathe in the right place before start singing, so the first words don’t get lost.
Drive through, ‘Flip your wings and fly to Daddy…….’
Sing, ‘Yeah’ right through to the end of the note.
You’ll Never Walk Alone. Sops are definitely using their head voice. Check the tune and make sure you are singing it correctly at the end.
Next week we will go through: The Impossible Dream, The Logical Song, All My Trials, California Dreamin’ and any others Eamonn may choose.
Be prepared
Altos practice your ‘Hey’ chest voice and impress Eamonn next week and be heard loud and clear.
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