Zooming from a distance this week is a surreal feeling. I watch everyone and hear the general buzz of conversations but do not feel part of it.
However, it is still a good way to keep up with the songs, especially the new ones. I just hope I have enough information to impart to you remotely.
We began by recapping Make Your Own Kind of Music, which we started last week.
It is important for the Sops to get the first two notes in the correct place with the right emphasis.
The advantage of Zooming is that no one could tell if I was right or wrong!
All will be revealed next week when I’m back in person!
Tenors keep it moving under the Oohs. Remember on ‘Sing your own special song’ that ‘song’ is on one note only and not two notes.
Sing the long phrases right until the end of the last note.
It gets sluggish with the ‘loneliest kind of lonely’, so give it life.
Build up to ‘understand’ with a strong ‘d’ going into the chorus, ‘Make your own kind of music’; don’t let it fade away.
Gents, keep it warm and joyous in the chorus, not round and raucous.
From Now On was revisited, too.
Gents, the Intro is fast and slow.
Where the music score is very black, this is the fast part. And where there are fewer notes, it is slower and more spacious.
Mark your music scores accordingly so you will remember.
We will be doomed if the Altos don’t find their first note on ‘From now on’.
Remember, after the ‘and we will come back home, ’ the ‘From now on’ comes in very quickly.
Be ready for it!
At the end, get ready for the drop from loud to quiet, but do not change the tempo.
Quiet does not mean slow.
As the words are repetitive, you will know them well, so you can look up and watch Eamonn, who will guide you with timings.
After a quick break, a new song, Have You Ever Seen the Rain.
It is a song by American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival, written by John Fogerty and released as a single in 1971
It was suggested that Have You Ever Seen the Rain is about the decline of the countercultural political idealism of the 1960s during the Nixon administration in light of events such as the Altamont Free Concert and the Kent State shootings. However, John Fogerty has said in interviews and before 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.
In a 2020 interview with American Songwriter, Fogerty stated that the line "Have you ever seen the rain, coming down on a sunny day?" was inspired by the band's feelings of unease and depression at the height of their fame and commercial success. The band would ultimately split in October 1972, following the release of the album Mardi Gras.
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 localised atmospheric wind shear effects.
Eamonn has arranged his version of this song, which is very different from the original.
There is a lot of syncopation.
Don’t be too polite on ‘water’ and pronounce the ‘t’ more like a ‘d’.
The Sops start this song, and, again, there are long phrases, so keep it gentle and smooth.
A run-through of The House of the Rising Sun was not bad.
Gents, make it full and rich, especially at the beginning and ensure the timing of the rhythm is right.
Do your homework forensically on this one!
Check Dropbox and print off What the World Needs Now (2024 version); this will be the last song added to our repertoire for the concert. You should then have all the music scores needed.
We will review Your Song (2024 version), What the World Needs Now (2024 version), and anything Eamonn chooses to recap.
It would be advisable to have the music in alphabetical order so it is easy to find.
Next week, bring all your music.
See you soon!
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