The message coming across this week was open wide and make the vowels sound bright.
Practising that last night stood me in good stead when I went to the dentist this morning, although I didn’t appreciate the accompanying music the drill was making, and no, it wasn't Steve Martin from the Little Shop of Horrors!
However, we made a good sound last night and sang our way through many songs.
We know all the songs reasonably well, so we must familiarise ourselves with them to think ahead and be prepared when unexpected words appear.
We also need to work on being a pleasure to watch. With ticket sales at around 120, we only have 40-50 more to sell before the Sold Out sign goes up.
Our audience wants to see us singing and enjoying ourselves with smiles, open mouths, and heads above our lovely black folders.
Now we get down to the little details, which make all the difference to the overall sound and performance.
Steal Away
Don’t rush. The ‘here’ on ‘I ain’t got long to stay here’ should have a long ‘ee’ sound with a ‘r’ at the send. Open your mouths wide to get this bright ‘ee’ in ‘heee…re’
Don’t slow down too much at the end. Keep it moving.
1st Sops, remember to sing the top line in the second verse when it gets to ‘ the trumpet sounds….’
2nd Sops stays on the lower line.
The House of the Rising Sun
So much of this was fabulous! These are the bits that need some work!
Basses, get your timing right. ‘The ruin of many a poor boy’ has a very short ‘the’ a slightly longer’ ruin.’
The Ooohs should be more sultry and angelic. Sing as if a shimmering aura surrounds you.
Place a hard ‘k’ sound on ‘trunk’ and ‘drunk’
Altos were a little lazy (quoting Eamonn) – tell the story, sing through the phrases, and don’t cut words off.
‘O Mother tell your children’, remember ‘Child-ren’ has equal length notes
Work hard on the hum at the end – you can slowly expire if you run out of breath!
The Rose
Sops start us off. Breathe at the stops and break the phrases up.
Open your mouths wide and sing ‘luv’ with a smile when singing ‘Some say love, it is a river….’
Altos love the second verse, which needs to be warm and rich. You are like the clarinet section.
In the middle part of ‘When the night has been too lonely and the road…’ the Basses sing with Sop1s.
Remember ‘lonely’ has three notes and make a strong ‘d’ on ‘and’
Basses don’t hang around at the end, don’t slow down. Finish with a crisp-sounding ‘rose’ with a ‘z’ sound.
Unchained Melody: Beautiful rendition. While it's been a while since we sang this one with the tricky key change in the middle.
Sop 1s open wide, especially on ’time’ and ‘mine’. Also, on the high notes, squeeze those oranges!
Think of this song with macro rather than micro phrases so it is all connected.
After the key change, ‘Oh, my love, my darling, I’ve hungered..’ darling’ is long, and so is ‘I’ve’
Make the last ‘me’ at the end very sweet and gentle.
Crossing the Bar
This is taking shape now, and we are getting to grips with the challenging rhythm.
You can see how much easier it is when Eamonn stops playing and conducts.
Once he has his pianist, there will be no excuses not to be perfect.
This song contrasts quiet and loud and quiet again. These dynamics make this song work. We also all need to breathe at the same time!
Altos, be brave and sing out!
Make Your Own Kind of Music
Keep it light, and don’t sing a raucous chorus like a rugby crowd.
1st Sops, be ready for your ‘So if you cannot take my hand’, and sing it confidently.
Top tip: The number one thing we can do to care for our voices is to drink lots of water. As our rehearsals are ramping up, we'll need to ramp up our water intake to accommodate all the extra use. Try drinking more water during the day of the rehearsal. Whether we are speaking or singing, the vibration of our vocal folds creates the sound our voice makes. Drinking water helps to keep these muscles hydrated and able to work flexibly. This also means hydrating after rehearsals and before our performance. When we exercise, we know we need to hydrate afterwards.
Be prepared for anything in the coming weeks, so always bring all your music.
Preparation is essential, but at some point, you must stop preparing content and start preparing a mindset. It is all about the performance.
And remember, be prepared for anything.
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