Remember to Try

all that Eamonn has told us, not always easy but help is here!

Now we have a humungous section with the lower voices and they have now been divided into Tenors and Basses, try to remember the new seating arrangements with the ladies sitting at the front, the Tenors in the second row and the Basses in the third row.

It would be helpful if the gents remember to try to keep to the parts they have chosen and stay there and not to jump from Tenor to Bass or vice versa.

Remember, Eamonn has a good ear and can hear each and every one of us and will know when someone is singing in the basement when they shouldn’t be!

Eamonn will try to remember not refer to the Tenors as Lady Tenors (as they formerly were known), so not to cause confusion. A hard habit to break after seven years!

Charlie Chaplin through to Lady Gaga who would have thought!

We sang through Smile, which Eamonn hoped would be indescribably beautiful, so not too much work would be needed.

Everyone needs to remember to give shape to the phrases in this simple song which will keep it flowing

Basses and Sopranos, who are on the tune and like the bread on the outside of a sandwich, need to turn down the volume, so the Altos and Tenors, who are like the delicious filling, can be heard.

Try to remember to put a crisp ‘L’ on the last Smile so the ending is a beautiful as the beginning.

Blowing in the Wind was next, with the Sopranos starting gently. Remember to keep this light.

Everyone should remember to mark the Dunce Hole on Bar 25; here you will find long ‘ears’. Don’t be the one to trip over them and fall in!

Altos be brave and sing strongly, but not like a church choir!

Although most of us try to remember not to breathe, there is still a tendency to give the phrases a ‘choppy’ sound. Keep the phrases languid and beautiful with a yearning quality.

That is until you crescendo with “how many deaths” in verse two which needs great emphasis before melting back into the chorus.

Connect the consonants at the ends of the words onto the next word. This keeps us all singing together without any hisses!

Then we were back on The Slow Train. Try to remember to keep everything clipped and well enunciated.

It was absolutely delicious until it was absolutely ghastly. No surprises that it all fell apart when the middle section of Oohs was reached!

A quick recap of the Oohs, enjoying Dog Dyke and remembering this middle section has a slightly quicker tempo before getting back on the slow train again.

A new song for some, Try to Remember. It is a song of nostalgia from the musical comedy play The Fantasticks (1960).

The Sopranos start quietly and the Altos join in and remember to smile through the ‘callow fellow’.

At the end of each verse we follow, follow, follow, but not at the same time. Remember to watch Eamonn, especially the Tenors and Basses, who come in like a cuckoo echoing in the woods, so keep it light.

The Altos have the challenging rhythm with a yearning quality.

In verse three Altos, tenors and Basses hum.

Humming is not easy. Try to remember to keep the space in your mouth as open as possible, although your lips are closed and work hard to create a good sound that can be heard under the Sopranos singing.

On the last Follow, melt into the Ooh at the end.

Remember to try all you’ve learned and practice at home. Just a little each day is all you need to do and next week we can be absolutely delicious throughout!

And Try To Remember. NO choir rehearsals on 11th and 18 April