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Trills on a Tuesday

You Know What to Do!



Who me?


Back in our usual venue, with the sun shining brightly, everyone was keen to impress Eamonn. We certainly did, and he was very pleased with us for a change.

 

We are all familiar with the songs now and know our respective tunes.  Well, the basses, and sometimes the Tenors, still get lured on to The Tune and have six weeks to get out of the habit!

 

It's about more than just sounding repetitive; it is about understanding that Eamonn's guidance is the cornerstone of our success. His direction is the most crucial element in our performance, and at this stage, it is critical to the level of our performance. 

We have a great reputation and need to maintain it or, if possible, improve on it.

 

To watch Eamonn, you must be extremely familiar with every song in the repertoire so you have the confidence to look up. Memorise the sections with tricky timing and repetitive endings (there are a few of those!). You don’t need to look at the music.



When you trust in Eamonn's directions and follow them (it's even more effective when he has a pianist and can use both hands), you will personally witness the transformation in our performance. It's a process that we can all rely on.

 





Hints and Tips



The House of the Rising Sun – there are a lot of long notes:

‘is’ is a long note at the beginning, and make sure you put a house together; ‘There is a house….’ And don’t breathe!

‘ruin’ is long – ‘it’s been the ruin of many a poor boy…’

‘ga ambling man’ with a long ‘a’

‘suit’ is short, and ‘case is long in a ‘suitcase and a trunk.’

It feels like it is slowing down at the end, but it isn’t. 

Keep singing that last note until Eamonn brings us off.

 

Tell the story as there is a lot of narrative.

 




From Now On – a ballad with the speed at the beginning is always the same, even though some phrases are spacious and others have more notes to fit in.

 

Tenors, be prepared for your entrance and make the first notes quiet. 

Think about them before you start to sing so you are not surprised.

Oohs should be round and beautiful, so smile as you sing them.

Of course, don’t breathe before the very last ooh!

 

Basses need to keep everything driving forward and keep up the energy. 

It's exhausting, I know, but it makes all the difference to the sound.

 

‘And we will come back home’ section, make it funky with ‘come’, ‘back’ and ‘home’ all the same length.

 

Enjoy the linear phrase ‘Let this promise be a start…’

 

After the last  ‘home again,’ take a very quick breath (yes, you have permission to breathe!) and then go straight into ‘From now on…’

 

Enjoy the thrilling part of singing loud and energetically and going very quiet and intense. 

It will sound fantastic.

 



Steal Away is a complete tempo change we haven’t covered for a while. 

This is much slower than you think.  The notes are simple and must be measured and spaced.

Give ‘away’ some love with a clear ‘y’ sound at the end each time you sing ‘steal away’.

Aim for ‘home’ and ‘Jesus’ when singing, ’Steal away to Jesus’ and ‘Steal away home’. 

Sing it with meaning and not as if you’re in a hurry to get that part done to move on to completely contrasted and loud verses with lots of annunciation.

 

Watch Eamonn for the timings for the ending.  Memorise as much as you can.

 

You’ve Got a Friend – no surprise that Basses and Tenors are not on The Tune!

However, the Altos and Sop 2s start this song.

The chorus starts gently but gets louder: ‘Winter, spring, summer, when it comes t or fall’.



Watch out for the dunce hole and listen for the ‘chink, chink’ on the piano before singing ‘You’ve Got a Friend.’

Sop 1s don’t screech out the high note ‘yes’ in ‘, and I’ll be there, yes I will’ – just be ready for it and place it carefully.

 You know what to do. Memorise as much as you can.

Go the extra mile. It’s never crowded there!




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