Be Brave and Be Heard

It's like singing the tune when you don't have the tune! Or playing the right notes in the wrong order.

It was great to be back in the room this week and to be joined by our Treasured Treasurer, although it appears about 20 naughty singers have yet to fill her coffers! Please remember to use the new bank details that were sent to you.

As this was our last rehearsal before our two-week Easter break, we went through Sea Fog, which we started last week.

This song has a lot of space in the verses, so Basses mainly, don’t get carried away and get ahead of everyone else when Tenors and Altos join you in ‘Maybe we’ll get to spread our wings….’

Aim for the ‘morrow’ on ‘tomorrow’

Keep that in mind, and feel your pulse. If you can't feel it, you should be worried! Sorry, the pulse!

Only breathe where it is marked on the music score with a rest, not anywhere else!

In the chorus, put a definite ‘k’ on ‘dark’ before taking a quick breath. Then, into ‘I hear your voice, it makes things easy. '  Join ‘voice’ and ‘it’ as if it is one word, and then you will naturally sing it without breathing.

‘Fight’ is long in ‘And I won’t fight through the rising tide.’ while ‘the rising’ is quick.

'Ng' is with an open, smiling mouth with the sound resonating in the back of your closed throat. Just think, sing without the 'si'

It is a much richer sound than a hum.

In the ‘Sea fog rollin’’ part, sing ‘rollen’ rather than ‘rollin’.

This should sound like waves crashing onto the beach.

Sop 2s have a lovely counter-melody at the end; be delicate, and do not breathe before the last note!

We then introduced Eamonn to Peace in the Valley, who immediately noticed breathing by some after ‘peace’, which produces the dreaded hissing sound.  Do not breathe during ‘There will be peace in the valley…’

He thought, generally, it was not bad!

We then finished True Colours. This song's vocal lines are very low, allowing the altos to shine, as it is the right range. 

Altos have the all-important start. They must listen to the three notes on the piano and be ready to come in with ‘You with the sad eyes’, as there is no piano underneath.

You must be brave as this happens again when you sing, ‘like a rainbow’. 

Also, make sure you sing the three notes on ‘rainbow’ so they can be heard.

Altos and Basses take a big breath after ‘…. in a world full of people’ and do not breathe again until after ‘…feel so small’

When you sing ‘beautiful’, replace the ‘t’ with a ‘d’ so we don’t sound like a Kew Choral.

Just because it is the Easter holidays, you still have homework! 

Please keep all the songs we’ve done fresh in your mind by listening to the tracks on Dropbox.  Every person has a voice, and if you know your parts, you can sing them out boldly and be heard. This will give confidence not only to you but also to your fellow singers.

Lovely acoustic version. Listen to the original of Cloudbusting so it is familiar to you, although Eamonn will have made some adjustments in his arrangement.

Have a great Easter break, and we will see you all on 29 April, early if possible, around 18:50, for Alan’s book launch, ready for a 19:30 start for rehearsals with Eamonn.