Questions!
- Trills on a Tuesday
- Mar 12
- 4 min read
There are more questions than answers.
We are now back in familiar surroundings with good light, sight, and plenty of space. Although, there was a stage and goodie bags everywhere!
Do I need to Practice, and how often do I do it?
Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.
Some of you have the advantage of being able to read music, so maybe you can turn up each week and sing from your music score, and too much practice isn’t really necessary. You might want to think again, as it isn’t just about the notes on the page, but much more!
Most of us learn by ear and follow the notes as they go up or down, so practice is advisable to secure the notes in the brain and muscle memory.
You can do a last-minute full-on practice on a Monday or even a Tuesday just to refresh your memory. That’s better than nothing, though not ideal.
However, practising a little each day by concentrating on the parts you are unsure of and building up your muscle memory is more beneficial. Hence, the notes come naturally without overthinking.
Look at the songs you know well, at least twice weekly, to keep them fresh.
Do you know the way to San Jose?
How Can I improve?
We’re all about progress, not perfection. Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence.
Being a Sop1, singing mainly The Tune, with the occasional Ooh and Aah and little harmony phrases, the song is recognisable when practising. However, when singing there, Altos and Tenors may not sound so melodic with their notes, but they are crucial as they bring that beautiful, rich harmonic sound when we all sing together.
Listen to the Dropbox tracks of your voice parts, and once you have your notes in mind, try singing against either another voice part or the Full version. Sometimes, hearing what notes are happening around you helps you find that elusive note you’re struggling with.
You will feel more confident listening to your voice parts and learning your notes.
Do I Need to Make Notes?
Always have a pencil and mark your music score with meaningful notes, even if you are reading music. Perhaps you need to highlight a dunce-hole gap. There will always be many places where you are not allowed to breathe! This will be very noticeable when Eamonn returns!
Eamonn/Elliot, or whoever is our Musical Director, will give you the dynamics of the songs, which make them sound interesting and help to tell the story. They can be crescendos, decrescendos, sob quality, slowing down etc. These notations need to be marked on your music score. You might think at the time you’ll remember them, but we are accumulating at least 16 songs and a little aide memoir is very helpful.
How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?
How Can We Sound Even Better?
The strength of the team is each member. The strength of each member is the team
We now have a membership of 60 singers, so we want a big sound to reflect the big choir we are.
If we all work hard and know the notes to sing and when to sing them, but watching the Musical Director, we can all sing out confidently with a strong voice. It is not about being the loudest and standing out in a crowd, but by being heard and blending our voices, we can give a warm, rich sound that will send shivers down the spines of our audience.
It is essential to listen to the other voices around you and know where you fit into the great tapestry of sound we are creating.
As each of us sings a little stronger, we will be heard, instilling confidence in those around us and giving you more confidence. It's a win-win situation!
If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body, Would You Hold It Against Me? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAVUrq7jvtM
How Can I Find the Right Energy?
We are not talking about fixed-rate energy and price caps here, but digging deep and building up your stamina to keep some of our relentless and full-of-energy songs going to the end. It isn’t always about how loud it is, but finding that intensity from within.
Learn to feel the internal beat and rhythm of the music. It will help you move along at the right pace and not be left behind.
Where Are the Hints & Tips for Each Song?
Rather than being repetitive in each Blog, which you will find boring, look back on previous Blogs, where you’ll find the hints and tips you need.
We have a fantastic choir with mixed abilities and talents we even have a published author!
If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.
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