Fun and Games
The school holidays are finally here and so are a few minutes to blog!
After a super concert on the 4th Feb we met again on the 15th for our monthly rehearsal. Unfortunately everyone seems to be stricken with 'flu; colds; gastric 'flu so we only numbered 12. And only two altos who valiantly represented their group. There was a new addition however in the sopranos.
Myself, I was sruggling with bronchitis which has decimated my voice (especially after making myself heard in a classroom din all day!). I wish I could get rid of this cough which has been hanging around for over a month now.
We had a good write-up in the newspaper (although the journalist had me down as a tenor rather than a soprano! Perhaps the bronchitis has taken its toll!).
We stretched and then warmed up with some vocal slides. I introduced a new warm-up : a "YA"!
This is like a party game which is often used in theatre. Everyone stands in a circle and send energy to the others by yelling "Ya" as they shoot their left arm from left to right across their body. First objective was voice production and to send vocal energy.
Once everyone had the hang of that I introduced new rules : If someone shouts "Haul down" the "Ya" changes direction, and if someone shouts "Aïe" the next person skips a turn.
It was quite hilarious as we were all exhausted after our various day's work and the concentration was a bit of a challenge. The second objective is there of course : to act as individuals within a group and be aware of the other members (all necessary for an efficient choir).
After that we started rehearsing. We began with "Were You There?" which lacked the finesse of our concert performance, but I put that down to fatigue and lack of numbers. Maybe the "Ya" had worn them out!!
We sang "Come Here Jesus" as well on the request of an alto.
Then we started something new : "It's Me Oh Lord". A bit of pronunciation practice was necessary before we began singing - "brother", "mother" always cause trouble for French speakers who can't manage the 'th' sound and want to pronounce the 'o' as in "bother" rather than as in "brother". I have banned 'z' substitutes (does anybody reading this know how to type in phonetic symbols? I could use them on a daily basis for my teaching) and preferred the 'd' sound for incorrigible singers as it stands out less than 'z' or 'v'.
The harmonisation was learned quite quickly, although as usual the altos had the most complicated harmonisation and will probably need to revise before next time. Mary was one of those present and so fortunately she can spot when things haven't gone to plan AND identify the problem thanks to her musical training.
We decided to tackle "Jesus On The Mainline" again. It's complicated to put together because there are different entry points for the different voices which need practising. Also, there are a lot of words to come to grips with for the non-English speakers (i.e. everyone except me!). Mostly though, we only hear it once a month and we always seem to have someone present who's never sang it before. If we could have the same people present every month it sure would simplify things. I wonder if it'll ever be presentable enough to sing in public?? Not for the next appearance planned which is uncannily on April Fool's Day!! I haven't decided what we'll sing then, perhaps the same as in February.
Another project is a song which Ben found for us. I can't remember its name and hadn't heard of it before. I think I'll ask him if he can direct that one : he's itching to take up the proverbial baton!
Well that's all for now. I hope to figure out how to post a copy of the newspaper article (in French). But before that I'm off skiing! Happy holidays to those of you also 'off' this week.
Keep singing.
Gospella
After a super concert on the 4th Feb we met again on the 15th for our monthly rehearsal. Unfortunately everyone seems to be stricken with 'flu; colds; gastric 'flu so we only numbered 12. And only two altos who valiantly represented their group. There was a new addition however in the sopranos.
Myself, I was sruggling with bronchitis which has decimated my voice (especially after making myself heard in a classroom din all day!). I wish I could get rid of this cough which has been hanging around for over a month now.
We had a good write-up in the newspaper (although the journalist had me down as a tenor rather than a soprano! Perhaps the bronchitis has taken its toll!).
We stretched and then warmed up with some vocal slides. I introduced a new warm-up : a "YA"!
This is like a party game which is often used in theatre. Everyone stands in a circle and send energy to the others by yelling "Ya" as they shoot their left arm from left to right across their body. First objective was voice production and to send vocal energy.
Once everyone had the hang of that I introduced new rules : If someone shouts "Haul down" the "Ya" changes direction, and if someone shouts "Aïe" the next person skips a turn.
It was quite hilarious as we were all exhausted after our various day's work and the concentration was a bit of a challenge. The second objective is there of course : to act as individuals within a group and be aware of the other members (all necessary for an efficient choir).
After that we started rehearsing. We began with "Were You There?" which lacked the finesse of our concert performance, but I put that down to fatigue and lack of numbers. Maybe the "Ya" had worn them out!!
We sang "Come Here Jesus" as well on the request of an alto.
Then we started something new : "It's Me Oh Lord". A bit of pronunciation practice was necessary before we began singing - "brother", "mother" always cause trouble for French speakers who can't manage the 'th' sound and want to pronounce the 'o' as in "bother" rather than as in "brother". I have banned 'z' substitutes (does anybody reading this know how to type in phonetic symbols? I could use them on a daily basis for my teaching) and preferred the 'd' sound for incorrigible singers as it stands out less than 'z' or 'v'.
The harmonisation was learned quite quickly, although as usual the altos had the most complicated harmonisation and will probably need to revise before next time. Mary was one of those present and so fortunately she can spot when things haven't gone to plan AND identify the problem thanks to her musical training.
We decided to tackle "Jesus On The Mainline" again. It's complicated to put together because there are different entry points for the different voices which need practising. Also, there are a lot of words to come to grips with for the non-English speakers (i.e. everyone except me!). Mostly though, we only hear it once a month and we always seem to have someone present who's never sang it before. If we could have the same people present every month it sure would simplify things. I wonder if it'll ever be presentable enough to sing in public?? Not for the next appearance planned which is uncannily on April Fool's Day!! I haven't decided what we'll sing then, perhaps the same as in February.
Another project is a song which Ben found for us. I can't remember its name and hadn't heard of it before. I think I'll ask him if he can direct that one : he's itching to take up the proverbial baton!
Well that's all for now. I hope to figure out how to post a copy of the newspaper article (in French). But before that I'm off skiing! Happy holidays to those of you also 'off' this week.
Keep singing.
posted by Gospella @ 12:17 pm
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