Hi all!
Here's the rundown of this weeks Vision In Voice session.
We had 13 singers present this week. This included 2 new members who heard about us on the Radio. It was great to see new singers joining in.
The session began at 9:30 on Thursday 28. October 2009 and we started with some new warm-up rounds. Jane first played the tune and then sang us the words. after a couple of repetitions those who could pick up the words joined in until everyone came in after about the 5th repetition. It was a great, fun song and I couldn't get it out of my head all day.
The next song we sang was a new one which we started last week. It is the most beautiful sounding song and it will eventually be sang in a round. The voice range is really big and really tests out the singers voices. After a couple more weeks, we should have it down pat and we'll try it in a round.
We then got into one of our favourites. This week however, we tried to split the group into 2 parts, so that we could sing the song in a round. Everyone had to concentrate on the beat of the song as it got faster and faster. Unfortunately, one group got ahead of the other and we all ended up singing in unisen! (But it was still great fun and everyone had a laugh and enjoyed it nevertheless!)
After that we learned some new parts for some Christmas carrols and experimented with different voices in each harmony part. After the sesssion ended, we received some comments from workers inside the Library and council building that they heard us singing and loved the harmonies and said how great we all sounded. That was the first comments we received from anyone who heard us sing!
After a quick water break, we all went through another Christmas song. Everyone picked up the new verses quickly and we all then learned the harmonies for the chorus. After going through the song one more time, we went on to another song that we've been practicing for a few weeks. With all the singers, we split into a three part harmony with High, Medium and Low voice parts. We are starting to learn a new rythem with Body percussion, (clapping hands, tapping feet, taping different parts of our hams, shoulders and bodies). I've only heard the version a few times so it'll take a while to learn it.
Then we sang another old favourite from Jamaica, which everyone got into with lots of energy and excitement. We sang the song straight through and we all had a ball.
To end with, we all had an improvisation session, where we were given a short line and everyone could change what they liked and harmonise with whatever melodies or fill in the gaps with anything they wanted. This was my favourite part of the session. Everyone really went for it and expressed themselves so freely. It was such a great sound and we all got into the groove. Some singers even addes other song parts to the tune and it sounded incredible! After a few minutes of complete expressive freedom, we then slowed down all together to end the song. WOW! It always amazes me how many different sounds and harmonies we create.
During the last few songs, I had a friend drop in after she heard us singing from outside the Library. We got another great comment on how good we sound and how the group has grown in such a short time.
The session ended at 11.15 am and we all went out of the hall humming and singing our favourite songs of the day. Everyone had such a great time and we'll all be back to do it again next week!
I hope to see you there too!
Josh
Friday, October 30, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
The Vision In Voice Website is here!!
Check out the NEW Vision In Voice website! www.visioninvoice.com
Hi Everyone! Today I've got the most exciting news. The web site for Vision In voice is now ready! www.visioninvoice.com is where you will find all info about Vision In Voice. This includes:
About - Information about Vision In Voice,
Testimonials - Comments from Vision In Voice singers,
Media Releases - Items published in the media about Vision In Voice,
Updates - This link will take you to my blog (this one),
Contacts - How to contact Vision In Voice organisers.
The site also contains a map of the Capalaba area and shows where Vision In Voice is being held, along with some other features.
Please leave a comment how you feel and what you think of the website.
Hope you all enjoy it!
Thank you so much to Eliza Leahy for all yer work on the website and to Jane Becktel for her assistance in supplying website content and running the Vision In Voice Choir!
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Vision in Voice, 22nd October 2009
Hi Again.
This is the first post of goings on at Vision In Voice.
We had a total of 12 singers today. We had one newcommer and 2 singers from Morningsong who joined in with us.
Today we learned a few new songs and sang some old favourites, (popular songs from previus Vision in Voice sessions. One of the new songs we learned was called "A Million Nightingales". Once we learn the song and its rythems, it will be sung as a 4 part round. Wow! That will sound unreal! It already sounded great today and it was our first run through.
We also learned a Jamaican song "Water Come a me eye", which we sing at Morningsong also. We sang it in a two-part harmony, where one group sang the words and the other group sang a melody at the same time. It was quite fun and we were amazed how good it sounded once we did it a few times.
Now we have 3 voice parts in our Choir. We've got quite a few Sopranoes, a couple of Tennors/Altoes and three or four Base/Baratone singers. Lots of the work we did today was learning the various harmony part for songs we already know.
As Christmas is approaching, we are starting to learn some Christmas carrols. One of these is "Angels we have heard on High". Today we mainly concentrated on the split harmony chorus section. We then practiced the second verse once through and will continue it next week.
My favourite part of todays session was "Improvisation". Jane gave us a short melody and we then repeated it. Then jane said we could fill in the gaps and sing whatever we thought would fit in and harmonise with the tune. Everyone could sing whatever they want and no one had to warry how it sounded or what was right or wrong. The longer we went, the more we got into the swing of it and went for it. Towards the end of the song, jane would give us the beat and gradually slow it down, signaling that the song was finishing. We then held our note for a few seconds to finish. WOW!! What a great, fun and free way to express ourselves! For a couple of minutes afterwards, we were all on a high and excited at how good it sounded.
We ended the session with one of the "old favourites". "Buneua", which is an african song, sang in the round. It was very energetic and everyone joind in in full voice. It was a fitting way to end a great time.
At 11:15 am the Vision In Voiced session for Thursday, 22nd October was ended and all the singers left the hall in a great mood. Several of us were humming or singing our favourite songs of the day. I was alternating between "A million Nightingales" and "Angels we have heard on high".
The rest of the day I had all the songs going around in my head. Whenevery anyone asked how my day went, I gave them a quick sing of some of our songs. I hope that everyone else enjoyed themselves as much as I did.
I hope that you enjoyed the first rundown of a Vision in Voice session, and that this inspires some of you to attend future Vision In Voice sessions and experience it for yourself.
Please email me with your feedback or post a comment.
josh
josh@visioninvoice.com
This is the first post of goings on at Vision In Voice.
We had a total of 12 singers today. We had one newcommer and 2 singers from Morningsong who joined in with us.
Today we learned a few new songs and sang some old favourites, (popular songs from previus Vision in Voice sessions. One of the new songs we learned was called "A Million Nightingales". Once we learn the song and its rythems, it will be sung as a 4 part round. Wow! That will sound unreal! It already sounded great today and it was our first run through.
We also learned a Jamaican song "Water Come a me eye", which we sing at Morningsong also. We sang it in a two-part harmony, where one group sang the words and the other group sang a melody at the same time. It was quite fun and we were amazed how good it sounded once we did it a few times.
Now we have 3 voice parts in our Choir. We've got quite a few Sopranoes, a couple of Tennors/Altoes and three or four Base/Baratone singers. Lots of the work we did today was learning the various harmony part for songs we already know.
As Christmas is approaching, we are starting to learn some Christmas carrols. One of these is "Angels we have heard on High". Today we mainly concentrated on the split harmony chorus section. We then practiced the second verse once through and will continue it next week.
My favourite part of todays session was "Improvisation". Jane gave us a short melody and we then repeated it. Then jane said we could fill in the gaps and sing whatever we thought would fit in and harmonise with the tune. Everyone could sing whatever they want and no one had to warry how it sounded or what was right or wrong. The longer we went, the more we got into the swing of it and went for it. Towards the end of the song, jane would give us the beat and gradually slow it down, signaling that the song was finishing. We then held our note for a few seconds to finish. WOW!! What a great, fun and free way to express ourselves! For a couple of minutes afterwards, we were all on a high and excited at how good it sounded.
We ended the session with one of the "old favourites". "Buneua", which is an african song, sang in the round. It was very energetic and everyone joind in in full voice. It was a fitting way to end a great time.
At 11:15 am the Vision In Voiced session for Thursday, 22nd October was ended and all the singers left the hall in a great mood. Several of us were humming or singing our favourite songs of the day. I was alternating between "A million Nightingales" and "Angels we have heard on high".
The rest of the day I had all the songs going around in my head. Whenevery anyone asked how my day went, I gave them a quick sing of some of our songs. I hope that everyone else enjoyed themselves as much as I did.
I hope that you enjoyed the first rundown of a Vision in Voice session, and that this inspires some of you to attend future Vision In Voice sessions and experience it for yourself.
Please email me with your feedback or post a comment.
josh
josh@visioninvoice.com
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Morningsong, where it all began!
Hi again!
A bit of Background info about Morningsong, where I first began singing.
Every Friday morning I go to Morningsong, a Community Choir in Bulimba. Here is their website: http://www.squidoo.com/Morningsong
This site provides info on how the choir works and the types of songs we sing. As you scroll down the page, you will find some videos of songs that we are learning. These are sung by varius groups and choirs.
At Morningsong, we mainly sing songs which have great harmonies and are sung as a "round", which means the song is started by one group and other groups of singers come in at speciffic intervals. These songs are then repeated for a number of times, before one group repeats the finishing line until all groups go through their song and the song then ends with all singing in unison. The effect of this is amazing. It might sound a bit complicated, but it's very easy to understand once you hear how it works. We sing songs from Africa, Eastern Europe, English Sea Shanties, North american songs and from the paciffic islands. We also sing some spiritual songs.
Here is another website where you can find more information: www.morningsong.com.au
Work on the Vision In Voice Website is about to begin.
I'll keep you up-to-date on its progrsss.
Another blog entry will be up in the next few days.
Please email me on josh@Visioninvoice.com for more information.
Comments also welcome.
A bit of Background info about Morningsong, where I first began singing.
Every Friday morning I go to Morningsong, a Community Choir in Bulimba. Here is their website: http://www.squidoo.com/Morningsong
This site provides info on how the choir works and the types of songs we sing. As you scroll down the page, you will find some videos of songs that we are learning. These are sung by varius groups and choirs.
At Morningsong, we mainly sing songs which have great harmonies and are sung as a "round", which means the song is started by one group and other groups of singers come in at speciffic intervals. These songs are then repeated for a number of times, before one group repeats the finishing line until all groups go through their song and the song then ends with all singing in unison. The effect of this is amazing. It might sound a bit complicated, but it's very easy to understand once you hear how it works. We sing songs from Africa, Eastern Europe, English Sea Shanties, North american songs and from the paciffic islands. We also sing some spiritual songs.
Here is another website where you can find more information: www.morningsong.com.au
Work on the Vision In Voice Website is about to begin.
I'll keep you up-to-date on its progrsss.
Another blog entry will be up in the next few days.
Please email me on josh@Visioninvoice.com for more information.
Comments also welcome.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Vision in Voice is now up and running!
Welcome to Vision in Voice!
Hello Everyone!
My name is Joshand I have a vision impairment. This blog is about Vision In Voice, a new choir for Vision impaired singers, in the Redlands area of Brisbane, Australia.
All vision impaired people who are interested in singing are welcome to attend. Also, anyone who loves singing who does not have a vision impairment can join in too. We meet every Thursday morning at 9:30 am at the Capalaba Place community hall in Capalaba, near the bus station.
Please come at 9 am so that you can meet and get to know each other before the session begins. The hall is in the Library building along with other Redlands Council services. Just look for the signs pointing to the Capalaba Place hall. Vision in voice will have some signs up too. There is NO COST to attend.
The first meeting of Vision in Voice was held on the 24th of September, 2009. It has been running now for 4 weeks.
A quick background on how Vision In Voice started. Early in 2009 I was told about Morningsong, a community choir in Bulimba. I started going there in March. WOW! What a great fun choir! I enjoyed myself so much and had a ball. I am the only member of Morningsong who has a vision impairment. Jane, who is the Singing Leader at Morningsong was amazed at how quickly I learned the words for the songs. A couple of months ago, I was talking with Jane and we came up with an idea of starting a Choir for Vision Impaired People. With that idea, Vision in Voice was born. In August, our idea of Vision in Voice became a reality when we got the go ahead from the Redland City Council!
Thank you for reading the first blog post for Vision in Voice. Each week I will post a short rundown on the goings on in Vision in Voice and news and announcements of upcoming items of interest.
email: josh@visioninvoice.com
Please contact me for more information.
Josh
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