We had a smaller group than usual this week as 5 singers were on holiday and another 2 singers couldn't make it. We were short 7 pwople. For the first 45 minutes, there were only 4 of us, but a few more singers came later.
We practiced a few of the songs that we had done over the last few weeks and tried to sort out a few tricky parts of some of these songs.
A few of us tried to switch between harmony parts and the melody for different songs to see where we would best fit in a be comfortable.
There was a new addition to a song we have been practicing for a while, called "Bring me little water Sylvie". Two new verses were added and we familiarized ourselves with these parts.
We worked quite a bit on "A Million Nightingales" and found where the main problem was. Some of us had a problem with the second line of the first verse, and a few of us had some difficulties with the ups and downs in the "Freedome" lines. We went through the song a few times and then got the gist of it. It sounded amazing and hopefully we will do this in a round soon.
We had a great day and everyone enjoyed themselves. Even with the reduced numbers, we still had a great sound and felt good when we got the hang of a song.
The next Vision In Voice session will be held on the 19th November 2009. I hope to see you then.
Josh
Monday, November 16, 2009
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Vision In Voice - Thursday 5th November 2009
Hello Everyone!
From now and future blog entries, I will be mensioning the songs that were learnt and sung at each Vision In Voice session. I hope that this gives readers an idea of what songs we are singing. These might not be listed in exact order which we did them on the day.
We had a great Vision In Voice Session on Thursday. There were 12 singers present. At 9:30 am we started with a few warm ups. These included singing scales, humming varius notes and doing "Sirens", where all singers start on one note and sing up to a point and then go back down. Then the next time we went to a higher note and each siren we went higher and higher. It is a great way to warm up, the voice without straining it and the effect is great as well.
After the warm ups we then did a few songs which we've been singing for the last few weeks. One of these was "Sky Lark". It is a round, which means that groups start singing the song at different intervals. The effect of the round was amazing. Because of the accoustics in the hall where we sing, the melody of both groupes made a most unique sound.
Next we went on to a most beautiful song called "A Million Nightingales". This is also a round, however we are still learning the exact melody for the words. The voice range in this song is very big. The pitch of the song goes up and down frequently and the intervals between the words are a bit tricky. After a few run throughs, we tried to sing the entire song. We mostly had it down pat, but there are still one or two small things that we need to work on. Maybe in the next few weeks we will start singing this one in the round.
We then did a song from Jamaica called "Water come a me eye" which has a great rythem and an accompanying harmony part. There are other versions which have more harmony parts but we are working on the simpler one. Once we went through the words we were split into two groups. One group did the melody and words, while the other group did the harmony notes. At the end of each song part, the groups swapped! The group that was singing the melody then did the harmony and the harmony group then swapped to the melody. We all swapped at exactly the right time and it was a great fun song. Everyone had a ball!
Then we did one of my favourites. It is called "Freedom Train". The song started off very slowly and the speed builds up faster and faster. By about the 4th or 5th tine through the song gets quite fast and everyone needs to concentrate on when to breathe in as there is only a couple of chances in the song. The faster the song gets, the harder it is to focus on the breathing and comming back in on time. When we got to the 8th round we couldn't go any faster! Then we split into two groups and did the song as a round. Eventually this song will be a SIX PART ROUND!! This week we kept our part on time perfectly and we finished exactly as we should have. It was great fun but a bit challenging as the song speeded up. Even if one group hadn't finished their round, once the other group finished, they sped up and both groups had to keep the same pace. After about 5 rounds, the song ended on the highest note and we stopped right on time. "Wow! What a great song!
We then had a 5 minute water break and started on some christmas songs. The first was "Angels we have heard on high". It has two parts the melody and a harmony. Most of the group did the melody and 3 or 4 of us did the harmony. The melody was straight forward, but the harmony was a bit more tricky to master. The hardest was making sure that all got the notes and interval between parts correct. Some singers were a bit unsure wheather to go up or down in certain parts of the harmony. After each group had a few practice goes, we went through the first verse together. It sounded great and we continued with the second verse. We then went through both verses a few times. It all sounded really good. Next week we will learn the 3rd verse.
Next cale "Auld Lang Sein", which is the song everyone hears at New Years. We started it last week and continued to work on it this week. Everyone sings the melody appart from 2 or 3 singers who sing a very high harmony part in the chorus. It all sounded great and we all knew our parts and the verses well.
We also did a few other songs. One was a new one we only started a couple of weeks ago called "Didn't leave obody but the Baby", which is a song from North America. The song has a few harmony parts but most of us went along with the melody. Only a few of us did one of the harmonies. There is one very important detail with this song. The word "baby" at the end of each courus is different from all other words in the song. the "..by" part is actually very short an quiet. Rather then sing it, it is more like a whisper. If this is done right, the end of "baby" fades out and you barely hear the end of the word. The concept of this was a bit tricky for some of the singers and we had to go through the chorus several times to get the effect right. At the very end of the last verse, the song slows down just for the last few words and ends with the same important part at the end of each pervius verse. This was the most important part of the song. If a couple of singers held the "..by" note too long at the end, the fade out effect won't work. We had to practice this several more times to ensure that all singers finished in a whisper.
The general favourite song of the group was next, "Mango Walk". This song gets everyone in such a great mood and it is so catchy. Everyone really went for it in this one. By now, most of us knew all the words and some even did the great bydy bercussion rythems with it. We had a few deep base singers in our group on Thursday and they learned a new harmony part with the chorus of the song. This combined with the body percussion and the main chorus was great!! For the rest of the day this song kept going around in my head.
There was one more song that several members love, calles "bunua". This is a very easy, fun song to learn and is very energetic. After we went through the words for those singers who were new during the last few weeks, we then split up into two groups and did the song as a round. The harmonies between the groups were amazing! It is so simple and fun to sing and often gets into my head whenever I think on the songs we sing. After the session ended, several singers were humming or singing this song as we left the hall.
The last song we did was Improvisation. This has become a great way to end each session. We were given a short melody and all hummed it a few times. Then we were told to improvise and add anything that we thought would fit into the gaps or would harmonise with it. Everyone let loose with this one! Everyo singer was adding something or changing the melody completely and harmonising with those who reverted back to the original melody. After a few minutes of having a ball improvising and making our own harmonies, the song slowed down and we all held our note, whatever we were on. This was a great way to finish and the sound was unbelievable! With this the session of Vision in Voice ended at 11:15 am.
As we packed up and left the hall, everyone was humming or singing their favourite song of the day and we were all in a great mood. Every week we all have so much fun and enjoy all the songs we are singing!
I hope to see you all at the next Vision In Voice on Thursday the 12th November 2009.
Thank you so much for reading this blog and I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy writing my experiences!
Josh
From now and future blog entries, I will be mensioning the songs that were learnt and sung at each Vision In Voice session. I hope that this gives readers an idea of what songs we are singing. These might not be listed in exact order which we did them on the day.
We had a great Vision In Voice Session on Thursday. There were 12 singers present. At 9:30 am we started with a few warm ups. These included singing scales, humming varius notes and doing "Sirens", where all singers start on one note and sing up to a point and then go back down. Then the next time we went to a higher note and each siren we went higher and higher. It is a great way to warm up, the voice without straining it and the effect is great as well.
After the warm ups we then did a few songs which we've been singing for the last few weeks. One of these was "Sky Lark". It is a round, which means that groups start singing the song at different intervals. The effect of the round was amazing. Because of the accoustics in the hall where we sing, the melody of both groupes made a most unique sound.
Next we went on to a most beautiful song called "A Million Nightingales". This is also a round, however we are still learning the exact melody for the words. The voice range in this song is very big. The pitch of the song goes up and down frequently and the intervals between the words are a bit tricky. After a few run throughs, we tried to sing the entire song. We mostly had it down pat, but there are still one or two small things that we need to work on. Maybe in the next few weeks we will start singing this one in the round.
We then did a song from Jamaica called "Water come a me eye" which has a great rythem and an accompanying harmony part. There are other versions which have more harmony parts but we are working on the simpler one. Once we went through the words we were split into two groups. One group did the melody and words, while the other group did the harmony notes. At the end of each song part, the groups swapped! The group that was singing the melody then did the harmony and the harmony group then swapped to the melody. We all swapped at exactly the right time and it was a great fun song. Everyone had a ball!
Then we did one of my favourites. It is called "Freedom Train". The song started off very slowly and the speed builds up faster and faster. By about the 4th or 5th tine through the song gets quite fast and everyone needs to concentrate on when to breathe in as there is only a couple of chances in the song. The faster the song gets, the harder it is to focus on the breathing and comming back in on time. When we got to the 8th round we couldn't go any faster! Then we split into two groups and did the song as a round. Eventually this song will be a SIX PART ROUND!! This week we kept our part on time perfectly and we finished exactly as we should have. It was great fun but a bit challenging as the song speeded up. Even if one group hadn't finished their round, once the other group finished, they sped up and both groups had to keep the same pace. After about 5 rounds, the song ended on the highest note and we stopped right on time. "Wow! What a great song!
We then had a 5 minute water break and started on some christmas songs. The first was "Angels we have heard on high". It has two parts the melody and a harmony. Most of the group did the melody and 3 or 4 of us did the harmony. The melody was straight forward, but the harmony was a bit more tricky to master. The hardest was making sure that all got the notes and interval between parts correct. Some singers were a bit unsure wheather to go up or down in certain parts of the harmony. After each group had a few practice goes, we went through the first verse together. It sounded great and we continued with the second verse. We then went through both verses a few times. It all sounded really good. Next week we will learn the 3rd verse.
Next cale "Auld Lang Sein", which is the song everyone hears at New Years. We started it last week and continued to work on it this week. Everyone sings the melody appart from 2 or 3 singers who sing a very high harmony part in the chorus. It all sounded great and we all knew our parts and the verses well.
We also did a few other songs. One was a new one we only started a couple of weeks ago called "Didn't leave obody but the Baby", which is a song from North America. The song has a few harmony parts but most of us went along with the melody. Only a few of us did one of the harmonies. There is one very important detail with this song. The word "baby" at the end of each courus is different from all other words in the song. the "..by" part is actually very short an quiet. Rather then sing it, it is more like a whisper. If this is done right, the end of "baby" fades out and you barely hear the end of the word. The concept of this was a bit tricky for some of the singers and we had to go through the chorus several times to get the effect right. At the very end of the last verse, the song slows down just for the last few words and ends with the same important part at the end of each pervius verse. This was the most important part of the song. If a couple of singers held the "..by" note too long at the end, the fade out effect won't work. We had to practice this several more times to ensure that all singers finished in a whisper.
The general favourite song of the group was next, "Mango Walk". This song gets everyone in such a great mood and it is so catchy. Everyone really went for it in this one. By now, most of us knew all the words and some even did the great bydy bercussion rythems with it. We had a few deep base singers in our group on Thursday and they learned a new harmony part with the chorus of the song. This combined with the body percussion and the main chorus was great!! For the rest of the day this song kept going around in my head.
There was one more song that several members love, calles "bunua". This is a very easy, fun song to learn and is very energetic. After we went through the words for those singers who were new during the last few weeks, we then split up into two groups and did the song as a round. The harmonies between the groups were amazing! It is so simple and fun to sing and often gets into my head whenever I think on the songs we sing. After the session ended, several singers were humming or singing this song as we left the hall.
The last song we did was Improvisation. This has become a great way to end each session. We were given a short melody and all hummed it a few times. Then we were told to improvise and add anything that we thought would fit into the gaps or would harmonise with it. Everyone let loose with this one! Everyo singer was adding something or changing the melody completely and harmonising with those who reverted back to the original melody. After a few minutes of having a ball improvising and making our own harmonies, the song slowed down and we all held our note, whatever we were on. This was a great way to finish and the sound was unbelievable! With this the session of Vision in Voice ended at 11:15 am.
As we packed up and left the hall, everyone was humming or singing their favourite song of the day and we were all in a great mood. Every week we all have so much fun and enjoy all the songs we are singing!
I hope to see you all at the next Vision In Voice on Thursday the 12th November 2009.
Thank you so much for reading this blog and I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy writing my experiences!
Josh
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)