Autumn holidays, health appointments, unmissable golf ties and a multitude of other reasons mean that there is always some variation in the attendance from week to week and today there was one, lone bass voice. This can be a stress for that individual, or it can be a chance to shine and the latter was the case on Tuesday when we sang GAUDEAMUS HODIE. Our bass held his part beautifully, even enjoying it while the others modified their sound accordingly to create a fine blend. Good to hear this sensitivity developing in our singing.
The smaller number today meant that everyone had a good practice on the instruments and as a result we mastered the whole of JAMESTOWN JIG, everyone playing the melody which, with its triplet rhythms is a great exercise in playing with the two hands alternately.
After that, learning the simpler accompanying parts will be a dawdle!
Several members returned today after a long summer holiday and this was a good opportunity to recap on the new music we've learned in the past two weeks. It'l always a good feeling to revisit the familiar and enjoy settling in to a piece. EARLY IN THE MORNING is sounding good and in GAUDEAMUS HODIE great to hear the basses enjoying their line while the three parts come together well. Coming to our instrumental piece JAMESTOWN JIG we gave some thought to the importance of keys. Because of our mixed group, mostly singing in unison, many of our songs are in key C where the range of the melody is comfortable for most of our voices. This Jig is written in D major, a key with a bright quality and a refreshing change. The F sharps were duly put in place and we proceeded to play. Playing the triplets with alternate hands takes some getting used to, but week by week we'll get there!
Coming back to our warm up song EARLY IN THE MORNING today, it was obvious that the singing going home in the cars had paid off and the song had become embedded in the intervening time since last week. Those who were hearing it for the first time were completely swept along by the others, very quickly singing with confidence and enthusiasm. Strange how some songs simply facilitate our voices and in this one I could hear good high notes from some unlikely quarters!
Next we returned to GAUDEAMUS HODIE, revising the tune and the bass part, before adding the third, high voice which, sung softly and with clarity, completed the harmony in a beautifully balanced way. We did make a good sound.
The JAMESTOWN JIG, by Paul Wilson, Community Musician and workshop leader in Devon, has triplet rhythms which struck me as fitting perfectly with the names in our group and so that's how we learned first the rhythms and then the tune:
Gordon, Carol, Malcolm, Moira, Sheila, Irene, Gordon, Carol, Malcolm, Isla, Kate and Ruth.
Middle section: Joan Gemmel and Sue Ramage and Joan Gemmel and Lyn, Joan Gemmel and Don and Valerie and Jim.
We then transferred our 'song', first section, onto the tuned instruments and added temple blocks, bongo and tambourine making a good ensemble sound. Next week we'll add the middle section. After that considerable achievement we ended our morning session, leaving with a jig in our step.
After our three month recess, it was good to meet up again. We were all conscious of feeling the voices a bit rusty but it's wonderful how the group feeling takes over and the energy builds. Our springboard for loosening up the limbs, the back, the head, in fact the whole body, with easy movements while concentrating on deep breathing, was a vocal piece by Grassroots from Zimbabwe, singing in typical warm, rhythmic, repetitive and mesmeric style. We continued after that with some rhythmic clapping, making a variety of vocal sounds in the gaps between claps. This loosened up the face muscles and we began to use our voices with some abandon. Scales then focused us on the quality of our own voices, concentrating on accurate pitch and good sound.
EARLY IN THE MORNING is our new vocal warm up song. The words made us laugh and we felt like moving to its funky rhythm.
Early in the morning When I wake up Early in the morning When I wake up I brush my teeth, I eat my bread, I drink my coffee and go back to bed, Early in the morning Early in the morning.
Building on the good sounds of the warm up, we then learned a short song which has 3 parts in harmony, GAUDEAMUS HODIE. Our 2 bass singers readily picked up their part and we sang well together, leaving the third part to be added next week. Due to a problem with keys, our instruments remained locked up today, so after a chatty coffee break, we finished the morning with ALWAYS THE SINGING and BRAND NEW DAY.
