HEY
IT'S KEETS!
Okay.
Lemme just start off by saying that today's practice was AMAZING. Really. Right
from runs we were focused and determined and on task! Barely anyone walked and
we managed to finish the entire 3 rounds around the school AND make it to
practice early! The energy level was super high throughout the practice and
even though it dropped a bit in the middle, we managed to pick it back up right
after we RAN down to sing. I REALLY REALLY REALLY hope we can keep this up
because it felt really really good right? Right. There were a few areas that we
can still improve on, but judging from the efficiency with which we worked
today, I think we can overcome these challenges.
ON
WITH BUSINESS
Warm-ups
So
today we ran through WHY we do warm-ups and WHAT it does for us when we do
these things.
Table
and chair
We
do this exercise to engage our core muscles so that we can project our voices
when we sing. Also our core muscles look something like this.
Just FYI. And please don't laugh at the picture. It was the best one I could
find. *Sniff*
Beating
exercise
To
energize ourselves if we're feeling groggy or tired or sleepy
The
person getting slapped gets relaxed. (Or at least their muscles do)
And
the person getting slapped gets stress relief. Kidding. Not really.
We
then did the '1,1,2,1,1,2,3,2,1' warm-up in solfege. Kim made a section pulse the
doh so that we could keep in tune and then Mr. tay introduced another warm-up
to us, 'mi mae ma mo moo'. He said that this was to help with our diction,
especially with our vowels. He also said that the 'm' before the vowel helps us
place our voices better and starting with the 'I' vowel helps our voices sound
more focused.
Practice
Practice
itself was another half-lecture, half-practice. Today, Mr. Tay was teaching us
how to ... sing la. What did you expect? How to cut up a whale? Pshh no.
sinceIi
ASSUME most of you have taken down notes while Mr. tay was going through his
slides, I’m not going to put anything up on the blog.
Ave
Maria
MUSICALITY.
for most of us who are in the main choir, we need to learn when we need to give
way to the soloists and when we need to come out in our own parts. Mr. Tay went
through this during practice, but if you need help, go look for your SLs! I’m
sure they'd be glad to help!
at
'dominus tecum', don't do a fortepiano the first time we sing it through. it's
only on the second time that we do that.
at
the third line on the second page, remember to CLIMAX at the last ‘jesus’,
which means getting more intense and slightly louder.
please
please go look at the translation provided by anthea on the previous post. I’ve
mentioned this before but having the meaning of the text of the song in your
head as you sing is really really important especially when the song is
in a foreign language. write it in your scores, yeah? have a look at the video
on the previous post as well. it might help.
ecce
crucem domini
sorry
sops but this piece was pretty bad for us :( it's okay though! we can always
improve, right? right.
at
mysterioso, the rhythm needs to be fixed and we can do this by subdividing. a
lot.
at
part F, please don't be afraid to come in! and be very deliberate when coming
in. and please don't be late.
at
the end of part G, we practiced the slowing down portion. subdivide and you
should be able to get this part easily.
unfortunately,
this is the part where a lot of people switched off. it's also the part where Mr.
Tay had to repeat himself over and over again just so that we could get this
part. guys. I know it's been a long day and that you're really tired, but we
cannot afford to switch off. it's way too close to SYF to be doing this. Kay? Kay.
announcements:
there
will be SYF auditions during camp. not actual auditions mind you. it'll just be
auditions to see where we're weak and how we can improve on these areas in our
own small octets.
Miss
Jenifer Tham will be coming down for a workshop tomorrow. BE NICE. there's been
a change of venue to LT1 instead of the Audi.
bring
PE attire. there WILL be runs.
for
new members, bring your $12 tomorrow to give to your SLs
for
everyone else, bring your choir fees tomorrow if you haven't already given them
to your SL.
yup
that's about it!
GREAT
JOB TODAY GUYS! KEEP IT UP!
love,
ankita
