Category: Weekly Updates

Survey response was very good

Thank you to the 11 members who filled out surveys before rehearsal last night! It’s good to know that you are responding so well to this project. We had a lot of comments tonight that showed your commitment to learning the music.

Review from Tuesday’s rehearsal:

• “In My Room”: Remember the emotional plan for the song. The mood is Introspective at first. Think of a teenager who lacks confidence; he’s lonely. As the song progresses, he becomes more confident and sees the room as something special. One caution, with the staggered entrances; we cannot be too tentative.
  • April 7 was our “off-the-music “date on this song. Did you mark the parts where memory failed you? Review those. “Off the music” means running it without the printed score, maybe along with the combined learning track until you don’t feel the need to see the score.
• “Sweet Caroline” Our apologies for confusion about the PDFs versions on the website. We will clear those up.
  • Review the dynamics plan on this song
• “Something” Our “off-the-music” deadline OTM for this song is May 5
  • We briefly discussed an emotional plan for this song, as well. We need to think back to our youth when we experienced love for the first time. What attracted us to our first love? Was it really love? Would it last? The song’s speaker is sharing these feelings with a friend, being vulnerable. When the lyrics say, “You’re asking me will my love grow…” we need to sing more emphatically.
  • Basses, review the sections where the melody moves to us and back to the leads. Sing smoothly and assertively when you have the melody.
  • Leads work think “gracefully assertive” when you have the melody.

Learning tracks under repair

Thank you for your questions on the learning tracks. We will work to replace the tracks for “Happy Birthday” and “How Can I Keep from Singing.” The early look at the survey shows that learning tracks are important to many of you. Suggested method using the leaning tracks:

1. Just listen to your part track and read the music 2X
2. Hum along 2X
3. Sing with the track 2X
4. Sing with the full mix

For next rehearsal preview by singing through:

• “I Believe”
• “You Raise Me Up”
• “Country Roads”
• “King of the Road”
• Under the Boardwalk”
• “Shenandoah”
• “It Is Well with My Soul”

Upcoming Events

• April 10-11 – Central States Convention (no chorus involvement) Watch for the livestream link to the quartet completion. This contest will qualify quartets for International
• April 21 – (Tuesday in lieu of rehearsal) Perform at Stony Point Villas performance
• May 7 – Cookie Fest in Iowa City. Guest director from BHS. If we have sufficient numbers HH will perform.
• May 25 , 11 a.m. (Monday) – Cedar Memorial Performance

Beware of grandchildren calling today with shocking news followed by “April Fools!”

Review from Tuesday’s rehearsal:

• Reminder: “Sweet Caroline” Download a new copy and throw out your old one. It’s updated on the website. Several of us were confused in last night’s rehearsal because we were working from different scores.
• Our “off the music” deadline for this song is May 5
• Work on dynamics and breath work.
• Review our work on “In My Room”: 
  • Leads and Baritones: Keep the pitch up; we consistently sang flat last night on this.
  • All parts: “Pull the taffy” – keeping all lines connected
  • The 12/8 time signature means that when Chad directs in 4 beats, each one is subdivided into 3; this can be counted in your head as “one-and-a, two -and-a, three-and-, four-and-a.” This is represented by the dotted ¼ notes, four to a measure. Then the pattern breaks in places like measure 6 “In­_my room” that gives the song it’s distinctive rhythm.
  • Remember the emotional plan: The song starts very introspectively and gains confidence as it progresses.
  • Make sure that you have marked your scores with the following:
    • Breath mark at the end of measure 10
    • Word change for leads and tenors in measure 22, “loo” becomes “pray”
    • Accel in measure 27
    • NB in measure 29
• Basses: Learn measures 27 – 29 of “In My Room”; it’s not melody but we need to sing it as if it were, like leads.

Deadline:

Our off the music deadline for “In My Room” is next week, April 7. Work on memorizing it between now and then. Suggested method using the leaning tracks:

1. Just listen to your part track and read the music 2X
2. Hum along 2X
3. Sing with the track 2X
4. Sing with the full mix

For next rehearsal

Preview by singing through:

• “How Can I Keep from Singing” (New PDF in the Song List)
• “In My Room”
• “Something”
• “Country Roads”
• “I Believe”
• “You Raise Me Up”

Upcoming Events

• April 10-11 – Central States Convention (no chorus involvement)
• April 21 – (Tuesday in lieu of rehearsal) Perform at Stony Point Villas
• May 7 – Cookie Festival in Iowa City. Guest director from BHS. If we have sufficient numbers HH will perform.
• May 25, 11 a.m. (Monday) – Cedar Memorial Performance

Good rehearsal tonight, and we made good progress on some things. Thank you for your commitment to improving your preparation for weekly rehearsal. Here is your homework for next week:

Review from Tuesday’s rehearsal:

1. Basses: Learn measures 27 – 29 of “In My Room”; it’s not melody but we need to sing it as if it were, like leads.
2. All: Review “Something: keeping in mind the interpretation ideas:             
   1. 2nd verse uses a slightly different rhythm holding onto some-WHERE just a bit longer.
   1. Basses: in measure 8 learn to nail the 1-5 interval on “Oh, now.”
   1. All: at measure 12, we’re singing an altered rhythm a’ la the Beatles.
   1. Basses: measure 21 has a word and rhythm change. See the PDF online which has all the corrections.

Off the music deadline

Our off the music deadline for “In My Room” is April 7 (two weeks). Work on memorizing it between now and then. Suggested method using the learning tracks:

1. Just listen to your part track and read the music 2X
2. Hum along 2X
3. Sing with the track 2X
4. Sing with the full mix

For next rehearsal preview by singing through:

• “Happy Birthday” (on the Sing List)
• “Under the Boardwalk”
• “King of the Road”
• “Country Roads”
• “In My Room”
• “Sweet Caroline” (Check your score for corrections, or download a new copy and throw out your old one. It’s updated on the website.)

Upcoming Events

• April 10-11 – Central States Convention (no chorus involvement)
• April 21 – (Tuesday in lieu of rehearsal) Perform at Stony Point Villas
• May 25 , 11 a.m. (Monday) – Cedar Memorial Performance

P.S.

You may have noticed that the lights were on in the house just south of the church tonight. That’s the Coe House, one of Cedar Rapid’s oldest houses. This new restoration was sponsored by St. Paul’s and done by Matthew 25. They will rent the two separate apartments in the home to refugee families. Matthew 25 is finishing up in preparation for an open house this Thursday from 4 – 6 p.m. Stop in if you’d like to see it.