Rehearsal Manifesto – 2019-09-22

On 2019-09-22 Lee Hayes wrote, “Hello, Beautiful VOX members!”

This is a rehearsal manifesto to help all VOX members
get the most from each rehearsal.

1. Jenn and I are implementing a 7 PM SHARP start time;
often we wait for choir members to trickle in, and start at 7:10
or even later, but this wastes valuable singing time,
and isn’t very fair to those who do show up ready to sing at 7.
First half of the rehearsal runs to 8:00 or 8:10.
Break time shouldn’t be any longer than 15 minutes.

2. it is important for all of you to know what the rehearsal outline is.
“Here you go!”

    * The first half of the rehearsal is devoted to teaching the newest song.

    * The second half of the rehearsal is devoted to going through existing
and active repertoire. Each song gets two runs max.
If you don’t know a particular song well, please just listen,
within your section, until you have home-prepared enough to join in
once you know your part. Unfortunately, we just can’t review
existing repertoire in depth after the initial teaching time.
If you are new or missed the rehearsals that taught this song,
home prep will absolutely be required. Even though we are a Community choir,
we are also a group of dedicated singers who do some quite complicated stuff!
Each member has a responsibility to commit to learning their parts.

So, I have come up with a plan to assist with home prep.

I know that not everyone finds it easy to study with the musical mp3s.
Many need a voice to follow; and many also learn visually.
So, I will be making videos for Choir Eyes Only and teach each part
in these short videos; each member can subscribe to my YouTube channel
and access these private videos on their own home-prep time,
and focus on the song(s) they need to get down.

This will be a bit time-consuming for me at first,
but I’ll let you all know as the songs become ready.
I’m starting today with If I Could Turn Back Time as that seems
to be the song VOX members are struggling with lately.

Lee has also updated our repertoire of active songs, distributed by e-mail.
Active songs are clearly marked A in the Index of Current Songs.
Some songs will be retired due to sections lacking enough voices;
this happens from time to time as members come and go;
I adjust my new arrangements accordingly.

HOW TO STUDY WITH MP3S AND VIDEOS

First, Don’t Panic! Learn one new song at a time.
You don’t have to know everything right away; it takes time.
If you have missed a song or two, same thing;
learn one at a time well, before moving on.

Bruce has kindly set up with the following home-prep format.

1. Map the song. This will help you find song segments quickly.
   (Mapping means marking the score to show where segments begin.)
2. Listen to your individual part initially, and gradually all parts together.
   Make sure you have the score in front of you.
3. When you’re ready, sing a few bars for the individual part, and repeat.
   Move on and sing another few bars until the end of the first segment (e.g. the Intro).
   Stop the player/video and note its timestamp for that point
   (some players might allow bookmarks).
   Repeat until comfortable with the individual part.
   Sing the same segment with the all-parts mp3.
4. Repeat the process with the next segment (e.g. Verse 1).
   Loop the new segment by going back to the previous timestamp or bookmark.
   Always sing with the mp3/video for the individual part first,
   then sing with the all-parts mp3.
   Note the timestamp at the end of the new segment, or add a bookmark.
5. In the same way, learn successive segments, a few bars at a time.
6. Practise singing the whole song, first with the mp3 for the individual part,
   then with the all-parts mp3. Mark any challenging passages.
   Loop these passages by going back to a previous timestamp or bookmark.
7. It often helps to take a break and continue later,
   or the next day if your head is exploding.

That’s all for now, Folks.
Lee has already completed the videos for several of the songs.
Look for links to the Choir Eyes Only videos in e-mails from Lee.