Lee Hayes Vox Member Notes for
Rehearsals and Performances

Huge apologies from your web master for messing up the diary.
Too many issues to explain, but most of 2019’s entries were never published.
I will endeavour to bring them back for the record.
Meanwhile, 2020’s diary will be up to date shortly.
The grids of rehearsals by year are all up to date.

When you come to a Lee Hayes Vox rehearsal, you need to have a certain amount of basic knowledge about what is expected of you, and you need to have put some serious effort into any homework Lee has requested. Here is where you can learn all the necessary details.

Skip the fluff, take me straight to the master selection of the available notes,
the index of recent diary entries,
or get me out of here via the site navigation.

Homework for Between Rehearsals

In mid November of 2011 Lee revised the status of the various songs in our active repertoire, classifying them into the following three groups: Current Songs, On-the-Fence Songs and Dropped Songs (that we almost never do now).
Every so often she adds new songs and downgrades older ones.
In her words, “Here is our repertoire, in order of what we sing most, at the moment:
the starred ones are sung at almost every gig.”

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The Active Repertoire
(in alphabetical order)

• All My lovin’
• Calling All Angels (*)
• Castle on the Hill (*)
• Chain of Fools (2019) (*)
• Close Your Eyes (*)
• Fire and Rain
• Firework (*)
• FourFiveSeconds (*)
• Hallelujah
• Helpless (2019) (*)
• I Feel the Earth Move
• I See Fire (*)
• I Think I Love You
• If I Could Turn Back Time
• La Isla Bonita (2019) (*)
• Last Train to Clarksville (*)
• Missing You (*)
• Stop
• Take Me to Church (*)
• Take Me to the River (*)
• Time After Time (2018) (*)
• When the Party’s Over (*)
• Wild World (*)
• With a Little Help (from My Friends)
• You’re No Good (*)

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These Were In Circulation for a Long Time
but Are Now On the Fence and Rarely Done

• Donde Estas Yolanda
• Gravity
• Here Comes the Sun
• Mercy
• Papa Was A Rolling Stone
• Scarborough Fair
• You Gotta Be

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These are Really Old and We Never Do Them Now

• A La Nanita Nana (Very Old)
• Addicted to Love
• Ain’t No Sunshine (Very Old)
• Billie Jean (Old Too)
• Boogie Fever (Old Too)
• Both Sides Now (Very Old)
• California Dreaming (Old Too)
• Celebration
• Crystal (Very Old)
• Drive My Car (Very Old)
• Eternal Flame (Old Too)
• Father Figure
• Fields of Gold (Very Old)
• For What It’s Worth (Very Old)
• Houdini’s Box (Very Old)
• How Will I Know
• I Feel the Earth Move (Very Old, but now Reworked)
• I Wear My Sunglasses At Night (Very Old)
• Kimbieni – the short version (Very Old)
• Knowing Me, Knowing You (Very Old)
• Mamma Mia
• Never Gonna Give You Up
• Nobody’s Fault but Mine (Old Too)
• O Canada (Very Old)
• Rock the Boat (Very Old)
• Rumour Has It
• Tainted Love (Very Old)
• Tempted (Old Too)
• The Way You Make Me Feel
• This Land Is Your Land (Very Old)
• You Cannot Lose My Love
• You’re All I Need (Very Old)

Please make sure that you have your music and cheat sheets organized accordingly for rehearsals, and use these lists as guidelines for what songs to work on between rehearsals.

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Specific Notes on Recent Rehearsals

Rehearsal notes and homework for 5^th of February.

Rehearsal notes and homework for 29^th of January.

Rehearsal notes and homework for 22^nd of January.

Rehearsal notes and homework for 15^th of January.

Rehearsal notes and homework for 8^th of January.

Rehearsal notes and homework for 1^st of January.

Notes on the February 5^th Rehearsal

Our third rehearsal in the new venue with only Jenn,
and everything went extremely well.

Notes on the January 29^th Rehearsal

Our second rehearsal in the new venue with only Jenn,
and everything went extremely well.

Notes on the January 22^nd Rehearsal

Our first rehearsal in the new venue with only Jenn,
and everything went extremely well.
It appears that we are settled into our new rehearsal space,
and are adapting to making the best use of it.

Notes on the January 15^th Rehearsal

Our second rehearsal in the new venue and Lee was here again,
to ensure that we had settled in and were developing a routine.
Lee felt confident that we had the mechanics of using the new venue
under control, and that it was safe to leave us in Jenn’s hands.

Notes on the January 8^th Rehearsal

Our first rehearsal in the new venue: the basement of St. Luke’s Church
on Somerset Avenue West.
Lee was here to make sure that everything worked well,
which it did.

Notes on the January 6^th Rehearsal

There was no rehearsal because it was New year’s Day.

Basic Knowledge for Rehearsals

It’s all obvious unless it isn’t! Yes, all of these things are obvious once you are aware of the need for them, so here’s the list:

(01) First of all, we are guests of St. Luke’s Church, which means that we need to act like the politest of guests. The first rule is: “If you move anything, you are responsible for putting it back exactly where you found it before you leave.” The second rule is: “Make sure that you don’t leave anything behind – water bottles, articles of clothing, music(!), scraps of paper, pencils, you get the idea.”

(02) Rehearsals are from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. (with a ten minute break in the middle) and it is nice if we can use all the time productively. Please make a real effort to be punctual so that those who are don’t have to hang around waiting for a quorum. If you know in advance that you are going to be late, do let Lee (or someone) know, it’s only common courtesy. Of course we can all occasionally fall victim to some hazard of city living, but try not to make it a habit! If you do come a cropper, let Lee know what happened after the fact so that she isn’t left imagining the worst.

(03) Lee requires a 75% attendance of rehearsals, otherwise the rest of the choir are going to be victims of your need for assistance catching up. If you are going to be away for one or more rehearsals, please let Lee know in advance. If you end up missing a rehearsal due to unforeseen circumstances, it is only polite to send Lee an apology and an explanation. If you are having trouble managing 75% attendance, have a talk with Lee to discuss options.

(04) Oh yes, do remember to check yourself in on the sign-in sheet for each rehearsal, otherwise we won’t have a record that you were present, which will bring down your percentage! Creative embellishment of the sheets is optional, but may be recorded for posterity and potential future publication. (You know who you are!)

(05) When Lee sets homework, please, please make the effort to work on it between rehearsals. If you choose not to, you hold back everyone who has, leaving them on hold while you catch up during the rehearsal. It isn’t just you who loses out, it’s everyone.

(06) Make sure you remember to bring everything you need for each Rehearsal.
(see the next section for the list)

(07) Fiercely resist the urge to talk with your neighbours while a rehearsal is in progress. First of all, Lee’s voice is under stress, and she is not able to raise it to make herself heard over you. Secondly, it distracts people around you, who may not welcome the distraction. And if you are asking your neighbour a question, it is entirely possible that others share your uncertainty, so put a hand up and ask Lee the question.

You see, all totally obvious stuff now that it’s been brought to your attention.

Stuff to Bring to Rehearsals

Here’s the list of stuff that you need to consider bringing to each rehearsal. It’s entirely up to you whether you keep a choir kit permanently packed or assemble stuff immediately before stepping out the door – whatever works for you.

Those items marked optional are entirely a matter of personal preference; however, those marked mandatory are not optional. Yes, these really are all common sense, and nearly all of us have managed to forget some or even all of them at one time or another.

(01) mandatory – your music, preferably all of it, and arranged in a fashion that enables you to pull out any song quickly when needed. Cheerfully coloured binders are encouraged. If you choose to bring only a selection, make sure that the selection includes everything set as homework at the previous rehearsal, and everything that may be on the list for an upcoming gig.

(02) mandatory – a softish pencil for marking up your music. The soft is so that you can erase if you have to at some later date. Even those with eidetic memories find it convenient to make a record of performance instructions, note changes and the like, leaving as much brain as possible available for making music.

(03) optional – an eraser...

(04) optional – a water bottle. If you do bring one, make sure that it is sturdy and reasonably spill proof. It would be nice if it is also individual or otherwise clearly identifiable for when it is accidentally abandoned.
(See the St. Luke’s Church second rule in the Basic Knowledge section.)

(05) optional – slippers or other indoor footwear when the weather outside is frightful, to eliminate the tracking of rain, mud, slush, snow and other undesirable outdoor elements into the sanctuary.

(06) optional – your spectacles, should you need spectacles to read your music. If you do need them, they are pretty much mandatory, but the optional reminds us that we can create the opportunity to exercise our memories.

(07) mandatory – NO perfume or cologne – a general choir decision to make life easier for the hyper-sensitive; after all, we need all our lung capacity to sing.

(08) optional – your name badge, because, believe it or not, there is almost always going to be someone present who doesn’t (gasp) know or can’t recall your name; it is purely a kindness to others, a sop to their fallible memories. Materials for badge making are available at most rehearsals (subject to someone remembering his head that morning), but not really intended to provide a replacement at every rehearsal. The wearing of a badge is optional, but it really is nice for the newer members if you display your name. If you feel you absolutely have to protect your identity, feel free to label yourself with a nom de choeur; you won’t be alone. Besides, it’s only first names in the choir, with a differentiator of your choice when there is a collision.

Music for Songs

Lee provides music for each song in the form of a PDF file for you to print out. It is entirely up to you how you choose to print it, which may be limited by the capabilities of your printer. If (say) you would prefer two-sided printing and you can’t do it on your own printer, ask around and see if anyone can help you out.

When she first does an arrangement, Lee may bring photocopies to the rehearsal and hand them out. Photocopies being what they are, these aren’t always as legible as they might be. As soon as the PDF files are posted, it behooves you to print your own copy.

What is vitally important is to make sure that you are using the most up-to-date version of the music. Lee periodically revises her arrangements, and this can introduce significant differences. The version of each part on the web site will always be the most recent version: if in doubt, print the one on the web site. When a new version is posted, this will be indicated for a few weeks, so do check regularly.

One regularly recurring issue is the size of the words printed in the scores, usually the complaint being that they are too small. There are several possible ways of addressing this that members have developed, so take your pick from the ideas that follow.

(01) Consider memorizing the words. To help you in this, members regularly develop so-called cheat sheets for a part, which consist of just those words that are sung by a voice section. These are published as PDF files on the web site, close to the music for the song. If there is no published cheat sheet (or you don’t like what’s out there), consider making one for yourself: the full lyrics for almost every song are published as PDF files on the web site. Just copy the lyrics into your favourite text editor or word processor and then go to town editing the text to suit your notions.

If you do come up with a new cheat sheet, consider sharing it with the rest of your section by e-mailing it to Lee or the web site administrator for publication.

A note on PDF files: although you can’t edit the files directly, if you use the Adobe Acrobat Reader or similar tool to display the file, you can select the text in the document and then copy it to the clipboard, whence you can paste it into any editor of your choice. If you do this with the music for your part of a song, you have the beginnings of a cheat sheet.

(02) Another possibility is to write a larger version of the words onto your part by hand. Although this is a bit laborious, it helps you learn the words as you do it.

(03) A semi-high-tech approach is to use a text editor or word processor to replicate the words as they appear in the score, but in a larger size, with the lines widely spaced. You can print this out and cut each line into a separate strip that you then paste onto the score. Once completed, you can photocopy the page so that you don’t have any annoying rough edged fragments making the page awkward to handle.

Finally, we have enough music in our repertoire that you will need some way of keeping it organized and easy to find when needed. Be creative, and feel free to ask around about how others do it. Feel equally free to observe systems that may not work as well as might be wished and avoid them yourself. Lee likes bright and variegated colours, so do find something eye-catching for the outside of your music folder.

The bottom line is that it is entirely up to you to work out what best suits the way you like to learn and sing the songs. It will always be your responsibility to ensure that you have the latest version of the music for each part.

MP3 Files for Songs

Lee is terrific about providing an MP3 file for each part of a song when the song poses challenges. No, she doesn't do it for every song, but there are plenty of them on the web site. These have been created expressly to help you learn your part of a song in your own time, so please make use of them. This way we can put more of the time at each rehearsal into learning to perform the song together, rather than working one part at a time to learn the music while the other parts cool their collective heels.

At its most basic, all you have to do is listen to the MP3 file a few times, and then start singing along with it. You’ll pretty soon discover which are the difficult passages, and those are the ones on which to focus your attention. Even if you aren’t a music reader per se, you can always use the score to follow along after a fashion while the MP3 plays.

Assuming that you remember to bring a pencil with you to rehearsals, you can mark the music wherever you find that you are experiencing a problem. Then when you are at home you can focus on those passages and use the MP3 as a coach.

There is no magic here, neither is it rocket science, it is just a tool to help you learn the music for your part in each song, with the aim of satisfying Lee. Lee always lets us know when we have finally sung a song well for her.

Lee has offered the following advice: “A NOTE ON STUDYING YOUR MP3S; recently I sat with a new member and went over a couple of the MP3s with her; I discovered what it can be like for you if you are new and learning a part pretty much on your own. This is what I suggest;”
“Don’t sing along right away; you’ll miss timing and notes.”
“Don’t listen to the entire MP3 at once; go over and over a section and move on when you have it.”
If there’s a part you just can’t get, corner me at choir!”

Notes for Performance Participation

When you participate in a Lee Hayes Vox performance you need to pay attention to your preparation because there will be an audience expecting the choir to live up to their individual and collective expectations. Those expectations will have been set either by our promotion of the performance (and the choir) or because at least some of the audience have attended and enjoyed a previous Lee Hayes Vox performance. So, without further ado, here are notes regarding everything you need to do to prepare for a performance.

(00) Punctuality – please, please make that little bit of extra time to ensure that you end up on time for the choir warm-up for the performance. Not only is the warm-up essential for settling the ensemble and our individual voices, it is where Lee issues any last minute performance instructions, and we set up to go on stage in at least a semi-orderly fashion.

(01) Music – prepare your music for the performance by arranging it in programme order, preferably well before leaving for the gig. The order for the programme will be on the web site in the Upcoming Gig(s) section. Lee likes you to have your music inside a brightly coloured folder or binder; the choice of colour and decoration is entirely up to you.

(02) Dress – ensure that you are wearing the prescribed dress for the performance, which will usually be either casual or concert dress. Casual Dress means neat and tidy with no shorts or jeans, and preferably with a brightly coloured top. Lee describes Concert Dress as
“black bottoms, solid bright colour on top, dark shoes, lots of bling.”
The black bottoms need to be long.

(03) No Scents – ensure that you are wearing NO perfume or cologne – a general choir decision to make life easier for the hyper-sensitive; after all, we need all our lung capacity to sing.

(04) Valuables – the basic rule is nothing on stage except you and your music, which means no handbags or other paraphernalia. Depending on the venue there may or may not be anywhere secure to leave valuables while we are on stage, so it is a good idea to leave valuables at home, in the trunk of a car or with a friend in the audience. A last resort is to carry just driving license or bus pass, and paper money or a credit card in your pockets, or shoes if you have no pockets. The guys usually have pockets in which they may be persuaded to stash keys.

(99) Punctuality – make sure that you allow enough time to (in no particular order) find the venue; find a parking spot; change out of your outdoor gear; change into your concert dress; have your music in performance order; stash your valuables; and so on. Punctuality is a fundamental courtesy to your fellow choir members and the audience alike.