Lee Hayes Vox Member Rehearsal History: 2016

This page simply records the songs sung, and the homework assigned,
at each of the Lee Hayes Vox rehearsals in 2016.

Homework for Between
Rehearsals in 2016

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)

1. A La Nanita Nana
2. Addicted to Love (*)
3. All My Loving (*)
4. Billie Jean
5. Boogie Fever (*)
6. California Dreaming
7. Calling All Angels
8. Celebration (*)
9. Chain of Fools
10. Close Your Eyes (*)
11. Donde Estas Yolanda (*)
12. Eternal Flame
13. Father Figure
14. For What It’s Worth
15. Gravity (*)
16. Here Comes the Sun (*)
17. Houdini’s Box
18. How Will I Know (*)
19. I Think I Love You (*)
20. I Wear My Sunglasses At Night
21. La Isla Bonita
22. Last Train to Clarksville
23. Mamma Mia (*)
24. Mercy
25. Never Gonna Give You Up (*)
26. Nobody’s Fault but Mine (*)
27. Papa Was A Rolling Stone (*)
28. Rumour Has It (*)
29. Scarborough Fair (*)
30. Take Me to Church (*)
31. Tempted (*)
32. The Way You Make Me Feel (*)
33. Time After Time
34. With a Little Help (from My Friends)
35. You Cannot Lose My Love (*)
36. You’re All I Need (to Get By)

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

1. Both Sides Now
2. Drive My Car
3. Fields of Gold
4. I Feel the Earth Move
5. Knowing Me, Knowing You
6. Rock the Boat
7. Tainted Love

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These are Really Old and We Never Do Them Now

• Ain’t No Sunshine
• Crystal
• Kimbieni (the short version)
• O Canada
• This Land Is Your Land

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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Rehearsals in December 2016

Notes on the December 28^th Rehearsal

There was no rehearsal – it was the Christmas holidays.

Notes on the December 21^st Rehearsal

There was no rehearsal – the church had a function.

Notes on the December 14^th Rehearsal

We spent the first half of the rehearsal working on Calling All Angels,
which Lee decided to revive last week after a long hiatus.
In all we sang the song through five times, with lots of work between takes.
The first time through we had problems with both timing and dynamics.
The second time through was much better, but Lee wants us to perform it like Jane Siberry.
The third time through was beautiful with a good ending, and our audience applauded.
Lee then had the choir split in two, and each half sang the song to the other.
The first group dragged the ending, and the second group got it right.

After the break we worked on five more of our current songs:

1. The Way You Make Me Feel – we rushed at the end and got out of whack!
2. How Will I Know – which we sang through twice.
   The first time through everyone was rushing, pushing Lee all through the song.
   The second time we went off book so that we could watch Lee...
   and despite this we still kept rushing in the chorus!
3. Father Figure – which is there, but there are uncertainties.
   Lee says to study the MP3s well, particularly the entry to the bridge.
4. Mercy, which was right on as Lee clacked the beat.
5. Take Me to Church – “Wow, good stuff!”
   This was a good rehearsal to end the year.

Homework over the Christmas break is to study the MP3s for Father Figure.

We had a good turnout for this rehearsal.

Notes on the December 7^th Rehearsal

We spent the first half of the rehearsal working on Calling All Angels,
which Lee has decided to revive after not singing it since 2014.
We relearned the whole song and did well with it.

After the break we worked on three of our current songs:

1. How Will I Know – in which we all kept rushing.
   In particular, we rushed “How will I know”, “every heart beat”
   and “but I'm too shy, can’t speak”.
2. Father Figure – which has several issues, notably
   a whole lot of potential tuning problems and some timing uncertainties.
3. With a Little Help (from My Friends) – which was really pretty good.
   Lee said to study the MP3s, especially the guys, who are at odds with everyone else.
4. Gravity – we ran out of time before we could sing this.

We had a pretty good turnout for the rehearsal.

Rehearsals in November 2016

Notes on the November 30^th Rehearsal

We spent the first half of the rehearsal working on How Will I Know.
In all we sang the song through five times, with lots of work between takes.
The first time through we kept rushing, and the volume kept creeping up.
Lee proceeded to dictate the dynamics for each section of the song.
The second time was better, but the altos and guys miss the entry to the chorus.
Lee then had the choir split in two, and each half sang the song to the other.
This produced some interesting feedback, mostly to do with timing and dynamics.
We sang the song one last time and Lee said that it was finally great.

After the break we worked on four more of our current songs:

1. Father Figure – which was pretty good.
   However, Lee says to study the MP3s, particularly the entry to the bridge.
2. Mercy, which was beautiful, perfect and a lot of fun.
3. Celebration – “That was great, well done.”
4. Take Me to Church – “Oh so good, so good!”
   A really great way to end a terrific rehearsal.

We had an excellent and lively turnout.

Notes on the November 23^rd Rehearsal

We spent the first half of the rehearsal working on a revival: Father Figure.
After Tony had worked on this with us last week, Lee recapitulated.
We worked on all the tricky bits and made significant progress.
Everyone needs to do their homework with the MP3s.

After the break we worked on four songs:

1. How Will I Know – which we sang twice.
   Everyone wanted to rush, and Lee made us restart the first run through because of it.
   At one point Lee had the four parts that line up sing together.
   Even so, we continued to gallop in the fast bits and not hold our lines.
   Worse still, as we accelerate we get louder, neither of which are wanted.
   We all need to do our homework with the MP3s, concentrating on the timing.
   Lee reminds us to use the version by Sam Smith for reference.
2. Mercy, which we ended perfectly.
   Lee was very pleased, and loved the great attitude in the rap.
3. Gravity – Lee was very pleased.
   For some reason we have no problem embracing both the slow tempo
   and the softness in this song (unlike our issues with How Will I Know).
4. Donde Estas Yolanda – which was lots of fun.
   The ending was just great, and a great end to the rehearsal.

We had a good turnout of more than fifty this evening.

Notes on the November 16^th Rehearsal

Lee was away this week and the rehearsal was taken by Tony Bove.
His style was in strong contrast to Lee’s, starting with a new take on warming up.
His emphasis on singing off book is certainly a good way for each of us
to discover what parts of a song we need to work on with the MP3s!

We spent the first half of the rehearsal working on a revival: Father Figure.
We have only sung this once this year, and that by request
on the occasion of tenor Colin leaving us, so it was unfamiliar.
Amazingly, enough people had done homework to make a stab at singing it.
Tony had us work through the song in stages (verse, chorus and bridge),
then run through it off book to learn where we needed to do homework.
Despite almost everyone’s discomfort, we managed the entire song.

After the break we worked on two songs:

First we worked on All My Loving.
We ended up singing through the song three times.
This being a familiar song we sang through it confidently.
Tony then had us stand all mixed up on stage and sing it off book,
which proved a little overwhelming to the point that many were tentative.
Tony then acceded to the request to sing it again, still mixed up on stage,
but with our books if we felt we needed them. This went pretty well.
A discussion revealed that we appreciate what can be learned
from singing standing next to people singing other parts.

We finished with Mercy, singing the whole song through twice.
The first time through we sang in our sections, the second time mixed up.
Tony asked for more attitude in our vocal presentation:
he feels the song’s protagonist is a strong person.

We had a pretty good turnout, although a little light on guys.

Notes on the November 9^th Rehearsal

We spent much of the first half of the rehearsal working on How Will I Know.
In all we sang the song four times, with work between each run through.
The first time through we were much too loud, and we need
to not hit the first beat of each bar, but sing softly through.
The second time through was much better, and much better controlled.
The third time we sang off book and had some word stumbles, but it was OK.
The final time was again off book and was wicked – Lee describing it as really sweet.

We then tackled Mercy, singing the whole song through twice.
The first time through Lee said we did a good job and we were with her.
After the second time through Lee said it was great.

That brought us to the break. In the second half we sang six songs:

1. All My Loving – which we sang twice.
   The first time was a good job but too many heads were down so timing was off.
   The second time we sang off book and it was pretty good;
   however, the tenors were off in the bridge and need to study!
2. Here Comes the Sun – not bad for not having sung it in a while.
3. Gravity – a little bit rusty.
   We were a little bit late at the start of each phrase.
4. Scarborough Fair – we dropped a semitone.
   The guys must be crisp and the mezzos need to hold up their part.
5. Rumour Has It – Not too bad.
   Lee had raised it and we dropped back to the original key.
6. Take Me to Church – all right!
   A great way to end the rehearsal.

The turnout was somewhat down on numbers – apparently some ill health.

Notes on the November 2^nd Rehearsal

We spent much of the rehearsal working on How Will I Know.
We started by revisiting what we learned the previous week,
then sang the song from top to bottom, which somewhat provoked Lee.
Lee wants the song to be a slow ballad, sung softly and very precisely,
but we kept speeding up on the eighth notes, and not holding the longer notes.

Note: Lee’s arrangement is based on the slow version by Sam Smith,
and not the much faster dance version by Whitney Houston.
To make her point she asked us to sing it through fast and forte,
after which we tried to sing it the way she wanted, with mixed success.
We did mostly keep a consistently slower tempo, but we failed to sound angelic.

After the break we sang it through again while Lee stood in the aisle and listened.
She then reviewed a number of issues, including still accelerating,
and failing to keep a sufficiently robotic tempo. We were also too loud.
The MP3s are now available, and everyone should study with them.

We finished the rehearsal by singing All My Loving and Mercy.

We sang All My Loving twice, and the first time through was good.
We then sang it completely off book, which Lee described as “manic.”
She had also raised it two semi-tones, and we managed to drop two semis.

We finished with Mercy, which Lee said was “chaotic but fun.”
We did not have time to sing it again off book, but we will next week.

We had a pretty good turnout this week, although the guys
were somewhat thin on the ground until part way through.

Rehearsals in October 2016

Notes on the October 26^th Rehearsal

Lee produced another new song for us, How Will I Know,
and we spent almost the entire rehearsal learning it.
We actually reached the end of the song, but there is plenty of work still to do.

We finished the rehearsal by singing Close Your Eyes,
which we sang off book to complete a great evening.

We had an excellent turnout this week, and all worked hard.

Notes on the October 19^th Rehearsal

For a change we started the rehearsal working on Mercy.
We began by cleaning up details: the mezzo rap, the outro and the chorus.
Once we achieved success with the details, we sang through the song twice.
The first time through was a lot of fun, but we were belting at times.
The second time through we made the dynamics at the end work, and it was really great.

We then tackled All My Loving, singing the whole song through twice.
Lee said that it was so good, and so much fun,
but we need to enjoy really building into the chorus.

That brought us to the break. In the second half we sang six songs:

1. Here Comes the Sun – which we sang twice.
   It was pretty fun, but Lee reminded us that we need to pull back in the verses.
   Alas, the tenors are still lagging on the one beat at the bar lines!
   The second time through after Lee’s words was much better.
2. Donde Estas Yolanda – which we had not sung in ages.
   So much fun even so, and we nailed the ending perfectly.
3. Celebration – that was great, well done.
4. Rumour Has It – we dropped, notably in bars 90, 91 and 92.
   The bridge was really good, and overall it was not bad.
5. With a Little Help (from My Friends) – Which was great.
   Lee said she felt chills as we transitioned to the exit.
6. The Way You Make Me Feel – alright, fun, fun!
   A perfect ending to a very dynamic rehearsal in which everyone worked hard.

The turnout was a little light, and our newest sopranos plus returning Kristin
sang their hearts out in a very reduced soprano section.

Notes on the October 12^th Rehearsal

Once again we spent much of the first half of the rehearsal on All My Loving.
We worked hard on the bridge, and ended up singing through the song twice.
Everyone needs to be calmer in the verses to let the leads shine.

We then tackled Mercy, working on details, notably the outro.
Once we were on top of the outro we sang the whole song through.
After the break we sang the song again, and Lee said it was oh so good.

We ended the rehearsal working on Take Me to Church.
The first time through we dropped, and the ay-mens sort of petered out.
Lee says that the ay-mens at the end need to be enormous – big, then bigger.
After the talking-to we sang from bar 23 to the end and it was beautiful.

It felt like a really good rehearsal,
and we are now on top of all our current songs.

The turnout was OK; soprano and tenor numbers are growing slightly.

Notes on the October 5^th Rehearsal

We spent much of the first half of the rehearsal working on All My Loving.
In all we sang through the song four times, with plenty of work on details:
once with the whole choir, then two run throughs each with half the choir,
then a final performance with the whole choir again.
Lee is pleased with progress, but the bridge is still problematic, so study!

We ended up the first half of the rehearsal with Celebration:
We sang it through twice and there are still some sticky spots;
we really need to pay attention to the dynamics in the verses.

In the second half of the rehearsal we tackled four songs:

1. Here Comes the Sun – which we sang twice.
   Lee says that it’s there, but sluggish – she can hear the bar lines.
   The second time was much cleaner, but the guys are still lagging – study!
2. Gravity – pretty good, but the end went whacky.
   The guys really need to study the bridge.
3. I Think I Love You – which we ended up singing twice.
   We need to be crisper, and the guys need to brush up on bars 24–25;
   something weird keeps happening there, so study!
4. Never Gonna Give You Up – where we turned out to be rather rusty.
   It needs work and we mustn’t rush – study your MP3s.

The turnout was pretty good, and it was great to have some new faces,
especially tenors and sopranos. Welcome, indeed.

Rehearsals in September 2016

Notes on the September 28^th Rehearsal

We again spent most of the rehearsal working on All My Loving.
In all we sang through the song three times, with plenty of work on details.
By the end Lee was extremely pleased. However, diction is important,
and we all need to work on the transition from the bridge to verse 4.

We finished up the rehearsal with three of our other songs:

1. Mercy – which we revived last week.
   We started by relearning the song again and all need to study the MP3s.
   The mezzos need to learn the rap words by heart so they can focus on delivery.
2. Take Me to Church – we started poorly and had to restart.
   After that it was absolutely great.
   The mezzos need to study the section where they went astray.
3. Mamma Mia – pretty good, but the guys need to memorize the ending.

The turnout was again good, although a trifle light on guys for once.

Notes on the September 21^st Rehearsal

Robert missed this rehearsal, so thanks to Bruce for taking notes.

We again spent most of the rehearsal working on All My Loving.
This time we reached the end of the song, singing it twice.
Then we split the choir in half and each half sang the song to the other.

For the rest of the rehearsal we worked on several songs, including a revival:

1. Scarborough Fair – singing it through once.
2. Celebration – singing it through once.
3. Mercy – revived as promised earlier this year.
   We sang it twice, eventually falling apart both times.
4. The Way You Make Me Feel – singing it through once.
5. With a Little Help (from My Friends) – singing it through once.

Homework is to study the MP3s for: All My Loving (especially the bridge);
Scarborough Fair; and Mercy, now that Lee has revived it.

The turnout was pretty good, and everyone enjoyed themselves.

Notes on the September 14^th Rehearsal

We spent most of the rehearsal working on our newest song: All My Loving.
Quite a few people had not been present last week, so we re-learned the song
starting from scratch, and reached the bridge.

For the rest of the rehearsal we worked on several recent songs:

1. Celebration – the guys lost it at the start of the bridge.
2. Scarborough Fair – it was good, but the guys must not drag on per singulos.
3. Take Me to Church – that was great, even though we dropped a whole tone.
4. Mamma Mia – Lee took it really fast and we were ragged at the end.

The turnout was moderately good, and everyone present was in great form.

Notes on the September 7^th Rehearsal

Lee produced our next new song: All My Loving
(reimagined by The Well Pennies)
We spent the entire rehearsal working on this song, and reached the bridge.

Scores and MP3s are on the web site, so please update your binders.

This week we had another good turnout, and we all enjoyed the new song.

Rehearsals in August 2016

Notes on the August 31^st Rehearsal

We started the rehearsal by working on our newest song: Celebration.
We ended up singing this through twice, finally paying attention to the dynamics.
The first time through we were muddy in the bridge;
we need to enunciate CEL-LEB-BRATE much more brightly and precisely.
The second time was fun, with Lee saying it was nice and clean.

This was the last rehearsal for tenor Colin, who is off to study in London (Ontario).
He had requested that we sing one of our older songs, Father Figure.
A show of hands revealed that no more than half of us knew the song,
so Lee taught it from scratch, and we had a lot of fun with it.

We ended the rehearsal by singing two favourites:
Take Me to Church – and wow it was great;
ending with Close Your Eyes, which we sang off-book.
Lee said it was so beautiful and sad as we bid Colin farewell.

We had a great turnout, and were all sad to say good bye to Colin.

Notes on the August 24^th Rehearsal

There was no rehearsal because the church had a summer camp running.

Notes on the August 17^th Rehearsal

We began the rehearsal by working on our newest song: Celebration.
We ended up singing this three times through, finally paying attention to the dynamics.
The third time we added dynamics to the energy and it was really nice.

We then worked on Scarborough Fair.
We sang through the song twice, again working on details.
We did some patching between takes, but we must listen to the alto lead.

For the second half of the rehearsal we worked on:

1. Billie Jean – we did well for not having sung it in so long.
   Lee decided to have us sing it a second time, and it worked out well.
2. Addicted to Love – this was great, and we didn’t drop!
3. Boogie Fever – also great, but we did drop a semi-tone.
4. Rumour Has It – there were some wonky bits in this one, but lots of energy.
5. Take Me to Church – Oh yes, right on – that was well done.

This week we had a good turnout, with plenty of energy.

For the next rehearsal, please review Father Figure, which tenor Colin
has requested we sing for his last rehearsal before he leaves to study in London.

Notes on the August 10^th Rehearsal

We started the rehearsal by working on our newest song: Celebration.
With a good turnout we worked hard on the flaky bits,
ending up working through the entire song twice.

We then put some serious work into Scarborough Fair.
We sang through the song a couple of times, working on details.
Lee said that the Latin was wonderful. We then split the choir in half,
and each half sang the song for the other, which went very well.

For the second half of the rehearsal we worked on:

1. Rumour Has It – really fun, even though we dropped and ended off key.
2. Here Comes the Sun – of which Lee said, “That was fun!”.
3. Never Gonna Give You Up – we dragged so badly that we had to start again;
   after that we managed to get the song right.
4. With a Little Help (from My Friends) – Absolutely great – wicked!
5. Take Me to Church – Oh yes, wicked – that was absolutely great.

This week we had a pretty good turnout, with a balance in all sections.

Notes on the August 3^rd Rehearsal

We spent the first half of the rehearsal working on our newest song: Celebration.
Because many people had not been at the previous week’s rehearsal, we relearned the song.
After mastering the outro, we sang through the whole song, and it was not bad.

For the rest of the rehearsal we worked on:

1. Scarborough Fair – still some problems to rectify.
2. You Cannot Lose My Love – beautiful, but we must remember it is a lullaby.
3. Rumour Has It – the musical interlude to the bridge must be quiet.
   At bar 84 it is critically important that everyone but the leads pulls back.
4. Gravity – Beautiful, gorgeous, wonderful dynamics.

Another smallish summer attendance, but everyone worked hard.

Rehearsals in July 2016

Notes on the July 27^th Rehearsal

We spent most of the rehearsal working on our latest song, Celebration.
We relearned from scratch, and managed to get through the bridge,
however the outro still needs some work, despite sounding rather good.

For the final part of the rehearsal we sang through Scarborough Fair twice.
Between run-throughs we focused on some details;
the second time through was really great.

One again we had a somewhat smallish attendance, but enthusiastic.

Notes on the July 20^th Rehearsal

There was no rehearsal because the church had a summer camp running.

Sheila Smail moved her housewarming party to this night instead,
and those who attended admired the new property and had a great time.

Notes on the July 13^th Rehearsal

Lee totally surprised us with another new song:
Celebration, from Kool and the Gang.
We spent much of the rehearsal learning the song, with some success.

For the final part of the rehearsal we worked on:

1. Scarborough Fair – which we worked through twice.
   We concentrated on various details, and then mastered the outro.
   Marty reported an error in the Latin Guide, which has now been corrected.
2. Rumour Has It – great, although we did drop two semi-tones.
   We messed up the end after doing surprisingly well in the bridge.
3. Take Me to Church – again great, but we dropped a whole tone.

We had a smallish attendance, possibly because of Blues Fest.

Notes on the July 6^th Rehearsal

We spent the first half of the rehearsal working on Scarborough Fair,
which is our latest new song.
Enough people missed the previous rehearsal that we learned the song from scratch.
We worked through the whole song, including finally making the outro work.

For the second half of the rehearsal we worked on:

1. I Think I Love You – all right!
2. Mamma Mia – we had two false starts.
   After that it went reasonably well.
   Lee reminds us that this is a staple of our repertoire.
   She has promised to create MP3 files and larger words.
3. Gravity – Nice work, but don’t try and speed up.
4. Rumour Has It – oh so good, although we did drop two semi-tones.
5. The Way You Make Me Feel – went a little wonky at the end.

We had an absolutely great turnout at this rehearsal.

Rehearsals in June 2016

Notes on the June 29^th Rehearsal

This was the day that the presidents of both Mexico and the USA
were in town for the Three Amigos Summit.
As a result of the security arrangements, traffic was extremely chaotic
and a fair number of people, Lee included, were trapped on the far side
of closed streets, ultimately arriving very late.

Luckily we had a sufficiency of every part except the sopranos
to make an impromptu rehearsal in the round practical.
Enormous kudos to James Brinkhurst for holding his own
as the lone soprano for the first eight songs!

For the first hour and some, until Lee arrived, we worked on:

1. Take Me to Church – we got there.
2. Nobody’s Fault but Mine – pretty good.
3. California Dreaming – sort of, not having sung it forever!
4. I Think I Love You – went well.
5. You Cannot Lose My Love – started like a dirge, but we did manage to pick it up beautifully.
6. Here Comes the Sun – the timing was off at first, but then we picked it up,
   with Lee listening over the phone.
7. I Think I Love You – we sang this again at Lee’s request, and she listened over the phone.
8. Rumour Has It – we were fine to the outro, at which point the timing disintegrated.
9. Close Your Eyes – sort of OK, but did drag at times.
10. With a Little Help (from My Friends) –Lee arrived just as we were starting, and we stopped.

Once Lee arrived, she delivered the promised new song, Scarborough Fair,
based on the Simon & Garfunkel version.
We worked on this until just before the end of the rehearsal,
at which point we finished of by singing Mamma Mia,
which was absolutely crazy, especially after not singing it for so long.

Considering the absolute chaos in the streets caused by the police
securing president Obama’s motorcade route, we had a pretty decent turnout.

Rehearsals in May 2016

As yet we do not offer the history of the future!

Rehearsals in April 2016

As yet we do not offer the history of the future!

Notes on the April 6^th Rehearsal

We spent the first half the rehearsal working on our newest song:
Rumour Has It by Adele. We worked hard to master
the musical interlude, and have now learned all but the ending.
MP3s and PDF scores are available – please use them.

In the second half of the rehearsal we worked on songs for
the Annual Concert, which is coming up on Sunday, May 15^th ,
mainly concentrating on songs where all the guys sing together:

1. With a Little Help – which went extremely well.
   Yay for Rita, our solo soprano in this song.
2. Never Gonna Give You Up – the timing kept going off;
   we absolutely have to keep our eyes on Lee for the beat.
3. Take Me to Church – Lee warned us in advance
   not to pause at the bar lines, but sing through them.
   The result was what Lee described as “So good it was wicked!”.
4. Donde Estas Yolanda – We did all hit the ending correctly.
   However, Lee says that we have to sink into the beat and not rush her.
   The altos have the lead in the verses, so the other parts need to pull back.
5. We had two birthdays and sang Happy Birthday for them.
6. I Think I Love You – of which Lee said,
   “Right on you guys, that was absolutely great.”

Due to inclement weather (Snow!) our numbers were somewhat reduced.
Congratulations to stalwart basses Bruce and Tim for holding up their line.

Although only six Cubanistas were present, they still managed to rehearse their songs.

Rehearsals in March 2016

Notes on the March 30^th Rehearsal

In the first half we again worked on our newest song: Rumour Has It.
We spent the time working on the musical interlude and the bridge.
Our final run through of the whole song almost worked;
however, we still need to be a little softer in the verses.
The MP3s and PDF scores are available – please use them.

In the second half of the rehearsal we worked on other recent songs:

1. Addicted to Love – lots of potential
   The mezzos need to learn the verses, and we all need precision.
2. Here Comes the Sun – beautiful, so great.
   It was really good – we took it a touch slower, which worked.
3. Gravity – beautiful, well done.
4. Take Me to Church – it sounded magnificent.
   We still pause at the bar lines – we need sing through them.
   We also managed to drop a whole lot – a minor third!
5. Close Your Eyes – to which Lee said, “Well done.”
   What a great end to the rehearsal.

We had a reasonable turnout. Lee says that is time to start focusing
on songs for our Annual Concert, upcoming on Sunday May 15^th.

Notes on the March 23^rd Rehearsal

We spent the first half the rehearsal working on our newest song:
Rumour Has It by Adele.
We revisited everything learned so far, then worked our way through the musical interlude.
We did have a go at the first part of the bridge, but did not get far.

In the second half of the rehearsal we sang a number of current songs:

1. Here Comes the Sun – Lee said it was good – nice and edgy.
2. Gravity – which Lee described as pretty good.
   The mezzos were somewhat pitchy at the start of the song.
3. Nobody’s Fault but Mine – “Oh yeah! Well done.”
   Everyone except the altos needs to give less in the verses.
4. Donde Estas Yolanda – We did all hit the ending correctly.
   However, Lee says that we keep trying to rush her, so watch carefully!
5. I Think I Love You – which was a whole lot of fun.
6. Never Gonna Give You Up – Nice work, and nice dynamics.
7. Boogie Fever – which was OK but sloppy, and we dropped two semi-tones.
   We definitely need to study our MP3s on this one.
8. With a Little Help – which we sang as a farewell to Jennifer.
   It was alright, but a bit rough in places – study with the MP3s.

By the end of the rehearsal we had a pretty good crowd.

Notes on the March 16^th Rehearsal

We spent the first half the rehearsal working on our newest song:
Rumour Has It by Adele.
We revisited everything we learned last week, then started in on the musical interlude.
MP3s and PDF scores are now available – please use them.
Lee says listen to Adele’s performance of the song.

In the second half of the rehearsal we worked on other recent songs:

1. Here Comes the Sun – We sang through this twice, because
   the first time through was rough, with some faltering.
   The guys need to be a little softer in the verses.
2. Gravity – which Lee described as being good.
   We also have to stop rushing her, as well as
   letting the mezzos shine in the verses.
3. The Way You Make Me Feel – of which Lee said, “All right, fine.”
   We need to watch Lee at the end and avoid speeding up.
4. With a Little Help – which went extremely well.
   However, Lee cautioned us not to lose the end.
5. I Think I Love You – which we (some of us) sang off book.
   We mostly did OK, but it seems we still need our books.
6. Take Me to Church – Lee warned us in advance
   not to pause at the bar lines, but sing through them.
   After the song Lee said it was beautiful, and well done.

We had a rather small turnout, probably because of March break.

Notes on the March 9^th Rehearsal

We spent most of the rehearsal working on a new song
that Lee produced: Rumour Has It by Adele.
No PDF scores or MP3s yet, only paper scores, but Lee says
in the meanwhile listen to Adele’s performance.

Toward the end of the rehearsal we worked on several recent songs:

1. Here Comes the Sun – Lee was completely startled when
   we changed the lyrics to Bernie’s Happy Birthday Lee, which
   had been quietly distributed in advance, and went well for no rehearsal.
   After her delighted surprise, we started again with the real lyrics;
   it was extremely messy at the end, but still great.
2. Gravity – which Lee described as beautiful. However,
   she also said it was too bold, and that we need to be softer next time.
3. Take Me to Church – Lee said of this one, “Whoa! That was fun, fun, fun.”
   What a great way to finish up the rehearsal.

Turnout was slightly down, but everyone present was in great form.

Notes on the March 2^nd Rehearsal

We started the rehearsal by working on Here Comes the Sun.
We sang the song all the way through and Lee said that there was lots of good stuff.
However, the guys kept getting behind;
the sopranos and mezzos were having trouble at bars 31 & 32;
and everyone was having difficulties at bar 49, so we did some drills.
When we sang the song through again, with dynamics, it was much better.

We spent the rest of the rehearsal singing through a whole raft of songs:

1. Billie Jean – we did some repair work and then it was oh so good!
2. Nobody’s Fault but Mine – which we rollicked our way through.
3. Gravity – Lee said it was nice, and that we are really getting this well.
4. Close Your Eyes – Which we sang off book, and Lee said it was beautiful.
5. Take Me to Church – Lee said of this one, “Whoo! So good.”
   Also that it gave her a real aerobic workout. We dropped a whole lot.
6. With a Little Help – which we sang off book.
   The guys slow down, so need to watch Lee as she gestures every entry.
7. Mamma Mia – which Lee described as “Crazy fun!”
   The guys really, really must learn the words so they can follow Lee.
8. Last Train to Clarksville – sung by request.
   We hadn’t sung this in just over a year, but made a real go of it.
   A whole lot of people had never sung it, and we really flubbed the ending.

Lee has promised us a new song for next week: Rumour Has It, by Adele.

We had another pretty good turnout, albeit somewhat rowdy.

Rehearsals in February 2016

Notes on the February 24^th Rehearsal

There was no rehearsal because of severely inclement weather.

Notes on the February 17^th Rehearsal

We had a somewhat small turnout due to the snowy roads, and we started late.
However, people continued to trickle in until we had achieved a good crowd.

We spent the first half of the rehearsal working on our newest song
Here Comes the Sun.
We sang through the whole song and Lee thought we did really well.
We then spent time working on details, notably the Inter, Rev, and Out sections.
We ended up singing the whole song beautifully – now we need some dynamics!

We started the second half with the very reduced Dominican workshop group
singing through Kiss, which was a real hit with the rest of us.
Lee promises us that next week the full Dominican complement will sing both songs.
We ended the rehearsal by singing three of our other songs:

1. Boogie Fever – which we rollicked our way through.
2. Gravity – which was really nice and gentle.
3. I Think I Love You – which Lee is sick of from the Dominican.
   However, we sang it anyway and it was just fine.

Although we were somewhat reduced in numbers, the evening went really well.

Notes on the February 10^th Rehearsal

There was no rehearsal because it was Ash Wednesday and the church was in use.
Also, Lee and a number of choir members were at the Dominican workshop.

Notes on the February 3^rd Rehearsal

We spent the first half of the rehearsal working on our newest song
Here Comes the Sun.
After reaching the end last week, we worked on the outro, then sang the whole song.
Lee decided we knew it well enough to do a half-and-half split; both were fairly good.
Now that we know the whole song, please study your MP3s and learn the words.

In the second half of the rehearsal we sang through four of our other songs,
none of which we have sung in quite a while, so it was a bit of a test:

1. Addicted to Love – the choruses were fine.
   However, the verses are muddy, and the support parts drop a whole lot.
   Definitely time to study with the MP3s, concentrating on timing and pitch.
2. Boogie Fever – which went extremely well;
   Lee said it was pretty hot after such a long hiatus since last singing it.
3. Billie Jean – which we turned into somewhat of a scramble.
   Quite a few members were unfamiliar with the song, so definitely one to study.
4. Tempted – this was so good that Lee said it gave her shivers.

We had a terrific turnout, and everyone was up all evening.

Rehearsals in January 2016

Notes on the January 27^th Rehearsal

We spent the first half of the rehearsal working on our newest song
Here Comes the Sun.
Amazingly we reached the end in our final run through, but we have yet to learn the outro.
Now that we have reached the end, please study your MP3s and learn the words.

In the second half of the rehearsal we sang through a few of our other songs:

1. Gravity – which went fairly well.
   However, the guys (tenors and basses) are too loud in the verses;
   the guys are also muddy on occasion because of problems with the words.
   Everyone study the MP3s, please, and commit the words to memory.
2. Donde Estas Yolanda – which we almost made work;
   just a single lone voice with an extra “bap” at the end.
3. I Think I Love You – which we sailed through in fine style.
4. Take Me to Church – at the end of which Lee said, “Wow! Great!”
   but she really wants the last set of amens to be as loud as possible.
   The penultimate set should be loud, and the final set as loud as we can make it.
5. Mamma Mia – which Lee described as “Fun, fun, crazy!”
   Lee reiterated that in this song it is more important to get the notes right
   and precisely on the beat, rather than getting the words correct.
   However, she would really like us to memorize the words.
   If necessary, learn the Spanish sequences phonetically.

We had a pretty good turnout, and everyone was enthusiastic.
We were also delighted to welcome a new baritone to our ranks.

Notes on the January 20^th Rehearsal

We spent the first half of the rehearsal working on our newest song
Here Comes the Sun.
We revisited our work from last week, then learned through to verse 2A.

In the second half of the rehearsal we sang through a few other songs:

1. Gravity – this was pretty good,
   but Lee said the basses were rushing the bridge,
   and that the sopranos were having trouble with timing at the end.
   Study the MP3s, please.
2. The Way You Make Me Feel – in which we were extremely ragged,
   seeming to have forgotten the details over the holidays.
   Definitely another song we need to study with our MP3s...
3. Nobody’s Fault but Mine – something strange happened in the mezzo part;
   the mezzos need to practice getting up to their high notes.
   We all need to study with our MP3s.
4. Never Gonna Give You Up – which we sang off book.
   We dropped hugely in this one, and Lee said that we had also battled her over tempo.
   She reminds us that it is she who is always right about the tempo.
   When we are off book we have absolutely no excuse for not following her indications.
5. Take Me to Church – at the end of which Lee said, “Whoa! Wicked!”
   A wicked way to end a terrific rehearsal.

We had a very good turnout, and everyone seemed delighted to be there.
Welcome, also to the new members who have started with us this year.

Notes on the January 13^th Rehearsal

We spent most of the rehearsal working on a new song
that Lee produced: Here Comes the Sun by the Beatles.
Scores and MP3 files are now available, so please update your books.

Toward the end of the rehearsal we worked on a few recent songs:

1. Gravity
   We ended up singing this song twice. The first time through was a little fast,
   but sounded really good, although Lee said we needed to be a little more hushed
   in the verses. Lee said that the second time through was really nice.
2. Take Me to Church
   Lee said of this one, “Whoa! Fun times.”
   However, the mezzos need to really sing out and shine at bar 28.
   We have reached the point where Lee would now like us to sing this one
   from cheat sheets, and not keep our heads stuck in the music.
3. Close Your Eyes
   Which we sang off book, and Lee said it was beautiful.

We had an excellent turnout, and everyone was in great form;
probably happy to be back to a regular schedule after the extended holidays!

Notes on the January 6^th Rehearsal

Lee was away in Cuba and Becca Fleming took the rehearsal.

Becca came armed with a four-part arrangement of Bruce Cockburn’s
song, Lovers in a Dangerous Time, which she proceeded to teach us.

The song came together so well that we made an iPad recording,
which has been posted to YouTube for all to see how well it went.

We had a pretty good turnout for this first rehearsal of the year,
and everyone had a great time working with Becca.