Lee Hayes Vox Member Rehearsal History: 2019

This page simply records the songs sung, and the homework assigned,
at each of the Lee Hayes Vox rehearsals in 2019.

Homework for Between
Rehearsals in 2019

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 (*)
• Chain of Fools (REWORK)
• Close Your Eyes (*)
• Fire and Rain (*)
• Firework (*)
• Gravity
• Hallelujah
• Helpless (REVIVAL)
• Here Comes the Sun
• I Feel the Earth Move (REVIVAL)
• I See Fire (*)
• I Think I Love You (REWORK)
• If I Could Turn Back Time (*)
• Mercy
• Missing You
• Papa Was A Rolling Stone (*)
• Scarborough Fair (*)
• Stop (*)
• Take Me to Church (*)
• Time After Time (REVIVAL)
• With a Little Help (from My Friends) (*)
• You Gotta Be
• 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

• Addicted to Love
• Celebration
• Donde Estas Yolanda
• Father Figure
• How Will I Know
• Mamma Mia
• Never Gonna Give You Up
• Rumour Has It
• The Way You Make Me Feel
• You Cannot Lose My Love

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These are Really Old and We Never Do Them Now

• A La Nanita Nana (Very Old)
• Ain’t No Sunshine (Very Old)
• Billie Jean (Old Too)
• Boogie Fever (Old Too)
• Both Sides Now (Very Old)
• California Dreaming (Old Too)
• Crystal (Very Old)
• Drive My Car (Very Old)
• Eternal Flame (Old Too)
• Fields of Gold (Very Old)
• For What It’s Worth (Very Old)
• Houdini’s Box (Very Old)
• I Feel the Earth Move (Very Old, but now Reworked)
• I Wear My Sunglasses At Night (Very Old)
• La Isla Bonita (Very Old)
• Last Train to Clarksville (Old Too)
• Kimbieni – the short version (Very Old)
• Knowing Me, Knowing You (Very Old)
• Nobody’s Fault but Mine (Old Too)
• O Canada (Very Old)
• Rock the Boat (Very Old)
• Tainted Love (Very Old)
• Tempted (Old Too)
• This Land Is Your Land (Very Old)
• 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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Rehearsals in December 2019

Rehearsals in November 2019

Rehearsals in October 2019

Rehearsals in September 2019

Rehearsals in August 2019

Rehearsals in July 2019

Rehearsals in June 2019

Rehearsals in May 2019

Rehearsals in April 2019

Notes on the April 3^rd Rehearsal

Lee was in charge of this rehearsal, which was also the audition
for the second assistant director candidate, Joe McDonald.

Because the clutter on the stage will be permanent,
Lee wanted to see us sitting in formation in the pews.
This is what we had tried last week, and Lee made it work.

Joe conducted a set of warmups for the rehearsal, then
Lee started by catching us all up on You’re No Good.
She then handed over to Joe, who taught us the bridge.
This took us through to the interval, when Joe stepped down.

Now that both assistant director candidates have auditioned,
please let Lee know your thoughts. Feel free to use the evaluation
worksheet that Lee has provided to help focus your thinking.

After the break Lee went back to You’re No Good,
first making sure we were completely on top of the bridge,
then tackling bar 21 on, and the pre-chorus in detail.

Lee finished the rehearsal by running through Helpless.
We only had time for a single run through, but it was beautiful.

As it turns out, Lee will not be here next week (April 10^th).
However, she will be here for three consecutive Wednesdays
next Month, to help us prepare for the annual concert.

We had a reasonably good turnout for this rehearsal.

Rehearsals in March 2019

Notes on the March 27^th Rehearsal

The second assistant director candidate, Joe McDonald, was in the audience
for this rehearsal. He will be auditioning next week, with Lee in attendance.

It turns out that the clutter on the stage will be permanent.
This week we sat in formation in the pews as an experiment.
It worked well enough for us to consider doing it again.

Silas started by working more on You’re No Good. We worked
our way through to the bridge after revisiting the song in detail.

We spent the rest of the rehearsal working on songs that
will probably feature in our upcoming annual concert,
which Lee has decided will be on Friday, May 31^st.

1. Helpless – which we ended up singing twice.
   Silas really wants the dynamics to be different for each verse,
   with the first verse being soft, and each subsequent verse louder.
2. I See Fire – which we also sang twice.
   Silas wants each sustained note to grow louder as we sing it.
   He also wants the dwarvish words to be almost staccato.
   We worked on overall dynamics and the ending of the song.
3. Firework – singing it for the first time this year.
   Half way through Silas changed the tempo up, and we followed.
   Silas says that we must not overthink the ending.
4. Take Me to Church – which we sang through once.
   Silas shifted to a faster tempo and felt that it was great.
5. Calling All Angels – we sang once through the whole song.
   Silas thought it was very nice and was extremely pleased.
6. Stop – Silas took us once through at a good tempo.
   He felt that we did a really good job on the ending.
7. Close Your Eyes – we ran out of time and didn’t sing this one.

We had a moderately good turnout for this rehearsal.

Notes on the March 20^th Rehearsal

The first half of this rehearsal was Jenn Mong's audition
for the position of assistant director with the choir.
Simon assisted and Lee was present on stage electronically.
The song we worked on was the new complete arrangement of
You’re No Good, based on the performance by Linda Ronstadt.
We worked through to the end of the first page of the song.

It turns out that the clutter on the stage will be permanent.
As a result we decided to experiment with the director on stage,
and the choir in an arc between the pews and the altar rail.
We managed to make this work, but we need to review the situation.

After the break, Silas worked on several current songs.

1. Close Your Eyes – which we had not sung yet this year.
   We sang it through once to see how well we remembered it.
   Silas then took us through it again focusing on dynamics.
2. Take Me to the River – which we sang through once.
   Silas asked us to start each chorus quietly and grow it.
3. Stop – Silas took us once through at a good tempo.
   Silas really liked the ending, but wants the pre-choruses to grow.
4. Helpless – which we ended up singing twice.
   Silas really wants the dynamics to be different for each verse,
   and also wants really expressive arcs through each verse.
5. Chain of Fools – which we also sang twice.
   Silas encouraged us to shape the whole performance expressively.

We had a good turnout for this rehearsal.

Notes on the March 13^th Rehearsal

Silas spent most of the first half of the rehearsal
working on Lee’s latest new song: You’re No Good,
based on the performance by Linda Ronstadt.
This is the song we are going to use to evaluate candidates for
assistant director after Silas leaves for Montreal in the autumn.
The first candidate, Jenn Mong, watched the rehearsal.

1. You’re No Good – spending most of the first half on it.
   We learned through to the end of the first pre chorus.
2. Helpless – spending the rest of the first half on it.
   We sang through the whole song, then worked on details.
   After the break we did one great run through, with verse 3 quiet.
3. I Feel the Earth Move – we sang through the song once.
   We managed to drop somewhat, so we worked on bar 59 to the end.
   Silas then focused on details throughout the song.
4. I See Fire – Silas says that he really loves this song.
   We sang through the song once, and it was really great.
5. Take Me to the River – Silas asked for energy and not too fast.
   Silas took us through the song again focusing on dynamics.
   We then spent some time perfecting the outro.
6. Fire and Rain – we had a good run through to end the rehearsal.
   Silas noted that in bar 43, when the tenors go up,
   the basses need to sing out to make themselves heard.

This was an extremely difficult weather day, so it was
scarcely surprising that we had a small initial turnout.

Notes on the March 6^th Rehearsal

There was no rehearsal – the church was celebrating Ash Wednesday.

Rehearsals in February 2019

Notes on the February 27^th Rehearsal

Silas spent the rehearsal working on current songs,
noting that our annual concert will be on Friday, May 31^st.

1. Helpless – spending all of the first half on it.
   We worked intensively on the bridge, also focusing on the entry to
   and exit from it. We then worked on details throughout the song.
   We started the second half by singing the entire song through once.
2. Stop – Silas took us once through at a really fast tempo.
   Despite the speed, he said that it was very nice.
3. Calling All Angels – We sang once through the whole song.
   Silas then spent some time focusing on expressiveness throughout.
4. Fire and Rain – we had a great initial run through.
   Silas needs the guys to really nail their “Hey now” groove.
   Silas then spent some time cleaning up the inner parts from bar 58.
   We sang from chorus 4 to the end; we all need to really feel the groove.
5. I Feel the Earth Move – we did a quick initial run through.
   It was OK, despite having only two alto 1s present.
   Silas focused on the women’s parts from bar 9 on.
   We then reran the whole song, going for a gospel feel.
6. Time After Time – Silas took it fast and it was good.
   An excellent high note on which to end the rehearsal.

We had a reasonable turnout for this rehearsal,
but were really down on Alto 1 numbers.

Notes on the February 20^th Rehearsal

Sunnyside Wesleyan was unavailable on this day, so we ended up
rehearsing at the Kitchissippi United church just off Island park Drive.

Lee was here for a second straight week, and worked on our four
most recent songs. Silas was unable to be at the rehearsal.

1. Helpless – spending most of the first half on it.
   We worked through the whole song, then worked on details,
   including the ending of the song and the bridge, which was problematic.
   We ended by singing the entire song through a couple of times.
2. Fire and Rain – we had a false start: too fast and two low!
   After that we had a successful run through of the whole song.
   Lee then had us redo the song from bar 38 to the end, twice.
   This is the tenor anthem and really needs to shine above the other parts.
   The tenors also need to make the “hey now” section firm.
3. I Feel the Earth Move – which we sang through twice.
   The first time through was good, but the tenors were rushing the last part.
   We also managed to drop in the first bar, and a whole tone by the end.
   The second time through was really good, and we then worked on the bridge.
4. I See Fire – We dropped early, then crashed and burned at the bridge.
   This one needs some work, and Lee urges us to study our MP3s.

We had a moderate turnout, particularly light on sopranos
and alto-1s, possibly because of the different venue.

Notes on the February 13^th Rehearsal

Lee was here and spent most of the rehearsal working on her
newest arrangement, Neil Young’s Helpless.
This is a completely new arrangement of a song we last sung in 2011.
We learned the whole song, except for the very last few bars.
The tenors need to study the chorus, where they are consistently sharp.

For the last fifteen or so minutes Lee asked Silas to take us
through our three most recent songs so that she could hear them.

1. I Feel the Earth Move – Silas took this way too fast.
   We sang it a second time at a somewhat slower tempo, but we
   ended up accelerating most of the way and again losing it.
2. I See Fire – We sang it through once and it was great.
   The guys need to really be tight on the low passages, not muddy.
3. Fire and Rain – we did a complete run through, which was nice.
   However, it was distinctly rough in the cross-rhythms at the end.

Everyone needs to study with their MP3s, the guys especially!

We had a smallish turnout on a day after a major storm.

Notes on the February 6^th Rehearsal

Silas spent the first half of this rehearsal working on our
latest song, Working through the entire song in careful detail.
We ended by singing the song in the round.

1. I Feel the Earth Move – Silas started by running through until we crashed.
   We then worked steadily to sort out details of notes and timing.
   Silas then focused on expression and dynamics throughout the song.
   We started the second half by singing the song in the round.
2. Take Me to the River – we stayed in the nave, singing in the round.
   Silas worked on expression throughout the song.
3. All My Lovin’ – we stayed in the nave, singing in the round.
   We sang through the whole song once, enjoying an up-beat tempo.
4. Chain of Fools – we stayed in the nave, singing in the round.
   We sang through the entire song once, then worked on the ending.
5. Stop – we stayed in the nave, singing in the round.
   We took it all the way through at a fairly fast tempo, and it was nice.
6. Time After Time – we stayed in the nave, singing in the round.
   We did one quick run through, getting somewhat muddled in places.
   However, we had run out of time, and Silas ended the rehearsal there.

We had a moderate poor-weather turnout.

Rehearsals in January 2019

Notes on the January 30^th Rehearsal

Silas spent most of the first half of this rehearsal working on our
latest song, recapitulating to the bridge, then working on the bridge.
After missing last week, we were somewhat rusty and slow to find our groove.

1. I Feel the Earth Move – Silas started by recapitulating to the bridge.
   We then worked steadily to learn the entire bridge.
   Both the rhythms and the harmonies are complicated, and we struggled.
2. Take Me to the River – we worked on rhythmic expression,
   then focused on the difficult harmonies of the outro.
   We seemed to have it, and Silas called the rehearsal break.
3. I Feel the Earth Move – we started the second half by running through the
   whole song. We did make it through the end, but with some difficulty.
   Silas then focused on a few of the crunchy spots before moving on.
4. Hallelujah – we did a complete run through, which was beautiful.
   Silas then focused on two issues: the need for expressive rhythm and tempo;
   and the need to focus on dynamic arcs for the multi-bar phrases,
   including always allowing the section with the lead to shine through.
5. Fire and Rain – we did a complete run through, which Silas thought was nice.
   He said that the rhythm was good, but we needed to focus on expressiveness.
   When the meaning changes at “I always thought” we need to change
   the way we produce the phrasing – these words need to be sadder.
6. Take Me to Church – we sang it through once, then focused on dynamics.
   Silas wants us to keep the bigger picture in mind at all times:
   in the four phrases of each verse we need to vary the dynamics for each
   with the dynamic levels following the pattern 1 - 2 - 3 - 2 each time.
   He also focused on the dynamics needed in the extended amen choruses.
7. I See Fire – We did a run through that Silas considered nice.
   However, we managed to lose cohesion around bar 88,
   in part because we had dropped a whole tone!
   At which point Silas decided to call it quits for the night.

We had a good turnout for a really cold January evening.

Notes on the January 23^rd Rehearsal

There was no rehearsal because of a really bad weather day.

Notes on the January 16^th Rehearsal

Silas started this rehearsal by picking up where Lee left off last
week with our latest song, then went on to work on issues
that she had raised with others of our newer songs.

1. I Feel the Earth Move – Silas started by solidifying what Lee taught us
   last week, working to ensure that we had the notes absolutely down.
   After that we started in on the bridge, which proved tricky.
   Silas decided to call a halt and move on to other songs for a while.
2. Take Me to the River – our first run through was extremely messy.
   Silas reminded us of some of the issues Lee raised last week, then
   decided to call the rehearsal break, after which we dived in some more.
   Silas focused on the bridge and the ending of the song until we had them.
3. Fire and Rain – Silas briefed us on the need for phrasing.
   We then tried a run through, and Silas was pleased at the result.
   He reiterated the need for lightness and rhythm throughout,
   avoiding the heaviness that results from emphasizing every note.
4. I See Fire – We did a run through that Silas considered nice.
   He then talked about the need to have the mezzos shine out
   at bar 80, which is different from other passages in the song.
5. I Feel the Earth Move – Silas returned to work some more on the bridge.
   The rhythms and the notes are tricky for each part individually, and
   made more difficult because of some of the very crunchy harmonies.
   We made considerable progress, although not reaching the end.
6. Calling All Angels – We ended with a run through of this favourite.
   Silas called our performance nice, and a great end to a good rehearsal.

We had a great turnout for this rehearsal and were also pleased to
welcome back several familiar faces as well as some potential new ones.

Notes on the January 9^th Rehearsal

Lee was here for this rehearsal, using it to work on her latest new arrangement.
She also took us through three other of her most recent arrangements.
Silas was present and assisted with the different choir sections.

1. I Feel the Earth Move – Lee started to teach this one from scratch.
   This is a completely new arrangement of a much earlier version.
   We reached the bridge before calling time out to focus on other songs.
   Silas will carry on next week, starting with the bridge.
   Lee made some on the fly changes to the mezzo part; expect revisions.
2. I See Fire – Lee thought there was lots of cool stuff.
   She particularly liked the dynamics that we produced.
3. Fire and Rain – Lee said that it was mostly there; however,
   it was messy, and the sections are not listening to each other.
   We then worked on details from verse 3 (bar 39) to the end.
4. Take Me to the River – it was a little rough around the edges.
   Lee said that she didn’t hear the “Yeah, yeah” high points shining through.

Lee also promised that, on request, she would make a vocal MP3
(a short passage) of any section with which we are having difficulty.

We had a good turnout for this first rehearsal of the new year.

Notes on the January 2^nd Rehearsal

There was no rehearsal – our nod to the New Year’s holiday.