26 June 2014

The one with the old warm up ... DFS VLE revisited ...

We are going to use this warm up next week when Ed and Jack will be away. Dear old Dave will be back as sound man and yours truly will be playing the part of Ed Hintze. Oh dear. Who's still coming?

Tickets are now on sale for our concert priced at £5 each for grown-ups. Bring your youngsters as they get in free and of course, the children are our future! And the oxford people had a successful practice before choir propper, so well done to them. 

Secret love went well, but numbers for the echo parts were down to just 2 people, who will be supported on this backing track by a French horn. Don't forget to do a short 'shout-it!' The key change has been axed, and the song worked well without it!

Nightingale next, tricky. There was a gap in the middle which will be filled with tap dancing next week. 

Shoop shoop Song - right is right if that means anything to you? There was some hot debate about who sogs what, as this song is also being sung by the oxford trippers too! The last phrase needs to go higher at the end so it will fit with the chords. Then the 'he' needs to be a 'he-ee' and the 'oh no's' really so need to be sung not shouted. Please. No frankie Howard!!

Oh no.....

On Top of the world we are at DFS. Ed wanted us to mind the gap, did a bit of Lee Marvin, and off we went - remembering to pause and wink. We got the notes all right which is lovely but we needed more BOUNCE! To go along with the 'touch of Febreeze' I should imagine! 

Dream a little dream of me, especially if I am missing like last week! Big bum note to start with, so we had a careful listen before having another go. Great base part from Big Ron. Thank you Big Ron! Who knew that Ed appreciated men's Bums so much?

You make me feel so young DFS. we are having a new ending with 4 X so young and no high part ... Please run across the meadow and not around it please. The effect is much more romantic ...

Then we ended with goodbye to love! Which we know really well so that's the treat at the end of all our hard work. I wonder what will be in store next week? I will send a quick appeal to ed to give me the practice running order and I'll say my prayers so I'm not too rubbish that we all have to go put for kebabs instead. Love you. Get Your YouTube on! Cat xxx

12 June 2014

The one where Fulvia ruined the hiss with one of her pouts. Then we went all gregorian with a wonderful low hum ....

Tonight we did notices before warm-ups and embarked on a massive singathon through the rainbow, I mean through the 20th century which we have already left far behind us. Sorry about that I just typed what we sung!

I had enoght time to take a breath and list the numbers in our marathon, apart from the ones I am much too young to know of course...

Dream a little dream of me

Somewhere over the rainbow

It don't mean a thing (if it ain't got that swing)

A nightingale sang in Berkeley Square

You make me feel so young

Oh! Carol!

Top of the world

The shoop shoop song

I wanna be the only one

Then we discussed how well we felt the songs had gone, popping them into piles of yes, no, and potential. The shoop shoop song won, and then we looked again at Dream a little dream of me, including the original key via YouTube. Then Ed lifted it to c + 3 and we had at it all over again. Bonus points if you remember who wrote it ...

Then we did Somewhere over the rainbow again but all I could here was the sublime Eva Cassidy version, so this time I did some listening to us being Judy Garland, weighing up pies, and sliding all over the place like top trombone players. Somewhere Rover doesn't bare mentioning here. Then we sang it scared, and it was much better. Key is E flat minus 3... 10 out of 10 for lyrics the like of which we don't see nowadays!

Back to the nightingale again in E flat minus 2 ... Followed by You make me feel so young, but most wanted to drop down a little on account of that high note! B flat - 2 helped to keep away from a weaker sound on the high parts. Then Ed demonstrated a cool, funky ending. 

Oh! Carol! Being rather high the first time around had another outing, and felt much more comfortable at G - 4!

Back On top of the world again were we, and that old thigh slap helped us to leave the meaningful gap that was missing in the first run through! We did ok with the original key and Ed reminded us of the lovely man parts we tried last time. Oooer.

Cher voices out for a bit more shoop shoop, and we lovely DFS fell naturally into a balanced split and Mr Ed was pleased, then showed us some harmony parts for the mid section. 

Squeezing in secret love to finish, I felt all gooey and lovely as I listened to the lyrics, coz it's no secret I love you to bits and you fully deserved your round of applause! Well done Xxxx

5 June 2014

Not now Ron...

Apparently we had really good feedback from our concerts espially the one at All Saints Church. Ed thought there were some very good highlights and promised to get more of Michael's footage up. A member of the congregation told one of our number that some of the songs were not suitable to be sung in church. Haha. She obviously wasn't there when I sang Honey Honey at Wey Bay Methodist church but that's a whole 'nother story!

Ed asked for a show of hands for a concert at the Pavillion on Tuesday 22 July during school holidays. Same format as usual with choir singing and some solo slots. Many people can make that, and put up thier sticky hands, so it's going to be firmly booked. 

Sexy new choir folders will be available to buy from September, to facilitate us breaking away from staring at the screen. Ed is changing his job at wey valley which will help him to ditch school paperwork and do more DFS paperwork and possibly get videos edited and uploaded. 

Then we cracked on with Secret Love, a brand new song to sing at the pavilion. After singing it through Ed added a disco beat. Look out for 'a no-pen door'. We don't want any of those! I hadn't actually heard this song so I felt very young and got on with some fabrication on the blog. Harmonies and descant parts will be added next time. Then DFS added a meaningful gap and Ed declared it perfect before making everyone stand and perform. Is anyone else like me and needs to hear it 20 times before they know it? Hhmm. Now I don't feel so young any more. 

Next new song was Hard To Say I'm Sorry by Chicago. We gave it a go with a backing track and found out he had legs. Listen in on you tube folks!

Dear Darling is a dreadfully modern song and we went straight into the backing track leaving me at a loss for a tune again! I will definitely be spending some time with you tube while I chop celery.

Ed asked for a vote as this song felt very different. Homework might help and we could revisit this song later. 

Bonfire Heart sing-a-long next with James Blunt leading. Bless him. 60% yes votes for this song. There was a suggestion that our brand new WHOLE ROW of men could sing the lower lines. 

Toto's Africa was slapped up on the screen next, very much inspired by another music festival entry this year. But there seemed to be too many words to fit into the lines. 

In impromptu Freddy interpretation from Ed as we we rocked our way through One Vision. This one would work well with a soloist. 

From the redicolous to the sublime, we ended were we began with, with a bit of Secret Love, disco beat included despite to votes from nay-sayers! We ended on a good note. Yay! Harry got a round of applause for being better behaved than Jack, and we are invited to bring in raffle presents for Carol to collect and collate. 

23 May 2014

The All Saints that is a church not a school ...

Dorset for Singing gathered to wow Portland once again with their rich and varied repertoire, during their fourth visit to the Easton Church. We must be good to be asked back again, and we met the new Mr Reverend, and sang our socks off after eating all the custard creams...

All except Michael Greenaway who ate all the Malted Milks, but he needed the sugar after perching on the edge of a pew all night working the video camera to avoid nightmare editing later ...

Here is one that Ed and Jack have put up for us to enjoy - more please dear Team Hintze!




Some nice Solo work from Ed, Julie and the infamous Blogger,and  for those that asked i was singing this lovely song by Audrey Assad. Thank you for the hugs, and the lovely things you said.

We did not have a very big audience, so might need to work that PR head of mine and see if Ed slips me a free kebab for phoning Wessex FM about the next 'Do'.

See you soon for our final set of practices, leading to a top concert somewhere back in Weymouth, when we will endeavor to make hearts happy and raise more money for Julia's House ....See you soon, Love you LOADS - Cat XXXX