Hi, folks
Nothing radically different this week (other than this whole Zoom-world is new!). I did a BCCF workshop on Saturday which we labelled as Zoom 101, for choir-director newbies on Zoom (I call them Zoom virgins), and the whole process of writing it out and working out what needed to be covered codified for me many of the things we’ve been finding in our first couple of sessions, mainly:
• Zoom rehearsals cannot be standard rehearsals, and if we expect that, we’re bound to be disappointed - but....
• Zoom sessions can enable us to do all sorts of things that we could probably never get to doing in the regular way, and we need to make the most of that.
There is information out about a platform called JackTrip which holds much hope for dealing with the latency issue. However, it’s not available yet, it will probably need that everyone has new software, and possibly hardware, and though they talk about it costing very little, I’m not holding my breath!
Phoenix - “Part of this World” - there is no click-track; Nicholle wants us to work with the track we have, and trust to instinct! I understand that that’s scary for some people, and it’s quite OK to decide not to do the recording – but we will spend some time on it this week and next. Think of it as karaoke; you sing karaoke, not aiming for perfection, but to give a good imitation of the song you know. As Don said last week, repetition is key in this situation. The great schools of music training – Orff, Kodaly, Suzuki and Dalcroze – are all based on “do it again!” We are asked to sing what is printed, and not Emily’s mistake. However it’s all very tonal, and if you make a mistake, it probably won’t show.
New music: I have a few things from an organization in the UK called Choir Community – very much geared towards helping community choirs, especially in this “sing at home” time. We’ll take a look at “Sing for Joy”. In the interest of less copying, I’d suggest you print off the Choir-Only version, but I’ve given you the full score as well, for those who have to see the accompaniment. We’ll work it a bit on Tuesday night, and then I’ll post part-predominant recordings for you so you can work on it by yourselves. It’s a bit schmaltzy, but there’s some good singing technique to apply.
September 22 & 29 are “regular” (whatever that is), then October 6 will be a cross-Canada musical tour, with some singing and some listening. Fingers crossed, I hope we may be able to do a hybrid rehearsal on October 13, with some folks in-person at Fraserview, and some being live-streamed at home. There are still things to be worked out for this – protocol details, tech issues and so on. We have established “bubbles” (people who see each other regularly, and don’t need to distance) of
• Bill, Rick & Anna
• Brian, Anne & Anne H
• Susan & Paul
• Amy & Roxanne
I need to know if there is anyone else wanting to rehearse live who already “bubbles” together. Once those groups are established I will plan to set up 5-6 “pods”. A bubble doesn’t need to distance from each other, but a pod does need to distance – and a pod might be made up of a bubble (sitting together) and 3-4 others (sitting at min. 2 metres distance). I need to know if there is anyone with whom you want to pod. Bear in mind that these groups will remain the same anytime we rehearse in-person. I am not going to try and vocally balance pods; we have only 3 tenors and I’m not going to break them up. Pods will probably mostly be one section – sopranos with two pods, altos with one – and just a little mixing. So again, time to think about whether you’d like to be with a mix or just with your section. A few people said “maybe” to live rehearsal - Wendy, HeatherK, Kate, Chris – can you let me know? Just be comfortable with your decision, because I’d rather not move folk in and out....
I have been asked about masks – specifically about Singers Masks, which have more space in front of the mouth, and are kept in place by some sort of stiffening – zip-ties or horsehair or wire or whatever. You can talk to Kate, Susan O and Cathy B, all of whom have made masks, using the pattern created by Joan Fearnley in Ottawa. There are a series of YouTube videos, but I think it’s Joan’s Version 3 that has been most successful - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UNTP-m_K4E
You’ll also find extensive discussions on Facebook under Masks for Performers. It’s a private group – let me know if you have problems getting in, and I’ll contact Joan.
There are a couple of commercial variants:
MyMusicFolders sells The Resonance Singers Mask:
https://www.mymusicfolders.com/product-category/covid-19-supplies/
The Broadway Relief Project has a similar one:
https://www.broadwayreliefproject.com/singersmask
If you don’t want to make one yourself, and you don’t want to pay US prices for the commercial ones, you could try the 3D Mask made by one of the singers in Phoenix Chamber Choir – it’s not as wired as the others, but it has the fullness that allows for singing space. https://masksforsale.paperform.co/
Barbra makes three styles – it’s the 3rd, the 3D, that you want. All her proceeds go to support an Abbotsford food bank program.
Fabiana Katz swears by the little plastic/silicone face bracket that can be worn under a mask, over mouth and nose – I think they probably come from China and you have to order them from Amazon or Etsy.
Is someone willing to be Doorkeeper this Tuesday, please? - stay on top of the Waiting Room, check folks off (and give me the list afterwards), monitor Chat, etc
Susan O & Elizabeth: Likely no sectionals this week – but probably Sept 29....
Reminder: 7pm start – so I’ll open up around 6:40pm. At the end of the rehearsal anyone who wants can get themselves a drink and stay around for an Afterglow at a virtual O’Hares....
See you Tuesday
Brigid
