A Nightingale Sang . . .

One giant leap outside the comfort zone

2012-02-19T18:52:00.003Z

It is now less than a month to go before my Grade 4 singing exam so time then for a run through of the required songs with the accompanist for the exam, Nest Harrris who is based in Quorn. It seems the usual procedure when entered for an exam through Caroline is to have a couple of practice sessions with Nest before the exam proper just to get the tempo sorted and to meet her and for us to get to know each other a little bit.

So all very relaxed? Well yes, it should be, but you know me! This is definitely one giant leap outside my comfort zone and going to sing with a new pianist made me a bit apprehensive. When Anna-Ruth and I arrived (Anna is taking her Grade 7!), it was Anna to go first, while I sat in Nest's front room. I could hear Anna's stunning voice which made me feel a tad inadequate, and when I heard Nest correcting some of Anna's minor errors, I did wonder what she would make of my efforts. I thought Anna sounded splendid, but Anna thought otherwise, but isn't that always the way? Are we singers ever happy with our performances?

My turn came all too quickly and naturally I had a minor attack of the jitters! Don't ask me why, it just happens okay? Caro mio Ben started a bit hesitantly, but I gradually got going and made a decent fist of it I think. What struck me straight away was the quality of sound produced by Nest's piano. I do confess to being a bit ignorant of the instrument. I would've called it a 'Grand' piano, but have no idea in truth what the difference is between a 'Grand' and a 'Baby Grand' piano. Size presumably, but whatever this was it produced a quite gorgeous sound! I've always thought a piano was a piano, but here was something I'd never heard in my life let alone attempted to sing with.

Despite my obvious nerves, Nest was very complimentary, particularly regarding my 'accuracy'. I always feel like I stay in tune, but worry about the quality of the tone I produce, but to be complimented in that way after my first nervous effort was very reassuring and helped me relax a bit. An Die Laute followed and due to my nerves, my mouth was by this time a bit dry. Now if one is going to get one's tongue around the German language, one needs a bit of saliva I find! You just try eating four unbuttered Cream Crackers and then attempt to sing 'Nachbarn aber, nachbarn nicht'. Pretty damned impossible I reckon. I hope a bottle of water is permissable in the exam room, because a good swig will be required before this one I think. Nest played it beautifully and I started to relax and get into it. We ran through the second verse again, in a vain attempt to get my tongue around the previously mentioned horror line.

One thing that Nest does at the end of each intro, is to turn her head slightly and nod at the point when one is meant to come in. I confess that I was totally unable to follow the piano part and was unsure where to come in, but the nod was very helpful! I passed on this bit of information to Caroline later and suggested that she does likewise in lessons. Sadly, the response was "it ain't gonna happen". Harsh Caroline, very harsh! ;-)

Finally, we did Do I love You Because You're Beautiful from Cinderella. This all too brief piece went okay and again I felt a bit humbled to be standing singing to this beautiful sound. Anyway, Anna and I will have one final session with Nest on the Friday before the exam, when I will attempt to sing without copies, as I will have to in the exam. Scary stuff!

I followed this up on Saturday afternoon with another lesson with Caroline where we ran through the same songs, plus the unaccompanied folk song Barb'ra Allen. I am really going to have to practice this one hard. As I said last time, I feel horribly exposed singing unaccompanied and it felt no better on Saturday but I guess the more I practice the better it will be.

And what of the aural tests and stuff? Hmmm. Commenting on the dynamics, and tempo of a piece shouldn't be too bad, but I am struggling a bit in identifying major and minor keys. It all seemed glaringly obvious to Anna and Olivia, but not alas, to me. Just when I thought I had it sussed I got one wrong! So I think I need to have a play on Anna's piano and try and get it clearer in my head.

Clapping a rhythm is something I am totally rubbish at. My claps are a bit - no, not a bit, a LOT, pathetic! And sight reading is err, how shall we say, 'mixed'? But, at the end of the day, to use a football cliche, the biggest obstacle to me doing well in this exam is myself. If I can just relax, chill out and enjoy it, I will do well. I know it and simply hope that on the day I can. At one point in the lesson, Caroline said 'you're panicking' and she was right. She stopped short of giving me a good slap, but it's probably what I need sometimes I think.

But what the heck, it's all good, challenging stuff and something I wouldn't have considered at all possible just one year ago. Even Nest herself said that she thought I was incredibly brave to be even considering doing an exam at all! Whatever happens, I've got to just enjoy the experience and that's the ultimate aim.

See you next time,

Alyn.

Sometimes life's coincidences are just spooky!

2012-02-12T22:31:00.001Z

There are times when one wonders quite what the 'big fella upstairs' is playing at. Sometimes it seems things are afoot that are just beyond mere coincidence. I say this as a result of a phone call this evening from Caroline who had just read my previous blog. She referred to my reference to a certain Alfred Deller, a counter tenor whom I happened to stumble upon in my desperate search for useful rendition of Barb'ra Allen.

After trawling through literally hundreds of versions of the song and gradually despairing of finding an example that matched the arrangement that Caroline had supplied me with, I found a recording of it by one Alfred Deller. Now, it appears there is a rather extraordinary link between Mr Deller and The Caroline Sharpe Singers. Alfred Deller apparently has sung with another counter tenor of some repute called John Whitworth and examples of their work can be found on Youtube.

John Whitworth has a daughter called Vicki, who just so happens to be a member of Caroline Sharpe Singers and even has singing lessons with my wife Ruth. How bizarre is that?

What next? Is Paul Alfie Boe's brother-in-law? I wouldn't be in the least bit surprised!

See you next time.

Alyn

Aural tests and singing unaccompanied

2012-02-11T22:13:00.001Z

The singing I don't have a problem with. Learning the words and remembering them on the day is a challenge, but I can cope with that. Even the German is sinking in, though the pronunciation might need a little further work. No, what bothers me a bit is the aural tests and the sight reading. Caroline assures me I am quite good at sight reading, but I don't feel quite so confident.

Getting the pitch instantly right I find a bit tricky at times and the leaps from a low note to a higher one particularly so. But, a little exercise I've been given should help. Practice, practice, practice! Caroline sent me several links to some websites (see the links in the right hand column of this blog) which should help, though I did find myself arguing with the aural test site. I think I disagreed with what constitutes 'smooth notes' at one point.

My latest singing lesson included a first attempt at singing Barb'ra Allen unaccompanied. Oh Lord! I hadn't thought about it before, but being given a starting note and told to just 'sing' is strangely scary. To be quite honest I felt like I was standing naked on top of Rivington Pike on a cold windy day! For those not familiar with the aforementioned Pike, it is a hill of relatively modest size near Bolton but on the top of it one feels horribly exposed and invariably subjected to a biting cold wind. Well, that's what singing unaccompanied feels like to me at any rate. It's strangely comforting to have an accompanist at your side and I hadn't realised just how much until last Wednesday.

Meanwhile, I have at last found a useful rendition of Barb'ra Allen to listen to on Spotify (a music application linked to Facebook). There are hundreds of versions of the song, but I've only found one as per the version Caroline has given to me and it is by a counter-tenor called Alfred Deller. I'm really not too sure about counter-tenors. The vocal sound is quite impressive, but it just doesn't 'look' right somehow - a big hefty bloke singing with a high pitched voice? I suppose it's just not 'the norm'. I guess I just need to listen to a bit more of the counter-tenor voice of Mr Dellor and perhaps Andreas Scholl, another such singer of some repute.

This morning (Sat. 11th) brought another Caroline Sharpe Singers rehearsal and when Ruth, Anna-Ruth and I arrived (a tad late due to Poppy walking duties and Trinity parking issues) we were confronted by a packed room. Crikey, the way things are going, we'll need a bigger practice venue! If everyone turned up there would about twenty members now I think. So it would seem the key to recruitment for us chaps in the male voice choir is for each member to persuade family, friends and neighbours to come along. Sounds easy?

During this rehearsal I had the job of 'poking' newbie Paul, should he feel tempted to drop an octave! Let's just say after the first run-through of I Believe, Paul may well be somewhat bruised in the upper arm! But it seemed to work and he sang with more confidence second time, so much so that Caroline is now thinking of adopting the 'poke therapy' in her lessons. Be warned!

Anyway, lots of homework is now required for both CSS and for my upcoming exam. Next Friday will be my first exam rehearsal with the accompanist Nest Harris. I'm not panicking, really, I'm not. Eeeeeck!?!

Cheers for now,

Alyn.

Caroline Sharpe Singers and a fish called 'Bob'.

2012-02-04T23:04:00.002Z

What is it about singing? Its capacity to lift the spirit is quite remarkable and must represent the best possible therapy to help counter the debillitating effects of life's stresses and strains. Heaven knows, with the black cloud of redundancy hovering overhead, I might just need it all the more in the coming months.

Anyway, let's not dwell on all that just now. There's much more exciting stuff to discuss, such as the aftermath of the Long Eaton concert, a splendid singing lesson with Caroline and an excellent rehearsal of the ever growing Caroline Sharpe Singers.

So, what of the concert in Long Eaton? Opinion within the choir is still divided regarding the new concert attire, which I continue to find a bit strange. If anyone still needs convincing perhaps a word with some of the audience might be a good idea. Even the most staunch opponent of any change from the traditional blazer and tie, must surely concede that it went down well with the audience. Feedback that I received suggests that we immediately appeared less like a group of old men which has got to be a good thing hasn't it?

I personally believe that with many choirs seemingly struggling to attract new blood to their ranks to keep themselves going, we perhaps all need to modernise our outlook. Choirs as a whole must inevitably move with the times or perish. A simple costume variation won't change things overnight, but it's a start and a good step in the right direction, I think.

On Wednesday I had another lesson with Caroline and this one was just great. On rare occasions I do manage to relax and just 'sing' and this was once such occasion. During the week after listening to An Die Laute over and over again on Youtube, the first verse has at last sunk in. All I need to do now is repeat the same for verse two and that's that one sorted. Caro Mio Ben is there or thereabouts and Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful is easy-peasy, so I really do believe I can have a decent stab at this Grade 4 exam in March! There's a small matter of singing Barb'ra Allen unnaccompanied, but I'm sure I'll have it cracked, he said confidently!

After all the exam stuff we finished off with a 'fun song' to quote Caroline. She handed me a copy of Bring Him Home. As Facebook followers will be aware, Mr Boe is currently a bit of a favourite of mine, particularly the rendition of this song in the 25th anniversary performance of Les Miserables. One day I will sing this song - properly, you see if I don't!

On Saturday morning it was another Caroline Sharpe Singers rehearsal and our ranks have now swelled to amazing numbers! Word is clearly getting around and friends are coming along to join in the fun! If recruitment is this easy for CSS, one wonders why the LMVC struggles to achieve the same? Hmmm!?! Anyway, the new pieces are starting to sound really good particularly Canon in D. Just wait for our next concert!

And before I go, I guess I'd better explain the reference to 'a fish called 'Bob' in the title. Well, another local singer of some repute, Neal Chantrill, is expecting a baby any day now. Actually, his wife Renata is - obviously! Anyway, it means there is no room anymore for the fishtank and it's occupant 'Bob'. Now, being a former fish keeper myself, I couldn't ignore Neal's plea for a good home for poor Bob, so I answered the call! Tomorrow I will pop over to Shepshed to collect Bob and his tank! So an unexpected and exciting end to a fine day.

I'll let you know how Bob has settled in to his new home next time.

Cheers for now,

Alyn.

Loughborough Male Voice Choir and Enchanted in Long Eaton

2012-01-29T17:30:00.002Z

There is something great about getting up on the day of a concert. No real nerves these days, just a wonderful excitement. Prior to previous concerts I've felt somewhat under prepared, but for this one I felt pretty confident, provided my post cold voice would hold out.

The night would see the debut of the new bow-ties and cummerbunds. Some within the choir have been reluctant to embrace the idea of a change from the traditional blazer and tie, while others are keen to add a little variety to our attire. Well, this evening we would find out what the audience thinks.

Get there 'ready to sing at 6.15pm' was the order and I managed it - just. On arrival, it was like stepping into Ice Station Zebra! T'was rather parky as we say up north. The prospect of singing the second half in shirts and bow ties without jackets seemed optimistic in the extreme, but with over an hour to 'kick-off' it would warm up, wouldn't it?

Prior to our 'warm up' (vocally that is), the logistics of getting on and off stage were worked out. Apart from a touch of vertigo standing at the back, things were fine. That left about forty minutes to kill. Much of this time was spent frantically searching for Derek's orange carrier bag which contained his bow-tie and cummerbund, and these were eventually located in his coat pocket. I could laugh, but I've done the same kind of thing myself, so many times!

After our warm-up it was Enchanted's turn, led as usual by Caroline Sharpe. One initially feared for the girls as their attire was definitely not suited to the sub-zero temperatures of the theatre. Actually, all the girls looked stunning. I did tell Anna-Ruth to cover herself up in disapproving step-father type fashion, but I WAS JOKING okay?

Before I knew it, the theatre had warmed up remarkably and it was time to start. And we did have an audience - not huge but respectable. We started in traditional blazer and ties and sang four pieces without copies. Chris Hill often jokes about the lack of eye contct with us as we all too often remain focussed on the music rather than on him. Well for these four we had no excuse and it felt so much better and I'm sure looks so much better to the watching audience. After With a Voice Of Singing and Stout Hearted Men, George did his usual compere stuff including the mobile phone warning. As I stood on stage, to my horror, I realised I had forgotten to switch mine off and it was in my jacket pocket! So I had to cross my fingers and hope that no-one would phone or text me while I sang Old Time Religion and When the Saints. How embarrassing would that have been?

This was followed by Lyndon Gardner's first set of solo numbers. I'll have to check what these were and add the details later, but the man sounded in fine voice. Us chaps were then back on stage for the two welsh songs, Myfanwy and Llanfair, which seemed great to me. Real 'Male Voice Choir' songs these and I really like them.

Next up were Enchanted and their first set comprising We'll Gather Lilacs; Soldier, Soldier; The Physician and Fever. Soldier, Soldier is incredibly intricate and complex and I marvel at how they manage to sing it so well and The Physician is just hillarious! Back stage I couldn't hear as well as I would have liked, but it all sounded fabulous to me.

To round off the first half we then did the gorgeous Let it Be Me (one of my personal faves) and the now legendary Is This the Way to Amarillo. This last piece was a vast improvement on its first airing but, for me, we simply have to sing this without copies in future! As I have said before, this is a great opportunity to let our hair down and get the audience singing and clapping with us. If we have our hands free we can clap along and really get the audience into it! It's gotta happen!

The interval required a costume change on the part of the choir. Off with the jackets and ties and on with the bow-tie and cummerbund! Despite the protestations of one or two, it was done and we walked back onstage to wolf-whistles, most notably from my wife Ruth, but she was not alone! I will address the subject of attire later but, suffice to say, it was met with universal approval. We continued with Danny Boy and Eriskay Love Lilt which was followed by the Quartet's (for 8?) rendition of Always Look on the Bright Side, which seemed to go well. After that came a new piece, a Chris Hill arrangement of That's what Friends are For. This starred Chris Higgins as soloist and Mike Godwin on Harmonica. This piece was only introduced by Chris Hill quite recently, but the two guys rose to the occasion superbly. "Hasn't Chris Higgins got a lovely voice", to quote Ruth! Mike too, gave his best harmonica solo yet. He had been struggling a bit in rehearsals, but came good on the night. Well done guys!

I then made a bit of a mess of Viva l'amour, mainly because I was trying to look more at our conductor throughout this concert rather than our copies and thought I knew this one well enough. Sadly I forgot a bit and then couldn't find my place and got flustered a bit and 'goldfished' for a line or two!

Lyndon then did his second slot which concluded with a bit of a sing-a-long. I only vaguely knew the piece but almost everybody else backstage was singing along. The choir followed it with two modernish pieces Thankyou for the Music and Chanson d'amour, with the latter 'sexy and breathy' like never before and the former only slightly affected by another attack of the second tenor doo-doos! Messed them up in the first verse but got it about right in the second. Sigh!

That left Enchanted to do their final set which incuded Some Enchanted Evening and the Oklahoma Medley which was utterly brilliant and had half the MVC singing along backstage, again. To wrap up this excellent concert the MVC sang Everytime We Say Goodbye and You'll Never Walk Alone. And that was that. Without doubt the best male voice choir concert that I have been involved in so far.

Why was it so good? I'm finding it difficult to define really. It just felt 'right'. I think the variety of traditional, modern and the humourous was spot on and expertly put together by Mr Hill. One big hit on the night was the new attire. Despite the scepticism of some, it was certainly a big hit with the audience. I have heard no negative comments other than it might look better with black trousers rather than grey. The change in clothing complimented the difference in the material that we presented in each half. One comment made the point that we immediately looked 'so much less like a bunch of old men'.

Secondly, I think the more singing we do without copies the better. I tried to minimise the time I spent looking down and I realised how much more following of Chris we all need to do. An obvious point I suppose, but it makes a huge difference and it looks better to the audience too I think. One day, a whole concert without copies, perhaps a la Fron? It's gotta come!

A negative comment albeit minor - I found the venue a little 'dead' acoustically to sing in. Sis-in-law Julia said she didn't get the usual 'hair on the back of the neck' thing after the big crescendos. That small point aside, it was a great night and well done to all.

Finally, please feel free to post any comments you'd like to make about the gig below as it would be nice to receive some feedback, particularly about the new 'gear'. Just click on where it says 'x' comments below and let me know what you thought, good or bad. That goes for anything I post on here too.

Cheers for now,

Alyn

One night to Long Eaton

2012-01-27T21:19:00.006Z

There is now less than twenty-four hours before our first concert of 2012. Tomorrow night the LMVC will go just a few miles over to Long Eaton's Duchess Theatre where we will present a concert entitled 'Thank You for the Music' with our extra special guests, Enchanted. The question on everyone's lips (well mine actually), is: Will I manage to rid myself of 'the lurg' sufficiently to enable me to sing the whole concert?

Thursday's final rehearsal did not bode well. The lurg had finished its work in the nasal region and by Thursday evening was concentrating its attention on the chest. Several coughing fits ensued mid-song and the voice finally fell apart altogether during When the Saints. Mind you, I've never got that one right yet, so a coughing fit might prove something of an improvement! Whatever state my fragile voice is in it will probably be better than nowt. You see bailing out is not an option as we currently have something of a Second Tenor crisis.

Gwyn left at Christmas, Ray Walker is off on yet another holiday (a six week epic this time!), Peter Bateman is currently indisposed due to having his knees done (get well soon Peter!) and Jim Lacey is simply unavailable for this one. So that leaves just Reg Winning, John Holt and me. Chris Hill has even mentioned the outrageous possibility of granting a baritone or two a 'free transfer' over to us second tenors! What is the man thinking? Only joking boys! You'll be very welcome and it would restore a bit of balance to the choir I think.

Now, the last week also saw an extra committee meeting at Chairman Higgins' house, this time to discuss one topic - recruitment. It's a tricky one this and seems a problem that is not exclusive to our choir. I believe one or two choirs locally are in danger of folding and others are, contemplating amalgamation. So we tried to suggest some ideas of how to get in contact with those people out there that want to sing but like me, for whatever reason have not done anything about it. I won't download all the meeting now, but suffice to say, one avenue to explore is to increase our presence on the 'wibbly-wobbly-way' - the internet. So without further ado, we now have a Facebook page, hastily thrown together by 'yours truly'.

So when you finish reading this post, I expect you all to immediately click on the link button on the right-hand column of this blog (see 'The Choir on Facebook') and go take a look. It's in its infancy obviously, and more stuff will appear as I get to grips with it. But please make sure you 'Like' the page and leave comments, suggestions, photos, reviews, in fact whatever you like - good or bad. Constructive criticism is always welcome and I promise to respond to anything asked as quickly as I am able.

Meanwhile, Chris Hill is looking into Twitter too and maybe we will get everything linked up in time.

So that's your lot for now. Time for my beauty sleep in readiness for tomorrow night's cultural extravaganza! It's a great venue - not a duff seat in the house and a mere £6 each. How can you refuse?

See y'all in Long Eaton?

Cheers,

Alyn.

Expanding repertoire for Caroline Sharpe Singers and the dreaded 'lurg'. . .

2012-01-21T17:03:00.005Z

Okay, so I'm a bit late. Forgive me, but I've not quite been one hundred percent these last few days. You know the script - feeling a bit below par and not really knowing why? Well, last night the sore throat started, requiring a Lemsip at 5am. Well, I am male after all!

Many thanks then go to a certain colleague of mine who shall remain nameless (Kevin!) who heroically came into work every day despite suffering with a terrible cold and cough. Well done! Net result, he gives it to me. Cheers! Why do people do that eh? Al's Rule of Life Number 1: If you are ill, STAY AT HOME. My beloved employers even have a set of 'Golden Rules' and Golden Rule Number 1 is, and I quote, "BE FIT FOR WORK". I rest my case yer 'onor!

Will this prevent me getting to the next Caroline Sharpe Singers rehearsal on Saturday 21st? No way matey! Rest assured fellow singers, if I was snuffling and coughing, I WOULD'VE STAYED AT HOME!!! Will the lurg come and go in time for the concert in Long Eaton next Saturday? Well, please will you all say a collective prayer or two over the next seven days and will it away? Cheers!

Anyway, I will now rewind back to Saturday 14th and the first C.S.S. rehearsal of the new year. This brought some new faces - a lass called Gail plus another bloke! Great stuff! Paul, seemed to enjoy it but apparently felt rather nervous. Well, all I can say Paul, is do have a read through earlier postings on this blog about my own personal battle! Nerves are there to be overcome and you won't find a better bunch of people to help you achieve it. The great thing about the Caroline Sharpe Singers is the wide mixture of abilities within the group. There's accomplished voices, complete beginners and all manner of levels inbetween. But there's never any embarrassment at messing up. Heaven knows I mess up and often, but we all have a laugh about it. It's that relaxed atmosphere that helps me 'go for it', more so than the male voice choir if I'm totally honest. Sometimes I do feel a little intimidated by the seemingly greater abilities and experience of the rest of the chaps in the MVC, but it is getting better in that respect. So Paul, stick at it and you'll love it. Trust me!

To start the new year, Caroline has introduced some great new pieces to the choir's repertoire. Firstly I believe, famously sung by Elvis I believe! :-) This will include Enchanted singing Ave Maria over the top. Should be interesting! Secondly, we have Almost Like Being in Love from Brigadoon and also Canon in D by Pachelbel. So good stuff to come in the next concert in April.

This morning, Saturday 21st following my early morning Lemsip, I feared the worst but the voice stood up to the test and Almost Like Being in Love is starting to sound pretty good. It never ceases to amaze me how new songs start as a bit of a mess and are rapidly transformed into a really impressive sound. As Chris Hill says, something magical happens when people come together and sing!

Meanwhile, it's German and Italian for me as I aim for that exam! Caro mio Ben is coming on and my Italian is now sounding less like chinese thankfully. Initially, my pronunciation of 'Caro mio' sounded like I was about to order a chicken chow mein and some egg fried rice! But it's coming together now I think except for the exciting climax. Caroline has added a challenging 'twiddly bit' just to make it interesting. Then there's Schubert's An die Laute. Rather than Chinese, trying to get my tongue around German words like 'nacht', 'licht' and 'nachbarn nicht' makes me sound more like a gay dance instructor with a speech impediment - apparently. Ruth, while sitting in on my lesson noticed the striking resemblance, aurally at least to the hilarious Louie Spence. I'm afraid the vertical leg kicks are well beyond me alas.

With that slightly frightening image I will bid you all farewell.

Until next time!

Cheers, Alyn.

ABRSM music theory, singing exams and humming in one's sleep!

2012-01-15T21:11:00.000Z

I think that this week we have seen evidence to suggest that (as many of you have probably already suspected), I am now in urgent need of some sort of therapy. Why so? Well, several days ago, my wife reported strange events during the course of the previous night! In the early hours, Ruth was woken by a strange humming. A passing aeroplane? A car outside the house with the engine running (we get a lot of those - really annoying)? No, it was nothing like that. This was apparently quite tuneful. No dear friends, t'was I. Yours truly was actually humming in his sleep! Ruth sadly, was unable to 'Name That Tune', but if I was a betting man, I'd put money on it being one of the songs I need to learn for an event in March (to be exclusively revealed below). Whatever it was, I am at least reassured that it was reasonably melodic. Ruth actually asked me whether I was awake and I apparently responded with "Yes". Alas, I have no recollection of this at all. Nurse, the straight-jacket!?!

Anyway, not to worry. New Year means a new set of goals. After the hectic run-up to the festive period, it would be tempting to put my feet up for a while, at least until the next concert at the Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton on January 28th? Not a chance mate!

Ms Sharpe suggested over the Chrimbo break that I have a stab at an ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal School of Music) exam, some time in the summer maybe? She suggests leaping straight in at Grade 4!?! I suppose it is a huge compliment that she doesn't think I need to bother with Grades 1 to 3, but it will inevitably mean a lot of 'catch up', music theory wise. Therefore, music theory workbooks 1-4 plus 'The AB Guide to Music Theory -Part 1', were duly ordered and they arrived rapid style courtesy of good ol' Amazon. Then I find that the exam is likely to be a bit earlier in the year.

"Err, how much earlier", I ask?

"Arr, erm, . . . . . . . . March"?

"The tail end of March I hope", says I.

So mid March it is then? That gives me about two months to learn to sing one song from each of three sets of pieces, plus my own choice of traditional/folk song. In the first group, the obvious choice had to be Caro mio Ben, as I'm already there or thereabouts with that one. In the next group Caroline picked out an interesting Schubert piece called An die Laute. As step-daughter Anna-Ruth is quick to confirm, I've never been the biggest fan of the german language in song, but I think that stems from a loathing I have for some Kiri Te Kanawa pieces on a CD set I have! Not good, but then, I don't care much for Ms Te Kanawa in truth. Anyway, it seems like a nice little song, so I'll give it a crack.

From the third group of songs from musicals, Caroline suggested a charming piece from Cinderella called Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful? Orr, how sweet! One to be practiced in front of my wife I think!

Finally, I need to choose a traditional folk song to sing unaccompanied (Yikes!?!). I hadn't a clue what to choose for this but thankfully Caroline suggested a song called Barb'ra Allen. Now, I immediately recognised this one as it features in one of my all time favourite films - Scrooge, the 1950's classic starring Alistair Sim. As a reformed Scrooge visits his nephew (I think?) after his meetings with the three ghosts, the family are all around the piano on Christmas Day, singing this song. An odd choice to feature in a Christmas film as it's actually quite a depressing tale. A quick 'Google' of the title reveals that there are about 600 versions of this song dating from the late 1600's. Some have only a few verses, others with over ten. Thankfully, I'm only expected to sing two, but the whole tale of Barb'ra Allen is quite an interesting one. I might just reveal the whole story in a later blog!

Meanwhile, the LMVC are on the run-up to the next concert at the Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton and I have my LMVC publicity duties to attend to - a task not helped by the fact that Long Eaton has neither a newspaper nor a radio station! Strange but true, so I'll need to investigate other avenues to try to ensure we have an audience in excess of one man and his wife! Nottingham? Or Derby? Or both?

Anyway, this gig will also feature the marvellous Enchanted. So with us chaps belting out some favourite classics plus a few newbies like Amarillo and Chris Hill's personal fave, the Carole Bayer Sager penned song, That's What Friends Are For, plus Enchanted's usual mix of gems, PLUS solo spots from the choir's own Lyndon Gardner, it is going to be cracking concert I think. Get your tickets NOW ladies and gents. It'll be worth the ticket price just to see the guys sporting brand new bow-ties and cummerbunds for part of the concert!

Blimey, I've not even mentioned the Caroline Sharpe Singers and our first rehearsal of the new year. Sorry, I've waffled on for long enough this time, so I'll fill you in on that next time - later this week, I promise!

Cheers for now,

Alyn.

A Nightingale Sang's Review of 2011

2012-01-02T21:39:00.004Z

So, that was the year, that was. . .

It's always good to look back at the year departed and reflect on the good bits. Unlike the BBC and Sky, I prefer to ignore the depressing stuff. I have had more than enough of 'euro zone crisis', 'double-dip recession', and Bolton Wanderers' catastrophic performances to last a life time thank you very much. No, let's reflect on the positives - the exciting stuff. Thankfully, there's been plenty of it.

So here goes, starting at the very beginning, a very good place to start. . .

January:

Not a great deal to report with regard to January other than the successful installation of the Bingham railway bridge at the A46 - a critical part of the job where my chums at Balfour Beatty had about 3 days to move umpteen tonnes of ready constructed bridge into place and to be ready to accept trains when time was up. Job done and the road widening scheme then went on apace. Hoorah!

February:

A right parky (very cold) winter was warmed somewhat by a trip to Kegworth to see a concert by the Loughborough Male Voice Choir. During the interval, Ruth, Anna-Ruth, Caroline, husband Charlie and I had a chat with Chris Hill who I'd met before in his role as Enchanted's accompanist. He mentioned the need for fresh faces in the choir and wondered if Charlie and I were interested. Charlie said there was a reason why he played the drums, but I was tempted. Hmmm! Well, why not? Curiosity got the better of me and I went along to a LMVC rehearsal. Fun!

March:

After a few LMVC rehearsals I'd made my mind up that this singing lark might just be worth persuing. But if I'm going to do this I need to try and do it properly. Nothing else for it but to request a lesson or two from a certain Caroline Sharpe. She sings a bit herself apparently and isn't inclined to teach complete duffers. So I went along and it went well despite non-existent technique and discovered that I could possibly be 2nd tenor rather than bass. Interesting!

April:

On joining LMVC it seemed ridiculous to think I could be ready to sing in a concert with the LMVC with guests, the Stevenage Ladies Choir, on April 9th. But sing I did! Nervous as hell, nay, terrified would be more accurate. Despite being a bit rusty on some songs it was a triumph! Oh and I must mention the Ted Baker jacket purchased for £15 from the Oxfam shop. Nice!

May:

The month of my 51st birthday (hard to believe, I know!) saw preparations for my second 'gig' - Singing in the Park. Queens Park to be exact and under the newly refurbished Bandstand. This went pretty well despite a cloudy day and saw the first use of new battery and other gizmos to power the keyboard.

June:

Quiet month except for an Enchanted concert and more lessons with Caroline of varying quality - my singing not Caroline's teaching.

July:

Weddings! It was to be a fairly quiet summer for the male voice choir, but singing was required by Caroline Sharpe Singers for a wedding or two. We started with pink ties, which were thankfully soon ditched. Phew!

August:

Summer recess for LMVC, but the weddings continued for the Caz-meister. One, a very strange affair at Prestwold with the bride over half an hour late. Shocking!

September:

Back for new season of LMVC rehearsals in readiness for October concert. Following the succcessful wedding singing, it was decided to formalise the 'Caroline Sharpe Singers'. A great move that means fortnightly rehearsals on Saturday mornings with a view to performing a concert in November as part of Caroline's annual 'pupils concert'. Exciting times!

October:

Another wedding in the blazing hot October sun (bizarre but true) followed by equally strange singing lessons with Caroline involving wobble boards and rubber bands. The month climaxed with the LOROS charity concert at De Montfort Hall, Leicester. This included numerous local choirs plus the renowned 'Fron Choir' from Wales. A fantastic, unforgetable experience. Later invited to a Fron rehearsal some time which is an offer I must find time to take up in 2012.

November:

A momentous, life changing, unbelievable night! November 19th 2011 will be remembered until the day I die. I sang a solo of Where e're You Walk at Trinity Methodist Church as part of the annual pupils concert which included Caroline Sharpe Singers too. I won't bore you with any more details, but if you wish to read more click here.

December:-

Crazy, manically busy month of carol concerts, singing in all sorts of varied places, such as Sainsbury's, Carillon Court and the Baptist Church. Undoubtedly the highlight was the ground breaking Christmas Eve Carillon Recital with choir singing in the bandstand. Great stuff!

So that was 2011. For me personally, a pretty dire year with regard to employment but made very special by the sudden and unexpected discovery of singing. With the help and encouragement of my lovely wife Ruth and step-daughter Anna-Ruth, I gained the courage to have a go! If you had told me this time last year that during the coming twelve months I would join a male voice choir, start singing lessons with Caroline Sharpe, and end up singing a solo - twice, I would have thought you crazy. Now, I LOVE IT!

What can readers of 'A Nightingale Sang..' expect from 2012? Well, for sure a LMVC concert in Long Eaton in January, another solo for Caroline possibly in April, ABRSM singing exams in the summer, more LMVC gigs liberally scattered throughout the year, and who knows what might occur next November!

Stay tuned and keep singing!

Cheers,

Alyn.

Christmas Eve Carols in the Park

2011-12-31T16:35:00.008Z

I suppose 'traditions' evolve over a long period of time, but I think we may have experienced the start of one this Christmas Eve in Loughborough's Queen's Park.

Some months ago Caroline came up with the crazy idea of adding a choir to the 'traditional' Christmas Eve Carillon Recital in Queen's Park! Not particularly crazy on the face of it, but when you start to think about it, all manner of questions and doubts arise. For example, how could we possibly coordinate between carillonneur and choir? Would the choir hear the carillon while standing under the bandstand? How would the combined carillon and choir actually sound in reality? Would we get an audience? Would we even have a choir at all, given peoples own christmas plans? Finally, would the beloved Charnwood Council even allow us to perform at all given the perils of 'Health and Safety' in the modern world?

So the first task for Caroline was to tackle the latter concern and approach the relevant council officials. I think they were supportive of the idea in principle, but a 'risk assessment' would need to be carried out. Now I am familiar with such essentials in my role with Balfour Beatty. 'ZERO HARM' is my daily mantra now of course and something I apply in all areas of my life, at all times! Hey Julia, stop sniggering! One can never be TOO safe, even when engaged in the apparently safe pursuit of singing a carol in a bandstand!

God help us! But one thing I have learnt over the last two and a half years is that there is no escape from corporate 'bollards'. Ignore it at your peril. So Caroline set about listing all the possible traumas that might befall a choir in a bandstand:-

Tripping and falling on the steps perhaps? (Ooh, nasty! Bandages, plasters, tin of germoline, team of paramedics?)
Sore throats from singing too loud or dodgy technique? Not possible for a Caroline Sharpe Singer obviously, but maybe others?
Paper cuts from the music sheets? No really, this WAS listed I believe!
How about hypothermia? Possibly the most likely scenario given the time of year?

One unforeseen risk was the possiblilty of strangulation by tinsel, and this was only narrowly averted, mentioning no names, Chris Hill!

Honestly, what a nonsense, but 'rules is rules' as they say. Risk Asessment was duly submitted and the 'all clear' was granted - eventually. We were green for go! Maestro and all round hero Chris Hill bought into the mad idea and was willing to attempt to pull together the choir and carillon. But how to raise a choir and audience? The invite went out to all Caroline Sharpe Singers, Enchanted, Loughborough Male Voice Choir and just about anybody else willing to pop along and who fancied a sing-song.

But how to raise an audience? This potentially ground breaking event definitely needed an audience however it was going to turn out, so publicity was therefore required. Well, in this respect Caroline Sharpe excelled herself. Our friends at Loughborough Echo produced a good piece to support it, but it was Radio Leicester that really came up trumps. An interview with Caroline, who is getting increasingly adept at handling the media, was played throughout the morning of Christmas Eve in several news bulletins and in a longer piece mid morning. Superb!

Right then, game on! I'm not sure Caroline was entirely convinced as a rather nervous phone call to Ruth expressed doubts as to whether we would even have a choir let alone an audience. When we arrived at the bandstand we did indeed have a choir. Well, there was me, Ruth and Julia joining Anna-Ruth, so that was a start. My first job was to ascend the memorial tower's steps right to the top to open the louvre doors - a task beyond the vertigo suffering Caroline.

When I rejoined the choir at the bandstand, the gathering of singers had swelled to a creditable number and we did indeed have an audience. Hoorah! As kick-off approached, yet more people joined audience and choir alike. LMVC members were conspicuous by their absence with the exception of Sue Ellerby who for a change had left her keyboard behind in favour of having a sing along with her husband Mike. Good on yer Sue! Plenty of partners and friends came along too, much to Caroline's delight.

So time for a warm up and a test of the 'walkie-talkies' that were to enable carillonneur and conductor to hopefully coordinate proceedings:-

Beep! "Are you ready, over?" says Caroline.

Chris replied with "that's a big 'ten-four', rubber duck", or something similar and we were ready for the off!

We hesitantly started with Away in a Manger. Click below to view the video!

Okay, so it started off a bit all over the shop, but Chris quickly realised that choir members in the middle of the bandstand could hear precious little of the Carillon, so moved outside to conduct where at least he could hear. Standing on the edge meant that I could hear the carillon and see Chris, so was okay, but it was a struggle for others. We even shuffled round to a better position, mid carol!

By now the audience had swelled to amazing numbers and seemed really 'into' the whole occasion. On we pressed with Once in Royal David's City, followed by Ding Dong Merrily on High (which can both be found now on Youtube - channel 'Enchantize' See the link in the right-hand column of this blog).

Then we sang Silent Night followed by Good King Wenceslas. This one was interesting as men sang some verses and the ladies others. We did drift out of synch with Caroline a couple of times, and had an aditional contribution from Charlie King the cameraman. Take a look:-

I don't know who the bearded gentleman was front right, but whoever you were Sir, may I formally invite you to join the Loughborough Male Voice Choir! We certainly need to boost our numbers and you were in fine voice.

There followed renditions of Coventry Carol, O Little Town of Bethlehem, White Christmas and Hark the Herald Angels Sing and you can view the latter here:-

Chris Hill was doing a great job in between carols chatting to the crowd and getting them involved with the singing. He did rather struggle to control his tinsel though which did make a break for freedom on several occasions.

To round off this memorable event we finished off with Christmas Song (chestnuts roasting on an open fire and all that) and finally O Come All Ye Faithful.

Chris Hill thanked the appreciative audience who slowly drifted away leaving us to reflect on a wonderfully successful event. Yes, there were a few times when choir struggled to keep in time with the carillon, but we gradually got a feel for it. The overwhelming feeling of many of those participating was that this should definitely be repeated. The lessons learnt from this first try will I'm sure stand us all in good stead for future such events.

I couldn't help but wonder just how big this could become with full support and backing from the council and local media. A big, rehearsed choir with a large crowd of Loughborough residents, could make this something very special every Christmas Eve for the town of Loughborough!

See you all next year. Same time, same place?

In the meantime,

Have a Very Happy New Year!

Cheers for now,

Alyn

P.S. I've had a bit of trouble uploading one or two videos, so may attempt a few more in a day or two, so stay tuned.

To the Baptist Church, Carillon Court and a trip to Milton Keynes?

2011-12-26T19:31:00.005Z

Take those chocolates away please! No really. I think it may only take one more 'Celebration', pistaccio nut or chocolate Brazil to tip the delicate balance of my guts over the edge and towards digestive armageddon! Mince Pie anyone? Brrrrp!?!

So, time for a Boxing Day detox, an evening chill and a blog catch up. Now where was I up to? Oh yes, a concert. Okay, so it wasn't Milton Keynes, but it certainly looked like it. The town in question was East Goscote, a 1970's planning catastrophe where the only things missing are some concrete cows! Very odd place, but I shall return to that later.

Firstly, another insanely busy weekend began with a short stint for the Loughborough Male Voice Choir at the Baptist Church commencing at ten o'clock on Saturday 17th. We were to be the first on and thus rather lacked an audience at the start with just seven or so intrepid souls present. However, numbers had swelled to around twenty-five by the close of our 15-20 minutes. How did it go? Well, let's just say we were a bit rusty! I barely got going in truth - even Sue threw in a few dodgy notes during the intro to one carol, much to her embarrassment. But, no worries, we did, like the church, warm up and get into the flow of it all eventually. We got it together by the end and then made the short walk across town to Carillon Court for our stint there at 11 o'clock.

We assembled in good time to follow the Salvation Army Band who were just finishing off. As we sang, a good number of curious shoppers took a break from their last minute search for bargains to listen to us as we went through our repertoire. I had my usual fan club in attendance with Ruth, Caroline, Julia and the in-laws present with Ruth and Caroline handing out promo leaflets for the choir! Well done ladies. You will be rewarded in heaven!

Part of my fan club: L-R Julia, Caroline and Martin

Heroes! Caroline and Ruth, collecting for LOROS and handing out LMVC

recruitment leaflets to potential male passers-by!

By that I mean potential choir members not potential males - obviously!?!

Caroline with LOROS collecting bucket.

The singing was relaxed and fun despite the hustle and bustle of christmas shopping all around us. Quite a few stopped for most of the carols with lots actually joining in to sing which was great! Apparently, quite a few gentlemen expressed an interest in the male voice choir and hopefully it is being seen in this sort of setting and being seen to be having a lot of fun that will persuade a few to come along to a rehearsal on a Thursday evening!

LMVC including Paul Blakemore in 'Bah Humbug' hat and me

(centre-right) & accompanied by Sue Ellerby

A smiling Paul Blakemore in that 'Bah Humbug' hat!

Chris Hill conducts Chris Higgins - amongst others!

Loughborough Male Voice Choir in fine voice in Carillon Court

Assorted tenors' with me second from left.

Gwynne gives what was to be his final cornet solo during The Oxen before he leaves the choir.

Cheers and thanks Gwynne. You will be missed!

LMVC in full voice. Great fun was had by choir and shoppers alike.

After all that it was my turn to play audience for a change. On Saturday evening, Ruth and I went along to a strange place called East Goscote, a 1970ish new town built on the site of a former army supply depot. As mentioned earlier, it reminded me a bit of Milton Keynes - lots of concrete and row after row of characterless buildings. Even the 'church' which was to be the venue for the evening's concert looked more like a school hall rather than a church. The concert was to prove an odd mix of festive music from the Cossington Singers, a flutist and the singing of Caroline Sharpe. The flutist was excellent but the choice of music was rather tenuously linked to the festive period. The Cossington singers presented some good Christmas songs, but should have perhaps left out the Pam Ayres 'comedy spot' which didn't quite work for me. Caroline Sharpe was without doubt (and without a hint of bias at all) a class apart. I've said it before and I'll say it again - this woman ought to be a worldwide superstar if there's any justice in this world. Her rendition of O Holy Night was truly stunning - the sort of performance that makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. Absolutely brilliant!

Caroline before her concert in East Goscote with the Cossington Singers

So with that, we then attempted to find our way home, but like my last trip to Milton Keynes, only succeeded in going round in circles. With the deja vu feeling beginning to take hold we finally resorted to the SatNav to get us out of the place! Scary!?!

So was that it for Christmas festivities 2011? Not a bit of it! Next up was an ambitious, (some may say downright foolhardy) attempt to have the traditional Loughborough Christmas Carillon Recital accompanied by a choir. Mad? Doomed to inevitable catastrophe? Maybe, but we the intrepid choir (whoever we turned out to be) were to be conducted by the safe hands of Chris Hill the renowned musical director of LMVC and accompanist to Enchanted. How did it turn out? Did we have an audience? Did we even have a choir? Come back in a day or two for all the gory details which will (technology permitting), include video footage of the momentous event. Not to be missed - trust me!

Cheers!

Alyn.

P.S. Turkey sandwich anyone?

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T00:05:00.000Z

It's now five minutes to midnight on Christmas Eve and this is the first opportunity I have had to add something 'A Nightingale Sang...' for over a week! With festive preparations building up with each passing day, I've just not had a spare moment to devote to writing about everything. Busy, but exciting times!

There has been the annual stint for the Lufbra Male Voice Choir at the Carillon Court last Saturday morning which was great fun. Then we took in a concert in East Goscote featuring Caroline and the Cossington Singers. And today we had the ground breaking Christmas Eve Carillon Recital by Caroline. Ground breaking because this time her recital was to be accompanied by a choir of assorted random singers at the Queens Park Bandstand!

So folks, I promise, as soon as I've got the Christmas festivities out of the way I will get to work on a thorough round-up of the weeks events, complete with photos and some video footage of the Queens Park Carillon Choir Carol Concert! An amazing event that drew quite a crowd and was enjoyed by everyone who attended. And I wouldn't mind betting that it just might become something of a tradition in the years to become!

In the meantime, may I wish all my readers

A Very Happy Christmas!

And I will see y'all soon. Cheers!

- Alyn

Just another manic Sunday!

2011-12-11T23:37:00.003Z

Would you believe it? Solo number two is done and dusted, to end a quite manic but fun filled weekend consisting of Caroline Sharpe Singers rehearsal, Wedding in Wymeswold, Enchanted concert in Barrow, Loughborough Male Voice Choir singing in Sainsburys and a Caroline Sharpe Singers concert in Sileby which included the aforementioned solo spot.

Okay, first on the weekend agenda was the 10 o'clock rehearsal of CSS at Trinity Methodist Church. This all went very well and as it was Caroline's 23rd birthday (?), a beautifully sung 'Happy Birthday' was in order. So the run through went pretty well until Caroline decided to spring the solo run through on me. Now I should've anticipated this really, but the sudden shock sent me into panic mode (again). As I sang Born in the Night (Mary's Child) it seemed to me to be in completely the wrong key! Common sense would suggest that the venerable Mr Hill would be absolutely right and indeed he was. It was all a figment of my over anxious imagination. Not to worry, I remained confident that it would be alright on the night, despite again being extremely nervous of singing in front of this small group of people. I now have a theory as to why this is - more on that later!

From there we trundled off in convoy to Wymeswold for choir duties at another wedding. This turned out to be a much more upbeat ceremony than previous ones and I thought we sang rather well.

Being Caroline's birthday, it was all round to her place after that for nibbles and cake - plenty of cake - A 'Julia' cake created to her 'secret recipe' and a 'Herman' cake!?! Don't ask - there's insufficient space within this blog to explain. . . Herman was very nice anyway. Prior to leaving Caroline's for the evening concert, we all had a sing-song of carols old and new around the piano, which was a right larf!

Okay, off we now go up the road, a mere stone's throw, to Barrow for the evening's Enchanted concert. This was a slightly shorter version of the previous concert, with readings but minus some of the Messiah songs. This was another excellent concert by the girls. They were going to have to do something miraculous to better the last effort and they weren't far off. Bravo! I spent the gig videoing all the songs for possible upload to Youtube. If we do this I'll let you all know.

So back home for a wind-down with a nice bottle of 'red' before a good night's sleep. Readers will no doubt remember that prior to my debut solo a mere 3 weeks ago, I had a bit of a confidence crisis. No such repeat this time I'm happy to report as I slept like a log without the need to symbolically back out of the impending solo.

So Sunday came along and off we went to Sainsbury's in the pouring rain! No matter, we were under cover in the foyer and as I arrived, the Salvation Army band were finishing off their stint. Rather than waffle on about it all, I'll let the photos tell the story of a fun hours carol singing . . .

The Loughborough Male Voice Choir in fine voice at Sainsburys.

Chris Hill conducts the Loughborough Male Voice Choir plus special (albeit shocked) guest -
Enchanted's Olivia Thornber.

Some tenors! R - L:- Lyndon Gardner (first tenor) and Gwynn Bailey and me (second tenors).

The Loughborough Male Voice Choir at Sainsburys, accompanied by Sue Ellerby (hidden).

A 'choir's-eye view of conductor Chris Hill in action.

Photo taken by guest singer for 'Hark the Herald' , my wife Ruth!

The Loughborough Male Voice Choir at Sainsburys!

You can just about spot me in the middle in full voice - no, I really am!

Well, that was fun! Very relaxed and informal, with some unscheduled 'guest appearances' from my wife Ruth, and my step-daughter Anna-Ruth & Olivia Thornber from Enchanted. And the passing shoppers seemed to enjoy it all.

Well, no time to stand around chatting - it was then into the car and off to Sileby Methodist Church for the 4pm start of a Caroline Sharpe Singers and Enchanted concert with the latter reduced on this occasion to just four of the girls: Anna-Ruth, Alice, Maisie and Olivia. This concert was to be along similar lines to the previous Enchanted Christmas concerts but with the addition of some CSS songs and a couple of soloists - Maisie Ramsey and a certain promising newcomer (?) Alyn Coward - that's me in other words. As I arrived at the church it was off with the LMVC blazer and tie and on with the CSS jacket and tie! I can't say that I gave too much to the warm-up as I felt well and truly warmed up at Sainsbugs! Anyway, 4pm was upon me before I knew it and felt a tad flustered as I took my place on the front row.

Now unfortunately, the audience was disappointingly small, due I have no doubt to the horrible weather. No matter, few they may have been but those intrepid few still deserve a good show and it started well with the opener, Sing With the Spirit. Now, I found it very interesting that I started to be increasingly nervous as my solo approached and I think a combination of the small audience and small venue had a lot to do with it. Last month at Trinity, the hall is so large and the audience too, that I was somehow able to block them out. Here however, I was uncomfortably aware of each person just a few feet away. Gulp!

Born in the Night (Mary's Child) started quite well though I was aware of a slight quivering of my voice, but kept at it. Again, comments afterwards emphasised to me that this is not apparent in my singing voice. Clearly, what I hear is not quite what the audience hears, which is a relief in many ways. I've now had too many positive comments for them ALL to be telling 'porkies'! For this song, I had the benefit of four of the gals singing some harmonising 'arhhs' with me on stage. They were: Ruth, Amy Carter, Olivia and Alice. Thanks ladies! The only negatives were that I again felt the need to have my comfort blanket with me - the words. While last time, i didn't need it, this time I probably did if only to ensure that I got the right words in the right verse. And, I ended with another puffing out of the cheeks and sigh of relief rather than a smile and a proper bow! The goal now is to learn to 'perform' a song rather than just sing it! All in good time eh?

Enough about me! Maisie's solo was excellent, as were the readings from each of the girls. The Caroline Sharpe singers were great too, despite one or two gaffes from me - like completely missing the start of my tenor part in verse 2 of Unto Us is Born a Son. As I was the only one singing tenor, this left a gaping hole! Doh, what an eejit! This was recovered somewhat by us chaps being wonderfully 'menacing' in the 'Herod baby slaying' verse 3! Then, after singing Good Christians All Rejoice absolutely perfectly in rehearsal, I made a complete pigs-ear of it in the concert. Bar 48 was the culprit and I'm kicking myself, but hey-ho, such is life. It's all a learning experience as they say.

As for Enchanted, the girls were excellent again, coping admirably with there being just the four of them. Silent Night and The Holly and the Ivy were particularly good I thought. The closing piece, We Wish You a Merry Christmas seemed to go down really well with the modest audience and finished the concert very nicely and brought to an end another extraordinary day. It is certainly a pretty surreal experience standing there on a stage preparing to sing on my own and I can hardly believe I'm actually doing it.

Anyway, I'll leave you with a couple of photographs taken after the concert:-

Enchanted at Sileby Methodist Church

L-R: Anna-Ruth; Maisie; Alice and Olivia.

Post concert photo - L-R:- Caroline; Vicky; Shirley; Anna-Ruth; Maggie; Amy; Ruth; Wendy;

Honor; Diane; Sylvia; Olivia; Alice; Maisie; Ian; Chris; ME and Jeff.

See y'all at Carillon Court next Saturday at 11am and then the Queen's Park Bandstand on Christmas Eve for more Christmas carols, accompanied during the latter by the carillon!

Cheers,

Alyn

Enchanted's best concert yet!

2011-12-04T14:26:00.002Z

On Saturday 3rd December at St. Andrew's Church, Prestwold, Enchanted gave arguably their best concert yet to a large appreciative audience. I've watched this group of girls slowly blossom over the last couple of years into a polished, professional singing group and I have wondered just how good it is possible for them to get. In a way it is quite sad to think that this group of talented girls may well soon drift apart as university calls and pulls them in different directions. So I guess we all need to enjoy them while they are still here.

Last night's concert was simply STUNNING. Right from Caroline's opening reading from Isiah ix (did I detect a touch of Diane Sharpe influenced elocution there?) through to the final Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, the standard of singing and reading was quite exceptional. I could enthuse about all of last night's pieces, but I'll concentrate of just a few bits.

Firstly, when I heard that the girls were to try a selection of pieces from Handel's Messiah, I thought it was perhaps a bit over ambitious. As a child, my father insisted on taking us to see a performance of the Messiah somewhere just about every year. So I've seen and heard quite a lot - some good, some bad and some it has to be said, downright ugly! I can honestly say that my dad would have definitely approved of Enchanted's efforts last night. Each piece was done brilliantly, but deserving of special praise is Holly's rendition of Rejoice. I've heard quite a few singers attempt Rejoice and to be frank, make a complete 'pigs ear' of it! The potential for disaster is huge with this one and I've seen a few finish rather red faced with embarrassment. But Holly put in a stunning performance I thought. How one gets to grips with all those 'twiddly bits' as I would call them, goodness knows, but I guess that Caroline person has a lot to do with it.

Following Holly were Anna-Ruth and Olivia with He Shall Feed His Flock. This emphasised, if such a thing were needed, just how much the two have come on over the last year. It was good to hear Anna say afterwards that she thought she had sung well, as she is often way too critical of herself. I thought it was the best I'd heard both of them ever sing. And no Anna, that doesn't mean that you were rubbish previously!

Fantastic stuff, as were the mince pies and mulled wine. Jake and I were offered 'seconds' of the mince pies and felt obligated to help finish them off. Yum! The second half was equally as good as the first with some varied pieces such as O Holy Night, Mid-winter and White Christmas. The concert ended with Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas played by Chris in Dean Freidman Lucky Stars keyboard stylee! Nice one Chris!

So there you have it. A concert to stay in the memory at least until their next, probably even better concert at Barrow Methodist Church on Saturday 10th December. Frankly you'd be a fool to miss it! Get there at 7.15pm for pre-concert mince pies!!

Don't you just lurve Christmas?

Cheers,

Alyn.

Embarrassing text messages

2011-11-24T15:30:00.001Z

Greetings Folks!

After my triumphant debut solo last Saturday at Trinity Methodist Church, it is nice, if a little embarrassing, to look back at the twenty-four hours that preceded it. As previously documented (immediately below), I did get a little nervous beforehand!?! Yeah okay, I admit it - utterly paralysed with fear! As the hours passed on Friday, things went from bad to worse. Facing the prospect of absolutely zero sleep on Friday night I felt I would simply have to give the solo a miss.

With that decided and communicated to Ruth, I did sleep okay but still felt I had to send the following text message to Caroline at 09.07 am on Saturday morning:-

Morning! In order to stop myself degenerating into a nervous wreck, I've decided to give the solo a miss. Sorry, but I'd like to focus on the 2 CSS songs and enjoy it! The solo will come - one day. See ya later. Al.

At 09.32 am, Caroline replied with the following text message:-

That's fine. You're not programmed. But still have a go with Chris this am if you want - good practice for next year!

There, 'get out clause' duly established, but I'd just have to politely decline the run through with Chris! Phew! Unknown to me at the time, Ruth had then sent Caroline this message:-

Good work Mrs K - was hoping you'd suggest still doing it with Chris ... You never know!! Bless him!

Cringe!?! As embarrassing as all this now is, looking back, it was all very necessary and served a purpose - all the way along, I needed to feel I could back out! Knowing that somehow helped me find the courage to go ahead with it! The rest, as the cliche goes, is history!

Well mustn't rest on my laurels eh? What I need now is ANOTHER solo to aim for! How about singing Born in the Night (Mary's Child) in the Christmas gig? Yeah, bring it on!

Oh 'eck! I don't have to do it, do I?

See y'all later!

Alyn.

The morning after the night before. . .

2011-11-20T14:40:00.005Z

Oh my word. What a night!

W H A T , A N I G H T !

Well, I did it! I sang a solo in front of a hundred or so people at Caroline Sharpe's annual 'pupils concert' at Trinity Methodist Church. I'm struggling to find the right words to adequately express how I feel this morning. Ecstatic? Over the moon? Proud? Deleriously happy? Yep, pretty much all of those. I dare say regular readers of this blog may have been getting a bit tired of hearing about my 'demons' and my struggle to overcome the damned things that have handicapped my life since age ten. Well it ends here! No more. The demons have been slain and the only way is UP from here on.

But plain sailing it was not. Let's rewind a little. . . .

Things were fine when I had a singing lesson with Caroline on Wednesday. I was confident that I could do it and was conscious of how I would probably feel if I bottled out! Between then and Friday evening however, the nerves started to get a hold. By Friday night I had worked myself up into such a state that if I was to get any sleep at all I was going to have to tell Ruth that I couldn't go through with it. To my irrational mind, in order to at least do the two 'Caroline Sharpe Singers' songs justice I would have to forget the solo. Ruth, bless her, reassured me that I didn't need to do it if I didn't feel I could. I'm not on the programme, so no-one would know if I pulled out. So I got a decent night's sleep feeling the pressure was off. Sigh!

Saturday morning first thing I texted Caroline to say I didn't want to do the solo and she just said 'that's fine, but just have a run through with Chris Hill on Saturday morning anyway, just for the experience'. I didn't fancy that to be honest, but never mind. So on Saturday morning it was off to Trinity for the CSS rehearsal. That all went well until it was time for the soloists to do the run throughs with Chris. I then slipped into utter panic mode, and I even put my jacket on and was about to leave. Ruth urged me to stay and at least give it a go which would be an achievement in itself. After all it was only the 'Enchanted' girls listening. I did stay, but when it came to my turn, the absolute terror I felt was indescribable! Only God knows how I managed to get through the whole song. I was shaking like a leaf and when I finished a mild expletive slipped from my lips! Honestly, in a place of worship!?! I think in the circumstances God will forgive me. Anyway, several of the girls commented that the nerves didn't show in my voice which was comforting. Chris tried to emphasise the point, as he has done previously - what's the worst that can happen? A bit of embarrassment? Thanks to Ruth, Chris and Caroline, I left Trinity actually feeling that perhaps I can do it after all.

The next few hours were a bit of a blur, but I was growing even more determined to do it. Olivia posted a message on Facebook which was really nice of her and meant a lot. What was really odd was just how calm I felt when I got to Trinity. Chris and Caroline reckoned it is to do with 'putting on the frock' as it were. One gets 'in the zone'. As of 6.30 pm I was up for it. Game on! But I daren't predict whether that would still be the case come solo time! The problem now was that I had become so focussed on my solo that I was struggling to refocus on the opener Sing With the Spirit with the 'Singers'. For this, Jeff and I were much happier next to each other, which worked much better than the 'one in front of the other' that we had tried in rehearsal. It seemed to go very well and the alarmingly large audience seemed to enjoy it.

Then we had three wonderful pieces: a solo by Holly; a duet with Olivia and Anna-Ruth and then a solo by Alice. These were all stunning performances. Then it was my turn - no pressure then? Caroline and I had worked out a signal system to check that I was still 'up for it'. She was to give me a 'look' before announcing the section of english pieces and I was to respond with a thumbs up or down. By this time I was totally focussed on doing it and forgot to look up. Unknown to me, Caroline and Ruth were looking at each other, trying to ascetain whether I was or wasn't going to sing! Thankfully she did include me in the intro. I was obviously very nervous as I stood up, but I had been strangely gripped by a steely determination to do it. Failure was no longer an option. I've no idea where it came from but was very thankful that it did.

What followed stunned even myself. I felt I started my rendition of Handel's Where E're You Walk a little tentatively so tried to open up a bit. I insisted on having my comfort blanket there in the form of the music on the stand, but in truth didn't follow it at all. I suppose it gave me something to look at rather than the audience, which might freak me out. I found the more I sang the better it seemed to get and I actually started to enjoy it! I remembered to put in the 'twiddly bits' in the second half. Then Chris finished off the tune and the audience applauded and even noticed a few whoops!?! Amazing! For the first time, I actually looked up at the audience and saw smiles on faces! I think that moment will stay with me for ever. I honestly felt like throwing my arms in the air and screaming YEEESSSSS!!! but made do with a feeble bow and sigh of relief.

As I returned to my seat, Chris Hill shook my hand and Ruth was in tears! I had done it. Blimey Charlie, I had actually done it! With the overwhelming feeling of euphoria that followed, I didn't notice Anna-Ruth had gone on after me. So I snapped out of it and tried to listen to the rest of the first half. Again, each piece from Anna, Enchanted, Rowan and Maisie were superb. To round things off were Maggie and Wendy with the hilarious Cat Duet by Rossini. Everyone loved it, especially the kids!

I won't go into too much detail about the second half or this blog will end up like Lord of the Rings, but my last contribution was with the choir for Windmills of Your Mind. I think we all felt this went okay, but with plenty of room for improvement. To complete the concert we had solos from Olivia (accompanied by George Owen), Rose, Wendy, Lottie, Rebekah and Rowan. In the middle, the Ladies Group including my Ruth performed a superb rendition of Lloyd Webber's Look with Your Heart. I think I was as proud of my wife as she was of me. To round off an unforgettable night were Enchanted with the increasingly brilliant Oklahoma medley and then Time to Say Goodbye. A fantastic concert that seems to have been universally heralded as the best so far!

So that was that. The end of what was for me, a truly incredible, life changing experience and a night I will never forget. At the risk of making this blog seem like an oscar acceptance speech, I can't finish without thanking a few people:-

Firstly, my wife Ruth for all the support, belief and encouragement to get me over the finish line
Chris Hill for his Saturday morning 'pep talk' and his exceptional piano playing.
Also Anna, Sis-in-law Julia and Olivia for their words of encouragement.
Finally to the musical genius that is Caroline Sharpe. To get me into a position to sing a solo inside nine months, having never ever sung before is nothing short of miraculous.

Thank you all!

So where do we go from here? Caroline's next major task will be to rein in my runaway enthusiasm! Next up is another wedding and then it's Christmas stuff! Bring it on!

Cheers for now,

Alyn.

To sing or not to sing. . .

2011-11-16T22:26:00.000Z

When I started having singing lessons with Caroline earlier this year, the thought did cross my mind that I might be expected to sing a solo in her annual 'pupils concert' that she holds each November. I guess it's the least her pupils can do in return for a years supply of her wisdom to simply sing in a concert. Hmm. This would of course mean that I would need to stand on a stage, on my own, with lots of people looking at just me and expecting me to sing!?! Not to worry, I've got months before I need to worry about all that, right?

Well, we are now down to a mere three days from the concert and after weeks of dismissing the idea out of hand, I now find myself seriously considering going through with it. Have I taken leave of my senses? Maybe, but the more I hear other singers perform, the more I really start to realise that perhaps I'm not that bad at all! Maybe it is a sign of increasing confidence that I am now quite often listen to other singers and think 'I can sing better than that'!

As regular readers of this humble blog will know, for me this whole experience is not just about learning to sing. It's about conquering demons that have handicapped my whole life. Public speaking, presentations, indeed anything at all that requires standing up in front of groups of people has filled me with utter dread ever since a certain childhood event previously documented, that you can read about by clicking here.

So if you had told me this time last year that I would be even considering singing a solo at Caroline's concert, I would've thought you absolutely crazy. The fact that I am is probably an indication of the giant strides that I have made in conquering a few of those demons already this year. Just going to that first rehearsal with the male voice choir was nerve wracking enough and I thought I might have a heart attack before that debut concert in April. I managed it though and there have been a few more concerts since. There have also been several weddings in Prestwold and Wymeswold, even singing the tenor parts on my own in one of them. So bit by bit, step by step, helped along by Caroline's guidance and unlimited patience, I now find myself almost believing I can do it.

After tonight's lesson, I have realised that I now think that I am likely to be more gutted if I don't at least try, than I would be if I do and make a hash of it, if you follow my drift! But who knows what state I will be in by Saturday night. Fingers crossed I can keep the demons at bay and give a half decent rendition of Where e're You Walk that doesn't make Handel turn in his grave.

Watch this space!

Cheers for now,

Alyn

LMVC Autumn Concert - All Saints Church, Thorpe Acre.

2011-11-13T17:24:00.008Z

Saturday 12th November saw the Loughborough Male Voice Choir's Autumn Concert, held on this occasion at All Saints Church, Thorpe Acre, Loughborough. Special guests for the evening were the vocal duo Two Penn’orth and the First Loughborough Boys and Girls Brigade Band. Despite the obvious distractions of the Loughborough Fair, Strictly Come Dancing and X-Factor, a reasonable audience had dragged themselves out of their armchairs and were treated to a cracking night's entertainment. Included in the programme was to be the first public airing of the much maligned (by choir members) 'Is This the Way to Amarillo?' More on that later!

The concert was originally intended to be held at our usual venue of Trinity Methodist Church until someone realised, quite late on as it happens, that it clashed with Loughborough Fair. Oops! The prospect of having to compete with incessant thumping music and that dutch sounding bloke shouting "GET YOUR TOKENS FROM THE CASH DESK IF YOU WANT TO RIDE" every two minutes was not a pleasant one, so an alternative venue was quickly sought and All Saints, in Thorpe Acre was duly chosen. I arrived on the night in good time but feeling a touch ill prepared after having to miss a couple of rehearsals late on. But fingers crossed that 'it'll be all right on the night'.

So after getting our positions on stage settled (eventually) we were ready for the off. Us chaps kicked things off with two pieces to be sung without music (eeeecckk!?!), 'With a Voice of Singing' and 'Stout Hearted Men'. These went well I thought, though personally, I had a bit of a mental block with parts of the latter piece - nothing too disastrous though . I was a bit worried as to whether my voice was going to hold out for the duration of the concert as an annoying chesty cough that had been lingering for a week or so was still refusing to budge. We finished our opening section with 'Old Time Religion' and 'When the Saints Go Marching In'.

Next was the first selection of pieces by the singing duo, Two Penn'orth. I don't have a listing of the pieces they sang, but one piece I did recognise was their very first one 'Oh Lovely Peace' which is a song Enchanted sing! Sue Cooke and Lis Muller who make up Two Penn'orth, sang some good stuff and seemed to go down really well with the audience.

We then followed with our two welsh pieces. 'Myfanwy' and 'Llanfair'. The former is definitely my favourite song in our repertoire. Simply beautiful!

Then it was time for something completely different - The 1st Loughborough Boys and Girls Brigade Band. These guys and gals usually perform outside as a marching band. With bugles and drums, there was clearly a limit to how many could realistically perform indoors, so Alistair had restricted it to just eight. I think if the whole band had shown up we would all be suffering from punctured eardrums this morning! The band certainly produced an impressive sound and provided an interesting contrast to the singing, I thought.

To wrap up the first half we then sang 'My Way' and the now legendary 'Is This the Way to Amarillo?'. I will say nowt about 'My Way' because I just don't like it, but I think George's introduction to Amarillo was perfect - putting the audience in the picture as to the problems we have had with it and it being very much a 'work in progress'. What was quite obvious from our performace of it and even more so in the re-run for the tea ladies afterwards, was that this song has the potential to be a real crowd pleaser with unlimited scope for audience participation. It clearly puts smiles on faces and we must exploit it to the full!

The second half went much the same as the first, with more entertaining stuff from both Two Penn'orth and the Brigade Band. For our part, we started with 'Danny Boy' and 'Eriskay Love Lilt', both of which sounded great, despite my fragile voice crumbling a bit during 'Danny Boy'. Then the slightly more modern 'Thankyou for the Music' and 'Chanson d'amour', with the latter appreciably better than previous performances of it. Our 'ra-ta-ta-ta-tahs' were seriously close to being 'breathy and sexy' for once!

'Every Time We Say Goodbye' and 'You'll Never Walk Alone' finished off our set very nicely, which just left the intriguing arrangement of 'Abide With Me' sang with the Brigade Band. I had not had any rehearsal of this one at all, so had to bluff my way through it, but it seemed to work pretty well. So that was that. A really enjoyable concert - varied, exciting and at times quite funny.

Some feedback that I have received from my two sternest critics (Ruth and Julia) made note of the huge improvement in the choir over the last year or so. Now I could take this to mean that it is since I joined the choir, but they in fact refer to the positive influence of Chris Hill. They thought 'Chanson d'amour' was way better than the spring concert and overall the choir were very good.

As for me, I loved it. I was grateful to my voice for holding out reasonably well throughout. I thought the venue seemed a little dead acoustically, perhaps due to the carpeted floor but the audience seemed to find it okay so perhaps it wasn't the problem I thought it was.

Time now I guess to start rehearsing Christmas Carols? Sainsburys and Carillon Court beckon!

Until next time.
Cheers, Alyn.

LOROS concert - some photos

2011-10-24T12:51:00.003+01:00

Anyone who follows this blog and pays any attention to the viewing stats (okay, that's unlikely, but you never know) will have noticed a bit if a surge in visitor numbers over the last week. I was curious to know where these visitors were coming from and suspected a few from Wales perhaps? Sure enough, a sizeable number have found my humble blog via The Fron's own website, where they have included a photograph of the concert together with a link to 'A Nightingale Sang...' and my review of the concert!

Well, ain't that great? I emailed a contact at The Fron website thanking them for the link and asking for permission to use the photo. This morning I received a reply from Jon Haddy the web manager of The Fron who says he enjoyed reading my blog and has also sent me two photographs of the concert which I am free to use. I have also received an email from Allan Smith, the treasurer and 1st tenor with the choir who also thanked me for my blog report on the concert and has said that if I'm ever in their neck of the woods, to feel free to call in to one of their rehearsals! Now there's an offer one simply cannot refuse! Now, where is Froncysyllte - pass me the road atlas!

So, it's time to play 'Spot the LMVC members' For a close up view, just click on the photo:-

The Froncysyllte Male Voice Choir with the massed Midlands Choir

at De Montfort Hall, Leicester. (Photo courtesy The Fron Choir)

The choirs with Union flags a-flutter for 'Rule Britannia'.

(Photo courtesy The Fron Choir)

I am not aware of anyone from our choir having any photos of the event, but if you do, please let me have a copy and I will feature them in this blog.

That's all for now!

Cheers,

Alyn.

LOROS Concert with 'The Fron' at De Montfort Hall, Leicester.

2011-10-16T18:17:00.005+01:00

Who would've thought it eh? This 51 year old, who hadn't ever sung a note prior to February 2011 last night found himself on stage with six other midlands choirs and the renowned Froncysyllte Male Voice Choir from Wales. As I sat on stage, looking out into the impressively large audience, I did wonder whether it was all some kind of surreal dream. Nope, it was real alright and I was quite pleasantly surprised to find relatively few nerves despite some reservations regarding my ability to pull off a certain two songs without embarrassment. Anyway, to rewind a little. . .

Car sharing was the order of the day as parking was going to be a bit restricted, so I scrounged a lift with our Chairman. We picked up Ray en route to De Montfort Hall for the evening's concert in aid of LOROS. When we eventually found the Stage Door we signed in and then disappeared to our respective dressing rooms - bass and baritone, stage left and tenors, stage right.

Our rehearsal was scheduled for 2pm and Clive Rogers duly arrived with a big beaming smile and started a run through of all the pieces in the programme. I thought it went quite well, with the exception of a certain few pieces that continue to frustrate. But on the whole it was looking good. Just for the record, the choirs involved in the massed Midlands choir were:

Loughborough MVC
City of Leicester MVC
Melton Mowbray MVC
Leicester Co-operative MVC
Melbourne MVC
Belvoir Wassailers Choir
Leicester Cathedral Songmen

As I looked around the hall, I did wonder just how large our audience was going to be. I rather feared that it would look like the Reebok Stadium for a Carling Cup match against Hartlepool, i.e. half empty, but thankfully my fears were unfounded.

After a few logistical arrangements were ironed out, that was that for a few hours. Some of the chaps decided to go home while others headed for somewhere to eat and/or drink, but I just found a nice quiet park to eat my cobs and pork pies and read a newspaper. By the time I got back to the hall, the Fron's coach had arrived, so I could take a look at how these guys go about rehearsing. My first impressions were of a very slick and polished choir. The quality of tone was really something! However, one thing that became quickly apparent was that any mention of the sport of 'rugby' was perhaps unwise, given the narrow and controversial defeat of Wales in the World Cup earlier in the day.

Strangely, by 7.15pm we midlanders were assembled on stage while the audience gradually swelled to quite respectable numbers (900+ I believe) including Ruth and mother-in-law Diane whom I quickly spotted in the circle. We awaited the arrival onstage of the 'main attraction' The Froncysyllte Male Voice Choir. They duly arrived to warm applause from audience and choirs and they certainly looked the part.

Just before 'kick-off', the night's compere, the Rt Hon. Alan Duncan M.P. delivered his witty (?) intro. The poor fellow clearly hadn't received the warning regarding the foolhardiness of mentioning rugby. Oh dear! I could sense that several of the welshmen were seriously considering thumping the man. Note to Mr Duncan for future reference:- Never joke about rugby to a welshman after a World Cup semi-final defeat. Not ever!

So with bloodshed narrowly avoided it was on with the show. And I still didn't feel particularly nervous, which was rather weird. Maybe it was the 'safety in numbers' thing, but unlike previously, I didn't feel that I was about to disgrace myself. Anyway, our first three songs, 'Do You Hear the People Sing?; 'Some Enchanted Evening' and 'Stout Hearted Men' went really well I thought. I just hope it sounded as good to the audience as it seemed to me on stage. Then, down we sat on the nicely padded but worryingly backrest-less benches. Not the greatest seating it must be said and I did wonder how many of us Midlanders would be requiring the assistance of an osteopath next week.

Next up was soloist Ann Atkinson - a mezzo soprano from Wales and a former musical director of The Fron. Unfortunately I couldn't hear what she was saying very well, but I know she didn't start with 'Habenara' as per the programme. She seemed to go down well with the audience and even made reference to the rugby. You see Alan, it's okay for the Welsh to make comment themselves, just not you okay? Ann did do 'Habanera' later on in her programme and raised the pulses of several Fron members with her rather saucy rendition.

Then 'The Fron' delivered their first set and boy, did they deliver! 'Fantastic' is the only word to use I think. I was listening to the second tenors closely and was very impressed. These guys are certainly something to aspire to. The control and pureness of the sound was quite magical to be amongst at times. The Welsh traditional piece 'Si Hei Lwli' was just stunning.

I could waffle on for hours about the rest of the concert, but I'll try to sum it up succinctly. I would say the midland choir's first half performance was much better than the second with 'Nobody Knows' and 'Red, Red Rose' as bad as I feared they would be! The Fron were excellent throughout and while we can certainly learn a lot from them, I really do think that we could match them with our rendition of 'With a Voice of Singing'. That said, it was an honour and a privilege to share a stage with such a classy and accomplished choir as them and I will cherish the experience for the rest of my life. One of them said to me in the interval, "It's great to be here with you boys tonight. We're bloody lovin' it", which was great to hear.

How do we follow this? Well, next up is our autumn concert at a venue and time in November to be confirmed, and rehearsing starts on Thursday.

Cheers for now,

Alyn

Rubber bands and wobble boards

2011-10-07T14:10:00.001+01:00

Okay, I will put an end to the suspense straight away. I’m sure you are just itching to know exactly how a long, brightly coloured rubber band fits in to a singing lesson are you not? Well, during Wednesday evening’s warm up Caroline produced the aforementioned item and yes, it is rubber, long and rather like a scarf actually – only made of rubber!?!

The idea apparently, is that you stand on one end with your heel while holding the other end and as you sing a scale you stretch the band as you ascend, reaching maximum extension as you reach the highest note. Does it work? Well, I found that the very act of pulling the band distracted me somewhat from the actual singing, so I'm not sure it achieved much. But maybe I need to give it a few more goes before dismissing it as complete tosh! I can see the logic behind it and maybe with a bit of persistence it might produce something. The wobble board though definitely works. In fact I have a similar device myself, purchased a year or two ago to help strengthen the muscles surrounding my highly dodgy knee joints. So I’ve had a practice singing while standing on that recently and I think the annoying leg twitch may soon be a thing of the past. Hoorah!

I’m happy to report that Wednesday’s lesson did shed some light on the annoying mucous problem. For the third lesson in succession, my performance has been hampered somewhat by mucous making my voice sound croaky and rattly which isn’t at all pleasant. Caroline stopped me at one point and asked me to sing in’ lah-lah’s’ rather than words and lo and behold, as if by magic, the croaks disappeared and a tone reminiscent of that stand-out lesson of a few weeks ago, re-emerged.

So maybe I haven’t got a mucous problem at all. Perhaps all I need to do is sing properly! Sounds a bit stupid when I put it like that, but it probably is as simple as that. Over the next week or so, I’m just going to try singing ’lah-lah’ to my songs and practice ‘opening out’ the voice. Once that becomes a habit I’ll have it cracked I reckon. It is just so easy to slip back into the old habit of singing with that feeble ’throaty’ voice that is so naff. So while Wednesday’s lesson was all a bit messy, it was perhaps the most revealing and might just prove extremely valuable in the long term.

Thursday night’s LMVC rehearsal was again an improvement on the previous week. Some of the required pieces for the LOROS concert are coming together (about time!), but some are turning into a bit of a nightmare. Love is like a Red, Red, Rose is a song that I simply don’t like. Sorry, there is no use skirting round the fact, but I just don’t. Then there is Nobody Knows the Trouble I See. Oh dear! Nobody knows the trouble I have with this bloody song, that’s for sure! It’s beginning to make Is this the Way to Amarillo? seem like a personal favourite! But, as my beloved employers Balfour Beatty might say, if you’re going to be a member of a choir, you’ve got to be a ‘team player’. There will inevitably be songs I will love and some that I don’t, but that is just the way it goes I guess.

There was one hilarious moment during Thursday’s rehearsal. I think it was during one of the above two pieces, probably the latter, when I got it horribly wrong, Peter Bateman got it horribly wrong and we both looked at each other with that look of complete despair. I cracked up and just couldn’t stop laughing! I thought Chris might make me go and sit on the 'naughty step' at one point, but I was reprieved. I console myself with the thought that at the De Montfort Hall there will be such a large massed choir that any gaffes will be suitably disguised. Let’s hope so eh?

Onwards and upwards then? Tonight, my lovely wife Ruth and I will have a run through some songs in preparation for Saturday morning's rehearsal of the Caroline Sharpe Singers. The rehearsal will be rapidly followed by a trip to Long Eaton with Chris Hill and Mike Godwin to discuss arrangements for the male voice choir gig there in January, such are my new found responsibilities on t'committee!
Keep y’all posted.

Cheers for now,

Alyn.

Four Weddings and (as yet) no funerals!

2011-10-04T08:53:00.005+01:00

I bet the bride and groom at Saturday's wedding in Wymeswold couldn't believe their luck! I don't suppose they will have envisaged bright sun and soaring temperatures when booking their wedding for October the first! What a bizarre climate we have these days - blazing hot April and October with the coldest summer for 20 years sandwiched inbetween. All very strange, but mustn't grumble eh?

Saturday's proceedings kicked off with a brief rehearsal round at Caroline's house. This went quite well once I established the pitch of the first note of my tenor parts. For the first run through of 'Praise My Soul' I jumped in an octave too low, which was a bit on the 'bass' side. 'Oh Lord My God' went much better and I was then all ready for the wedding. Much merriment was caused by a knock on the door as someone called to ask Caroline about something or other. I think the poor guy was slightly shocked to encounter a choir belting out hymns as she opened the front door!

So off we went in convoy to Wymeswold. On arrival, the eagle-eyed quickly spotted several RAF uniformed chaps outside the church. Personally, I was rather more interested in the GORGEOUS, bright RED classic Jaguar outside the church. A Mark 2 I think, though I may be wrong. T'was a stunning vehicle though!

Inside the church, the choir were to be situated at the front in a part which probably has a specific name, but I confess to being somewhat ignorant of such things. Today's choir was made up of all the gals from 'Enchanted' plus Diane, Dorothy, Sue, Shirley, Michelle, my lovely wife Ruth, sis-in-law Julia, Jeff, Jake, Sean, Ian and yours truly. Hope I've not forgotten anyone there! The vicar gave us all a quick run through of 'the geography' of the wedding as she termed it and said that we'd really need to try and project our voices out to the congregation, something that I think we more than adequately achieved.

Credit is due to the bride who was true to her word and arrived pretty much on time. So, off we went with Oh Lord My God and despite a somewhat tentative first verse from myself, I got into my stride with the final three. One could sense that today's choir was sounding rather good, although it's not always easy to tell. The second hymn again required a tenor part but only in the second verse. This was going well until the last line which I got hopelessly wrong and it all rather fizzled out. After that it was a straight forward rendition of Jerusalem and the usual We pledge to One Another during the signing of the registers.

I must say, despite my one gaffe, this was the best yet. The choir sounded good and the congregation apparently stopped singing during one particular hymm just to listen to us! Cool! The bride and groom left the church through a line of swords outside the church, but we obviously missed this spectacle which was a shame. There were lots of appreciative comments about the choir afterwards, particularly from the bride's father, so it was another job well done and a fun day!

Nothing else for it but for family members to round off the day with a meal at The Quorndon Fox with Ian and Joyce. Despite acquiring third degree burns to the roof of my mouth, thanks to the unfeasibly hot beer-battered mushroom starter, we enjoyed a cracking meal - the chicken, ham and leek pie is to die for! Mmmmmm!

Now my attention must be directed towards the LOROS concert and getting those songs learnt. Prior to the next male voice choir rehearsal though is another lesson with Caroline where the use of the strange rubber band thingy will be revealed!?! So watch this space!

Cheers,

Alyn.

One step foward and two steps back!

2011-09-30T13:55:00.004+01:00

By 'eck, I knew there would be challenging times ahead when I joined this choir and we are approaching one rapidly! After last week's - how shall I put it - less than successful rehearsal, things went slightly better this Thursday, but only slightly! 'My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose' and 'Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen' continue to baffle and frustrate in equal measure. Why it is I'm not entirely sure to be honest because I've found another new one (to me at least) 'Creations Hymn', to be quite easy.

Chris Hill and any other choir members who have read this blog in recent weeks will no doubt be wondering just when they are going to see some evidence of my newly discovered voice that has emerged during lessons with Caroline. It has certainly been conspiculous by its absence during these last two LMVC rehearsals that's for sure. What is obvious is that when I am confident that I know the song and my own part, I can sing 'with gay abandon' as Caroline puts it. But when I don't know it well and I mess up, my fragile confidence shatters and things go pear-shaped very quickly. After that I can barely get a note right.

But not to worry. Hopefully things will continue to improve before October 15th. It should also be a case of 'safety in numbers' too with the 100+ voices there to disguise any dodgy bits. After the LOROS event though I guess we'll be concentrating on our 'core' for 2011-12, which will hopefully allow me to get to know that group of songs really well. Then gentlemen, you might just start to hear a bit of the voice that is within me coming out, instead of retreating into it's shell like a turtle's head!

Saturday October 1st brings another wedding for the Caroline Sharpe Singers, this time at Wymeswold. And to add to the fun, this one is a military wedding which means lots of chaps in uniform apparently! For some inexplicable reason, the ladies seem to be really looking forward to this one. Hmmm!?! Wonder why?

For this one, as previously mentioned, I'm going to have a stab at the tenor parts for two of the hymns, though one of them only requires it for the second verse. I'm nearly there, so it should be fine, provided I don't see a return of the dreaded mucous that hampered my last lesson. Damned annoying and I don't know where it comes from. Well, it's from the throat, obviously, but why it emerges is a mystery. I even googled 'how to avoid mucous when singing' (yes, I really did - sad but true!) and found lots of helpful advice. Basically according to t'internet, absolutely ANYTHING you eat can cause mucous, so don't eat ANYTHING for 4-5 hours before singing. Yeah, right! Thanks for that!

OR:- Avoid caffeine and instead drink lots of water, (room temperature mind, cos cold water contracts the vocal cords) as staying properly hydrated keeps the mucus layer on your vocal cords thin. Okay, that seems a little more realistic and achievable. I will try that and see how it goes.

After last weeks experience with the 'wobble board', Caroline is to introduce a strange long rubber band thing that apparently one stretches behind one's head while singing. This helps one sing high notes!?! We had insufficient time this week to give it a go, but next week. . . . I'm intrigued!

Before I go, I must mention my first LMVC Committee meeting last Tuesday. Quite an interesting few hours with the thorny topic of 'uniform' discussed. Chris Higgins and I are to look further into a possible alternative attire which should be interesting. I sense that there is a willingness to look into it which is good. The current uniform certainly has its place, but perhaps another 'look' would be good for certain occasions. We'll see!

And another meeting is to be arranged to specifically look at recruitment - a complex issue that needs quite a bit of discussion well beyond the scope of Tuesday's meeting.

Better go, but stay tuned for a Military Wedding Review in a day or two.

Cheers for now,

Alyn.

The Juggling Tenor and the Baptism of Fire

2011-09-27T11:58:00.005+01:00

That title almost sounds like a new Harry Potter book! Having said that, I think the male voice choir might just need to enlist the help of Harry and his trusty magic wand if we are to be ready in time for the LOROS concert on October 15th!

Yikes! It's really not very long until the aforementioned charity gig at De Montfort Hall, Leicester. Not long at all. Last Thursday evening's rehearsal in the absence of Chris Hill, was led by Clive Rogers, the man who will be waving the old baton at the Hall. In fact, the arrangements of two of the pieces we will be singing were actually written by Clive. "Let's start off with the two pieces wot I wrote" said Clive in true Ernie Wise style! As we went through the programme it quickly became horribly apparent just how much work needs doing in the next few weeks. To be quite brutally frank, I was 'bobbins' (a Mancunian expression for well, really rather poor)! I was all at sea for so much of the evening that I felt like making a run for it! Some comfort was provided by Dave Weston and fellow 'second tenor' Peter Bateman, who both reassured me that I wasn't the only one feeling a tad under-rehearsed. Still this is no time to panic - not yet at any rate. It will be all right on the night. Of course it will. Won't it? As I left Trinity, I was talking to a few of the chaps and we remembered that classic Morecambe and Wise sketch with Andre Previn, where Eric grabs Andre Previn by the scruff of the neck and says "listen sunshine, I was playing all the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order"! Kinda summed up the rehearsal, I think - a bit of a baptism of fire.

On the previous night, I had another singing lesson with Caroline, which was . . . erm . . . . interesting!?! We started by attempting a couple of hymns scheduled for the next wedding on October 1st, but for these I am to be assigned the tenor parts if I can master them in time. There will only be me singing tenor so it needs to be spot on. Actually, it is a huge compliment that Caroline thinks I can do it and that I'm good enough. Not that you'd have known from my attempts on Wednesday mind you. I displayed a complete inability to follow the part from one line to the next to a quite embarrassing degree. Actually, the tenor parts are quite easy, now that I've highlighted them in luminous yellow highlighter pen!

And then my peculiar leg twitch started again. I have this quite strange, involuntary habit of twitching my left leg to the beat, which I suppose helps me keep time, but probably looks quite ridiculous. Caroline's cunning plan to eradicate this habit was to get me to stand on a bizarre rectangular board with a circular underside, if you get my drift. When one stands on it one wobbles, forcing one to balance and more importantly, stops that silly leg twitch. Clever eh? All I need is a 'Coco the Clown' outfit and three balls to juggle with and I could be the next 'Britain's Got Talent' sensation! Al, The Amazing Juggling Tenor?

There is clearly method in Caroline's apparent madness. Twitching one's leg while standing on such a contraption could quite possibly prove fatal (has Caroline seriously considered the health and safety issues here?) but it certainly seemed to do the trick. Mind you, the vocals did get a bit tentative as I lost my balance and threatened to fall 'A over T' once or twice!

The week ended with the second rehearsal of The Caroline Sharpe Singers. Windmill of Your Mind went much better though the last couple of pages fell apart a bit (my singing that is, not the actual sheet music - LOL). But it's getting there, quite quickly actually. There's even rumours of CSS rehearsals becoming a weekly thing too. Good idea, say I.

Well that's a wrap, for now. Next up is my first LMVC committee meeting at the abode of Chairman Higgins on Tuesday night. Should be fun!

Cheers for now,

Alyn.

The Council and its Carillon

2011-09-23T12:03:00.003+01:00

It would seem that the impression I have gained of Charnwood Council being slightly less than committed to the well being of Loughborough's Carillon might not be entirely accurate. One or two details have come to light which suggest that maintenence of the Carillon is indeed being carried out to some degree on an annual basis, so I am happy to set the record straight.

I understand that about two years ago, several of the bells were found to be loose and Taylors were engaged to carry out the necessary repairs. Since then, Taylors have undertaken yearly maintenance and this is to continue. Additionally, should any issues arise such as the transmissions or batons breaking, then Taylors would be engaged to carry out any repairs.

So all this is good news and to give credit where it is due, the council is at the very least committed to ensure that this magnificent instrument is playable for the forseeable future.

Having said all that though, it is obvious to anyone who has attended one of Caroline's recitals, that the clavier would benefit from some renovation to make it less noisy to play. I understand that Taylors have expressed the desire to undertake a complete renovation of the entire Carillon including replacing the clavier and even recasting some of the bells. The cost of a renovation on that scale would I am sure be financially prohibitive in the current economic climate, but some renovation of the noisy clattering clavier shouldn't be beyond the scope of future budgets surely? Anyway, I'll leave it to the relevant Coucillors to argue over that one.

What shouldn't cost much and is certainly long overdue is the recognition of Caroline's commitment by formally bestowing upon her the official title of 'Borough Carillonneur'. It appears that many people think that Caroline already is the Borough Carillonneur. But, this has never actually happened in any official way. Thinking about the way Councils and other employers work these days, in order for this to happen, it might mean that the position would have to be formally advertised to allow any member of 'Joe Public' to apply for the position, incurring a certain expense. Well yes maybe, but just how many applications are there likely to be received for the position of 'Borough Carillonneur', bearing in mind such creatures are on the 'Red List' of endangered species??? Not many methinks!

So come on Charnwood Council! Do the right thing and make it official. You know I'm right!

Cheers for now,

Alyn

Now we're getting somewhere!

2011-09-19T13:21:00.005+01:00

After last weeks revelation that maybe, just maybe, there is indeed a 'voice' deep within me somewhere, desperate to be liberated from its stress-inhibited strait-jacket, it was with some trepidation that I approached my next lesson. Would the 'voice' still be there or would it once again retreat into its shell like a tortoise, never to be seen again?

Oh ye of little faith! After the usual mix of warm-up routines, off we went with another shot at Where e're You Walk, in the now revised higher key. As the high bit at "and all, things flourish", approached I started to think about it (always a mistake) and it wasn't quite there, at least initially. Mid-note, things opened out a touch and the volume emerged. That was all the reassurance I needed - that last week wasn't a freak occurrance. It really is there and available on demand. Hoorah! During the week, I had practiced a bit, most often in the car on the way to work, but it's not easy to sing well sitting down I find. Goodness knows how opera singers manage it while acting and sitting down on stage.

So, Where e're You Walk is coming along nicely. The second half 'twiddly bits' need a bit of work, but we're getting there. Time then to have another go at Caro Mio Ben by Giuseppe Giordani. The last time I attempted this one a few months ago, I remember it being all rather feeble and inept. This time, however it was a slightly different story. With my new found, fledgling voice starting to emerge, it felt a whole lot better, "now that you've got a 'proper' voice", as Caroline put it.

Meanwhile, Ruth and sis-in-law Julia, had returned from a touch of shopping and were sneakily listening to my latest efforts, which brought a warm round of applause from the church. Disappointingly, I heard no calls for MORE! Oh well, there were just the two of them and it is early days I guess?

Before I go, regular readers of this blog may recall my recent 'rant' on the subject of Loughborough Carillon and its Carillonneur, Caroline Sharpe. Click here to read it if you missed it. Well, it seems this humble blog was discovered by a chap called Mel Gould from the Carillon Museum and he has forwarded a copy of that posting to various individuals including a number of people on Charnwood Council! On hearing of this development, I hastily re-read the article to remind myself exactly what I had said and I must say, I stand by every word. It will be interesting to see what develops. Perhaps a follow-up email by myself to a few of the recipients? I'll let you know what transpires.

Until next time.

Cheers,

Alyn

The inaugural rehearsal of The Caroline Sharpe Singers and a landmark lesson.

2011-09-11T10:52:00.002+01:00

There have been times over the last six months of choir rehearsals and singing lessons when I have wondered whether I am ever going to get to the stage when I could confidently say that I can really sing. Yes, there have been occasions when things have gone well, when I have actually felt that I contributed something positive to the male voice choir and to Caroline's wedding choirs. But more often than not, I have tended to feel that I am light years away from where I would like to be. Am I kidding myself? Have I really got it in me to really sing? Shouldn't I just pack it all in and stick to rocks and fossils?

I know I am ridiculously hard on myself and perceive every 'bum' note to be a disaster, but I guess that can be traced back to the previously reported church service reading horror as a ten year old. I know it, but strangely find it difficult to lay those demons to rest. I've known for a while that I needed 'something' to help convince myself that I really can get there. Well my friends, maybe today was the day when I got just that.

Saturday 10th September 2011. Mark it in your diary! Firstly, it was the day of the inaugural rehearsal of The Caroline Sharpe Singers, a landmark event in itself! Bright and early (10 am on a Saturday is for me, early!) a group of enthusiastic individuals assembled at Trinity Methodist Church. For the record, the group consisted of me, Ruth, Anna-Ruth, Diane, Shirley, Jean, Vicky, Chris and Jeff. Yes three blokes, which was great, provided of course that they weren't so good as to make me stick out like the proverbial sore thumb.

Caroline kicked off proceedings with a quick run through some of the hymns due to be sung at the next wedding in Wymeswold in a couple of weeks. That was easy enough, but was followed by a second stab at 'Windmill of Your Mind', which was a rather more of a challenge! Despite a few dodgy bits it started to really come together. Then we tried a new piece that Caroline has earmarked for us to sing at a 'gig' in November. I've forgotten the title of said piece but it had lots of 'alleluias' in it. Rather like Thursday when in the LMVC rehearsal we tried a new piece, the first run through seemed like a bit of a mess, but after a few minutes of Caroline's guidance, a quite impressive sound started to emerge.

An hours rehearsal went by in a flash and I left feeling that we were at the start of something quite special. Who knows where this little venture could lead but it will be fun finding out. After that, me, Ruth and Diane adjourned to the Moon and Bell for a brew and a bacon cob, before my return to Trinity at one o'clock for my next singing lesson with Caroline.

Now, maybe it was the fact that I was already well 'warmed up' or maybe it was because the earlier rehearsal had gone so well. But whatever the reason, right from the first note to pass my lips, this lesson was unlike any previous one. I guess I was way more relaxed for a start, but something just felt 'right' somehow. We started with 'Where e'er You Walk' and for the first time I actually felt like what I was singing was rather good! Caroline could tell that I had been practising, so it obviously makes a difference. So good did I feel that I even had the confidence to throw in a few 'twiddly bits' (a common technical term we singers use!?!) during the second run through like wot proper singers do with this song.

But the real landmark occurance came when Ruth came in to listen to my efforts. Caroline played the tune again, but this time in a slightly higher key. This obviously made the high bits even higher, but when I got to them something quite astonishing (to me at least) occurred. Caroline had often talked about allowing the voice to open out which would release my somewhat stifled vocals. It only really happens when one is sufficiently relaxed - something I've struggled with since day one! But today, on hitting a high note, a great booming voice appeared from somewhere, I know not where, and it felt GREAT! But interestingly, it was upping the key that brought it out, so maybe that's the key (pardon the pun)! Apparently, the tone of my voice sounds much better as a result. "I think you married a tenor", said Caroline to Ruth!

So hopefully this wasn't a one off and there will be more of the same in the weeks to come. I'd better keep practising to make sure I don't lose it. It was also interesting to note that a run through 'Moondance' seemed all wrong somehow. I have until now thought that Michael Buble/Nat King Cole would be the kind of musical genre that I would be most suited to. I rather doubted Carolines belief that I could really 'do' classical. Well, yesterday's lesson well and truly eradicated that doubt. 'Trust in your teacher' you fool! She would hardly present me with a folder of classical songs for my birthday if she didn't think I was capable of mastering them. So, maybe we'll put Michael Buble on the backburner for now and concentrate on my classical folder!

So there you go - something of a landmark day. Time now to search Youtube for more videos of 'Where e're You Walk' for the purposes of stealing ideas for interesting twiddly bits.

Cheers for now!
Alyn.

That was the summer that was . .

2011-09-06T13:29:00.002+01:00

Hey! What was that 'whooshing' sound?

Oh, that was the summer mate. Whoosh - gone in a flash. Blink and you missed it. No sooner had I donned my shorts, shades and factor 50 (not an entirely pretty sight I can assure you) then bless my soul - summer was all but over and it was time once again for rehearsals with the Loughborough Male Voice choir.

So, while I mourn the sad passing of what we Brits laughingly call 'summer', I can at least rejoice in the fact that Thursday evenings are again filled with 'song'. It seemed rather strange when we 'broke up' for summer as I found myself wondering what to do with myself and indeed wondered quite what it was that I used to do on a Thursday evening prior to the LMVC descending upon my life.

Sadly, my promise to use Thursday evenings to practice running through such tricky numbers as 'Amarillo' never quite materialised, what with bathrooms to be plastered and tiled and sundry DIY tasks to be undertaken. Not that the vocal chords have been entirely idle you understand, as you will know if you have 'tuned in' to this blog during the last six weeks. Saturday afternoons have been filled with singing at several weddings in Prestwold and the latest was on Saturday 27th August. Unlike the previous wedding I sang at, this time the choir's ranks had swelled to a whopping 16. Thankfully consigned to the bin were the quite shockingly 'pink' ties that us chaps were asked to wear earlier in the summer. They were ditched in favour of some splendid new ones fashioned from the remains of some exqusite material originally intended to form new dresses for Enchanted. Please don't ask! - No really, it's best not to, honestly!

Aren't weddings the most bizarre things? The more I go to, the more I appreciate the simplicity of my own Quaker wedding to Ruth back in 2004. I won't comment on the specifics of recent events for fear of causing offence but to me, a wedding should be about the bride and groom and what they are saying to one another and less about the lavishness of the outfits of groom, bridemaids and bride. Oh dear, wedding dresses. Oh dear, oh dear . . . Better not go there. Moving swiftly on . . . .

I think this latest wedding 'sing-song' was my best yet - no blunders this time and I gather many favourable comments were received on the choir's performance. Indeed, so well have things been going that Caroline has decided to 'formalise' the choir. A small bunch of selected individuals have been invited to join 'The Caroline Sharpe Singers'. Astonishingly, I am one of them and we will be rehearsing fortnightly on Saturday mornings with the aim of performing at a gig in November. As the 'token bloke' this should be interesting and something of a challenge. Bring it on! I fear nothing, err, except singing solos, obviously!

Alongside all this of course, my singing lessons with Caroline have continued. I'm now trying to concentrate my efforts into mastering 'Moondance', as sung by Michael Buble and Van Morrison and also 'Where e're You Walk' by Handel - two very different styles of music, but variety is the spice of life as they say.

Some sad news to report - the first LMVC rehearsal of the new season started with Ray Archer announcing that he felt that he could no longer continue in the choir for health reasons. It's such a shame as he's been the choir's librarian for many years, keeping track of the multitude of copies of all the choirs repertoire of music. He'll be greatly missed and I'm sure his service will be marked appropriately in due course.

Meanwhile, the countdown to the LOROS concert on October 15th continues and boy oh boy, have I got a lot of work to do to get up to scratch. Better get down to it!

See you next time,

Alyn.

Another Prestwold wedding!

2011-08-15T13:12:00.000+01:00

With no choir rehearsals to keep the vocal chords in trim it's good that my services are required for a few weddings over the summer.

The latest was on Saturday August 6th at Prestwold Church again, but this time I was to be the only male! The choir was made up of Caroline, Ruth, Anna-Ruth, Amy, Diane, Julia and me with the addition of one non-family member - Olivia from Enchanted. So, as the 'token bloke', any blunders would be glaringly obvious to everyone. No pressure then?

So, with us all looking sensational, me particularly in a reddy/pinky striped shirt, borrowed from Charlie King with the tasteful addition of my 'Marilyn Monroe' cufflinks, we made our way to the King's new residence in Barrow-upon-Soar. A fascinating house it is too - lots of levels and a very long garden!

A pre-gig run through of 'We Pledge to One Another' went okay except that I kept singing bits of the first verse during the second verse in an attempt to sight read the music. I got the tune right, but messed up the words. Doh! Still, it'll be all right on the night? Or not. . . .

It turned out to be another curious wedding. A highly emotional groom, a bride that washalf an hour, yes, HALF AN HOUR late and two kids running around and playing during the entire ceremony! The Vicar, the Reverend Vince seemed a jolly chap though. On hearing that the majority of the choir were related he then questioned whether any of us had webbed feet! Is that the kind of joke a 'man of the cloth' should be making I wonder? Well, why not!

For our part, the choir did admirably. I think I sang the first hymn 'Love Devine, All Loves Excelling' pretty darned well. However, that was as good as it got for me. While the others did a good job, from a personal point of view, the second hymn 'Make Me a Channel of Your Peace' was a bit of a shambles. I thought that I knew the tune - until I actually came to sing it. The words simply didn't seem to fit the music to me and I rather bluffed my way through it. Never mind, our starring role in singing 'We Pledge' during the signing of the register went (for me at least) a bit better but rather like the earlier run through, I again sang a line of the first verse in the middle of the second! Oops!

So not bad I suppose. Apparently, so miffed was Reverend Vince that there will in future be a maximum delay of 20 minutes after which the choir may depart and still get paid! Quite right too, say I. This 'tradition' of the bride always being late is just not on and over half an hour is madness!

My services are required for another wedding near the end of August and perhaps wisely Caroline arranged a rehearsal last Saturday. It should be another corker and we've got folders of music for this one! Included amongst the hymns was a piece of music for us to sing under the title of 'Caroline Sharpe Singers', at a concert at Trinity on November 19th! Woh!

I'll keep you posted.

Cheers for now,

Alyn

Loughborough Carillon - Time to get vocal!

2011-08-07T09:48:00.000+01:00

Okay, this humble blog is all about my singing exploits primarily, but please excuse me if I drift a little 'off topic' just this once. I wish to address something that has irritated me a bit for quite a while and as it is musical in nature and we are in the midst of the LMVC summer recess, I will get it over with now.

I would like to take this opportunity to get something off my chest regarding Loughborough's Carillon and indeed, it's Carilloneur. Now, call me a sentimental old fool if you like, but I really do believe that it is during austere times such as this, that it is all the more essential to preserve the very things that define a town's character and set it apart from the mere 'ordinary'. Here in the town of Loughborough, we are extremely fortunate to be blessed with something very special and quite unique. We have a Carillon!

By using the word 'unique', I am not saying that it is the only Carillon in the country. There are in fact 14 Carillons in the UK and Ireland with another Carillon-type instrument played via a keyboard as opposed to a clavier, at Spalding in Lincolnshire. For those that wish to, there is an account of a tour of many of them made by myself, Ruth and Loughborough's Carillonneur, Caroline Sharpe in 2008. Click here for movie files and more!

By unique, I mean its setting. The Loughborough Carillon is the only one set in a purpose built memorial tower, to commemorate the lives of those lost in the Great War. If you pay a visit to the memorial tower in Queen's Park on a Thursday or Sunday to listen to a recital, browse through the museum's exhibits and read the displays of information, you will I'm sure get a pretty good idea of its importance to the town and country.

So you would think that Charnwood Borough Council would hold his magnificent musical instrument in high esteem. Well, maybe I'm missing something, but I get the distinct impression that our beloved councillors are not particularly interested in the Carillon and there is plenty of recent evidence to support that conclusion.

For example: A musical instrument of such size and complexity obviously needs regular maintenance to keep it in shape for its regular recitals. In fact the Carillon has not been 'serviced' (if that's the right word) for a very long time. Caroline informs me that it is dire need of some overdue maintenance just to keep it usable.

Loughborough's previous Carilonneurs were Eric Jordan (1922 - 75), then Dr. Peter Stratfold (1975 to 1980) and then a gentleman called Peter Shepherd who was Borough Carilloneur until he retired in 2006. Note the title there - 'Borough Carillonneur'. Since the inaugural recital in 1923, Loughborough's Carillonneur has had the title 'Borough Carillonneur' or 'Carillonneur Emeritus' bestowed upon them. Since Peter Shepherd retired in 2006, Caroline Sharpe has taken over the role of Carillonneur but is yet to be awarded any official title. Why? Can anyone on Charnwood Council explain the reasons behind this omission?

Perhaps they should take a little time and effort to consider what Caroline does each year for Loughborough and it's Carillon. Such as:-

preparing twice weekly recitals throughout the spring to autumn
maintaining the Loughborough Carillon webite that she herself created
publicising recitals on the website and through the local media
organising 'Loughborough Carillon Week' each July

And for all this she is recognised with the embarrassingly inadequate reference of 'Resident Carillonneur'. This dear friends, is a shameful outrage when one considers the effort and commitment Caroline has shown over the last 5 years. Has anyone on Charnwood Council ever considered what state the Carillon would be in if it wasn't for Caroline's efforts on our town's behalf? Well dear Councillors, if you want to see what a neglected Carillon looks like take a look at this - click here

That's what is left of Parkgate Carillon on the Wirral. Not a pretty sight or sound is it? That is what we would be faced with if Caroline were to throw the towel in and call it a day!

As if all that isn't bad enough, there is also the fiasco of the rearranged 'Picnic in the Park' to explain! This picnic event was originally scheduled for the Bank Holiday Monday, 3oth May, but was postponed due to heavy rain. So someone in their infinite wisdom decided to reschedule for Saturday July 23rd - the penultimate day of Loughborough Carillon Week, an event that has taken place on the same week, each year since the Carillon came into existence. John Ridgeway was scheduled to make the trip from the York Minster Carillon to give a recital. Even allowing for this administrative blunder, one would have thought that at worst, a break of at least one hour could have been arranged to allow him to give his recital as planned, but this was not deemed possible. I think a shortened half hour recital was mooted but discarded. It is something of an insult to expect the Carillonneur from York to make the trip for a mere 30 minutes. The decision to preserve the picnic activity at the expense of the Carillon recital is an utter disgrace and someone in Charnwood council ought to hang their head in shame!

Loughborough Carillon Week is an important week in the town's calendar. It is the one week of the year when the focus specifically is on the Carillon, its tower and the efforts to fund and build it back in the early 1920's, to commemorate the lives lost in the Great War. I think it is about time we had some answers to some fundamental questions regarding the future of Loughborough Carillon.

Watch this space.....

Cheers, Alyn.

School's out for summer!

2011-07-08T13:57:00.001+01:00

Well, that's it then? No more choir rehearsals until September 1st? What the heck am I going to do with myself until then? What on earth did I do with myself before the Male Voice Choir came into my life? Bit of a mystery really. . . .

It does seem a little strange to think that my Thursdays are free for a while, but as I mentioned earlier, I've got quite a bit of work to do to get some of the LOROS concert programme into my brain in time. So with a bit of dedication, I'll try to use my Thursday evenings to go through some of the songs with the aid of the good ol' mp3 files from the website to help me along.

The summer break seems to herald a time of change for the choir in some respects with some leaving for one reason or another. This means various essential roles within the choir need filling in order for it to continue to function successfully. One such vacancy is for 'Publicity Secretary' and guess who has had his arm twisted to jump into the breach? No prizes for guessing correctly. Yes indeed, yours truly has agreed to give it a go. Tim has passed on a helpful list of media contacts for me to write and email to at a suitable time before each concert or other event needing a little publicity. My vaguely coherant ramblings within the pages of this humble blog seem to have alerted one or two choir committee members to my penchant for writing, so I am probably seen as the ideal candidate to fill this role. I will give it my best shot anyway gents!

So, is that 'it' from 'A Nightingale Sang. . . ' until September, I hear you cry? Oh, heaven forbid! No, my dear friends, blogging will continue throughout the summer, with tasty tit-bits from the wonderful world of singing, such as the continuing attempts by Caroline Sharpe to get me to sing properly (next up is a shot at a Michael Buble song!) and my continued attempts to get through 'Is this the way to Amarillo' and 'When the Saints' without screwing up!

Also, I might just take a look into the apparently thorny subject of the Loughborough Male Voice Choir's concert attire. This whole subject seems to light the passions of many of our choir's members - some for a change some against. But, whatever your views, a good debate of the pros and cons has got to be good for all concerned. So stay tuned for ideas and comment on this 'hot topic'.

Cheers for now!

Alyn

Singing lessons, scarecrows and the 'Bolton Bullfrog'

2011-06-24T12:38:00.003+01:00

A couple of weeks have passed since my last post which means a few more rehearsals and singing lessons under the belt too. Varying degrees of success have been experienced in each, which I suppose is to be expected. My first half hours singing-lesson-birthday-present courtesy of sis-in-law Julia was, well, a bit rubbish! Not the lesson, but rather what I produced during the course of it!

Perhaps I'm being a bit over critical of myself (again?) but it did feel as though every note I produced was way off and all over the place. Having said that, I was tackling Italian for the first time ever in the form of Caro mio Ben. But also, with the benefit of hindsight, I had just finished an extremely stressful day's work on the A46 and as I approached the lesson I felt more like punching someone rather than singing to be honest. That said, matters weren't helped by regular interruptions from a variety of people wanting to retreive their scarecrows (it's best not to ask -really!) from the room we were trying to conduct the singing lesson in. And then, the room's door handle repeatedly fell off requiring an explanation and reassurance to the shame faced individuals that no, they hadn't broken it, it just needed repairing! After about the fourth time, I think I had given up any hope of mastering 'Caro' for that week! Stress and singing do not make comfortable bed fellows I find!

Anyway, the next two lessons with Caroline have been much better. I'm determined to relax more and just enjoy it regardless of how good, bad or indifferent I feel I'm doing. The most recent lesson was great in that respect. Some bits were good, some undoubtedly baaaad, and some pretty darned ordinary. But it was fun and that's what it should be all about. Sadly 'Peter Kay' reappeared at one point. It's them vowels again, you see. This time I was trying Handel's Where 'ere You Walk in which the second line reads 'Cool gales shall fan the glade'. I still have that tendency to sing things as I would say them, which does not sound good when you throw in the Boltonian accent. Come to think of it, I probably sound more like the legendary (in Bolton at least) Bernard Wrigley a.k.a 'The Bolton Bullfrog', a splendid singer who really does sound like a singing frog. Honestly, he really does! Anyway, I digress. . . .

As each singing lesson passes there's a bit more to try and remember such as: relax, watch those vowels, don't lean back when approaching high notes, relax, open the mouth wide like you're yawning, remember to breathe (always helps!), relax, stomach in, chest out. . . . or was it the other way round? Blimey, so much to remember! Not easy, this singing lark is it?

Meanwhile, back in the Male Voice Choir, preparation continues apace for the LOROS gig at De Montfort Hall, Leicester in October. John Holt was giving me the run-down on what to expect and it sounds really exciting. Our choir will be singing with several other choirs from Leicester and one from Wales I believe to make one huge, massed male voice choir! Should be absolutely awesome if we pull it off.

Preparation for this means just refreshing the memory of some old favourites for most of the chaps, but for me it's another crash course. So rather than putting my feet up over the summer break, I will try to make Thursday evenings a regular rehearsal night to get the required songs into my tired old brain in time for October. One song to learn is the classic 'My Way'. After running through it last night, I'd never realised what a thoroughly depressing dirge it really is! Still, I'm sure I can ignore the somewhat banal lyrics and just sing it with passion!

Until next time,

Alyn.

Reach for the stars

2011-06-08T14:15:00.001+01:00

I very often find myself completely in awe of genuine talent. Not that there was much of it on show on 'Britain's Got Talent' last Saturday night. With the possible exception perhaps of a truly gifted pianist/composer, and a young boy already unfairly tagged with the unfortunate label 'the new Justin Bieber'. The winner of the competition was okay, but nothing special, I thought.

However, Knightthorpe Methodist Church, at roughly the same time as the aforementioned telly programme, was positively overflowing with talent! Those that managed to drag themselves away from the scintillating spectacle of a singing dog (gawd 'elp us!), were treated to a quite superb evenings entertainment provided by Enchanted and Loughborough Male Voice Choir's very own Chris Hill, to mark the Churches Flower Festival.

Listening to the girl's varied programme of folk songs, operatic and musical theatre numbers, one couldn't help but wonder what 'The Hoff', Michael MacIntyre, Amanda Holden and a certain Mr Cowell would've made of them and Chris Hill's Beatles medley too! Armed with just a list of Beatles song titles, Chris seems to simply make it up as he goes along, seamlessly blending together about ten of the band's all time classics. Astonishing stuff!

The last Loughborough Male Voice Choir rehearsal turned out to be a bit of a confidence boost as we went through the vocal minefield that is Amarillo. When Chris said "second tenors please" for once, I just 'went for it'. All us second tenors have struggled with this piece, as has the whole choir really, but it's coming - slowly. I got through the relevant section completely and to me at least, it sounded in tune and reasonably okay. Mind you, a little later on I got a little over-confident, went for it again but started about an octave too high! Whoops! Thankfully, I didn't allow that little embarrassment to crush my fragile confidence and I soon got back on track.

Chris has just sent through the draft programme for the LOROS Concert in October and it looks like a whole heap of new parts for me to learn. Of the thirteen pieces, 8 are from the choirs existing library but there's only one I've touched on so far - and its my favourite (?), When the Saints. Nice! Add to this five new pieces and it looks like a busy summer for yours truly.

Meanwhile, I'm trying to master Giordani's Caro Mio Ben in order to stun and amaze Caroline at my next lesson! A few evenings ago I found that our loo has strangely good acousticsI It's the one place in the house where I can hear my own singing voice nice and clearly, so this could become my regular practice venue. Mind you, that might prove a touch 'inconvenient' for the rest of the family!!! Ho-ho!

Until next time.
Cheers,
Alyn.

Singing in Queens Park

2011-05-30T15:15:00.004+01:00

On the morning of Sunday 29th May, I got up, threw open the curtain to see. . .

Clouds! Oh well, it could be worse. At least it wasn't bucketing down with rain so one should be thankful for that at least. With the driest March and April on record, I suppose it was pushing things somewhat to expect the unfeasibly warm spring to continue to the end of May for my second public performance with the Loughborough Male Voice Choir. Today was the day for an open air concert in Queens Park, Loughborough. Some inspired individuals at Charnwood Borough Council, obviously with our concert in mind, decided in the weeks before the concert to completely renew the bandstand's roof with a nice paint job inside too. Nice job guys!

So, after one final, last minute attempt to get to grips with When the Saints Go Marching In, I donned the uniform and made my way to the park and it's newly revamped bandstand. Just as I arrived I gave Chris Higgins a helping hand withthe equipment including the new technology that was to hopefully solve the problems encountered last year when the choir had to resort to singing unaccompanied. This time a large battery plus an 'inverter' would it was hoped, power Sue's keyboard for the duration of the gig. Fingers crossed!

Loughborough Male Voice Choir under the Bandstand at Queens Park, Loughborough

As 1.45pm approached, choir members arrived one by one. The first major decision to be made was to decide which direction to sing in. With that agreed we were then ready to get cracking and by this time an encouraging number of folks had ignored the dull grey skies and assembled on the benches surrounding the bandstand. Not 'One Man and His Dog' as I feared, but a veritable audience! Chris kicked off proceedings with With a Voice of Singing which is always a good one to give a good rousing start. This was another personal triumph for me as I just about managed to get through it without music. You regular blog readers will recall I timidly sat this one out on my debut at Trinity Church last month! Okay, bereft of music, I was a bit dodgy in the middle, but it is getting there. In fact that probably describes my performance as a whole on reflection. Next up was Myvanwy which is fast becoming a personal favourite of mine - I guess it's my welsh blood.

LMVC with Chris Hill conducting

I won't bore you by listing the entire programme, but I feel highlight must be made of the vast improvement in the 'ra-da-da-da-dahs' in Chanson d'amour, which were almost approaching 'breathy and sexy' as opposed to 'agricultural'! Also, Chris Hill quite wisely I think, chose to ditch Amarillo in favour of Every Time We Say Goodbye. The collective sigh of relief from the choir was huge! My own personal nightmare continues to be When the Saints Go Marching In. Oh dear, oh dear! Will I ever get this one right? One day my friends, one day. . . .

That's me in the middle with John Holt to my left and Peter Bateman to my right.

The award for the hilarious moment of the day came courtesy of our intrepid accompanist Sue. I forget which song it was, maybe When the Saints, but as she started to play, a bizarre noise emitted from the keyboard, bringing cheers from all!

So all in all, a great afternoon. The weather stayed fine if a little dull with just the occasional gust of wind turning my music over at the most inconvenient moments. Special mention must also be made to the audience who turned up in good numbers with my dear wife contributing numerous appreciative 'whoops' of delight after each song. Thanks to all my 'fan club' including Ruth, Julia, Diane and Caroline for their support.

I will leave you with some more photographs of the event. Keep your eyes open for a glowing report in the Loughborough Echo, penned by Ruth. They had better print it or else!!!

Cheers for now,

Alyn.

Th Loughborough Male Voice Choir in fine voice

Chris Hill conducting

John Holt and me behind.
Note that while we're both second tenors, only one appears to be singing at this moment
- not an uncommon occurrence it must be said!

I really am not drunk as this photo might suggest. Honest!
.Here I am enjoying a welcome swig of APPLE JUICE during a break.

Happy Birthday to Me!

2011-05-19T15:04:00.000+01:00

There's something slightly unpalatable about having to go to work on one's birthday, but never mind. It will soon be the weekend when we will head to Skeggy for a few days at the seaside to blow away the cobwebs. English brekkie at Beachview Cafe and Fish 'n Chips at 'Linga-Longa'. Cholesterol overdose it may be, but essential nonetheless!

'Singing' seems to have been at the forefront of peoples minds when considering birthday presents for me this year - can't think why! As well as a lovely bottle of single malt whisky and a DVD collection of the hysterical TV series 'Outnumbered', Ruth and the girls bought me a couple of books of sheet music for Nat King Cole and Michael Buble with each including a CD of backing tracks for each song to sing along to. Fantastic!

Caroline is clearly intent in steering me towards some more classical stuff and has presented me with a set of four pieces of music all neatly bound together and entitled "Alyn's Classical Collection". Nice! The pieces are: Ombra mai fu; Silent Worship and Where E-er You Walk, by Handel , plus Caro Mio Ben by Giuseppe Giordani. So those should present something of a challenge I think. As I mentioned last time, I thought I ought to attempt the original Italian versions where possible, but when searching 'Youtube' for examples of Non lo dirò col labbro, the Italian version, it seems that the song is sung by a female part in Handel's opera, Tolomeo. So I guess I need to sing the English song and leave the Italian to the ladies for this one. My grasp of Italian will be suitably challenged by Caro Mio Ben though. Sis-in-law Julia gave me a voucher for an hours singing lesson with Caroline to help me on the way! Exciting stuff. I've already got Where E-er You Walk drummed into my head thanks to Youtube, so can't wait to get cracking on them all.

Meanwhile, it's on with the Queens Park gig preparations for May 29th. Tonight we'll see if I've made any headway with When the Saints Go Marching in, which I found virtually impossible to follow last week. Wish me luck!

Cheers for now,

Alyn

It's a small world!

2011-05-11T13:22:00.000+01:00

When I started recording my singing exploits within this little ol' blog, the general idea was just to create a kind of online diary. If a few friends and relatives found it vaguely entertaining all well and good.

It wasn't long before it began to grow a bit. I could soon see the potential of using it to perhaps encourage other like minded individuals in the Loughborough area to take the plunge and give the choir a try. Chris Hill could see that possibility too and a link to the blog has now been added to the LMVC website.

So, imagine my surprise to suddenly find a message in my 'Inbox', all the way from New York, USA! To read the message from a guy called Jesse together with my reply to him, click here.

How cool is that? Hopefully, the choir Jesse is auditioning for will be as welcoming as the LMVC has been to me and he goes on to fulfill his dreams! Great stuff!

Meanwhile, back in Blighty, it's concert preparation time again! Last Thursday's rehearsal saw us run through the songs to be included in the May 29th concert in Queens Park. And it means seven more songs that need learning in just a few weeks. Some seemed pretty straight forward, while a couple anything but. Serious work needed I think! If only I didn't need to go to work. It really does get in the way of the more pleasurable parts of one's life, don't you find? All this singing malarky has made the daily drudgery of working on the A46 widening scheme seem ever more dull. Anyway, I do have a right good 'sing-song' in the car on the way to work, much to the amusement of other road users when stopped at traffic lights!

My last singing lesson with the 'Caz-meister' was, may I be so bold as to suggest, my best yet? By 'best' I mean in terms of relaxing more and singing better. The quality of the aforementioned singing was certainly questionable! Certainly, the Nat King Cole songs went reasonably well, but I sense Caroline now wants to drag me, kicking and screaming, out of my comfort zone and to challenge me a bit. Next up is a piece of Handel with the option of doing it in either English or Italian. Now this was interesting in itself! When I think Handel, I think 'Messiah' - all very English. A quick bit of Googling finds a load of 'Wikipedia' bumf on Handel's Italian operas and arias! Now, I do like a bit of opera, particularly Puccini and Verdi, but I am also a bit of a traditionalist - I like Italian operas sung in Italian and Carmen sung in French. Sorry, but English translations don't do it for me, I'm afraid. So, it would be a tad hypocritical of me to not go for Italian, would it not?

Yeah! Bring it on Caroline! A crash course in Italian pronunciation as well as Handel now required. Let me know the name of the piece again and I'll have it sorted in time for my next lesson. Or not!?!

Cheers for now!

Alyn.

P.S. GOOD LUCK JESSE!!!

The Loughborough Male Voice Choir Carillon Bell

2011-05-08T22:13:00.000+01:00

On Sunday May 1st, Ruth and I went over to the war memorial in Queens Park to listen to Caroline give one of her regular Carillon recitals. For the uninitiated, there's a website all about this rare and extraordinary musical instrument to be found here.

While we watched the master at work, Ruth noticed a photograph within one of the information boards opposite the clavier. It appeared to show a bell with an inscription implying that it was a gift from the Loughborough Male Voice Choir. With my curiosity aroused, I had to go and have a look for it!

Risking punctured eardrums, I climbed the steps to where the bells are hung and after a few minutes I located the bell in question and took a couple of photos:-

The inscription reads " THE GIFT OF THE LOUGHBOROUGH MALE VOICE CHOIR".

Intriguing! The first recital of the Loughborough Carillon was on 22nd July 1923, but the Loughborough Male Voice Choir didn't come into existence until 1967. So, perhaps new bells were added or maybe some re-cast at some stage after 1967?

Actually, it seems the answer to this apparent puzzle is a little simpler than that. A quick chat with Chris Hill before last Thrusday's rehearsal shed some light on it. It would seem that while the current incarnation of the Loughborough Male Voice Choir didn't come into being until 1967, there was a male voice choir present in Loughborough in the early 1920's and it was this group that funded this particular bell right at the beginning of the life of Loughborough War Memorial tower and its Carillon. The bell seen in the photographs above is the original bell as installed back in the 1920s.

As Chris says, I think our current choir can justifiably lay claim to this bell! After all, we are Loughborough's Official Male Voice Choir and the bell has our name well and truly on it! I now feel the urge to delve a little into the history of Male Voice Choirs in Loughborough. It would be nice to find out something about the funding of this Carillon bell by the 'original' LMVC, when the choir formed and why it disappeared. If anyone has any information or memories of earlier choirs in Loughborough, do drop me a line.

Ooh, I feel a book coming on!!!

Cheers,

Alyn.

Confidence is key!

2011-05-02T20:21:00.003+01:00

If there is one thing that is becoming abundantly clear to me as I continue on this extraordinary journey, it is that 'confidence is key' to singing well.

The concert with the Stevenage ladies highlighted this perhaps obvious point perfectly when my nervous first half performance gave me 'throat ache' while a more relaxed second half gave no such problems. Recent rehearsals with the choir have added support to this observation when only two second tenors have been present. To all the choir members who have been present at the last two rehearsals, let me say this right now - I really am a lot better at singing than I have probably displayed on these last two occasions, honest! You see, with just the two of us, the 'lack of self-confidence' thing kicks in. "If I mess up now it's going to be obvious" thinks my little head. Thus, I tense up which makes getting to those higher notes virtually impossible. So basically, my own self-doubt ruins everything. The crazy thing is, when there are four or more second tenors there, I don't feel self-conscious, I relax and as a result sing so much better! Daft innit?

My latest singing lesson confirmed it all too. Once again, I arrived feeling a bit nervous. Perhaps taking the absurd step of recording myself singing and listening to my in-tune but somewhat bland sounding voice last week didn't help matters. But my warm-ups this week were rather rubbish, struggling with the lower and higher notes this time. Caroline reckons the earlier morning start (10 am) might have been part of the problem, but maybe I was 'thinking about things too much'. Hmm, probably true. After a few minutes of singing On the Street Where You Live, I began to relax and everything started to come together. The day before when singing at the wedding, I felt pretty relaxed for the whole thing and had no problems at all. So for heavens sake man, RELAX!!!

So I've taken a step back over the last 48 hours and taken a good look at exactly what I've actually achieved since I stepped into Trinity Methodist Church for that first rehearsal with the Choir.

gone to a rehearsal with the LMVC and only missed one since.
learnt the second tenor parts for about ten songs pretty well.
sung IN PUBLIC in a concert to a packed audience at Trinity Methodist Church
sung in a small choir for a wedding

Not too bad in a few short weeks really!

Now, that Caroline King woman is a cunning devil you know! Near the end of my lesson on Saturday, Rose, one of Enchanted's singers, and her mother were waiting outside for me to finish. Caroline, to my horror, invited them into the room. "Come in, Alyn is going to sing for you", she said. OMG!?! Obviously, this was not the time to 'bottle out', so I had to go for it. There followed a rather tentative rendition of Nat King Cole's Unforgettable. Well, I got through it, rather like the first song at the recent concert, in something of a blur, but did it and it was okay-ish! Caroline reckoned I had risen to the occasion and Rose was equally complementary.

On reflection, it was obviously a deliberate move on Caroline's part to get her students used to singing to an audience, however small. If she had told me she was going to do that the night before, I probably wouldn't have slept and she knows it. But with no warning, I just did it. So that's another notable triumph that I really need to give myself a whole lot of credit for!

The bottom line is that I am finding singing really great fun. It has given my whole life a huge emotional boost that I could never have dreamt possible. If I can just help myself to relax into it a bit I will enjoy it even more and, who knows, people might just enjoy listening to me singing too!

Onwards and upwards!

Cheers,
Alyn

One More Step. . .

2011-04-29T22:32:00.003+01:00

How does one follow a debut gig with the Loughborough Male Voice Choir and Stevenage Ladies Choir? Well, how about singing at a Wedding with The Caroline Sharpe Singers? A few weeks ago Caroline asked whether I would I like to sing at a wedding on Friday 29th April. The date seemed to ring a few bells for some reason.

'Enchanted' have been booked for a few weddings lately and I know their reputation for excellence is spreading fast, but surely not as far as Buckingham Palace? Actually, the wedding concerned was at Prestwold, not Westminster Abbey but no less prestigious in my mind. This time Caroline required a larger choir with some extra ladies and a few male voices to add that extra bit of class. Only joking ladies! The new ladies included Ruth, Michelle, Dorothy, Shirley and Diane. The male recruits, all four of us, comprised myself, Anna's boyfriend Jake, Caroline's husband Charlie and Jeff Buckley. While the latter sounded like he'd sung quite a bit before, the same could not be said about the other three. Charlie and Jake certainly had to endure significant arm twisting before agreeing to attend. I recall at the LMVC Kegworth concert earlier in the year, when I was gently persuaded to pop along to a rehearsal, Charlie was less enthusiastic, saying that there was a reason why he was a drummer! I on the other hand was rather more willing to try my hand at wedding singing but had my doubts about singing hymns. And wearing a pink tie. You see, I just don't do pink. Not ever!

We arrived in good time for a run through the four hymns - an odd selection I thought, but who am I to judge? They were: All Things Bright and Beautiful; One More Step Along the World and Give me Joy in my Heart with the addition of We Pledge to One Another which we sang during the signing of the register. For some reason, I found it strangely difficult to hear my own voice and perhaps it had something to do with the church's accoustics. Caroline was standing directly in front of me so I'm sure she will let me know just how well I sang at tomorrow's lesson. I could hear myself much better during We Pledge to One Another and as a choir we seemed to be pretty darned good, even if I say so myself.

And then, like my LMVC debut, it was all over way too quickly. Off we all went, cruelly having to pass by four Prestwod Hall staff holding trays of champagne for the wedding guests. Then it was back home to reflect on a job well done I think. It was certainly another good bit of performing experience for me.

Next up is another lesson with Caroline tomorrow morning at 10 am. Have I remembered ANYTHING that she told me last time? Time will tell and I will let you know how it goes!

Until next time,

Alyn

P.S. I will post some photos of today's events later, when available.

So what next?

2011-04-17T10:35:00.001+01:00

I was warned by other members of my singing family to beware the 'post concert blues'. It is not unusual apparently, to feel a little deflated following a concert and I can now understand that. There's the rehearsals and the build up and then it's all over in a flash. It was even more deflating this morning on eagerly opening my copy of 'Loughborough Echo' to read the anticipated concert review and finding. . .

Not a word! Diddly-squat! Groan! I can only presume the Echo reporter was so knocked out by what he/she witnessed to be unable to formulate the article in a mere week. Next Thursday perhaps? Time then to focus on improving my singing.

What Saturday's concert emphasised for me, was how much easier it is to sing and sing properly when you are relaxed and confident. Lyndon Gardner had made this point during the last rehearsal before the concert and I hadn't realised the significance until now. My voice starts to ache quite quickly when I am singing quietly and not giving it everything. This happened during the first half of the concert, but there was no such problem in the second half, as I was relaxed and more confident in myself. Last Thursday's rehearsal proved this beyond doubt. We were a little short on numbers for this rehearsal, particularly the second tenors. We had a run through two of the new songs and when the time came for the handful of second tenors to sing their part, the self consciousness took over and the achy throat returned. Consequently, my attempts at 'Amarrillo' were pretty feeble, and the more conscious I became about it, the worse it got! So clearly, confidence is the key!

So Saturday April 16th saw Lesson Three with Caroline at Trinity Methodist Church. It's funny how nervous I felt again even at the start of the lesson, which is daft really, because Caroline is a great teacher and puts me at ease within minutes. She makes a singing lesson fun, which is what it should be. The warm-ups went well this time I thought as I actually remembered to open my mouth wide and those higher notes came easily. I reached a note higher than I had managed previously apparently (forgotten which note it was) so that was good. Caroline was quick to point out the symptoms of my 'nervous energy', like twitching legs, tense shoulders and all manner of weird things that I didn't realise I was doing. I remember I couldn't stop my leg twitching in time to the music during the concert. I guess these things will sort themselves out in time.

My first challenge under Caroline's expert tutelage is to learn one of my already favourite Nat King Cole songs, 'On the Street Where You Live'. Well obviously, as my wife has just pointed out, it isn't a Nat King Cole song at all really! He is merely one of numerous artistes to have sung the song which is from My Fair Lady. It might be a good idea for me to watch the whole musical to see and hear it in context. Anyway, having been listening to Nat's CD on a continual basis for the last few weeks, my first task is to put his rendition to the back of my mind and to eventually make it my version of the song and without an american accent. My first run through was a bit shambolic, but my challenge now is to try and remember the multitude of bits of advice from Caroline while I'm actually singing. Funny that I forget absolutely everything once I start!

Ruth has already mentioned the unthinkable - singing this song at the annual Gamlin Arts concert later in the year! Such a step is a gigantic leap so far outside my comfort zone that I couldn't even dare contemplate it at this stage of my fledgling singing career. But, never say never as they say. If I can master it and get to the stage where I can be confident in my own singing ability, who knows. Better not think about that for now eh? One small step at a time I think.

Lots of practice then before my next lesson and a bit of research on t'internet for other artistes versions of this splendid song!

Cheers for now,

Alyn.

Oh what a night!

2011-04-10T15:34:00.007+01:00

Oh my word. How do I start? After spending the morning wandering around the house with an inane grin on my face trying to think about something other than last night, I've given up trying and instead I think I'd better put all my thoughts on this blog and get it all out of my system.

Last nights concert was simply a personal triumph. I wouldn't say for one minute that I sang superbly well, but it was never about that for me. Last night was all about conquering some personal demons and, believe me, they were queueing up in my subconscious to give me their opinions in the early evening. "Don't do this! You'll make a fool of yourself. It will be a disaster, you know it will" they said. But before the destructive, irrational thoughts took control, my wife Ruth got out the massage oil and applied her healing hands to the neck, shoulders and back and magically eased away the stress. Such was the effect of a few minutes relaxation, I think this could well become a regular routine before future concerts - should my services still be required, of course. I wouldn't want to take anything for granted!

After that it was on with the uniform complete with gleaming new choir badge applied to the Ted Baker jacket. Ruth thought this momentous occasion had to be recorded with a photo or two:-

Me, looking the part in Ted Baker jacket new grey trousers and new LMVC tie

Smiling, a little nervously, but smiling!

So, with the photo shoot over, it was time to get on with it and drive to Trinity. Nerves were under control and I felt surprisingly calm on arrival despite the realisation that this was it. Game on! Several of the lads, realising this was my debut, asked me how I was feeling which was nice. Chris Hill offered me a further option for my 'first song dilemma'. Option 4 was to sit out the opener in George's compere's seat and take my place with the choir for the second song while George announced the three songs we were to sing. This was the perfect solution and made me feel much more at ease. That said, when we walked in to the hall, I did feel rather like the condemned man being escorted out to the firing squad! All those people!?! While sitting in George's seat, my heart started pounding at an alarming rate and it was something of a relief when 'With a Voice of Singing' was over and I could join the rest of the choir.

With heart still thrashing away, 'Eriskay Love Lilt' began and I got through it in something of a blur. Nerves prevented me from producing much in the way of volume, but with no real slip-ups, it gave me a bit of confidence. I confess, I spent the moments before the next song trying to locate my family who I finally found disappointingly near the back of the audience! Next up was 'Chanson d'amour' which went much better, despite some pretty inept finger clicks on my part. Strangely, I'm much better at finger clicking with my right hand than left which is odd, as I am left handed. I also tried my best to make my 'Ra-da-da-da-das' as 'breathy and sexy' as I could but I will leave it to others to judge how successful I was!

Our first half set came to a close with 'Vive L'Amour'. Now I really enjoy singing this one but somewhere, quite early in the piece, I completely lost my place and never got it back. However, rather than it being a disaster, I just carried on and sang what I could remember, which surprisingly was most of it. So that in itself gave me a massive confidence boost for the second half. Off we went, leaving Paul, Lyndon, Gerry and Chris Higgins to sing the mixed quartet followed by Lyndon's impressive operatic solos.

The rest of us chaps then returned to watch the Stevenage Ladies do their stuff. I particularly liked 'The Lord is My Shepherd' being a big fan of The Vicar of Dibley. I also think us chaps should have a bash at 'Allelujah'. Learning a song with only the one word rather appeals. Mind you, there were quite a few disconcerting twiddly bits in the middle of it that might prove a bit tricky!

So that was part one wrapped up and off we went for a well earned brew and 'hob-nob'. During the half-time break poor Chris tried to explain the logistics of getting us and the ladies in and out of the hall during the second half, but such was the buzz of the choir at the time I don't think anyone really took in what was being said. Anyway, we managed it somehow and the three songs, 'Give Me That Old Time Religion'; 'Let it Be Me' and 'Thankyou for the Music' went really well. I felt quite relaxed for these three and started to really enjoy myself. 'Let it Be Me' is by far my favourite piece so far - a really beautiful song and I look forward to getting my copy of the CD to see whether it was as good as I thought it was. The last song was a laugh if only because of the diction problems that I described in a previous post!

Then after the ladies went through their set of songs, finishing with a rousing version of Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody', it was back on stage to join them for 'You Raise Me Up' and 'Softly as I Leave You'. Both of these seemed to work really well despite only one run through together. And finally, an encore of 'You'll Never walk Alone' brought this amazing evening to a close.

As we drifted towards the exit, several choir members again asked me how I felt and the look on my face probably said it all. I felt like a million dollars and simply can't wait for the next one. If you had suggested to me just a few short months ago that I would soon be singing in a choir, I would've thought you crazy! But now, singing in Queens Park on 29th May can't come quickly enough!

Cheers,
Alyn.

And. . . . . R E L A X !

2011-04-09T09:46:00.006+01:00

It's Saturday 9th April 2011. Today is the day of my performing debut with the Loughborough Male Voice Choir.

I've been trying to wrack my brains to remember the last time I performed anything in public. As far as I can recall, it was an orchestral concert in my last year at school way back in 1978, shortly before leaving school for good and prior to going to college. So that's about thirty-three years ago!

Thursday evening saw the choir's final rehearsal before the concert and it went pretty well I think. My only problem was what to do about the opening song, 'With A Voice of Singing' which is to be sung without music. Having only really tackled this one a couple of times, I have little hope of knowing the whole thing by heart in time for the concert, so what to do? Chris gave me three options: 1) to stand with the choir and sing what I can and 'goldfish' the rest. 2) stand with the choir and just not sing, or 3) stand at the side and join the choir for the second song. Hmmm. Decisions, decisions....

I think I will opt for the first. Option 3 might look like I've been sent to the naughty step, while option 2 might feel a bit awkward. So I'll have a go, sing what I can and bluff the rest!

During Thursday's rehearsal Lyndon mentioned the need to 'control the nerves' in order to sing to our best. Now up to this point I hadn't even considered nerves, but I think it inevitable that my stomach wil be churning a bit prior to the start. I'm sure also that I will need exclusive access to the 'little boys room' for much of the early evening! But, I am determined to enjoy it and do my best. Like I said before, I can't at this early stage, expect to be anything like perfect, but I will contribute what I can and give it my best shot.

Before I go, I must say another big 'thankyou' to Chris Higgins for coming to my rescue again. At the end of Thursday's rehearsal, I realised that my family and in-laws had not yet bought tickets for the concert and the 'gig' wasn't far from being a sell-out. PANIC! I hurriedly phoned Ruth to check how many we needed and managed to acquire the necessary eight tickets. But in my haste to sort that little issue out I left my choir folder somewhere in Trinity and departed. On realising this potentially disastrous blunder I phoned Chris to see if anyone had found said folder. By a strange quirk of fate, Chris had it with him! Phew! Crisis over and folder retrieved so I can now run through that opening song umpteen times to try and drum as much of it into my head as possible before 'kick-off'.

Better go! Badge to somehow fix to jacket, shirt to iron and shoes to polish before the afternoon rehearsal with the Stevenage Ladies Choir.
Stay tuned for the concert review from the eye of this now slightly nervous debutant.

Cheers,

Alyn.

Mission Impossible?

2011-04-05T12:45:00.000+01:00

So whose crazy idea was this? When I decided to join the Loughborough Male Voice Choir, I foolishly thought I could take a few months to settle in, learn a few songs and maybe contribute in some small way to a concert later in the year. What I really didn't bargain for was jumping feet first, well and truly into the deep end within a few short weeks!

Yes indeed, any thoughts of sitting out the Loughborough Male Voice Choir's April 9th concert with the Stevenage Ladies Choir have been soundly dismissed by Ruth, Anna-Ruth and Caroline. Amy on the other hand merely utters three letters - L.O.L. whenever mention is made of my singing, which for those unfamiliar with 'text speak', isn't entirely complimentary. I mentioned to Chris Hill that I was now being persuaded to 'go for it' and sing in the concert. While I feel that I am only able to partially sing most of the songs, Chris says that it would be acceptable for me to sing the sections that I confident about and 'do a goldfish' and not sing the bits that I don't know, which gives me some comfort at least. This plan should work fine provided that I can stand behind someone nice and tall to disguise the fact a bit.

Oh dear! Last Thursday's rehearsal shattered that hope. Chris had the choir up on the stage mid-rehearsal, just to get a feel for it and who should I end up standing behind? Only the supremely talented tenor, Lyndon Gardner and another gentleman (whose name I am yet to learn), who both happen to be probably the two shortest members of the whole choir! This means that my goldfish impression is going to be in full view of the entire audience. Sigh.

But on the plus side, at least I might look the part. After finding Chris Higgins' spare choir blazer to be several sizes to big, Saturday was spent searching Loughborough's finest boutiques and charity shops for a suitable (and inexpensive) navy blazer and light grey trousers. Greenwoods had just the right colour but not the right size of trouser, but Oxfam came up with a very nice navy 'Ted Baker' jacket. A quality garment it certainly is, but it's not strictly a 'blazer' and it doesn't have shiny buttons. And it is a touch too big, so I will take it along next Thursday and see what Chris and 'the lads' think. A Sunday afternoon visit to Fosse Park found a perfect pair of grey trousers from good ol' M & S, so I'm nearly ready. All I need to do now before Saturday 9th is learn how to sing. Step forward, one Caroline King nee Sharpe!

Her mission - should she wish to take it, is to knock this raw but enthusiastic singing rookie into something vaguely acceptable to the listening ears of Loughborough, all in the space of a mere week. A 'Mission Impossible' if ever there was one and surely beyond even Caroline? Well, the gal is obviously not afraid of a challenge and Saturday April 2nd saw my second singing lesson with her.

While the first lesson sought to find out whether there was any singing potential at all, this time we got to work on my complete lack of technique. There is clearly more to singing than opening one's mouth and making a noise. The thing that has troubled me most since I started on this journey into the unknown is that I probably sound like a singing Peter Kay! My Boltonian roots are reflected in my accent and I fear in my singing voice. To give you an example, in 'Thank you for the Music', there is the line: "Who can live without it, I ask in all honesty". Now, I just knew that this sounded horrible when I sang it and stopped in my tracks. How on earth do you sing the words 'without it' and make it sound good? The answer it would appear is in the vowels and to not try to pronounce all the words as I would normally speak them. I need to sing 'arrrrrrsk' rather than my 'asssk' and to smooth out my Boltonian 'with-ow-tit' into something more like 'with-arr-date', if that makes any sense at all?

One note that I had been previously struggling to get to adequately was the top 'F' of 'Mu-sic' in the last line of each verse. To manage this, Caroline simply got me to open my mouth wider. A pretty obvious suggestion for singing anything you would have thought, but it did feel a little ridiculous. Caroline did assure me that it doesn't look as ridiculous as it feels and lo and behold the note was reached with ease. However, pronouncing the 'mu' part of the word means pursing one's lips, making it impossible to open the mouth wide, surely? Well, yes, but the trick is not to get hung up on the word, but to get the note first and foremost. It's this fascinating stuff that makes it all so interesting. I am now all the more aware of my short comings as a singer, but I do believe I will be able to do a decent job with a bit of effort and perseverance. I don't think Nat King Cole or Pavarotti would have too much to worry about if they were alive, but if I can produce a sound that complements the choir rather than ruins it I'll be happy!

The important thing for me on Saturday will be to not expect myself to get everything right. After such a short time in the choir that would be expecting way, way too much. I will just try to relax and enjoy it!

Cheers for now,
Alyn.

So 'Second Tenor' it is then?

2011-03-29T13:32:00.000+01:00

Armed with the newly acquired knowledge that I may after all be up to the task of singing in a choir, I approached the next rehearsal of the Loughborough Male Voice Choir with added enthusiasm. A pre-rehearsal text from Caroline saying "Remember - 2nd Tenor tonight" gave me enough of a nudge to 'go for it' and see what happens. Right from the first week I got the impression that the choir was crying out for a few more tenors, so if I'm up to the job, why not?

The drawback of course was that I now need to learn the second tenor parts to 'Thankyou for the Music', Chanson D'Amour' and 'Try to Remember', having only just got to grips with the bass parts. Anyway, I thought it unlikely that I would be anywhere close to being ready to perform in the concert with the Stevenage Ladies Choir on April 9th, so no need to worry.

My first impressions of the second tenor parts are that they do get to do a bit more of the melody. That said, 'Thankyou for the Music' does start with a lot of 'doo's', which are proving a bit tricky to follow! Switching from bass to second tenor also meant moving from the front row back to the third row, which could be no bad thing when it comes to my debut performance and might give me the opportunity to hide behind someone tall, thus avoiding the critical gaze of my wife and family!

My attempts to learn the second tenor parts have been scuppered somewhat by my household computers inability to load the newly revamped choir website and thus the mp3 files I need to help me learn the parts. Neither the family PC nor any of our laptops will load it for some unknown reason. Jeff, the LMVC web site boffin has been looking into it and as yet we are no nearer to getting the site to load. There seems to be an issue with my 'browser' being unable to cope with 'in-line frames' or summat. I wouldn't know what one of those was if you hit me over the head with one to be perfectly honest, so I am at a loss really.

Anyway, to the rescue came one Chris Higgins! This knight in shining armour offered to download the required files onto my mp3 player for me. What a guy! This feat was duly accomplished and ready for me to pick up on Sunday morning, so I can now have a stab at the whole programme for the April 9th 'gig' at Trinity Methodist Church. Whether I can master the whole lot by that date is highly questionable, but nothing ventured, nothing gained! Chris clearly thought it not beyond me as he had me trying on a spare choir blazer for size. Sadly my diminutive frame was somewhat swamped by said garment. Never mind, I'll have to have a look around for a suitable navy blazer, grey trousers and black socks when the time comes. The black socks are particularly important apparently as it was pointed out in the recent past that a wide variety of sock colours does not look good from the audience's viewpoint! You see, it's the little details . . .

Right, better crack on and try to learn loads of second tenor parts at breakneck speed. Not a minute to lose - eleven days and counting!?!

Until next time,

Alyn.

The first of many or maybe never again?

2011-03-18T21:09:00.000Z

What on earth am I doing?

That was my only thought as I arrived at Trinity Methodist Church on Saturday 5th of March for my first singing lesson with Caroline. It had seemed like a good idea until the time came to stand up and make a noise. For some reason, trying to sing in the company of someone who has such a phenomenal talent for the art herself, is rather daunting.

Caroline has an incredible voice. In fact I don't think Caroline herself quite appreciates just how good she is. I may not be an expert of music and operatic singing, but I have enjoyed opera for quite a few years since the BBC made 'Nesson Dorma', sung by the legendary Luciano Pavarotti, their theme tune to the 1990 World Cup. So I do know what is good and what isn't. Caroline is good. Very good!

"Right", says Caroline, "let's try some scales". Now, what should have been fairly straight forward was made all the more challenging by a throat full of mucous clogging up the vocal chords. Sorry - too much information? Mentioning this fact sounded to me like I was trying to make my excuses good and early. In truth, I really wasn't sure if anything at all was going to eminate from my mouth other than the aforementioned mucous. Urgh! Sorry again! To my relief, in response to Caroline's note on the piano, there followed a scale of tentatively sung 'lah-lah-lahs' that sounded vaguely in tune, rapidly followed by another scale, after a slightly higher note from the piano. And on we went. And on! Blimey, things seemed to be getting very high until there came a point when everything crumbled and my voice seemed to shatter onto the floor like a broken wine glass.

The area that I reached when things went 'pear-shaped' was around 'tenor' level. I was also struggling at the lower end of 'bass' too, so Caroline was of the opinion that baritone should be comfortable, but maybe even second tenor would be possible with improved technique, so that was food for thought. I understand from my wife Ruth, that Caroline is very selective about who she is prepared to teach. Basically, if you are not up to it, forget it matey! So to be told that I have a surprisingly good range, actually sang in tune and can sight read very well, was an enormous 'shot in the arm'.

This huge confidence boost has led to quite ridiculous thoughts entering my head. I now want to sing like Nat King Cole! 'LOL', as Amy would say! My copy of 'The Best of Nat King Cole' has been in the car CD player ever since. However, to give myself a reality check, I remind myself of some words uttered by a certain Simon Cowell to one X-Factor wannabee some time ago: "If you are going to take on an icon, you've got to do it well". Hmmm...?

Time then to get to work on that dodgy technique and the almost laughable inability to breathe in the right places. I'm afraid I will inevitably approach singing like I do other things that I try to do, i.e. if I'm going to do it, I want to do it as well as I can. This I think will require regular lessons with Caroline and if you are reading this Caz, I couldn't possibly accept your time and wisdom merely in return for two rolls of 'poop bags' and a packet of 'mini bones' for Poppy each week. Poppy may disagree mind you!

Anyway, financial matters aside, I am really quite excited about learning to sing properly after all these years. The list of upcoming 'gigs' that the Loughborough Male Voice Choir have lined up is growing and it will take a bit of work to get me 'up to speed' as it were. The concert with the Stevenage Ladies Choir on April 9th may come a bit too soon, but I can maybe realistically aim for Sunday 29th May for 'singing in Queens Park, Loughborough. Miss it at your peril!

Cheers for now,

Alyn.

Fifty percent Welsh

2011-03-13T14:45:00.000Z

For those that aren't aware of it, the slightly obscure spelling of my Christian name is down to the fact that half my blood is welsh. And, as everyone knows it's genetically programmed into every welsh person to sing. Welsh babies on emerging from the womb don't cry, they SING! So maybe this is the reason for my sudden path towards singing super stardom? You can only suppress your natural instincts for so long...

Whoa, hold on there! Let's not get ahead of ourselves. It was only a month ago that I went along for my first taste of a rehearsal with the Loughborough Male Voice Choir. For the first rehearsal after their Kegworth concert, I pledged to go along and check them out. On arriving at Trinity Methodist Church I met Chris Hill the Choir's leader and inspiration. I had previously encountered Chris through his work as Enchanted's pianist, so at least there was one familiar face. To say I felt like a fish out of water would be something of an understatement but hey, I was there! Ruth and Anna-Ruth were already at the church themselves for a singing lesson with Caroline so were witness to the fact that I had indeed actually turned up.

As choir members arrived there was a common response along the lines of 'Ooh, a new member? Great, are you a tenor?' Now this question was not as easy to answer as you might expect. At this point I had absolutely no idea what I was or indeed if I had any singing ability at all. 'But you do enjoy singing though I presume?' Again, not particularly easy to answer. I do enjoy singing to myself in the bath when I'm positive no-one else is listening. Would I enjoy singing in a choir? Somehow, telling the chaps that I was looking forward to finding out, seemed a rather inadequate answer. Anyway, Chris agreed that maybe 'bass' was a good place to start and just see how it felt.

First of all Lyndon Gardner, the choir's voice coach and a tenor of some repute kicked off proceedings. This I thought would be the easy bit! Err, wrong! Lyndon's warm ups seemed almost like a memory test which on a Thursday evening of an exhausting week, was proving way beyond me! At least I wasn't alone in losing it somewhat, and the more we all messed up the more hysterical the watching Chris found it.

As luck would have it, tonight was the night when five new songs were being handed out, so everyone was in the same boat as me. As we collectively staggered through Abba's 'Thankyou for the Music' it was quite amazing to see how what was initially a chaotic mess transformed into a quite impressive sound. To my delight, one of the new songs was the Tony Christie classic 'Amarillo'. I'm afraid I just couldn't help but slip into 'Peter Kay' mode and all thoughts of singing bass went completely out of the window.

So, my first taste of singing in a choir turned out to be quite a lot of fun and left me wanting more. I still didn't know whether I was bass or baritone, but at least I felt reasonably confident that I wasn't going to embarrass myself totally and maybe had a half decent voice. It never entered my head to not turn up the following week, but when I did I got the the distinct impression that very often, potential new members never make it to a second week! When I arrived for week two it seemed to mean to several of the chaps that I was there to stay. My 'details' were recorded and name duly added to George's register. I had arrived! I must say right now, that I couldn't have been made more welcome by everyone. The willingness to simply let me have a go without any audition and just see if I enjoy it is quite wonderful really. Anyone else out there in Loughborough who is similarly curious about singing should do likewise I reckon. What have you got to lose?

It is glaringly obvious at this early stage, that I've got a heck of a lot to learn. Apart from a short period attempting to learn to play the bagpipes about four years ago, it is something like 30 years since I have read music to any degree and I've forgotten so much. I've never before read music with four parts plus the piano part laid out together on the same sheet, so I have the annoying habit of starting on the bass line and then carrying on to a completely different part and getting totally lost. But, practice makes perfect and Rome wasn't built in a day . . .

To help me on the way, the choir's website has a members page where 'mp3' and 'midi' files of each part can be downloaded to aid the learning process. These are excellent and should prove invaluable at least when I decide which seat to sit in - bass, baritone, or heaven forbid tenor? After week three's rehearsal I was coming to the conclusion that I really needed the advice of someone who knows, to determine where my voice lies, if indeed it lies anywhere within a choir. Who better than the extraordinarily talented Caroline? So, a singing lesson was arranged for Saturday 5th March. Oh Crikey!?!

How on earth was this going to turn out? Was I going to embarrass myself again in '1970 church lesson reading' fashion? Gulp!

I'll let you know the outcome next time.

Cheers,
Alyn.

Well, Hello There!

2011-03-09T13:22:00.000Z

Where does one start?

Well, 'let's start at the very beginning - a very good place to start' as someone once sang . . . .

Once there was a child - a 10 year old child, who was assigned the task of reading a lesson in his school's monthly church service. Being a Church of England school he made regular visits to church (unlike today's kids it would seem) and for some bizarre reason he had volunteered to read a lesson. He was not entirely sure why he stuck his hand up when his teacher asked for a volunteer, but volunteer he did. And he immediately regretted it! The Big Day duly arrived and up he strolled, knees knocking together in terror! He started to deliver the uninspiring Bible passage and all seemed to be going well until he lost his place momentarily and read out one particular line twice. Realising his error he stopped in horror for what seemed to him to be about half an hour but in reality was probably only a couple of seconds. To him it was a humiliating disaster and he finished his piece with "thanks be to God" and returned to his seat distraught. No-one in the church noticed any mistake at all, or so they said, but he took that to mean they weren't even listening, which somehow seemed to make the whole affair even worse.

Anyway, I relate this tale because the child in question was me and the experience was to shape my entire life. To this day, at the ripe old age of 50, I remain in fear of public speaking or communicating with large groups of people in any way. If I ever manage to study Geology as I wish to (see my other Blog - 'Holey Schist), I will have to conquer this fear in order to present papers of geological research, so there's a major hurdle to overcome at some stage. When I look back over my 50 years, there are so many things that I've avoided, so many things that I have 'bottled out' of doing, just to avoid the prospect of standing up in front of people.

Such as singing for example!

Like a lot of young lads, I used to dream of being the lead singer in a rock band. I loved the gravelly voice of Lemmy from Motorhead and the extraordinary vocal ranges of Rob Halford from Judas Priest and Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden. But singing would mean standing up in front of people, so was an absolute 'non-starter' for that reason alone. The prospect of singing, in public at least has therefore remained forever buried. Until now!

Perhaps at this point I need to paint a picture of my family. Firstly there's my lovely wife Ruth, currently learning to sing herself and poised to undertake exams in singing under the expert guidance of her sister Caroline, a classical singer of immense talent (more on her later). Then there is my eldest step-daughter Anna-Ruth, who only discovered a year or so ago that she could sing and is now a member of 'Enchanted', a local singing group of 'young ladies' led by Caroline and who are gaining quite a reputation in the East Midlands! For a sample of what these talented girls have to offer see the 'You Tube' link in the right-hand column of this Blog. Add to this my youngest step-daughter Amy who is also learning to sing, also taking exams and also has a splendid voice, you will begin to see that the best option for me would be to give up any thoughts of resistance and to simply join in the fun!

Just a few weeks ago, we went along to see Enchanted perform in a concert in Kegworth, along with the Loughborough Male Voice Choir. The girls were in superb voice, as were the 'lads' of the male voice choir and it was a really enjoyable evening. The concert's programme notes included a plea for 'new blood' and said that anyone interested, could just pop along to any Thursday night rehearsal and have a go! No audition is required, just enthusiasm and a willingness to 'work at it'. As the arm twisting began from wife, sisters-in-law, daughter and choir leader, I partially relented and agreed to perhaps go along. Maybe. . . ?

Well, I thought about it and realised that singing was something I'd always meant to maybe one day have a go at', but for a multitude of reasons, never quite got round to it. Perhaps it's a sort of 'mid-life crisis' type thing, but I do rather think I need to just get on and try these things while I've still got my faculties! Study geology, learn to sing, whatever? You only live once allegedly, so I'd better have a shot. Nothing ventured. . . . ?

So a month ago I went along to my first rehearsal with the Loughborough Male Voice Choir. More on that interesting experience later!

Cheers for now,

Alyn