Singing group

Posted on July 3, 2023 Posted in UncategorizedTagged A capella, Choir, getting better every day, Life, Music, Play, Practice, Singing, Time6 Comments

We had choir practice tonight. We started to learn a song ‘it’s getting better everyday’ we had learnt it a few years ago when we had sung in a play at the local theatre. I was thinking about the enjoyment of singing and I remembered that Elton John was extolling the virtues of being in a choir at Glastonbury this year.

We are not a big group but we harmonise well. We did a few sea shanties and started learning another one about going on holiday.

It was such a positive evening, I would recommend joining a choir or singing group if you want to get calm and improve your breathing too. We learn a capella and we are mainly unaccompanied, it’s really fun!

Singing time

Posted on June 20, 2023 Posted in UncategorizedTagged A capella, Life, Middlewich, Music, Performance, practice session, Singing, song2 Comments

Tonight’s rehearsal was fun. We discussed our performance on Sunday at Middlewich and agreed we had done well to cope with the Loud music from across the road at a local restaurant. Our choir leader was pleased with us and told us people had come up and shook her hand!

It was also good to perform alongside her and her friend Esther from the Boat Band. When you normally sing a capella and without microphones it’s difficult to tell how things are sounding, but we didn’t cause any whistles or squeaks or feedback….

So tonight we were planning which songs to sing in a mediaeval event in July, we started singing a French song and a few other old favourites. It’s surprising how things come back to you even if you haven’t sung them for years…. We were sounding quite good by the end of the practice session.

Louds

Posted on July 16, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged A capella, Blogging, Choir, Loud mouth women, Music, Newcastle baptist church, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Singing, Stafford avenue, StaffordshireLeave a comment

The choir were there but I decided not to include us in the photo. We have two more meetings of the choir before we break up for August then return in September.

Loud Mouth Women is an a capella choir, who meet at Newcastle Baptist church in Stafford Avenue, Clayton, Newcastle-under-Lyme on a Tuesday evening. It is made up of female singers who don’t audition or have to read music and is open to anyone woman who wants to sing. It improves confidence, allows you to socialise, and gives you the opportunity to learn a new skill of singing in different languages. To do this we learn by repetition, learning songs phonetically.

Tonight we learned an arab song about friendship, sang an old favourite “moonriver” and had the pleasure of being taught by Caroline who was deputising for our normal musical director Kate.

We have also recently had the enormous pleasure of going to a Yoga group run by one of the Louds, which is run an hour and a half before we sing. I was so relaxed tonight I almost fell asleep in the choir.

Music and singing

Posted on June 18, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged A capella, Blogging, Choir, Education, Enjoyment, Fun, Learning, Life, Music, School, SongsLeave a comment

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I’ve been to a choir workshop on Sunday where we learnt songs and short pieces over a four hour period, then tonight I was learning songs for the penkhull mystery play which is being accompanied by Clay Chorus, a choir I’m part of. I’m a member of the cast of the play, so I might not actually be singing all the songs but it’s good to learn them.

It is quite tiring doing so much singing. It takes concentration and the ability to listen closely to your fellow choir members and the choir leader. We learn a capella so we often don’t have any accompaniment.

I also went to a concert on Saturday night and later today I will be watching a live broadcast of the Pirates of Penzance at our local cinema.

Music can transport your mind, calm stress, but also excite and enthral. Music can be raucous, noisy, loud, rhythmic and ugly. It can also bring tranquility and peace.

I think music should be taught more, to all ages and abilities. It should not be elitist and should not be for the privileged few. Music broadens the mind and the senses.

Choir practice

Posted on February 25, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged A capella, Blogging, Choir, Confidence, Fun, Learning, Music, Singing6 Comments

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Singing is part if my life now. I started singing lessons about 15 years ago then joined a choir a few years later. I met a variety of people who loved music and I was swept along. We were all interested in learning music from around the world and the group learned acapella songs by heart so that we don’t need sheet music.

Singing calms me down, excites me, can be really irritating when it’s something I don’t like, or enthralling when it’s something new or an old song I love but had never previously learnt fully.

After being a choir member over several years I joined another choir so now I go and practice at least twice a week. Sometimes I join other groups and sing with them too.

I also try and sing when there are music nights at pubs. It has helped my confidence and calmed my nerves. Without it I don’t think I would have got involved in amateur dramatics. If there is a group in your area why not join?

Mallaband-Brown

Tag: A capella