Tag: Music

Looking forward

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Spring will be well underway when we perform for one night only in St Thomas’s church Penkhull, Stoke-on-Trent

We had a good rehearsal yesterday, we sang a song from the film Grease full of wop bada do wop a bing bang boom! Or something like that. It’s so fast my tongue was tripping over the words, but it got better as we went on. Then we sang the oompah pah song from Oliver! Fun and good for stretching your lungs. There will be much more to learn over the following weeks. My music sheet shakes when I hold it, I might need a music stand!

Bad stats!

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Oh dear, I’m not on line as much and my stats are going down. I’ve been in choir performances over the last few days and by the time I get home I’m usually exhausted and fall asleep. At the moment I’ve nodded of a few times, I can hardly stay awake.

My neighbours hammering at 7am in the morning which doesn’t help. I think he is knocking the plaster off the walls of his kitchen where it is damp. Anyway I’ll write more later x

Carol concert

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It was singing at the Church carol concert tonight. I felt proud, I think because I hadn’t been rehearsing due to my broken rib, people were surprised. I got a few compliments at church and when I got home a couple who had been up at the concert stopped to say I’d got a lovely voice! 

Strangely when I was having a mince pie during the intermission I had a discussion about being agnostic with the local vicar! I don’t know what got into me!

Looking out for him.

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An old digital drawing from about 7 years ago.

I used to like singing “blow the wind southerly” and actually got to sing it in a pantomime a few years ago. We were pretending to be in a singing competition and I tried to sound like Catherine Ferrier?

It’s about a woman waiting for her lover to come back to her from across the sea. It’s very old fashioned but lovely and it’s a contralto piece that suits my rather deep voice. Anyway I did this digital drawing after being inspired by the song. X

I need sleep

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I’m shattered. I went to an art group that supports mental health this morning and was given some help with something I’m trying to deal with. Then a friend rang and I tried to give her advice, but I wasn’t up to going and seeing her. Sometimes it’s hard to take on others problems when you have enough of your own. Finally I went to choir practice in the city centre. I got a lift there and back, but got soaked to the skin as I tried to get the few yards between the car door  and the front door. I’ve just dried out!

Kate playing fiddle

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2014 drawing, we used to go to the pub and watch the Boatband playing cajun and folk music. Sometimes I would get up and sing a song a cappela, I like “Summer time” from the musical “Porgy and Bess”. I never remembered to learn new songs, life was too busy then. Now I long to time travel back to those days. I’d give anything to be back then sitting listening to the fiddle, guitar and accordion while beautiful music scurled around us.

A film called “Yesterday”

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I’m watching a film called Yesterday starring Himesh Patel, Lily James and Ed Sheeran. The premise is that a failing musician has a bike accident when all the power goes off in the world for 12 seconds.  He wakes up in hospital and when he gets out he finds out that none of his friends have heard of the Beatles (a 1960’s and 70’s pop group).

The story continues to tell the tale of his life and integrates Beatles songs into it. I don’t want to say much more, but it’s great to hear those old songs again. The hairs on the back of my neck were standing up as I watched the film.

If you want to see something funny and life affirming on a wet Sunday night this is one worth watching.

Singing

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Do you sing for pleasure, to earn money, to learn something new? Or for mental or physical health?

Singing is good for lung health. It can strengthen both your lungs, chest muscles and help improve your voice. It helps with breathing and can help control your worries. I’ve found it helpful with controlling anxiety. It doesn’t cure it, but it calms it. Yes you could get stage fright, but singing with a choir helps because you are singing with others and that supports all the participants. You learn together and grow together. After about 20 years of singing with the group we sound pretty good. New people join and the group changes, but we all enjoy going or we wouldn’t be there

Some songs are earworms, rolling round and round in your head. Others are hard to pick up. We sometimes drop a tone or sing flat. It’s hard as a low singer to hit the high notes. Some songs are really annoying, but others in the group love them. But as we are all different then we all like a variety of music. Participating is good for you. I’d recommend it to anyone.