Rehearsal One:

05 SEPTEMBER 2019 / 7:45 – 9:30PM / The Hub

Well, what a great start to the autumn/winter season! An excellent turn out on Thursday and a big ‘hello’ to all 18 of the new singers who turned up to see what ‘Knot Another Choir’ is all about. I hope you will all stick with us as we prepare for our first concert of the season in just a few week’s time.

We started the session with an energetic warm-up called ‘Dance To The Rhythm’. This helped us all to get loose, limber and ready to go. Moving on from this we introduced a new song ‘Hold Back The River’ by James Bay.

We began by looking at the second chorus (p5 / b51), where the soprano take the melody and the other parts add in supportive harmonies.

Note: there is a misprint on the score, bar 57 should be ‘hold’ not ‘stop’, please mark this on your copies.

The most important thing here is keeping the rhythms short and energetic, using the first consonant of each word to help us do this. Once this sounded secure we jumped ahead to the bridge or ‘lonely water’ section (p8 /b84). Here the Alto part has the melody and the other parts sing harmonies alongside them, creating a gospel-type effect.

Note: in the score the bass part is written to follow the tenor line. However, in session it was decided that the basses should sing the soprano line an octave down for this section.

Once again, we spoke about rhythm and making sure the words where clipped and short for better definition. Finally we added in the final piece of the puzzle, which was the ‘oh’ section (p7 / b67). This section is relatively easy as it is sung all in unison. We then sang from b51 to the end by linking all three of the sections we had learnt together. After a short break we focused our attention on the first verse (p1 / b9). This all sung in unison and I encouraged all singers to choose what octave was right for them. The first chorus is also performed in unison.

Homework for next week is to listen to your part for the second verse of ‘Hold Back The River’. I would also like everyone to have a listen to their part for ‘Beautiful Day’ as we will be doing some work on this next time!

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Rehearsal Two:

11 SEPTEMBER 2019 / 7:45 – 9:30PM / COGS

Another great rehearsal Knot Another Choir! Once again, an excellent turn-out with some more new members. Please keep telling your friends about us so that we may continue to grow in sound and spirit! Not long to go until our first concert on the 29th of September.

Note – The committee and I have decided to try holding rehearsals without a break for the foreseeable so that we are able to achieve more with our time together. Those in attendance responded well to this on Tuesday but if you feel this is not going to work for you please do come and speak to us at any time.

We began the session with some call and response exercises to get everyone focused, followed by a fun vocal round to get everyone in the mood for singing. Following this we recapped everything we had done in the previous week (see above) on ‘Hold Back The River’.

Note – Sopranos; remember to ‘think low’ for your first note of ‘Lonely Water’, as it is very easy to end up on a different part here if you are not careful.

Moving on from this we looked at the second verse (top of page 4), which contains some really tricky moments.

Note – The basses are to sing the written part here, which is the same as the tenor line.

Of particular note is the ‘now we’re caught against the tide’ line in which the bass, tenor and alto line move in contra-motion (opposite direction) to the soprano line. To help work on your confidence with this I would suggest that you practice your part along with the full version MP3 that is also provided with the rehearsal tracks. To complete our work on this track we then ran the song in it’s entirely – it is starting to sound very exciting.

In the final 15minutes of our rehearsal we looked at the chorus of Beautiful Day, arranged by Mark De-lisser.

Note: Basses are now to sing along with the tenor line on this track as I believe that this will yield the best result.

Homework for next week is to listen to the verses of this song so you can get a feel for the different rhythms and overall feel.

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Rehearsal Three:

26 SEPTEMBER 2019 / 7:45 – 9:30PM / The Hub

Another fantastic rehearsal with even more new members joining us, I believe we had 55 singers in the room, which is just fantastic!

We began the session with another fun warm-up this time centered around the five-tone major scale. This numerical exercise is great for developing our awareness of intervals and pitching.

Moving on, we moved methodically through ‘Hold Back The River’, perfecting the smaller details ready for future performances. Key points to remember are:

Make sure you are watching me at the very beginning to ensure a confident start.
Try to give lots of energy on the consonants in the verses.
Be fearless with your harmonies in the choruses (i.e don’t wait for the person next to you to sing)!
Ensure not to forget the ‘ooh’ section that follows the first chorus.
In the last time round ‘lonely water’ we have incorporated a small side step starting on the right foot.

Following on from this, we turned our attention to ‘Beautiful Day’. First we went over our harmonies for the midsection of the song (i.e see the world) and then connected this back in with the rest of the song.

Note – we decided to end the song with a double chorus, as opposed to going to the ‘touch me’ section in harmony at the very end. We will look at this in future rehearsals but both myself and Declan felt that this would create a stronger and more confident ending for now.
Next week we start working on our Christmas repertoire, with ‘Winter Wonderland’ being the first on our agenda. Please take a listen to your parts before Thursday so that you are prepared. Please note, that both the Alto and Soprano parts are split in this arrangements (though only in a few places). Have a listen to both parts for now and use the score to guide you. We will sort out who is singing which part in rehearsal on Thursday.

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Rehearsal Four

3 OCTOBER 2019 / 7:45 – 9:30PM / Knaresborough Community Centre

No Notes

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Rehearsal Five

10 OCTOBER 2019 / 7:45 – 9:30PM / The Hub

No Notes

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Rehearsal Six

17 October 2019 / 7:45 – 9:30PM / The Hub

Dear singers,

Firstly, my apologies for the two week gap in these rehearsal notes, both myself and Declan have been extremely busy and just have not had chance to get around to it.

Nevertheless, a great rehearsal on Thursday full of positives. First, I would like to welcome even more new members, bringing our grand total to 63! I look forward to working with you all as we prepare for our upcoming concerts in November and December.

We began this week’s rehearsal with an energetic number based task, which is designed to test focus and intonation (pitching). We also did our usual physical stretches, to make sure our bodies were ready for singing.

Moving on from this, we recapped ‘Beautiful Day’ by U2, which required quite a bit of work and time to get it on its feet again. Going forward I would recommend that you take a look at the older songs once in a while as we work on the new ones. It is easy to forget things if you don’t. Try having them playing in the background while you do the housework or play them in the car on your morning commute. This will help to keep them fresh.

Next, we continued our work on ‘Winter Wonderland’, focusing on the bridge section (i.e in the meadow…) where the alto and soprano parts split into two parts. Julie has very kindly organised each section into one’s and two’s to make this easier – please check with her if you are unsure as to what part to learn. In addition to this we also worked on the rhythm and harmonies for the last line (i.e to face unafraid…) Please make sure you go over your parts for this in the interim.

Next week, we start yet another brand new song; ‘Last Christmas’ by George Michael but with an upbeat gospel vibe. Parts and score are online NOW so please go and check them out.

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Rehearsal Seven

24 October 2019 / 7:45 – 9:30PM / The Hub

Dear singers,

Another fantastic and productive rehearsal this Thursday with even more new members present. After a brisk but thorough warm-up we launched into ‘Winter Wonderland’ and set about fixing any areas that we felt were a little shaky, key moments were…

The ‘Mmm we’re walking’ section between verse one and verse two

The Alto and Soprano split in the bridge (in the meadow…) section.
The last few bars at the end of the piece.

Moving on from this, we started to look at our new piece; Last Christmas by George Michael and Wham! We started at the Segno (sign) at the top of page three and learnt the harmonies for the chorus. We then skipped to the top of page 5 for the ‘Shu do wah’ section and went over everyone’s part.

Note: It’s really important to note the repeat markings in the section. The first time round you follow the ‘1st time bar’ (bracket with a 1 over the top of the music). The second time round you follow the ‘2nd time bar’ (bracket with a 2 over the top of the music).

For the soprano and Alto’s this means you rest for two bars following the repeat while the tenors and basses sing ‘Oh this year…’ Following on from this, we very quickly went over everyone’s parts for the key change and had one go at it before calling it a night.

Note: Please look over your parts for all songs while we are off on half-term. We don’t have long once we return to get everything sounding great for our upcoming concerts. This means everyone will need to arrive promptly and prepared each week so that we can make the most out of the time that we have.

Bye for now