Notes 1-23-24

Dear Singers

That was an excellent first rehearsal! We sound really good already. The best moments for me were the beautiful sound of Bright Morning Stars and the thrill of having us sing the rhythm of “Don’t Fence Me In” correctly. Being able to do that rhythm correctly is crucial to the entire song! I really look forward to this upcoming term!

Bandlab Links

You will find the links to the Bandlab pieces below. Just click on one and try it out. As we talked about last night there is an excellent tutorial on the website: siskiyousingers.org/members, Pwd: “silentnight”

You will also find alternate versions labeled with a “B”. When you arrive at the site for one of the pieces, please notice the little “pictures” (avatars) in the upper right had corner. If there are two of them, you are treading on someone else’s territory. At that point try clicking on the alternate version.

Measure numbers

Part of your “homework” is to write in measure numbers for the pieces that do not have them. Those are “Ain’a That Good News”, “At the River”, “maggie and milly and molly and may”, and “Of Crows and Clusters.” Please remember that “Ain’a That Good News” begins with a pickup measure which shall be known as “Measure Zero.”

Here are some notes…

Notes

At the River

  • Cutoffs at the end of mm 4 and 6 are on the  and of 4
  • There is no breath in m 8
  • mm 18 – 19 have a decresc.

Ain’a That Good News

  • I did my research by checking the recording of one of the outstanding experts of black spiritual performance, Anton Armstrong, the director of the St. Olaf Choir. We will follow his lead and do this piece with the proper dialect:
    • Pronounce all “th” as “d” (“ain’a dat good news”)
    • All t’s and d’s are stopped. That means that you put your tongue in position to say the consonant, but you don’t follow through. “Good”. This also applies to “worl'”–use a stopped “d”
    • There is no “ai” diphthong. “I” and “my” become “Ah” and “Mah”
    • “Goin’ to” becomes “gonna”
    • We will work on this in rehearsal
  • “Good news” must have a good strong “z” sound at the end.

Bright Morning Stars

  • There are no breaths mm 51 – 56. This means breathe in places that are not obvious.
  • This sounds beautiful

Mark

Bandlab Links
Ain’a That Good News Slow
Ain’a That Good News
At The River
The Boy Who Picked Up His Feet To Fly Slow
The Boy Who Picked Up His Feet To Fly
Bright Morning Stars
Choose Something Like a Star
Cloths of Heaven
David’s Lamentation
Definition of Beauty I
Definition of Beauty II
Definition of Beauty III
Definition of Beauty IV
Don’t Fence Me In
Gate Gate
Maggie and Milly and Molly and May Slow
Maggie and Milly and Molly and May
No Time
Nootka Paddle Song
Of Crows and Clusters
The Pasture
Sure On This Shining Night
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Alternate Versions
Ain’a That Good News – B
Ain’a That Good News Slow – B
At the River – B
The Boy Who Picked Up His Feet To Fly – B
The Boy Who Picked Up His Feet To Fly Slow – B
Bright Morning Stars – B
Choose Something Like a Star – B
Cloths of Heaven – B
David’s Lamentation – B
Definition of Beauty I – B
Definition of Beauty II – B
Definition of Beauty III – B
Definition of Beauty IV – B
Don’t Fence Me In – B
Gate Gate – B
maggie and milly – B
maggie and milly slow – B
No Time – B
Nootka Paddle Song – B
Of Crows and Clusters – B
The Pasture – B
Sure On This Shining Night – B