Wednesday, July 25, 2018

Msg #14: 8 weeks to go!

Useful Links Are At The End Of This Message


 Since I have finished reviewing all our songs, I'm going to start providing important reminders and useful general information.

 If there is something you want to know - ask me. I'll put the answer in the next weekly.

IMPORTANT REMINDERS:

  • This is the last weekly before August 1, which is the deadline to withdraw without having to pay hotel fees.
  • For people who are booking travel - links at the bottom of each message will help you find a ride from the airport.
  • There are still important tasks that need volunteers - or they won't happen.
    • Thursday night dinner organization
    • Friday singouts
    • Show script writing
    • MC for the Saturday night show
  • The Rooming form is coming soon - when it becomes available please fill it out promptly.
  • Daniel recently sent out a list of open Board positions - 2019 Needs You!

Did You Know About The XQ Database Project

There is a gentleman who is a giant fan of XQ, who keeps a database of every song that has ever been sung at any XQ Rally, ever.

Want to know who sang what, when?  He has all the answers through 2017.

Remember The Older Brigade Songs?

Now is a good time to start reviewing old New England Harmony Brigade songs.  If you have attended before, great!  If not, use the XQ database above to see if you know any of them (check arrangements, not just titles).

Pro Tip: Make Some Notes

I spent a little bit of time this weekend reviewing all my notes from practice and run-throughs, and made a little chart of what still needs fixing. I've printed it out, and will be reviewing it every time I practice.


Useful Links


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Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Msg #13: Bonus: Vict'ry Road

Useful Links are at the bottom of this message.


Volunteers Urgently Needed

You'll be hearing soon about open Board positions for 2019.

In the meantime, we have important jobs that no one is doing -- please volunteer directly to Daniel Schwartz.  These activities may not happen without you.

  • Organizing Friday-morning singouts.  Have you done this in the past?  Would you like to do this again in 2018?  Currently we don't have someone to organize the gigs and the quartets.  If you enjoy the singouts, help us make it happen!
  • Organizing a Thursday-night dinner in Marlborough.  Want to find a local place and make the reservations?
  • We need a Show Chair to script the Saturday show.  We have an able Stage Manager (Tom Misner) to run the show...  but someone needs to plan it.  Is that you?
  • We need someone to MC the Saturday show. Haven't you always wanted to introduce OC Times?

Preparation And Frustration
This is frequently the time of summer when NEHB preparations feel both exhilarating ("I've started and know most of the 12 songs: so close!") and frustrating ("It's been weeks of preparation, and I'm not done").  For a very few it's "I've put this off a little bit too much, and I'm worried".

For those of you who feel behind - we are here to help.  Ask, and we'll do our best to find a way.

 For those of you who have frustrations - me too. :-)  I keep an active list of trouble spots I'm working on, and it feels like that list may never end.  BUT: if I take a look at my music, I can also see all the trouble spots that I've fixed.  Don't just look at your "todo" list for your music.  Look also at your accomplishments.

For those who are having some trouble with songs and sequences, there are a number of memory tricks you can try.  They may seem silly - but something works for everyone.
Mnemonic: I'd had the toughest time remembering My Wild Irish Rose.  Is it sweetest/dearest or dearest/sweetest?  I use the simple trick "She lives in South Dakota".  Sweetest/Dearest.
Memory Palace: Sometimes you can fix trouble with remembering sequences of things by remembering a familiar walk or path and "placing" the ideas in sequence along the way.  Say you walk from your car to your office the same way every day.  In your mind as you walk, place each "verse" at a different small landmark.  It's amazing how you can suddenly remember a sequence.
Movement: For some songs, when stuck, I remember hand motions.  I don't have to make the hand motions, but for example if you go up at the end of a first verse and down at the end of a second, point up as you practice the first spot and down at the second.  The act of making the motion can help reinforce memories.
There are many memorization techniques - this just scratches the surface. 

Victr'y Road (NEHB 2018 Challenge Song)

It is not too late to get in on the fun of the Challenge Song. Email Joe Dempsey.

Much like our song #12, Vict'ry Road is a hard-charging gospel tune.  This one was written by J. D. Sumner. Sumner was a prolific gospel song arranger, who sang in multiple Christian revival quartets from the 1940s until his death in the late 1990s.  According to Wikipedia, he was a fervent promoter of Southern Gospel. (Another variant on barbershop.)

Sumner became friendly with a young Elvis Presley when Elvis was 14, and they stayed friends until Elvis' death.  Sumner credited the young Presley with helping him resolve a serious drinking problem.  Sumner often appeared on stage and in recordings with Presley. J.D. was also a founder of the Gospel Music Association.

Apparently, Sumner also held a record for 18 years - lowest sung bass note.  You can hear an example of that range here.

The song is yet another example of Christian Gospel Quartet music.  Much like I'm Feelin' Fine, it uses classic Christian iconography to paint a picture of the acceptance of Jesus and the resulting help received.  Simple in tone and word, the music pulses and drives, and the arrangement (David Wright) puts lovely variety into the arrangement.

This is a song for basses - who maintain a driving simple patter during each chorus. Learn your breath spots as carefully as you learn the words and music - one missed breath can be a disaster. :-)  While the song wants to move - be cautious of singing it too quickly.

Video Links:


Useful Links


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Tuesday, July 10, 2018

IMPORTANT: If you will be withdrawing from NEHB 2018


If you will be attending NEHB 2018, this message is not for you.

If you are unsure if you will be prepared, reach out for help (to me, your sponsor, to president@nehb.net).

If you need to withdraw, there is a deadline for partial refunds.


The deadline for withdrawing from NEHB 2018 with partial-refund/no bill is August 1, 2018.

The method for withdrawing is this form. Only this form, emails are not sufficient.


 If you have fully prepaid, you can get a partial refund.  If you have not prepaid, you will not be billed if and only if you withdraw before August 1, 2018.

We pay the hotel for your room on August 1, 2018. If you withdraw after that date, you will owe for your room. Period.


We understand that life and health can intervene - we would love to have you present.

But August 1, 2018 is the withdrawal deadline to get any money back.

And now you know.





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Msg #12: How YOU Feelin'?

Quick Reminders
Links for these are at the bottom of this message along with other useful information.
  • Additional volunteers needed.  Look for an email with volunteer opportunities coming soon.
    • To be clear - some activities, like singouts, are in jeopardy without additional volunteers.
  • As you make your travel plans, update the forms for rides wanted/needed.
  • The deadline for withdrawing from NEHB without paying the balance of your bill is August 1 
  • Sponsors you have a positive duty to check in with your attendees and help them. Please do so.
  • Jeff Forman is our quiet hero for logistics.  He'll be reaching out shortly in email with the following:
    • You will soon be receiving your rooming form. It is important that you fill it out completely and swiftly.
    • Shortly after the rooming form will be additional information on guests etcetera. You will want to fill those associated forms out swiftly as well.

I'm Feelin' Fine

I'm Feelin' Fine is a rollicking gospel tune by Mosie Lister.

 Lister was a very experienced composer of gospel music, an experienced quartet singer (albeit not within the barbershop tradition) and eventually a Baptist minister. Lister spent his youth and most of his life (outside of military service) in the heart of Georgia.  He was beyond prolific, with well more than 200 songs composed.

 The song seems to me to be from an American revivalist gospel tradition.

 The American Revival tradition arose in the late 1900s as a means of both cementing faith and bringing in converts, and it is an ongoing tradition today in the Southern Baptist community.  Interesting sub-branches include the Northern Chautauqua traditions of the Methodist church.

The song is, of course, about the acceptance of Jesus as one's personal savior (very much in the American Evangelical tradition) after a night of despair and eventually an answered prayer. The answer brings the promise of a heavenly reward.   It's a fun tune, and whether you believe or not, you can sing it with joy and verve.

 On a personal note - I was raised outside the Christian tradition, and I no longer have even that Jewish faith.  For people like me who are basically agnostic/atheist, overtly religious songs can be a challenge, because they ask me to sing with feeling and conviction of a profession of faith that I don't really have.  But: let's be honest: I don't know Nora, I'm not a black woman (Blackbird), I'm no singing bear, and so forth.

Good, honest, audience-grabbing performances always require us to bring a bit of our true selves into a song that may not be truly our own.  If we are not just singers, but artists - we can enjoy every song and make it matter.  For my fellow singers who are in the heart of this Christian faith - this song is for YOU.  For the rest of us, this song is for US if we want to make our friends glad.  I'm gonna sing like I mean it.

 Video Links


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Tuesday, July 3, 2018

Msg #11: Welcome To July

There is a list of useful links at the base of this email.

July Means We Are About Halfway

About half of our learning period is done.  If you are more than halfway, congratulations!  If you are less than halfway, it is far from too late to catch up.

July Means International

For those of you at International - you can find plenty of people who know the core 8 songs.  Use them to make some new friends, and to have a good time.

Enjoy EVERYTHING in Orlando.

July Means Harmony University

There is a Harmony Platoon for the Core 8 songs at Harmony University.  If you think you're ready, see if you can still sign up.

July Means Different Songs

Now that we are in July, it's time to start practicing songs 9-12.  This doesn't mean that you are necessarily word and note perfect in the first 8, but it does mean that you should feel very good about how few mistakes you have left. :-)

This is also the time of year when people start to feel as if they are falling behind - even if they are not.  If you have any doubts at all about being ready in time, now is a great time to talk to your sponsor, or me, or your music team, or anyone who can help.  Chances are you are doing fine.

There is only one mistake which will keep you from enjoying the Rally properly - and that is waiting to get help.  We are here for you, and we will help.  But if you don't ask, you can't have it.  One of my work-maxims is that you can succeed any time, but if you are going to fail, fail early - while you can still fix things with help.

When She Loved Me

Oh, do I love this song.  Toy Story was the first film directed by John Lasseter at Pixar Studios.  Now, of course, he is famous for his string of successful films (Toy Story 1-4, The Incredibles 1 and 2, A Bug's Life, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Finding Nemo, Cars 1-3, WALL-E, Frozen....).  Many of the influential animated films you know and love are his.

Toy Story 2 is where this song comes.  Randy Newman, of course (in another Oscar nomination). In the film this is a gut-wrenching story where a long-discarded toy doll (Jessie) explains to the main character Woody what it is like to be a cast-off toy, no longer loved.  (You really have to watch that scene to get it.)  Sarah McLachlan totally delivers (as she usually does).   For me, the miracle of the song is the lyrics - the doll who sings never does anything, nor does she feel anything but love.  For the arrangement, the chord on "love" in the Interlude (m30), when the doll thinks there might be a chance for reunion, breaks my heart.

That is not a story we can relate to: we are not dolls.  The most common alternative meaning is a broken romance, with a moment of hope.  I didn't find that terribly meaningful, because most of us are not such passive helpless people.

So, this is my story - free free to use it.
I am utterly helpless and passive, watching an older loved one failing from something like Alzheimer's or Parkinson's Disease. There is nothing I can do - I just love them, as I have always loved them, but I can't reach them. Sometimes they have a good moment - and they smile and remember me and we love each other.  But that's always temporary.
If we sing this together and there's a tear in my eye - now you know why.

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