Over the summer, a small group of us meets at the house of one of the member's. Singing with 70 other people was intimidating enough and in a group this small, I have always been in fear that I would be the one and only alto in attendance. This past Tuesday, I was one of two altos and we were both struggling.
Feeling a bit discouraged but always stubbornly trying to resolve any issues I come across, I reminded myself of how I became able to sing Mozart's Requiem: non-stop practice. I don't normally sing in the summer (this is my first year with HPM) and so it didn't occur to me that I must practice this A LOT, duh. Despite what Mary says, I don't believe I am "naturally gifted". I have to work really hard to get my part down and I'm not the best sight-reader.. For me, that means memorizing the notes and making them the melody in my head.
Whenever I play the CD from the spring concert (I will not say how many times that is lest someone think me obsessive :) , the alto part is so ingrained in me that I hear that part even over the sopranos. Of course, it's in my head, but this is what allows me to be able to sing harmony parts.
On some of the sheet music we have, the words are so above the alto line I can't read both the notes and the words. So I made copies of the music and I am going to cut and paste the words close to the alto part. And memorize the notes.
Usually summers are much freer than this one has been, but my craft fair is looming closer and closer (9/10/11) and I've been trying like heck to finish my UFOs. The Maynard Road Race is on 9/17/11, which is earlier than it was last year and I haven't even started training for it. I am also carrying several extra pounds I did not have this time last year, which has created a serious clothing problem. All the stuff that used to fit well no longer fits at all and the clothing that was too big now fits right. UGH!
I take college courses during the summer and I am having a really tough time with ACC 3205/Accounting Information Systems. Why these textbooks spend so much time on manufacturing scenarios is beyond me. Oops...heading into Negative Territory, lol, must stop here.
What was a I saying? Ah, yes, busy summer and I have to practice my HPM Lite music so that it becomes second nature, like the Requiem did.
This past Tuesday, our conductor said that we would be processing as we sang one of the songs. Now this is something I've had practice with, lol. Try marching and dancing in procession while playing saxophone :)
Hmmmmm....I guess I need to replace the frame....anyway, you get the idea.
No comments:
Post a Comment