I want to bring you up to date on what we’re doing with the Maple Leaf Chord Company, the Ontario Seniors (55+) Chorus, in this trying and separate time.
Our Music Committee has been in touch throughout the past winter, choosing good songs, finding and editing REALLY good learning tracks, organizing rehearsal times and venues and exchanging ideas to have a GOOD and satisfying experience in 2020.
Then along came Covid-19, leading, of course to all sorts of uncertainty.
We decided that, in spite of the pandemic and since we were all pretty much housebound, we’d offer our singers a chance to learn the songs while they were pining for singing and learning opportunities, hope for a few actual rehearsals in 2020 (we still hope) and make MLCC registration (and songs) valid right through 2021.
On that basis, we now have 50 men registered. (But we’d like more.)
Then we became aware of Zoom, at least partially from Jordan Travis’ virtual choirs and also from Cruisin’s recent parody of In My Room (In My Zoom) created by Murray Adams. We sat in on a Simcoe Chapter Zoom meeting, and Ken Fisher set about learning to host a Zoom meeting, aided and abetted by Dave Wallace.
Accordingly, we decided to try a Zoom meeting for our registrants last Sunday May 31st (which had been our first scheduled actual rehearsal at Harmony Ranch). The Zoom was at least a moderate success … (and we learned from it.)
We included section practices (with attention to the more challenging sections of the songs), which got good reviews, plus some suggestions as to how to improve your vocal, using the learning tracks, with yourself and your voice recorder as co-coaches, and a final section inviting questions and comments.
The vocal improvements segment attempted to emphasize vocal techniques being taught and used to great advantage RECENTLY. We are aware that the things we used to teach, while valid and good, are NOT as good as today’s techniques, so we are trying to teach what goes on NOW. These things, when mastered, can lead to the best tuning and greatest “ring” EVER ! – AND we truly believe the old dogs CAN learn new tricks!!
We had a “debrief” meeting today with the Music Committee and decided on ways to improve the next rehearsal, (which we decided would be Sunday June 28th). Some of the decisions were:
- to circulate slowed-down visions of the learning tracks to help our singers learn when the regular tempo tracks are too challenging.
- to offer extra section practices through the week, in advance of the full rehearsal.
- to try to gather individual mp3’s of parts of songs, as Jordan does with his virtual choirs on order to get an idea of how our sound is progressing. You probably know that Zoom does not allow us to sing together, due to internet lag. So we’ll strongly encourage the use of recorders as a learning aid and EVENTUALLY ask those who are ready and willing to submit mp3 tracks of their voice performing a song segment to Ray, who will combine the individual tracks into a virtual chorus sound.
- to continue to offer insights as to how you can improve your resonance, pitch accuracy, blend, and personal contribution to ringing chords by learning and monitoring your sound by recording when you sing and judging it YOURSELF, with no outside pressure.
- to use 2020, as best we can, as an education, a stepping stone, a strong preparation for MLCC’s best performances ever in 2021… as well as an opportunity for our men to have at least a virtual connect to Barbershop friends (old and new) across the District.
So now, we once again invite you to join us now. To repeat:
You can register at ontariosings.com/content/seniors-chorus
Cost is just CAD 42.50 FOR TWO YEARS of fun and educational Barbershop. Come on guys! I know a lot of you have been considering it; register TODAY and get full bang for your buck!
Be an Old Dog who CAN (and will) learn New Tricks!!
Yours in Virtual (for now) Harmony,
Ron Whiteside