12 March Update
- 2 days ago
- 7 min read
Week 3 of 5 (Half Term 2)
In this week's bulletin, we have:
Coffee Notices (with a note on attendance)
A rehearsal recap, including notes on A Million Dreams
List of Dates for the diary
☕ Coffee Notices
Choir attendance
At rehearsal this week we spoke briefly about attendance and how it affects the running of the choir. We wanted to repeat the same message here so that everyone is aware.
Our Treasurer, Angela, carefully watches our weekly income and the costs involved in running the choir. To pay our MD, cover outgoings like the hall hire, and continue offering engaging rehearsals, we need to maintain a minimum number of paying attendees each week. This ‘magic number’ includes a mixture of subscriptions and PAYG members. We know life gets busy, and not everyone can attend every week, which is exactly why we offer PAYG as an option. It helps keep the choir flexible and accessible – something that is actually quite unusual, as many choirs require members to pay for a full term or by subscription.
However, this flexibility does mean that if several PAYG members miss multiple weeks in a row, our attendance numbers – and therefore our income – can drop below what we need to cover our core costs.
At the moment, we know that a few members are away or unwell, which, of course, can’t be helped. We wanted to flag that attendance makes a real difference to keeping the choir running and allowing us to continue offering things like free performances etc.
How you can help
One way everyone can help – alongside attending when you can – is by helping us recruit new members. Word of mouth is incredibly powerful, and sharing our posts on social media can also make a big difference.
We are also planning another poster campaign, so if you know of any local noticeboards, cafés, community spaces or shops where a poster could be displayed, please do let us know.
As always, thank you for being part of the COTH community and helping us keep the choir thriving.
🎤 Rehearsal Recap
Warm-up:
Listening to your own voice
This week Elena introduced a technique that singers sometimes use to hear their own voice more clearly.
She explained that when we sing, most of what we hear is the vibration inside our own head. This is why hearing a recording of your voice can often sound strange – it’s quite different from what we ‘hear’ when we sing.
To demonstrate this, Elena asked us to cup a hand around one ear. The fingers should touch the top outer edge at the back of the ear. The palm is cupped and held slightly away from the face, with the elbow lifted up and slightly forward (see graphic below).
When singing this way, the sound of your voice is reflected off the palm of your hand and back into your ear. This makes it easier to hear the sound you are actually producing, rather than relying on the internal vibrations we usually hear.
Normally, when singing as a choir, we want to listen to the sound of the whole group rather than focusing on our individual voices. However, Elena asked us to use this technique because the new arrangement of A Million Dreams is slightly different from what many of us are used to or may have sung before. By listening carefully to the sound we are producing, we can hear whether we are matching the melody or harmony correctly – and notice when something isn’t quite right. Those moments are often where the learning happens.
As we worked through the three different parts of A Million Dreams, we used this technique throughout. The results were impressive – the sound quickly became clearer, more confident, and beautifully in tune.
As we have done in previous weeks, we’ve included some useful notes on the song below. A copy of the lyrics with numbered boxes can also be found here. It can be helpful to refer to this when reviewing Lesha’s notes below.
Song 1: A Million Dreams
The Altos and Soprano Harmony closely follow the main melody of the original. The difference is that the Sops Harmony is an octave higher. There are some subtle differences as mapped out below.
If you have a printed copy of the lyrics already, please note some word corrections (the online copy in the Music Library is correct)
Box 13 Word Correction is as follows for all parts, with the words in bold -
However big, however small
Let me be part of it all
Share your dreams with me
You may be right, you may be wrong
But say that you’ll bring me along
To the world you see
Altos
Box 2 - 'own' goes down
Box 4 - 'home' goes down
Box 6 ~ lines 1, 2, 4, 5, 7 - all held flat
Box 6 ~ lines 3 & 6 - go down
Box 8 - 'away' goes down
Box 10 - the line slowly goes down
Box 12 ~ lines 1, 2, 4, 5 - all held flat
Box 12 ~ lines 3 & 6 - go down
Box 13 - Word Correction
Box 14 - 'eyes' and 'see' are pitched up
Box 15 ~ lines 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 - all held flat
Box 15 ~ line 7 - ascends on the word 'gonna' before falling slightly
Box 17 - 'oooh' is on the lowest note of the chord
Soprano Melody Box 2 - ‘own’ is held flat
Box 4 - ‘home’ is held flat
Box 5 ~ line 1 - the line is one note until ‘crazy’, which goes up on ‘cra-’ before returning to the held note on ‘-zy’
Box 5 ~ line 2 - is held flat. ‘Mind’ is a long note
Box 5 ~ line 3 - repeats the held pattern of line 1 with the up-down on ‘cra-zy’
Box 5 ~ line 4 - the line is held flat until ‘world’, which goes up before returning to the held note. ‘Design’ is a long note
Box 6 - original melody
Box 6 ~ line 3 - ‘awake’ is a long note
Box 6 ~ line 6 - ‘take’ is a long note
Box 8 - is held flat until ‘far’, which goes up before returning to the held note
Box 10 - is held flat until ‘you’, which goes up before returning to the held note
Box 11 - repeats the patterns of Box 5 until the final note
Box 11 ~ line 4 ‘des-ign’ the second part goes up high
Box 12 - original melody following box 6
Box 12 ~ line 7 - ‘make’ is NOT held
Box 13 - Word Correction
Box 13 ~ line 6 - ‘you’ is up slightly before returning to the lower note for ‘see’
Box 14 ~ line 1 - ‘eyes’ is higher
Box 14 ~ line 2 - ‘eyes’ is higher. ‘See’ is held long
Box 15 - original melody following Box 6
Box 15 ~ line 7 - ‘mill-’ goes up then back down ‘-ion’
Box 15 ~ line 7 - held on flat note until ‘make’
Box 15 ~ line 7 - ‘ma- aa- ake’ goes down on ‘-aa-’. Back to hold note on ‘-ake’
Box 17 - ‘oooh’ is on the middle note of the chord
Soprano harmony
Box 2 - “own” goes up
Box 4 - “home” goes up
Box 5 - needs to be sung quietly
Box 6 ~ lines 1, 2, 4, 5 - all go up
Box 6 ~ line 3 - is held flat
Box 6 ~ line 6 - goes down
Box 8 - “away” goes up
Box 10 - the line descends
Box 11 - needs to be sung quietly
Box 12 ~ lines 1, 2, 4, 5 - all go up
Box 12 ~ lines 3 & 6 - all held flat
Box 13 - Word Correction
Box 14 - “eyes” and “see” are pitched up
Box 15 ~ lines 1, 2, 4, 5 all go up
Box 15 ~ lines 3 & 6 go down
Box 15 ~ line 7 - “ma- aa- ake” goes down on “-aa-”. Back to hold note on “-ake”
Box 17 - “oooh” is on the highest note of the chord
Song 2 and 3: Keep on Movin' / Run
We revised both of these songs, ready for the West Norwood Feast performance. During Run, Elena noticed that our soprano, Sandra, had a unique resonance to her voice and asked her to join the altos for this song. Sandra did an excellent job boosting the sound in this section of the group!
Dates for the diary
West Norwood Feast - Sunday 5 April
We're back, singing on the steps of St Luke's Church for the first West Norwood Feast of the year. Please see the Performing page for more details.
Penge Music Festival 2026 - April 24th
We've been invited to take part in Festival Friday at Penge Congregational Church. This event will take place as part of the festival launch and will be a celebration of local talent, including a selection of soloists and groups. We will have a 10-minute slot, so we'll sing around 3 songs. This will be a relaxed evening, and you are encouraged to bring your own drinks and snacks as you enjoy the friendly atmosphere.
It starts at 19.30 with our performance time tbc. This is an event for charity so performers and attendees are asked to pay a £5 contribution. More details and event registration will follow.
7th June - Winsford Garden Party
We have also been invited to sing at the Winsford Garden party - an event that will include other vocalists and musicians. Our performance will be some time between 12.15 -1.30pm. More details to follow.
