More Californians than ever before, eh? As our friends at Creative Minority might surmise- Another sign of the impending apocalypse. I've already seen enough Chagall for a lifetime, shopped the Mile plenty, heard J. Michael Thompson when he was at St. P's in the Loop....so what's the deal? Californians love to sing. We the singer, He the song.
the breakdown of parts reflects only the vocal ranges of those who chose to report on vocal range. Many did not. So it may or may not be representative of the final breakdown. BTW, we have a few men who have designated themselves as altos and/or second sopranos.
Good scoop, Arlene.
Go California! What are the numbers from SoCal? Had to ask.
I say if there's more SoCal than other parts of the state combined, Charles should bring me extra cab as a representative of the area. hee hee.
We now have two Utahns registered. Now if that isn't civilized and intelligent, I don't know what is. Having grown in up in SLC, a city remote from the world in many ways and forever trying to prove itself, I find myself happy beyond belief. This is big.
Arlene, If those two from Utah are named Craig Jessop and Mack Wilburg (How did I originally type "Wilbery? Channeling George Harrison?) THAT would be IMPRESSSIVE! MaryAnn, I did find a nice Cab from Santa Barbara, believe it or not! C
My high school baccalaureate Mass was in the Cathedral of the Madelaine WAY WAY WAY before there was any such thing as a choir school there. I am easy to impress.
I must say, of all the Snowbirds, Msgr. Mannion (did he not found the choir school?) carried the most intellectual water, and then backed it up in practice.
LOL Didn't want to mess up the stats! :) I figured bigger voices are better on the lower parts anyway, since we are singing lots of chant and polyphony. We were stationed in England for awhile, and I sang with local choral society. Had an awful time blending with those sopranos who are trained to sound like boys. Very hard on the voice.
Donna
Charles, you are too good! Can't wait to enjoy Santa Barbara treasure- and with Wendy this year.
Donna, I can relate to your post above. Problem is, as a light lyric coloratura I'm sadly lacking in the mid and lower range. Not that I don't have to strengthen it and use it all the time, esp for chant. But even after three children I'm no lyric. :(
It is incredibly hard to sound like a boy in choral situations, or any other time for that matter. How often have I used the advice of teachers- smile and nod, sing so as to support against any hint of wobble, but don't compromise healthy singing for someone's (usually a non-singer's) tonal preference. Sounds tricksy, but I've noticed if I pretend to change the sound, the director usually 'perceives' a satisfactory difference. hee hee
MA, there is no use wishing for something God didn't bless you with. I have learned to keep the tone really focussed forward ,very high soft palate . I get a much better head tone that way. I tell my sopranos to make rabbit teeth. That seems to work for some. Getting the right sound is so subjective, isn't it?
Anyway, I prefer an American choral sound with a nice vibrato in the sops rather than the boychoir sound over the long haul. I'm not saying one is better than the other, everyone, so no sniping! LOL Just my personal preference. Of course, depends on the repertoire also. I am so looking forward to the Colloquium and a chance to work on chant technique!
Smiling, nodding, teeth like a rabbit, and a raised soft palate - gosh, it's a wonder we women can produce a sound at all! I like something midway between the American and English sound. Why would I want to sound like a little boy? And much of this is a matter of national taste and the repertoire in question. I have singers "rich up" their sound a bit for polyphony. With me, it's all about blending - chant or otherwise.
Well, you're right, MJ. When I am trying to get a good blend of vowels from the choir, I find myself resorting to 'wordpictures' or physical tricks which may work for some, not for others, so I'm always looking for something that communicates and makes the lightbulb go off in their heads! If we could just see inside everyone's throat/larnyx, we wouldn't have to resort to such things! LOL
Didn't mean to imply the English' sound is not good. It's all in what you grow accustomed to, and hear as you are growing up,isn't it? (For those of us who grew up the era when school music was a given)
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