Son (11) is singing this and having fun...

Punchline on each verse is (as you know!) 'to where for me the apple tree do lean down low in Linden Lea'. In a perfect world this would be in one breath but that's not going to happen. We have experimented with lots of other options!

Any comments?

Can he get as far as 'low' then breathe ? Otherwise he would have to take a breath after 'me'

Yes he can...

We've heard a recording where there was a breath after 'down' and it startled me! Do you think it would also jump out at an adjudicator in a bad way?

Breathe after "Low", and make sure he's practiced it with a breath after "me" as well. You never know how nerves can affect your breathing in a festival situation.

He should know as soon as he starts the phrase whether he needs the emergency breath or can get through to low.

We always breathe after "low". Make sure he doesn't clip the word to get the breath in by getting the accompanist to breathe there as well!

This is going really well....the festival is on Saturday. We have the MOST wonderful accompanist in the world to play, it will be nice for DS to sing this song with someone who plays so beautifully.

As luck would have it, in his other class there is another boy singing the same song as him, not a lovely situation. Also the other kid has the most amazing treble voice ever and my son has an ordinarily good voice (mind you, he did get into NYCGB, I keep reminding him of this). So for this piece, Where'ere you walk, he is going to be sure to show LOTS of musical intention, which he is really good at, having been brainwashed with his violin playing since age 3

It's not always the quality of the voice that wins - it's how they use it. I've seen someone win class after class at one festival because their interpretation was amazing...and she had pitch problems! Good luck to you son - let us know how he gets on.

That comment is spot on AnnC. I tell my students so often that owning a good instrument does not make the owner a good musician. There are so many other things that go towards making a good performance.

I completely agree with this. Often students are taken in by the beauty of another voice and then worry about their own not sounding the same. Good! You don't want it to sound the same!

Like Petrat has said, having a stradivarius doesn't make you a great violinist and a well trained violinist playing on a run of the mill fiddle will sound better than a lazy one on a strad.

I love that quote by Pratchett - something along the lines of 'if you hold onto your dreams, follow your heart and believe in your lucky star.... you'll still be left behind by all those that worked hard and didn't waste their time daydreaming!'.

Sums it up beautifully hard work will always pay off, whereas pure talent might go to waste if not nutured.

Hope he enjoys himself!

Thanks!

In the other song, Where'ere you walk, we are currently corpsing each time we rehearse since one time, anticipating the word 'shade' (I think) we accidentally had a glorious lyric 'Trees where you sh**'

OOOPS

Very childish I know, I laughed with him though!

That sounds remarkably familiar! Can't remember whether it was me or katyjay who did that in one of my lessons last year, but it definitely happened.

I heard an otherwise very fine recording of this aria a while ago given by a German countertenor with a strong accent. He sang "Shall crowd into a shed." .

There may be several of us in the shed in the sh** then...

talking of sheds ... anyone remember that Songs of Praise with subtitles clip?

I can not remember the amount of times I've heard the first Chorus of the Messiah and though is this a Legal Convention.

"And the Glory, the Glory of the Law"

(sorry wrong thread I think ...)

Where'ere you walk went very well...some lovely phrasing, he had a tiny tiny wobbly tuning wise on the descending phrase after the highest bit the first time but fixed it the second time which was GOOD.

Linden Lea was not, after all, with the accompanist who is wonderful. Hmmm. It was not ideal that DS sang it as if his teeth were wired together at a distance of 2cm. Nor that the accompanist did not 'follow the voice' where asked to. Oh well! It was still musical at times but needed a lot more dynamic and more 'story-telling'

GREAT adjudicators today. Both very positive but to the point with their advice about how to make more convincing performances.

Their advice about performances is spot on. DS needs to own everything he sings. Trying to perform can be the worst approach though. Try to concentrate on what the song is about, as once you do that, you normally find your face will do the rest. If you concentrate too much on the audience you can do one of too things: overact, or look like you are singing the phone book, but if it comes from within, it looks natural.

Thanks, he is singing it again in a school comp next week so has another airing. He sang it REALLY well in the car yesterday! If I can figure out how to get videos off my phone I will post a link of him singing!

Hurray, the school music comp performance went VERY well.

Nice comments on clear diction, telling the story, phrasing, calm demeanor on stage, excitement in 3rd verse!

He was happy with a Second place and enjoyed hearing his friends sing - 5 other boys aged 12 and 13 all sang with confidence and a lovely mutual support for each other.

Sometime I like children!