Back to school…. back to work…. back to singing!

I actually went back to work before the children went back to school this year! The West Bridgford Liberty Singers were back in full voice on Monday evening with 124 in attendance (around 25 of those new members). I find the start of term a little daunting with new people, admin, things to arrange and logistics to sort out – I just want to get on with the singing to be honest! We made a great start to the term though, with some lovely renditions of our existing songs as well as making a start learning our new one ‘September’ by Earth Wind and Fire (see what I did there!?)

Tuesday’s timetable consisted of starting back with my private singing clients and a whole chunk of time allocated to arranging a song for the Liberty Chorus. One of my ladies had requested we sing Birdy’s ‘Skinny Love’ originally recorded by Bon Ever. She gave me a lovely you tube clip of the Seattle Ladies Choir as inspiration. Because the Liberty Chorus is all ladies, I’ve been able to create an arrangement using the higher section of voices.

I started with the version by Birdy which has the piano accompaniment alongside and used that on one track. I then created a higher harmony through most part of the song. I had to practice a lot and really listen to the original version and the Choir version before deciding on my version of it. I was then able to play this back and record a lower harmony on two new tracks. I used Audacity to achieve this although it’s quite rough, using just the microphone on my Mac, with all its little background nuances and ticking clocks! I also had to shift the timing slightly so it’s not the usually polished performance that it is when I’ve recorded properly in a studio. But it’s not a performance, it’s a teaching tool and I’m very confident that the Liberty Chorus will sound a whole lot better singing it than I do! Have a listen – what do you think!?

The rest of the week is about admin, getting back into the swing of things, meeting up for some long over due coffees and co-working. Loved the summer holidays and thoroughly enjoyed the time spent with my family…. but I am ready for the next chapter now….