So, we had SSAAwesome’s final rehearsal before Jazz Dialogue today, and I’m going to be posting our four pieces and critiquing my work in them.
A disclaimer: we as a whole, have not solidified solos, so if things sound off, there’s a reason. ;)
Almost Like Being In Love - I’m fairly secure in this piece. There are only two places where notes are an issue - the first 4-part harmony and “it’s just the way that I feel”. I’m incredibly annoyed at the first issue, since I repeat the same two-note sequence right after and get that just fine. The second is just confidence. I sing Alto I in this piece, and even though we’re on mics, I can’t hear my other Alto I against all the other voices, which makes it difficult to be secure on notes.
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I Mean You - Everyone’s problem on this piece is the runs in the middle. Kristina cut the scat solo for this weekend only due to time constraints, which means we get to this bit sooner. I’m at about 85% on it, but if you listen to the recording, I think we’re doing well. My personal issue with this piece is words, specifically the beginning of phrases.
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Angel Wise - I got to solo the first half of this piece today, and besides the obvious coaching from Kristina regarding mic placement, I KILLED IT. The harmony? Not so much. I sing Alto II on this piece, and it’s really low in my range, so we have that hearing issue come up again, which means I start on the right pitch, so you’ll hear all the wrong notes I sing after I finish my solo. I’m lucky in the fact that another Alto II is next to me, so if I don’t fix this issue before Friday, I have her to reference.
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Just Say When - This is a re-arrangement of the jazz standard Where Or When. This is a piece that was given to us at the beginning of last quarter, so I’m really confident on this. I received the scat solo for this piece today and tried out some new phrasing, and I think it went well.
I didn’t used to like to scat. When I was at North Idaho College, my choral director there… didn’t like how I scatted, specifically with my continued use of the same syllables. When it comes to a lot of things, I can get easily discouraged, and this one critique caused a major shift - to the point where I didn’t want to sing jazz anymore.
Yes, I CAN BE DRAMATIC. But I will say that Mister Choir Director didn’t handle himself well either.
It’s taken almost four years to get me back to the place where I’m comfortable with the way I scat. I’m still basically doing the same thing that Mister Choir Director didn’t like, but I have peers that say that I’m one of the best scatters in either choir, there are choir members that ask me for advice on how, and Kristina is different in that she uses positive reinforcement. She likes the chances I take, and also tells me what works and what doesn’t. That something her predecessor at NIC didn’t do. It’s done WONDERS for me and my jazz self esteem.
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Overall, I need to re-familiarize myself with Angel Wise and just look at those few trouble spots, and I’ll be right as rain. :)
