Sunday, December 30, 2018

Musical Monday - Ed Sheeran and Andrea Bocelli [Live at Wembley Stadium)...

Wembley Stadium is an exciting place for a concert.  This is beautiful.  However, this writer is old enough to remember when at a concert we held up lighters to make that sparkly look happen.  Now, you hold up your mobile phone. 
As you celebrate the coming of the new year, you can hold up your lighter, a candle or your phone or just shout, "Happy New Year" to all.  May 2019 bring you all the wonderful musical moments you ever wished for.  Sing!!

Sunday, December 23, 2018

Musical Monday - The USAF Band - 2014 Holiday Flash Mob

Treat yourself this Christmas Eve to a beautiful medley of Christmas music sung and played at the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum.  
Watch the children's faces.  Watch the older couple trying to figure out the video on the mobile.  Listen to the applause for a job very well done.  

Monday, December 17, 2018

Musical Monday - A surprise performance of Ravel's Bolero stuns shoppers!

Any time there is a musical feast set before a crowd unexpectedly, it is truly a gift of huge proportions.  This is one of my favourites.  I bet the orchestra just loved doing this fun flash mob.  I sure enjoyed it  I can never understand how people can just keep walking as if nothing were happening. 
Interesting to note that they have their music taped to the backs of their fellow musicians.  And the conductor has to have his baton because his hands just aren't enough.  Our choir is ever so happy I don't conduct with a weapon.  Enjoy!!!


Sunday, December 9, 2018

Musical Monday - Twelve Days of Christmas Rethought

This not only has very funny words but oh my the actions are amazing.  I don't know how they are still breathing by the end.  No, we won't be doing this in choir.  Relax. 

Sunday, December 2, 2018

Musical Monday - Christmas Gospel Flash Mob

I love flash mobs.  This one at a mall will start us off this Christmas season with some really lovely music.  If you could choose any song for a flash mob, what would you choose and where would you like to present it?

Sunday, November 18, 2018

Musical Monday - Ere zij God - Glory to God

This is a wonderful hymn.  All people of Dutch descent will recognize this beautiful piece.  The Woodstock Men of Praise sing it al the end of many concerts with enthusiasm and joy.  Now, Embro Thistle Singers are going to enjoy this wonderful hymn as well.  Go ahead, sing along!

Sunday, November 11, 2018

Musical Monday - We will rock you: bagpipe, band & drum majors

We have listened to the bagpipes at today's services of remembrance.  Here the pipes play some very traditional music and included is some very original bagpipe sound.  I wonder what our oh so traditional armed forces might have thought.  I bet they would have LOVED IT.

Sunday, November 4, 2018

Musical Monday - The Lion Sleeps Tonight by Straight No Chaser

This group has so much fun with this arrangement.  They have taken a very well known song and given it a different treatment which can be quite dangerous.  However, they pull it off and have a ball doing it.  Oh the fun!!

Sunday, October 28, 2018

Musical Monday - Plastic Musik "Beethoven's 5th"

This is so cool.  Beethoven's 5th is played on plastic instruments.  I love the energy and enthusiasm.  

Sunday, October 21, 2018

Musical Monday - THE OFFICIAL Hot Scots drum line

I don't know about you but these guys sure never went to my high school.  Wow.  This is so well done and these young people are very talented.  Not sure why they wear kilts but it certainly adds to the character!  Wait for the "ENDS".

Sunday, October 14, 2018

Musical Monday - Fun Music with Cups, Coffee Break

I don't know about you but I know at my coffee shop this just isn't the usual activity.  I want to know where these people hang out.  So much creativity with so little.  

Monday, October 8, 2018

Musical Monday - "They Don't Let You in the Opera" Kelli O'Hara

This country girl wants to sing opera.  Here is her story in song as she mixes country and opera.  Not only is this really smart it is just so much fun.  Relax on this Canadian Thanksgiving Monday and have a great giggle with us. 

Sunday, September 30, 2018

Musical Monday - For the Beauty of the Earth - John Rutter (lyrics) , performed by St. Ph...

This is our choir's favourite piece.  This presentation is so beautifully done with smooth phrases and lovely dynamics.  What do you like best about it?



Sunday, September 23, 2018

Musical Monday - Sister Act Oh Happy Day

The very first bit is the choir practising.  Look at the joy and fun!
Then - they are in front of an audience.  Once they tap into that fun and remember it, the performance comes alive.  
Go ETS!!! 

Sunday, September 16, 2018

Musical Monday - The Bethel College Choir sang in my grain bin! (Down To The River To Pray)

We come from a very rural area.  Many of our choir are or have been farmers and maybe if one of them puts up a new grain bin, ETS could get this chance.  Now wouldn't that be cool!!!

Sunday, September 9, 2018

Musical Monday - Rivers of Babylon

This song was suggested for us to sing.  This has a great sound and wonderful words.  What do you think?

Sunday, September 2, 2018

Musical Monday - Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock Play Chopsticks

If you have never played anything else on the piano, you probably know Chopsticks.  This is such fun.  Music makes the world go round and keeps us endlessly entertained.  Sandra Bullock's lovely legs help a bit in that area. 

Sunday, August 26, 2018

Musical Monday - ABBA : I Have A Dream

We love this song as the words are very powerful.  We will sing this at West Oxford Church on September 30th.  Come and join us. 

Monday, August 20, 2018

Musical Monday - The Song Inside YOU!!!

You can really hear the words here.  It is so important to make certain we all "sing our song".  Don't mumble your life away.  
Sing these words and have a ball.  

Sunday, August 12, 2018

Musical Monday - Science of Singing

This is an easy to read article that backs up what we all ready know that singing makes us feel good both mentally AND physically. 

The Neuroscience of Singing

By Cassandra Sheppard on Sunday December 11th, 2016

Singing Together Brings Heartbeats Into Harmony


The neuroscience of singing shows that when we sing our neurotransmitters connect in new and different ways. It fires up the right temporal lobe of our brain, releasing endorphins that make us smarter, healthier, happier and more creative. When we sing with other people this effect is amplified.
The science is in. Singing is really, really good for you and the most recent research suggests that group singing is the most exhilarating and transformative of all.
The good feelings we get from singing in a group are a kind of evolutionary reward for coming together cooperatively.
The research suggests that creating music together evolved as a tool of social living. Groups and tribes sang and danced together to build loyalty, transmit vital information and ward off enemies.
Alt text hereSinging in a group has been a part of tribal traditions for thousands of years.

Science Supports Singing

What has not been understood until recently is that singing in groups triggers the communal release of serotonin and oxytocin, the bonding hormone, and even synchronises our heart beats.
Group singing literally incentivised community over an “each cave dweller for themselves” approach. Those who sang together were strongly bonded and survived.
In her book Imperfect Harmony: Finding Happiness Singing with Others, Stacy Horn calls singing:
An infusion of the perfect tranquiliser – the kind that both soothes your nerves and elevates your spirit.
Alt text hereGroup singing not only brings happiness but deeply connects people.

Singing Makes You Happy

For a decade, science has been hard at work trying to explain why singing has such a calming yet energising effect on people. Numerous studies demonstrate that singing releases endorphins and oxytocin – which in turn relieve anxiety and stress and which are linked to feelings of trust and bonding.
Singing helps people with depression and reduces feelings of loneliness, leaving people feeling relaxed, happy and connected. What’s more, the benefits of singing regularly are cumulative. People who sing have reduced levels of cortisol, indicating lower stress.
UK singer, singing teacher and choir leader Sophia Efthimiou describes singing as a process of consciously controlling our breath and larynx to create and sustain certain pitches and we blend that with rhythm and poetry to create songs.
In a group setting, each group member feels the musical vibrations moving through their body simultaneously. Our heart beats become synchronised. Sophia explains:
We literally form one unified heart beat.
Alt text hereSinging together synchronises heartbeats so that they beat as one.

Anybody Can Sing

One of the great things about singing is that you can receive the wellbeing benefits even if you aren’t any good. One study showed that:
Group singing can produce satisfying and therapeutic sensations even when the sound produced by the vocal instrument is of mediocre quality.
Tania de Jong, singer and founder of Creativity Australia, has effectively harnessed this ability of group singing to lift every member of the group up, no matter their singing ability.

The organisation’s project With One Voice puts a diversity of people together regularly to sing. The group euphoria is harnessed allowing people’s natural creativity, triggered by the group singing session, to generate new levels of community support, connection and opportunities. Tania says:
One of the great things about singing is that is connects you to the right side of your brain. This is the side responsible for intuition, imagination and all our creative functions. It connects us to a world of possibilities. In modern life we are constantly bombarded with so much information that we process and analyse. We tend to get stuck in the left, processing side of our brain. So it becomes fundamentally important to nurture the attributes of human beings that set us apart from machines. The best way to do that is singing.
Alt text hereIf you have a voice then nothing can stop you from singing your heart out.

Sing Anywhere, Anytime

These benefits are free and accessible to all. We all have a voice. We can all sing, even if we don’t think we can.
There was a time when we all used to sing. We sang at church, around camp fires, at school. While group singing is experiencing a resurgence, not so many of us sing anymore. At some stage, someone told us to be quiet or judged our imperfect singing voice. Sophia Efthimiou suggests that singing is very personal, an expression of sound coming from within us, so we cannot help but take this criticism very personally and it sticks.
Yet, people who claim they cannot sing because they are tone deaf are more likely to be very unfamiliar with finding and using their singing voice.
Tone deafness is comparatively rare and means that you would be unable to recognise a song. If you can recognise a song you are not tone deaf, you are just unpractised. Sophia clarifies:
When our voice makes the wrong note we can feel terrible as though it is a reflection of our self worth. But – if you can talk, you can sing.
Alt text hereEverybody can sing so let the songs flow out wherever you are.

Raise Your Voice

US opera singer Katie Kat wishes to encourage all of us to sing far more often regardless of our perceived skill.
Singing increases self-awareness, self-confidence and our ability to communicate with others. It decreases stress, comforts us and helps us to forge our identity and influence our world.
When you sing, musical vibration moves through you, altering your physical and emotional state. Singing is as old as the hills. It is innate, ancient and within all of us. It really is one of the most uplifting therapeutic things we can do. Katie continues:
However, society has skewed views on the value of singing. Singing has become something reserved for elite talent or highly produced stars with producers, management, concert dates – leaving the rest of us with destructive criticism of our own voices.
She claims that singing is instinctual and necessary to our existence. You do not have to be an amazing singer to benefit from the basic biological benefits and with practice the benefits increase.
Alt text hereSinging in a group brings joy to people of every age.

Singing Creates Connection

I have fond memories of hearing my grandmother singing throughout the day and of large group singing sessions with her friends.
One of my favourite memories of group singing is the old Scots tradition on New Year’s Eve of singing Auld Lang Syne. My grandmother and all her friends would stand in a big circle just before midnight.
Everyone would hold hands, and then at the beginning of the final verse we would cross our arms across our bodies so that our left hand was holding the hand of the person on our right, and the right hand holds that of the person on the left. When the song ended, everyone would rush to the middle, still holding hands. It was beautiful fun and as a young girl I felt so safe, included and loved within that singing circle.
The phrase “auld lang syne” roughly translates as “for old times’ sake”, and the song is all about preserving old friendships and looking back over the events of the year.
A tradition worth resurrecting, considering the benefits of singing in a group.

Sunday, August 5, 2018

Musical Monday - The Parting Glass

In staying with our Celtic roots, here is a lovely Celtic song with some gorgeous harmonies  I want them at our pub!

Sunday, July 29, 2018

Muscal Monday Mudmen - Forget Your Troubles

We love the Mudmen from Alvinston. Now that we have sung there, we feel a kinship. Check out the energy. Wow!

Sunday, July 15, 2018

Musical Monday - "Les Miserables" Flash Mob

This group performed the flash mob to advertise their production.  If this performance is any indication, their production would be amazing.  What a wonderful sound and terrific harmonies.  

Sunday, July 8, 2018

Musical Monday - This Ole House/When the Saints Go Marching

As many know, there are some arrangements out there that are, in my humble opinion, less than complementary to the wonderful spiritual, Oh When the Saints.  This pairing with This Old House however really seems to make both songs rock.  Get your happy face on and clap along.  

Sunday, July 1, 2018

Musical Monday - Stompin" Canada Day Up Canada Way

For those of us too far from Ottawa to get to our big celebration, here is a taste of a Canada Day in the past.  Stompin' Tom always celebrated Canada and this song is such a classic.  Happy Canada Day!!!


Sunday, June 24, 2018

Musical Monday - Lord, I Stretch My Hands to Thee. Hope Heralds

This beautiful piece gives us pause.  The words and the music are so well suited.  I am looking forward to doing this song.

Sunday, June 10, 2018

Musical Monday - Univox Choir: The River

What a beautiful piece of music!  A choir doesn't have to sway and jump about to deliver a very special performance.  This aCapella rendition is just wonderful.  Dynamics are the key.  

Sunday, June 3, 2018

Musical Monday - MercyMe - I Can Only Imagine

We had an amazing choir practice Sunday night.  You know when all the elements come together and everyone is on the same page.  My oh my what a treat.  I can't wait to sing our hearts out for the folks at Alvinston United Church next Sunday. 
We are going to sing this song at our next rehearsal.  This is the original from the movie.  Yum!!

Monday, May 21, 2018

Tonal Tuesday - Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin Tribute): Heart's Ann and Nancy Wilson ...

This is an amazing tribute to an iconic piece of Led Zeppelin's.  This is not easy to accomplish nevermind doing it for the actual artists themselves.  Watch their faces.  

Sunday, May 13, 2018

Musical Monday - Dad Plays for His Daughter

This very cute video shows just how important it is to play and sing with children.  Reading to children works much the same way.  The wonderful reaction of this wee diva is evidence of just how powerfully music affects people no matter what age.  All those studies about how music improves the health are more than evident here.  May we all react to the music with the same abandon and joy!



Sunday, May 6, 2018

Musical Monday - Line Rider - Mountain King

I love Grieg's, In the Hall of the Mountain King.  It is the kind of music that let's you close your eyes and create pictures.  
In this case, this artist has used the sounds to create line drawings that are just fun.  Enjoy!

Sunday, April 15, 2018

Musical Monday - Timpanogos High Choir Sings Funny William Tell Overture

My brother started galloping around the dining table when the Lone Ranger theme came on each day.  Watching these young people dancing to the same music which I now know is the William Tell Overture, brings back some fun memories.  
Don't worry choir, we won't be doing this anytime soon but it sure is fun to watch. 

Sunday, April 8, 2018

This Family of 10 Singing Les Misérables' 'One Day More' Will Give You C...

This is so cool.  What gorgeous voices this family have.  I love that the babies are part of the fun and just get an extra bounce or two as they sing.  Now this is the way karaoke should be.  

Sunday, April 1, 2018

Musical Monday - Only in Sleep

This is a beautiful song.  Harold brought this to us.  This is the second group we have heard do this song & they do a great job.  We will work away at learning this.
 What do you think?

Sunday, March 25, 2018

Musical Monday - Sister Act 2 - Oh Happy day

All children should have this kind of musical experience.  Yes, I know it is all acting for this but its roots are in reality.  The top note is a treat!!

Sunday, March 18, 2018

Musical Monday - "Forever Country": Legends Gather for All-Star Music Video

One of the biggest lessons I learned as a new teacher was to be much more open to ALL genres of music.  Once I began to understand the musicality of various styles, I had a whole new appreciation.  One of the words we never used in music classes was "like".  You only liked or disliked something if you were purchasing recordings for your personal use.  Otherwise, we simple appreciated it all.  
In this video, many stars have brought their various talents to make this a really interesting "mash-up".  Enjoy!

Sunday, March 11, 2018

Musical Monday - Fun Explanation of the SATB Choir


Image result for clip art choir Kay from our choir passed on this anonymously written fun explanation of the 4 basic choir sections as seen by a young person.  I am shortening it up somewhat for our busy readers.  Have a wee giggle but realize that those of us privileged enough to conduct a choir, know secrets not shared here.  This has been requested a number of times and so here it is again

The four parts of the choir can be easily distinguished and here is how.

SOPRANOS - are the ones who sing the highest, and because of this they think they rule the world. They have longer hair, fancier jewelry, and swishier skirts than anyone else, and they consider themselves insulted if they are not allowed to go at least to a high F in every movement of any given piece. 
Image result for clip art soprano


ALTOS - are the salt of the earth - in their opinion, at least. Altos are unassuming people, who would wear jeans to concerts if they were allowed to. Altos are in a unique position in the chorus in that they are unable to complain about having to sing either very high or very low. They know that while the sopranos are screeching away on a high A, they are being forced to sing elaborate passages full of sharps and flats and tricks of rhythm, and nobody is noticing because the sopranos are singing too loud (and the basses usually are too). Altos get a deep, secret pleasure out of conspiring together to tune the sopranos flat. Altos have an innate distrust of tenors, because the tenors sing in almost the same range and think they sound better.

TENORS - are spoiled. That's all there is to it. For one thing, there are never enough of them, and choir directors would rather sell their souls than let a halfway decent tenor quit. And then, for some reason, the few tenors there are, are always really good - it's one of those annoying facts of life.. So it's no wonder that tenors always get swollen heads - after all, who else can make sopranos swoon? It is a little-known fact that tenors move their eyebrows more than anyone else while singing.

Image result for clip art tenorsBASSES - sing the lowest of anybody. This basically explains everything. They are stolid, dependable people, and have more facial hair than anybody else. The basses feel perpetually unappreciated, but they have a deep conviction that they are actually the most important part (a view endorsed by musicologists, but certainly not by sopranos or tenors), despite the fact that they have the most boring part of anybody and often sing the same note (or in endless fifths) for an entire page. They compensate for this by singing as loudly as they can get away with - most basses are tuba players at heart.
As for the sopranos, they are simply in an alternate universe which the basses don't understand at all. They can't imagine why anybody would ever want to sing that high. When a bass makes a mistake, the other three parts will cover him, and he can continue on his merry way, knowing that sometime, somehow, he will end up at the root of the chord.