Since I have joined a small singing group at church I find the pressure is mounting. We have proper music with proper notes, staves and time signatures. While I am not the only one who doesn't read music most can sight read reasonable well. Me? I can tell the notes go up and down. While I rely on someone who knows what they are doing and pick up the part from them it really isn't enough. Incidentally in this singing group I am singing alto because there are more sopranos and I have a wide vocal range. Again, this is fine. However, time is short and often I find myself struggling to get my part and with a performance coming up last Sunday I decided to take drastic measures. I got out my keyboard.
Now, I don't really play (stick with me here it gets worse). I can play a few chords though (yipee!). Some years ago I bought a book called How to Read Music and did three sessions (I was ill for the last one) at Morley College to try and nail this reading music lark. Huh! Anyway, to get over my problem now I stuck the names of the notes to the keys on my keyboard and copied the notes of my part on a piece of paper to get the names and then played it on the keyboard. It worked! I sang last Sunday with confidence my alto line.
We have now moved on to the big one for Easter Sunday and again I am struggling. I have just done the same thing again for one hymn. The notes are obscure but I do have two more rehearsals left. Even more frightening our leader has introduced (as a treat, she said) a new piece which a few know as they's sung it before. Not me and I am drowning this time. We are to sing it in a round with three sections so we need to hold our own. Despite her sending a sound file it's too complicated and using my write it out lark isn't working as I can't decipher which bit I'm singing. I would like to ditch the music and be taught it by ear. I'm hoping this Sunday we will get time to break this down line by line (though I've nailed the first line!).
For someone who given a tune can find a harmony for it naturally, and nine times out of ten know the (sound) note it will end on, reading notes is like learning a new language.
On a brighter note (don't ask me which one....maybe a C) I went to the Super Trouper Abba Exhibition at the Southbank on Thursday with a friend. Great fun. The space was kitted out with a 1970's room, and there was plenty of Abba memorabilia around each section we walked through. We even walked through a wardrobe door (a wonderful Narnia moment) to the woods to learn how Abba came to be. There was also a chance to play on a mixing desk (yes, I did) and we sang along to the chorus of Dancing Queen in the mock-up recording studio.
We came away with many Abba songs in our head. The exhibition finishes in April sometime. Definitely worth a visit if you like Abba's music.
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