Comments for Now shall my inward joys arise...

Comment on Large class, lots of new singers by Rebecca

Rebecca — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 06:37:51 +0000

I was bummed that we didn’t have enough loaners on (we even had more elsewhere) but it was surprisingly enjoyable to share with someone. I felt like we were getting a tighter sound in the small alto section, and reminded me of visiting friends and singing in living rooms with not enough books between us.

Agree that the newcomer turnout couldn’t have been better timed – a couple of the people happened to email me in the last week and I encouraged them that this would be a perfect week to attend, but there were still lots of others. Sometimes the Monday holidays brings out new people.

Comment on 30 once again by Dan

Dan — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 19:46:53 +0000

Haruspex — I don’t know why there are so many newcomers. I do know that some of our regular singers are inviting friends to come try it out. And I’ve talked to a number of newcomers who have found out about Sacred Harp singing online. But why so many? I don’t know. I think it could be seasonal.

I also feel that we’re not doing a great job at retaining newcomers — I’d guess that we retain less than 10% of all newcomers.

Comment on 30 once again by haruspex

haruspex — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 17:44:31 +0000

I’m interested to see you’ve been having big groups at your singings for the last few weeks; so have we in New York, at least at the Lower East Side and Wednesday night sessions (Brooklyn is never large). Some of the increase is people who’d come for a while, fell away, and are now back; some is all-new singers (we have at least one new person at most singings, but the numbers are up), and maybe some is the core group re-committing, but I’m less clear about that. (I have the data on S&G, so why don’t I just count?) But none of us is clear why it’s happening now. Could it simply be seasonal?

Comment on Alternate words to “Stafford” by Dan

Dan — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:28:15 +0000

Marian — I use Melody Assistant, which is the cheapo version of Harmony Assistant, so it’s the same basic program.

The easiest way to do this is as follows:

– Put a repeat symbol at the end of the tune. (See note below.)
– Adjust the spacing between the staffs until the additional line of lyrics appears.
– Type in lyrics, do all needed adjustments.
– Delete the repeat symbol using the “Erase” tool (which looks like a lightning bolt), and then put in a double bar using the “Add” tool (looks like a pencil).

(Note: If you need more than two lines of lyrics per staff, click on the repeat symbol with the “Select” tool (looks like a lasso). When the “Breaks Edit” dialogue box appears, look down the righthand column for the line that reads “When:” — at the far right of that line will be a box with the number “2″ in it — in that box, enter whatever number of lines of lyrics you need, then hit OK — then proceed as above.)

Hope this helps! If not, let me know.

Comment on Alternate words to “Stafford” by Marian

Marian — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 21:07:34 +0000

This is a technical question for Dan–what software did you use for setting Stafford? I am now using Harmony Assistant, but have been unable to figure out how to input more than one verse per voice (while you have been able to input two versers per voice). If you use Harmony Assistant, how did you do this?

Comment on The Frighted Hind by Rebecca

Rebecca — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:29:22 +0000

I liked this song! I think one of the challenges for composers of new tunes is that you want a class to read it perfectly on the first try. But this is not really the case for some of the best-loved songs in the book – I think it’s fine to leave a bit of leeway for mastery

Comment on Market Street by Dan

Dan — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 00:25:19 +0000

Will and Jeremy — Great idea! I changed the first note of the bass part in measure 7 from E below middle C to the A below that. Yes, it does make more sense to sing it that way, and in fact it sounds better, too.

Jeremy — It’s a pretty short tune, and I think the whole tune could be typeset so that it fits onto one line. I will work on that.

Comment on Market Street by Jeremy

Jeremy — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 18:28:25 +0000

I had the same thought as Will. Also, it would be easier to maintain the drone if the following measure were on the same line. The basses are like horses jumping a fence — have to see what’s on the other side to make the leap smoothly.

I love drones too.

Comment on Market Street by Will Fitzgerald

Will Fitzgerald — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 05:07:51 +0000

I liked Market Street a lot — I’m wondering if the bass drone might better stay on the A — that is, in the first measure of the 2nd system, start with a A (and thus maybe create a little bass run, too). I noticed that the basses were dropping the drone, perhaps because they were anticipating the E).

I love drones.

Comment on Tempo and tuning by J.

J. — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 18:25:22 +0000

I’ve noticed that troubles in tempo often lead to problems tuning – because we’re not singing together, lots of discords happen, which cause us to slide further out of tune.

I also think that the solution to both problems, at a Sacred Harp singing, can be found in observing accent. Since newer singers (here defined as anyone who has been singing less than their whole lives) often have trouble staying out of their books, it’s important to have another way to stay together. Accent provides a clear pulse and reinforces the rhythm – like everything in a Sacred Harp singing, it’s a deeply practical element of the tradition, and classes that sing with strong accent don’t typically lose or gain time.