So I realize it has been awhile since we have updated this blog but I promise there is reason behind the delay. So in our last post we shared a little of how we ran our auditions and the general process behind our audition process. I must say in the end we came out with a truly amazing group of individuals and Chris and myself are both extremely excited for what is to come in the future of Love Note Sentiment. We have brought some of the songs we spoke about in some of our older posts to the table and the group has really taken them enthusiastically and really started to make them our own. The two pieces we have predominantly been working on have been Sherry by Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons and Billie Jean by none other than Michael Jackson. Both of these songs have very simple arrangements and we have gotten through the basic notes and parts and are now working on the total sound package for these two pieces.
Chris and I are also looking forward to SingStrong on the weekend of March 5th, 6th, and 7th. As we have mentioned before SingStrong is a huge a cappella extravaganza where there will be many different pro groups as well as collegiate and high school groups, who will all take part in a series of concerts, workshops, and just general a cappella goodness. Unfortunately the tickets are for the most part sold out for this year but if you or your group are interested in the event itself perhaps for next year we will be keeping you all updated on this blog and will hopefully come back with many experiences to share! That being said Chris and myself are hoping to have the two pieces we've been working on as well as one or two others ready to perform for when we get down to VA for SingStrong in the next two weeks!
THE VOCAL BIZ:
Now one of the things that I want to share with you all out there in the a cappella world is a very useful resource not only for social networking within your group but also perhaps with learning the music itself outside of the rehearsal space. If you have never heard of Ning then you should all go and check it out for yourself at http://www.ning.com/. This is a truly great resource for anyone from groups just starting out to groups hoping to network and keep in touch with other groups they have met along their journeys. It's also a great site for any non a cappella groups out there. Without going into too much detail by creating your own Ning you can set up a social network in which you can either control who is invited or even leave it open to all who are interested. Some of the valuable aspects of ning.com that I have found as a co-director of Love Note Sentiment are an open discussion board in which members can discuss anything they so choose. I myself have used it to post pdf files of our sheet music so that it is always available to members as long as they have a computer nearby. Also the possibility of having a music player on the main page in which any user can post Mp3s has been especially useful as well. I have used it to post both the original recordings of songs that Love Note Sentiment may be working on as well as posting voice tracks that I extract from finale files of the very sheet music that's posted in the discussion board. So any member can simply print of the pdf sheet music off the discussion board and almost instantly play a voice part track and sing along at any time. Some other cool useful features are the option of posting videos and pictures for everyone in the group to see. Also each member has the ability to personalize their own pages within the Ning which in and of itself is a great feature.
So that's about it for this post if you all have any questions regarding ning.com or SingStrong or even the first month of Love Note Sentiment please feel free to respond to this post and ask whatever you want. Thanks again for reading!
Ryan
