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Festive Greetings! Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la! Welcome to this festive edition of the Your Accompanist Newsletter. We thought we'd help you get in the mood for your carolling and christmas singing. If you're wishing to brush up your background knowledge, we have a catch-up history of Christmas carols. Performance tips brings advice for carollers out-and-about this winter, and we'll be introducing you to singer-songwriter, Bree Noble, from California who shares a taste of her life in song. We've got gift ideas for the special singers in your life, as well as our regular slot for those who sing with children and much more! Happy Christmas Singing! The Your Accompanist Team PS We've got a series of great Christmas eCards for you to send a musical greeting to your loved ones. |
Special Festive Issue In this issue: Tell a friend! Do you know someone who would enjoy this newsletter? Forward on the email from us or send them a link to this page. Invite them to subscribe at: www.youraccompanist.com/newsletter |
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Handel's Messiah The Tosti Collection Suggested by you, a collection of songs by much loved Italian and Victorian Court Composer Sir Paolo Tosti. Gilbert & Sullivan By popular demand we are expanding our Operetta selection considerably Halfdan Kjerulf & Carl Nielsen We will be featuring the songs of these two important Scandinavian composers in the next edition of the newsletter. Brahms Now added - Sapphische Ode and An Die Nachtigall. Latest additions: www.youraccompanist.com/latest Collections: www.youraccompanist.com/collections
Many of us have grown up singing carols at Christmastime. Often, it has been a very happy way for us to learn to sing. With all the excitement of each festive season, maybe we haven't had much time to think about why we do it or how the tradition started. Catch up now…
Children all over the world sing carols joyfully in unison… without worrying too much about polyphony! Work on tone with this one and avoid anything too raucous to begin with. Turn the volume down and try getting them to hum it very quietly. Tell them that they're only humming properly if it tickles their top lip and teeth - watch the concentration on their faces! Memorise the words as many as you can so that you can meet your listeners with a smile. No 'lah-lahing!' Do have a run through before you set off (even if you're with seasoned campaigners - there's always somebody who's not been before) and preferably do it outside to get used to the difference in the sound. Use pitch pipes or a harmonica (unless one of the crew has really reliable pitch). There's not much festive cheer in finding you can't finish your carol because you started too high. Work out a running order for what you're going to sing - easy to forget when enthusiasm kicks in - to avoid decision-making huddles in between each carol. Try to be flexible - you may get requests. Practise singing and walking at the same time. It can be quite hard if you're not used to it. Pick a carol where the rhythm helps - like O Come O Come Emmanuel, (say with crotchet = 40-44 beats per minute) otherwise you'll find yourself going 'at the double'. Organise the look of your group. Informal is good and a semi circle is practical. Try to sing without your conductor standing in front if possible. Don't stand in one long row or you won't be able to hear each other. Give some thought to lighting. Lanterns are traditional and lovely, but headband lights could be very useful if you do need to see the music. Wear light colours to be road-safe in the dark - reflectors on your coats can look very festive. Be sensible about your safety. Alert as many people as you can about your carolling visit and go in as large a group as possible - it's more fun anyway and you'll get a better audience. Avoid offers of hot chocolate or milky drinks to heat you up - good for the toes but not for the top notes - and stay off the very strong stuff! When SuperMario gets a bit too noisy for grandma this Christmas, you might like to take a look at these beautiful online games:
The intuitive gameplay and great music make the perfect Christmas pastime for the whole family. If you're lucky enough to have a Nintendo Wii, you'll find that these games also work perfectly on your TV. We've picked out a festive selection here, but you'll find many more year-round games at: www.ferryhalim.com/orisinal |
If you're looking for ideas for varied and engaging festive singing, we hope our Christmas selection will be a fine source of inspiration. In addition to our popular Carols Collection - Vol 1, we're adding another, Vol 2, containing more seasonal favourites, such as See Amid the Winter Snow, Joy to the World, We Long to See Thee So. View all carols: www.youraccompanist.com/carols Modest budget: Moderate budget: Large budget: UK and Ireland - Farncombe Estate Send a musical eCard
We've recorded special versions of some favourite Christmas songs for you to share with your loved ones, near and far, instantly. They're completely free: www.youraccompanist.com/ecards  Singer Profile: Bree Noble
Bree Noble, an award winning singer-songwriter I sang in several choirs in high school and lead a women's barbershop quartet. My college degree is in classical voice, but I also toured with a Christian pop and a cappella group for four years. Recently, performing my original songs, treasured hymns and worship music at the California Pacific United Methodist Conference for about 1500 people. I also write songs; collaborate with other writers; plan and lead worship services for my church and spend time with my husband and daughter Julia Prayer is great for focus and calming if you believe in God. And… always warm up your entire vocal range. Full interview on www.youraccompanist.com/breenoble Bree's own website: www.breenoble.com If you would like to be featured, please email: profiles@youraccompanist.com If you've enjoyed this issue of the newsletter, if there's something you'd like us to talk about in the future, if you've got a question you think we could answer or a singing tip you'd like to share with others, please let us know. Use our online contact form: |
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We make real piano rehearsal tracks for singers. All tracks are recorded by a real pianist on a real piano in a single take. You download them directly to your PC in MP3 format. They can then be transferred directly to any portable MP3 player (such as an iPod or, Sony MP3 walkman, Archos box or iRiver), or burned to CD. They are ideal for soloists, ensembles, choirs and classrooms, for those who sing professionally, recreationally or secretly. The quality of the musicianship and sensitivity of the performances means that the accompaniments make great listening, even for those who don't sing along. Our catalogue covers a large part of the standard repertoire and is growing all the time. We bring you a wide variety of genres and composers, and aim to cater for all vocal ranges and levels of proficiency. Each track can be sampled on the site so you can be sure you've got the piece you want. We believe very strongly in the importance of music in education, and have a great deal of experience in the field. We hope to support music teachers, promote singing in the classroom and provide an effective low cost solution for singing teaching situations where good quality live accompaniment is not readily available. All of our tracks are available for instant download, so if we've already got the piece you want, there's no need to wait for a CD via post. If you'd like something we don't already have, or you need it in a different key, let us know. If it's in the public domain and we can get hold of the music, we could have it online for you quite quickly. Read more in our User Guide: www.youraccompanist.com/userguide |
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Catch-up history of the Christmas Carol
Singing with the kids this Christmas
'One Horse Open Sleigh' (or 'Jingle Bells' as it's better known) is 
Top tips for Carollers
New Carols Collection
from
San Dimas,
California, ('Best Female Performer' at the 2007 Inland Empire Music Awards), uses our tracks to help with her community work. She's been kind enough to take time out from a busy performance schedule to talk to us. 
Who or what is your biggest musical influence? 
Whose names are on your ultimate fantasy concert poster?