FW: minstrel: RE: pitch (was solfege)

[Patricia Yarrow]

Tara wrote:

<<Ah, perhaps we should go back to _Hey Ho to the Greenwood_.  A few
years ago we taught this to the whole Barony and actually got them to
sing it at an A&S competition.  We warmed up with it for a while, but
Chorusters got so tired of it they started singing _Hey Ho to our
Pickups_ and inventing even worse filks, so we got away from it.  Maybe
we can try it on La...>>

There's a grand recording of it on La by The John Renbourn Group.  I think
it's on their Maid in Bedlam album.  I personally think on La is harder than
with lyrics or solfege, but that's me . . .  We were running examples of
16th century counterpoint in class last week and the gal next to me was
singing La while I was running through the Latin (they were all sacred
examples).  Much easier for me not to lose my place that way.  La does keep
the mouth in a neutral position, which can make it easier for people to hit
the high notes.  Sometimes the lyrics need vowel modification.  Just ask
anyone who's sung it "Hey Ho to the Grinwood."  8-)


<<Argh! You're making my head hurt.  I'm at work in cubicle-land, so I
can't sing or even hum these out.  I've been trying to mentally
sight-sing these sequences with the solfege as notation and it's too
darn hard.  I've got pretty good relative pitch, but I'm so confused
now I can't even mentally "hear" the re-fa-la minor third.  I'll have
to try this at home with a nice piano to help.

Tara>>

Apologies.  It might help someday if I sketch these out with notes above.

V