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From the way they sing their (vertical) vowels, to how they “team up” with their mentor, to the facial expressions (open masque) and body language (and alignment), the BYU Singers have got what it takes to be excellent chorale singers.

*See how they pronounce some words like “angels” “sing” etc. Those are what vertical vowels are.

I enjoyed every moment of these videos. And one viewing wasn’t enough for me. Look how awesome a choir gets when they master the proper choral singing techniques. One of my choirs is almost there

Happy listening!

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You a budding piano student/enthusiast? Well, if you are, you need the Hanon Exercises. Develop the agility, liberate your fingers; do the exercises. You want a link to downloadable free Hanon Exercises? Here it is:

http://www.freepdfsheetmusic.com/hanonexercises.asp?FirstChar=H&FileType=

This is a free site. And there are a lot of other piano music sheets (among others) that you can download for free.

Happy playing!

Truly, advertising has a way of getting into our system. At least a year ago,  I witnessed a product demo at Ace Hdwe., SM City. Steam Iron Brush fascinated me good. For someone who spend considerable time ironing clothes-it takes 30 minutes for me to iron a polo (shirt) and another 20 minutes to iron my pair of slacks-seeing someone do an item in less than a minute really made a lasting impression. So I said to myself “I’ll buy one of these. ” Besides it has other functions which caught my fancy, it also disinfects clothes with its steam. Great product, or so I thought.

Last week, my foot got entangled at my flat iron‘s cord hanging by the shelf as I passed by it. The poor flat iron dropped on the floor with a loud thud; some of its spare parts ran on all directions on the floor. After the initial shock, I muttered to myself this is the time to buy that “magic” iron. Having some money to spare, I rode my motorbike the next morning and went straight to Ace Hdwe, SM City.

The moment I encountered a sales clerk, I requested for a product demo of a steam iron brush. I was immediately ushered to the corner of the product. So it carries a brand name “Edmark Steaming Iron Brush.” The young man told me the demo person is not in the store but because I need the item very badly and because I have witnessed its magic many months ago, I just made sure there is a written instruction inside the box, then I bought it. Maybe I could figure out using it by myself.

As I got home I began to painstakingly read the instructions. The steps were not well-written  so I googled for instructions and You Tube offered 3 videos; two of which were made just for fun (read: no educational value whatsoever), and one is recorded in Arabic (see video below) but I did not understand a single word.

Useless. So I went back to the brochure. And after reading it a few times I understood it somehow. So I tried to use it. But I couldn’t duplicate the slick feats of the sales person the last time I saw it. Well, I thought I could use some demo, so I heaved a sigh-that’s for the wasted moments-and went back to the store for a demo. Ok, the demo guy has arrived; so he showed me the wonderfully awesome tricks of the Edmark Steaming Iron Brush.  Whoa! Thank you very much! I thanked the guy for impressing me much and convincing me, and went home smiling. He even told me to remember to keep the receipt. Even the sales crew seem to be happy; some of them look like they were having a great morning. I noticed even the guard on the entrance seem to be so cheerful. As if they were all happy for me. This is a nice day, I said to myself.

Home. Because I had to iron some clothes I’ll be using the next day, I immediately plugged the wonderfully awesome product that’s called “Edmark Steaming Iron Brush.

” Wow. Or should I say “whew!” All water in the reservoir has steamed out and 45 minutes later but my poor shirt did not change much. It looked like a crumpled shirt, what else. I could have been doing something wrong. Maybe I am missing some steps. Had I been using a flat iron, this shirt could be hanging wrinkle-free and ready to use. Well, maybe it is better  I bring this polo to the store so I can see how the man would handle it. Really bright idea, I learned later. My instincts told me to bring everything, the item, the free giveaway, my polo shirt, and the receipt.

The sun was blazing hot by now, so I showered once again and rode my bike to the store. As I was walking towards the store I am not sure if I am seeing things or what, the store guard whispered to a sales lady as they looked my way. Hm. Maybe he said, “Uh-oh, the difficult customer is back!” Somehow I thought the saleslady could have said to the guard, “See? I told you he’ll be back.”

The magician, err the sales man was out on a break, so I looked on some nice flat irons and winked at each of them as I waited for David Blane. What do you know, many of the models got their steam versions too. Enthusiasm. The trickster, este, the sales man is taking too long so a sales lady tried to help me iron my sloppy polo. The guard even remarked, wow, new polo! The lady said it belongs to me. Another sales clerk remarked, nice shirt! Jag. Well what do you know, the lady cannot do it either! Hm. That’s an eye-opener. She can’t do it, and that explains why I can’t either.
Bling! “Sir!” David Blane suddenly spoke beside me. So he’s back. “Hi, can you teach me how to iron this shirt? Somehow I cannot do it as good as you did on the articles on your rack.” He gave the shirt a thorough size up-front and back, as if to plan how to authoritatively undertake the challenge before him. By this time, some other store personnel have gathered around us. We breathtakingly awaited to applause.  Or to watch David Blane’s downfall. And he in fact, manifested some struggle with it. The “magician” muttered that my polo has a difficult fabric, cotton. Did I hear him right? Cotton? It cannot handle cotton? Don’t we all wear and prefer cotton? Most of my clothes are cotton, btw.  Pardon the redundancy. That’s how irritating the situation was.

I thought it can handle any fabric- lace, barong, corduroy, maong, et. al. After all there were all kinds of clothes in fabrics of all kinds hanging on his magic rack. Alas, the humblest cotton seem to be singled out. A portion of the shirt got wrinkle-free alright, but the front band where the buttons are,  the stitch line on the upper back, and the collars cannot be pressed neatly. These parts remained “manhid” (crumpled). Wow, David Blane lost his suave sales pitch and tried in vain. He was even assisted by a sales lady.

I’ve had it, so I declared I have decided to exchange the item for a flat iron (from the ones I winked at earlier). And what do you know, I will get to save at least 200 bucks for a very good steam iron. The magician cum sales man objected to my plan. He declared that the shirt was ironed and ready for use; to which I “violently” reacted. He said we had a good product demo earlier and that I’ve seen it perform (with flying colors). Besides this, he also said unwinnable arguments like I change my mind too quickly, and that the shirt I brought is a crumpled-style shirt and that it looked alright and ready to wear after his failed attempt to make it wrinkle-free. I asked aloud, would you wear that to work? (In that crumpled state, I meant). No one from the store personnel gathered around us dared butt in the argument.  Well, after I challenged him to see the same shirt in nearby Jag department, and see how good it looks on its un-crumpled glory, I said matter-of-factly  that I will not take the magic iron home, end of argument.

In jest, I said, maybe there is magic in that clothes rack. Defeated (and surely annoyed), he said he would call his superior, so he stood by the phone to do that. I took about 10 minutes before he finally held the phone to call his boss. He went back to me and allowed me to take a flat iron in exchange for the wonderfully amazing  Edmark Steaming Iron Brush; but he’s got to win somehow and he said I need to take other items to offset the price. In short, no balance reimbursement. I said, “No I’m not taking any other item, just refund me my balance,” a sales lady butted in and informed me I cannot be reimbursed.

I said matter-of-factly that it’s illegal not to. (I know my consumer rights, nice try.) Realizing they are in on a no-win situation, my promo merchandizer gave up and curtly told me to get my flat iron.

And choose my good looking Dowell Steam Iron I did while David Blane sadly returned the ESIB on its lonely shelf.

As I waited for the product to be handed to me, the store manager approached the cashier’s desk to sign my receipt. But before doing so, he cordially asked maybe I wanted to buy some other items to which I answered No. Got my item, thanked the cashier and left immediately. Whew, what a long day to buy a steam iron.

Still nothing can replace the good old flat  iron. Meanwhile, the Edmark Steaming Iron Brush as I have found out is all wet.

‎”Keep your words soft and tender because tomorrow you may have to eat them..”

There is an unassuming but great wisdom in this tweet by Marina Orlova, Los Angeles. So many times we see posts on Facebook, Twitter and other social networks that bother us. Some people, in the spur of the moment would hurriedly post a seemingly mindless or “suicidal” post that they would later regret saying.

We’ve all been there. For some reason, some person causes our blood pressure to shoot up the roof and in our most emotional state we are momentarily gripped by our primal instincts to reciprocate evil for evil. We throw caution to the wind and we lash at our enemy-whether imagined or real-with an unquenched fury we post our rage and hate.

Trouble is, most of the time, it eventually backfires.  Either we just barked at the wrong  tree, or assuming we did bark at the right one, we however got the flak for our uncalled-for remarks. Then we realize how foolish it is to give in to our desire to get even with our supposed enemy.

Would you like to eat your words back? Sooner or later you will. So be wiser than that. Social networks are not for picking up fights. It is a place for making friends and for influencing  others positively (as much as possible). Of course, there are times we can express righteous indignation over some injustices we encounter; but there’s the rub: righteous indignation.

Be responsible with your social networking behavior. Be sure you can live with every word that you say. Or that you can apologize about what you said, later.

 ”Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” Col. 4:5-6

Last night, my EBC Salmo Chorale sang a full length concert entitled “THE GREAT DIVIDE” (an evangelistic concert) at the Greenhills Christian Fellowship (GCF-East). Praise the Lord for souls saved. And for the gift of music.

See more images in this album HERE. Images by Miss Rochelle Marie Ocampo.

Can you mimic the tone of a single note pressed anywhere the entire length of the keyboard?
Can you easily replay a passage played on the piano?

Are you sensitive enough to hear nuances on melodies and sing them easily?

Sadly, some persons, even those in the chorus find these things difficult. So very few are the individuals with the innate ear/talent to easily pass the tests.

If you are one of them, you are blessed. If you’re not, you need to give double effort. A less-endowed but diligent learner can also pass the tests. But as I said, they need to give more.

If you consistently fail the ear tests, that’s another matter.

Interest, a.k.a. dedication, a.k.a. devotion, is a very important barometer if a choir/group is on its way to excellence.

Do you, as members look forward to the rehearsals?

Do you study on your own?

Do you carry your song sheets with you?

*Sometimes it’s ironic to see people eagerly join the choir, but always give excuses they cannot come to practice. What it meant is, their choir responsibility gets pushed to the least of their priorities. They can easily forego of the rehearsals. They go to all kinds of places and occasions and if it conflicts with the choir, guess what gets booted out of the schedule.

*It’s refreshing to see singers really make time for the sessions, and hardly absent themselves. You can also see them all focused on the tasks at hand. Some others are distracted and bored but they are not. You see them thirst for the routines and the learning.

Are you the kind of learner who is excited to try something new? Or are you the type who frowns at changes and difficult routines? Losers (sorry, no pun intended) are the ones who find themselves silently or loudly complaining about every little hard thing sent their way. Winners are the ones who look at the task and with focused resolve deliver.

Sometimes success over challenges lies on the attitude.

In short, be teachable.  Accept tasks. Focus on the tasks. Deliver smoothly.

Individuals as we are, we developed unique ways of using our voices whether it be in speaking or in singing. We have different accents, didn’t we? And some of us speak/sing in modulated voice and still some of us do nasally. Some have high pitched voices, and vice versa.

In the chorus, it is given that we have different vocal ranges. But speaking of unity, we need to learn a united process in singing. And it is always with a full-throated ease. Sing vowels the same way, always vertically, never ever horizontally, unless the song asks for it, e.g. in singing tribal songs, ethnic  pieces and the like.

If a choir is to be photographed, everyone should be captured with the same facial movements, the same mouth opening, the same jaw drop, the same facial expression, etc. Nobody should be deviating from the group goal.

I have always tried to go  the extra mile. Aside from the usual drill a choir director goes through, from time to time, I create mp3 vocal guides. Sadly, very few people subscribe to them. Very few actually download those mp3s. And the result is predictable: very few actually deliver excellence. Summation: lackluster group performance. Why? Because there are people who would rather idle or play around. Until judgment day. I mean they realize how foolishly they stashed away all the help they can get too late in the day. Well, some of them awakes a day or two before judgment day, and cram their way to the performance.

Conclusion

Having a great choir is not accidental. A good choir is composed of good members. Who are these good people? They are the ones who give a great deal of their focused ANALYSIS, THOUGHT and EFFORT. If every singer can honestly say they carry these ideals in a preparation, the result will be astounding. The result will be rewarding. The result will be encouraging to go on and improve the singing craft.
]]> http://latmario.wordpress.com/2011/02/26/pitch-check-out-if-you-are-on-your-way-to-choral-excellence/feed/ 0 14.569167 121.132500 14.569167 121.132500 latmario Noise-Pollution peanuts_choir diverse_prtm_class-homepagecrop(1) Grovesnor_chorale_perform_2 earworm-1 http://latmario.wordpress.com/2011/02/24/ang-lupang-hinirang/ http://latmario.wordpress.com/2011/02/24/ang-lupang-hinirang/#comments Thu, 24 Feb 2011 14:13:46 +0000 latmario http://latmario.wordpress.com/?p=926 Continue reading »

As we commemorate the 25th anniversary of EDSA People Power, the Philippine National Anthem (a Capella). Sung by the Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Chorale, and conducted by yours truly.

Happy anniversary, EDSA!

• Hello, Miss Sophie Auditor. All of us @MMPC Chorale will miss you. Thanks for commenting.

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This is the Mitsubishi Anthem a.k.a. the Mitsubishi Hymn.

Music by Noel Zarat

and re-Arranged by yours truly; recorded February2011 somewhere in Bicutan.

A choir with a refreshing image and cool performances, here singing a medley of Bee Gees selections. Just having some good time singing. Fresh.

For expression and interpretation, FTW!

• (For more images of the kids, please click HERE.)
• (Another link: Click HERE.)

What a blessing, I thought in retrospect. Brenda, from Palawan just chanced upon a promo PAL-MLA flight. Without wasting any time, they booked themselves and came over. I asked somebody to do some refurbishing in our home in time for the arrival of “my guests.” So glad the Lord put every tiny little thing in its proper place.

• Some images from our Reunion, please click HERE.)

Came weekend, we all traveled to Laguna for the clan reunion. There we were warmly welcomed by our Batangas relatives we haven’t seen for several decades. We realized that there was a multitude of people of all ages and sizes added to the LAT Clan; little kids, young people, young adults and their young families. But of course the familiar faces were the ones we missed the most.

There was a renewed sense of belonging. I am so glad that we made it to this get-together. One I almost missed, for it coincided with my church’s 33rd anniversary. I even declared to my choir beforehand that I plan not to attend it in spite of the fact that it was the very first attempt to have a formal clan reunion. But I gave in to my siblings’ coercion to reconsider. So, in spite of everything, I threw some caution to the wind, packed my bag and went with them. As I texted some church brethren to let them in on my change of plans and due to my concern that I may not be able to make it back in time for the many rehearsals and preps in line with the church’s big event, our choir President texted me and sort of gave me great relief by saying she even prayed that I be able to join my family’s event. It sure gave me peace of mind, thank you very much, Ate Irene!

By God’s grace we were  able to return to Manila (Taytay, i.e.) in time for me to fulfill my church duties. Besides being the church choir director, I was also given a team choir to lead (and compete with two others, Team Red and Team Green); so I had to make sure my Salmo Chorale sing at least three awesome choral numbers for the duration of the Anniversary Sunday, and enable my neophyte Team Blue Choir to sing well; and on the side, prepare to lead the congregational singing.

All’s well that ends well. I was able to enjoy the company of my family and not miss much of the church preps for EBC’s grand day. What a week indeed. There were two more days spent bonding with my little Palawan relatives Ruthie, Marc and Tricia; and Boj too of course, from Tabuk Kalinga.

And then, they flew back to the island, the Palawan “group.” I was concerned for Ruthie who vomited several times on the eve of their flight. She was so dazed the next morning after having been administered with antihistamine I was not able to say good bye  After a few hours I called Pastor Jezer (Ruthie’s dad and my brod-in-law) and was told they just landed safely at Puerto Princesa Airport. I learned an hour later that it was Marc’s turn to be air-sick or something for he also vomited at the airport. But by God’s grace, they managed to travel safely back home.

Boj on the other hand stayed for yet several days so I was able to see him. What do you know, he even noticed and played with me. A few days back he was so busy playing with his cousins he was so  unmindful of anybody else. This little boy’s been learning to mingle with other kids; being an only child he is used to playing on his own. Hopefully he too will be back again some time to his favorite place, Taytay.

Distance really has a way of making the heart grow fonder. So until next time, my beautiful Palawan relatives and Boj, bye for now. To my relatives in Batangas, thank you for the warmth and fellowship; we’ll see each other again; hopefully just as we planned to, on 2013. Looking forward to it.

• Feel free to comment. And many thanks for passing by. Try and click back again soon. Regards.
• Many thanks to Bethel Faye and Violy Solo grabbed a pic from each of your FB albums.