choir ladies

Dealing with caterwaulers

~ MaryG ~ 17 Comments

What are your strategies for SEO?

Soprano Enforcement Operations are difficult and delicate.

I’m no professional singer, but I’m a decent amateur choral singer. I’ve been singing in choirs my whole life. I’ve had voice lessons. I can sing high notes well. I can give a choir director what they want.

Also, I love to sing, as do many other people with far less experience than me. So, what to do when one of them feels very happy and confident singing soprano alongside you – very loudly with no real sense of the pitch? The term caterwauling comes to mind. Here are a few strategies:

  1. Appreciate her enthusiasm! She loves to sing, just like you do.
  2. Never, and I mean NEVER, correct another singer in your amateur church or community choir.
  3. You’ll notice the director trying to tamp down the caterwauler, who may or may not catch on. All you can do is MODEL the correct way to sing something and do exactly what the music director asks.
  4. Sing softer and with the best possible technique. The caterwauler will hopefully realize that she’s screeching like a cornered cat and pipe down on her own.
  5. If you have a good ear and a bad ear (like me), position yourself with the caterwauler near your bad ear and the rest of the choir on your good side. (It’s more important to hear them than her.)
  6. Final tip, and this one is a bit risky. Just prior to important soprano entrances, subtly block the ear near the caterwauler (you can pretend you’re scratching your head or adjusting your glasses). That way when the caterwauler blasts in with the wrong note, she won’t throw you off and you can help right the ship.

Highly recommended film for choir ladies (and gents): The Choral on Netflix, starring Ralph Fiennes. I really loved it. My husband (who is not a choir guy) liked it too.

Say it ain’t so

~ MaryG ~ 14 Comments

Of all the unexpected bad news out of left field, Catherine O’Hara suddenly passing at age 71 made me cry OH NO at top volume.

Like literally everyone else, I LOVED Catherine O’Hara.

There are currently about one million tributes to Catherine online, so I’m just going to pick one favorite memory to share and that is: I honestly don’t know how we would’ve made it through the pandemic lockdown without Schitt’s Creek and Moira Rose. She was such a bright spot during that awful time. I absolutely loved all of the scenes involving the Women’s Choir (probably because I’m a lifelong Choir Lady myself), but remember her audition? The bizarre scat singing and the shaker egg in one hand. 🤣 How on earth did she come up with that? I often wondered how the other actors made it through even one take with Moira Rose without cracking up.

When Moira Rose auditions for the Schitt’s Creek Women’s Choir:

Thanks for the laughs Catherine, but you left us way too soon! There are so many other Baby Boomers that should’ve gone before you (especially the one in The White House). NOT FAIR. I was so looking forward to seeing you in Season Two of The Studio and whatever else you ever decided to do.

😢