Instructions on how to train independently using this site

Greetings Choir members, Parishioners and Honored guests,

Whenever beginning a training program for vocal music it is always best to get some guidance from a live teacher.  I’m not saying that everyone needs voice lessons I’m saying that some people need to know their own level of awareness when it comes to their own voice and whether there are serious problems in singing, i.e. possible medical conditions such as reflux disease which can hinder or make singing extremely difficult.  For this reason I also recommend attending one of the beginner music conferences that are regularly scheduled on our site and will be held in the OLMC parish hall.  The next one will be held on February 6th 2010, that's a Saturday and will be exactly as the last conference.

The following guidelines should be used as far as personal training goes when learning our repertoire.  Remember that only choir members, registered parishioners, special guests can gain access to sheet music and recordings.

A note on accepted musical abilities: talent does not always mean good singing.  A good voice does not a good singer make, a good singer does not a good choir singer make.

It takes mental effort and training, awareness, and experience to make a good choral singer.  You also need a LOT of examples, for this reason we will have a lot of examples and links in each of the music pages in our repertoire.

Mr. Neil Hawes of Great Britain has graciously allowed us to post his site on our webpage and we will be using that resource to the fullest, http://neilhawes.com/sstheory/sitesing.htm.

1. In order to learn more about producing notes vocally you’ll need to go to Mr. Hawes web page and begin at the Reproduce a Note (http://neilhawes.com/sstheory/sssnote1.htm) page.  The instructions posted there are accurate and well laid out, I consider it a very good place to begin online independent instruction.  Also, I recommend reading the entire page first, then go back and review each session and see if you can follow along the step by step process in singing and recognizing your own musical talent.  Some people will need to work on this page for some time, if you’re truly interested then DON’T get discouraged.
2. Once you have gone through the page and feel comfortable in your ability to match pitches then go back to the main page (http://neilhawes.com/sstheory/sitesing.htm) right below the Reproduce a Note is the Remember and reproduce a note page, go there and read through the lesson then go back to the beginning of that page and work on some of the exercises that are posted.  Remember that extensive practice can functionally take the place of extreme talent, that doesen’t mean that you could be Mozart by the time your 80 but it does mean that you will learn and absorb information if you try and continue to try.

More instruction as time goes on.