Since music is such a vital part of my life and balances the darkness out there, I have said that I will end every blog post with a piece of music. I had started sending music to a few friends, mostly church associated, in early June.

With our churches closed, I thought that people might enjoy music in their life that had been taken from them by the state. Before I got my website up I had sent out a couple dozen emails that got moresubstantial over time.

Consequently, I am republishing these on days that I have nothing else. I really dislike seeing effort wasted.

So here are the first three combined. If you were one of the early recipients, either skip this post or enjoy. There are about a dozen more to come.

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Traditional choir composition is four part, SATB (soprano, alto, tenor, bass). Most church music is so structured as it fits the average church choir and congregation. The alto part is the lower part in the treble clef while the tenor part is found as the upper part in the bass clef.

Traditional male choir music is structured as 4-part also, TTBB (tenor 1 or alto, tenor 2, bass 1 or baritone, bass 2). Some music will be written to split parts. For example bass 2 may be split into higher and lower range causing the male choir to have an internal division of baritone and then bass 1 and bass 2. The Ottawa Carleton Male Choir that I sang with for years was so set up.

I don’t know how female choirs are structured although I have seen music written SSA.

Barbershop which is traditionally all male is 4-part tenor, lead, baritone and base. Lead usually has the melody and would correspond to the soprano part in SATB music but sung down an octave. Tenor then becomes the alto line. As a particular style with characteristic harmonies, the music is written to accommodate male voices.

Michael Eldridge whose music I have sent before (video at the bottom) structures his renditions as alto, lead (soprano), tenor and bass. He has at least a 3 octave range and can do a credible alto which I am coming to enjoy as I listen and discriminate more carefully. To help the listener, he often marks initial frames with the parts that he sings. He just released this one and the alto line is clear.

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Here’s another artist I discovered tonight (June 7), David Wesley. He has produced an a cappella montage of Christian tunes that you will recognize. As he says, its an “a cappella medley filled with songs still in use today, but with connections to almost 1500 years of Christian worship.” He has stitched this together with key and style changes showing real artistry. He does all the parts with his wide range. Production is extremely good.

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There is a great deal of lovely music on the internet. It is part of my day. I can send a short piece like the following 3 or 4 times a week. If you don’t want to receive it please let me know.

In the next piece Michael Eldridge sings 4 parts with precise registration which is really clear on the staccato notes.


The POOG

I started a blog in 2011 called The POOG, an acronym for "pissed off old guy". This is the current incarnation.

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