mini-post: respecting the low notes (22/52)
"Aren't you all bass players? They told me this was a bass players convention..."
Most of you probably know that I’m a classically trained soprano and that I’m a very high soprano — I was a coloratura in my youth, in fact. I’ve definitely lost some range due to age, worsening allergies, and lack of practice, but I’m still a solid first soprano. Like, the notes are still there. I just don’t have a super clear tone or perfect control over them anymore. But like, hitting an A5? I can do that in my sleep. A C6, a.k.a. “high C”? I have it, but it doesn’t sound especially good anymore.
I’m in rehearsals for a local community production of “The Sound of Music” right now, and I had forgotten how very high the nun’s ensemble pieces are. I’m absolutely fine until the grand finale, which has a high C held for 3-measures plus a fermata. YIKES. So, I’ve been working on it every day, and I’ve been making a little progress. (I might get a reprieve and end up singing with the second sopranos on that bit, as they’ve been assigning the highest notes to only one or two sopranos. But I want to be capable of it whether they put me on it or not.)
One of the best parts of working with this group of singers is how well-balanced it is. I haven’t sung in a choir of any size with a good low-to-high balance in at least 20 years. There are usually too many sopranos in any given group, and the sound imbalance, in that case, is pretty rotten. You need a good low section! Just like in a band, you need those bass notes to shine through. You think the melody is all you want to hear, but those low notes are essential to the fullness of the music. This nun chorus is wonderfully balanced, with true altos knocking out the low notes, and helping to give it a rich, full sound. It has been such a great experience to be in a room full of talented singers like that.
I’m really grateful I’ve been given this opportunity to participate, and to be pushed to reclaim some of my lost skills. And like, I’m not bad-mouthing altos ever again. Mezzo-sopranos on the other hand? Eh. Not all prejudices die so easily.
The Update: Special Compare and Contrast Edition
This classic Kids in the Hall sketch is what people think bass players are like.
This isolated bass track of The Who’s John Entwistle playing “Won’t Get Fooled Again” shows what a bass player is really like, i.e. fucking amazing.