We have continued to make good progress on our contest set. Now we want to get our faces and emotions into the game, we found that some of us stumbled on the words or notes. I find it a little difficult to remember which phrase comes after “What good is sitting alone in your room”. Is it “Come hear the music play” or “time for a holiday”? Same problem with “Put down your knitting, your book and your broom”: Is it “Come hear the music play” or “time for a holiday”? I find that if I’m thinking about it as I come to the phrase I will get it right. BUT, when my mind is thinking about “performance” with my face (eyes) saying “welcome, come with us” then my brain doesn’t always get the phrase correctly. So I need to rehearse (privately) singing these songs watching the mirror for my facial expression as I sing. Does your face show the meanings of the words? Do you have the songs down pat? Well, it’s past time to learn them cold, put your face into it, and repeat, repeat, repeat … until it is second nature! Richard has asked us to put some extra effort into knowing the contest songs cold, so we can use our effort into being inviting, or expressing the emotions of the song. Can you make him proud next week?
 
On all of our songs, we need to practice singing forward and on top of the pitch. Nothing sounds as good as a well-tuned chord … and a chord where a few voices are flat stands out too! So as you rehearse these songs, remember to sing forward and lifted.
 
We did find a note problem with My Romance – It’s You in the lead section with the phrase “you, my love” measures 6-7. The note on “my” is much higher than you think it is. The leads tend to sing the baritone note (because that’s the note that “feels” right), and then we are left with no chord. Leads, listen closely to the learning track at the beginning of that song to sing the D instead of an E.
 
Richard had to leave early so I directed us in rehearsing some of our new show songs that were perhaps a little shaky last week. But it was clear to me that you had done a lot of work on these songs, because they sounded good! Just a few things to remember:
 

• You Are The Sunshine of my Life: Basses sing “ba” instead of “duh”. Also basses, keep to the beat given by the director and don’t let the lead push beats (which they are singing very well!) make you speed up. And everyone: you KNOW Aaron and I love those triplets!
• Our Love Is Here To Stay: Basses – hold the “stay” note for 8(!) counts (both times)! Don’t drop out early. And everyone: the “our love is here to stay” phrase timing is different the second time (equal note time).

So, that’s not too much to work on? Let’s get these songs down, because our next performance at Greenspring is only two weeks away and our Annual Show is the following week!
 
John

The whole Guyer family is driving out for our show on Wednesday, April 5th. The Guyer Boys will be putting on demonstrations at two Elementary Schools on Thursday, the 7th. They are scheduled at Providence Elementary School, 3616 Jermantown Road, Fairfax, VA 22030 on Thursday, April 6 from 1:30 to 2:30. They are scheduled at Daniel Run Elementary School, 3705 Old Lee Hwy, Fairfax, VA on Thursday, April 6 from 9:15 to 10:30. We would love to set something up for a school on Friday, but that is the last day before the schools go on Spring Break, so not sure if we can get that done. If we can't, I guess they will just have to spend the day sightseeing. 

Okay. Gerry is right. It is time to panic. Ticket sales and ad sales are behind where they should be based on experience from prior years. I am concerned that the title, "Love Is In The Air" may not be catchy enough. Maybe we need to start telling people to "Come to our Cabaret." Or maybe we need to start telling people all the great songs that will be on the show. 

Between now and show time, all of us will come in contact with lots of people. We will be in restaurants, in stores, in gas stations, in doctors' offices, etc.

Each one of us needs to be constantly asking the following questions:

1. How many flyers have I posted?
2. How many emails (with flyers attached) have I sent to family and friends?
3. How many tickets have I sold?
4. How many ads have I sold?

We are going to be putting on a fantastic show, and all of us should be proud to share this offering with everyone we come in contact with. So, keep these questions in mind everywhere you go.

1. Where do you do your singing?
2. Would you like to come see our show? (Have tickets on hand to sell.)
3. Please visit our website - www.fairfaxjubilaires.org - to learn more about the show and buy tickets.
4. Can I post a flyer in your window? (Have flyers and tape on hand.)
5. Could I interest you in an ad? For a very small price, you can reach around 500 people with an ad. (Show them an old program and have ad contracts on hand.)

If 40 members sold ten tickets each, that would put 400 people in the seats. If 40 members each sold one ad, that would not only pay for our programs, but it would be an important source of profit. 

We have the time to get this done, but time IS RUNNING OUT!!! Act now.

For anyone who is still reading, please notice a couple additions to the calendar. We are trying to set up a Saturday rehearsal before Division Contest, and Saturday, May 13, is the target date for that. Be sure to get this on your calendar.

And watch for an email about the possibility of singing at a detention center on Thursday evening, April 27. When this goes on Groupanizer, be sure to indicate your attendance plans right away, so that we can see if we will have enough to do this.

And remember...

Love is in the air. It's great to be a Jubil-Aire.