I was very excited to be asked to be part of this charity event. Don't Hate, Donate are a wonderful organisation that provides food, clothing, and shelter to refugees and to anyone else who needs it.
When asked to sing for them, I jumped at the chance. What I, and the other musicians, were going to do was to provide entertainment for the Don't Hate, Fill Your Plate event, described as a “pop up social gathering for our local homeless and those who are simply hungry.” I thought it was a great thing to do, and I got practising.
My singing teacher and I selected a variety of songs; classical pieces, operatic arias, musical theatre, and light pop, and we worked very hard to make them sound good. However, the week before the event, I came down with a cold! It was just awful, and I was actually rendered mute for two days, so I did not practise at all.
A few days later, when I was able to talk, we did some very gentle warm ups, and practised carefully. I could sing, but just barely, and I didn't have much range, so we had to tweak my set list right away.
It was at this point I realised how many of my songs have high notes! Well, I couldn't reach any of them (although I hit some spectacularly low notes) and there was not enough time to search for new music, so in the end, we just decided to do these few songs, even if my voice was better on the day, I didn't want to risk it.
Finally, the day arrived. I was going to be singing outside in the beautiful Guildhall Square in Portsmouth. When I arrived that morning, the organisers were already getting everything set up almost opposite the Guildhall itself; long tables full of food and and drink, with plates and cups.
I was getting better, but I still did not want to try singing something like “Pie Jesu,” definitely not! All I could do was drink my water, and hope I didn't sound too croaky.
The lovely Becki Short arrived and set up the sound system, and a young girl named Grace opened the show. She sang a lovely set, including “Moon River,” a song which I love.
After Grace, it was my turn. It was pretty chilly, so I kept my coat on. We decided against setting the camera, since the football was going to be letting out, and there was no one to watch it, so it was better to be safe than sorry. We managed to get some photos, which you can see below.
Anyway, I stepped up to the microphone, took a deep breath, and started to sing. My first song was “Edelweiss” from “The Sound of Music,” which was first song I recorded and put on YouTube. I shall be re-recording this song soon.
As it goes, my voice wasn't too bad, but it was still quite hoarse and croaky; I had a bit of a Sia thing going on, haha!
My next song was “Ben” by Michael Jackson, as these were the only two songs where I could reach all the notes! “Ben” didn't sound that bad, either, but either way, my singing teacher and I now have a list of songs that aren't too rangey, so if I get ill again (touch wood!) I shall have some more songs to sing.
I will be backing singing for Don't Hate, Donate again in May, and I can't wait to do it all again.
Until next time
Lauren xx
When asked to sing for them, I jumped at the chance. What I, and the other musicians, were going to do was to provide entertainment for the Don't Hate, Fill Your Plate event, described as a “pop up social gathering for our local homeless and those who are simply hungry.” I thought it was a great thing to do, and I got practising.
My singing teacher and I selected a variety of songs; classical pieces, operatic arias, musical theatre, and light pop, and we worked very hard to make them sound good. However, the week before the event, I came down with a cold! It was just awful, and I was actually rendered mute for two days, so I did not practise at all.
A few days later, when I was able to talk, we did some very gentle warm ups, and practised carefully. I could sing, but just barely, and I didn't have much range, so we had to tweak my set list right away.
It was at this point I realised how many of my songs have high notes! Well, I couldn't reach any of them (although I hit some spectacularly low notes) and there was not enough time to search for new music, so in the end, we just decided to do these few songs, even if my voice was better on the day, I didn't want to risk it.
Finally, the day arrived. I was going to be singing outside in the beautiful Guildhall Square in Portsmouth. When I arrived that morning, the organisers were already getting everything set up almost opposite the Guildhall itself; long tables full of food and and drink, with plates and cups.
I was getting better, but I still did not want to try singing something like “Pie Jesu,” definitely not! All I could do was drink my water, and hope I didn't sound too croaky.
The lovely Becki Short arrived and set up the sound system, and a young girl named Grace opened the show. She sang a lovely set, including “Moon River,” a song which I love.
After Grace, it was my turn. It was pretty chilly, so I kept my coat on. We decided against setting the camera, since the football was going to be letting out, and there was no one to watch it, so it was better to be safe than sorry. We managed to get some photos, which you can see below.
Anyway, I stepped up to the microphone, took a deep breath, and started to sing. My first song was “Edelweiss” from “The Sound of Music,” which was first song I recorded and put on YouTube. I shall be re-recording this song soon.
As it goes, my voice wasn't too bad, but it was still quite hoarse and croaky; I had a bit of a Sia thing going on, haha!
My next song was “Ben” by Michael Jackson, as these were the only two songs where I could reach all the notes! “Ben” didn't sound that bad, either, but either way, my singing teacher and I now have a list of songs that aren't too rangey, so if I get ill again (touch wood!) I shall have some more songs to sing.
I will be backing singing for Don't Hate, Donate again in May, and I can't wait to do it all again.
Until next time
Lauren xx