NO REHEARSAL - 11/5/24

We will not be holding rehearsal on Election Day (Tue Nov 5) because we do not wish to be a barrier to our members' ability to vote and because we rent our rehearsal space from a designated polling place and do not wish to interfere with their operations or those voters' ability to cast their ballot in a timely fashion. We look forward to resuming our regular schedule on Nov 12.

We wish everyone a blessed Samhain and a safe Election Day!

- El Pethybridge, Administrative Director

TrianglePaganChoir@gmail.com

Rehearsal Summary - 10/29/24

There were seven of us this week and we did a bit of this and a bit of that. We started out catching up, since some of us haven't seen each other in a while and Emori had a birthday! Since we had some folks who weren't present last week, we briefed them on the Winter Solstice party invitation and got their input. Then we went into the chromatic harmony exercises and got all the way to seven this time! (The previous record was five.) I think doing these exercises periodically is really helping us train our ears; we seem to have found our notes much more easily than in the past, the harmonies were lovely and haunting! Speaking of haunting, we apparently have a haunted recording! We'd recorded some of the chromatic harmony exercises and when we were ready to move on to "Samhain's Door", I put my phone to the side. As we were preparing to sing, my phone started playing a previous recording of "Samhain's Door" all on it's own! Once we settled down from the strange occurrence, we did actually sing "Samhain's Door" but, when I asked Emori if we should record it, they responded, "Absolutely not; we already have a haunted recording!" 

We wish everyone a blessed Samhain and a safe Election Day! (No rehearsal next week; please vote!)

If you'd like to review any of our material, the sheet music and recordings are available on our Drive. For the naming conventions of the recordings, see the document in our Drive. You can also listen to the TPC playlist of recordings of some of the pieces by professional artists on Spotify. If you're trying to practice at home and can't quite discern your note, you can use a keyboard app to plunk out whichever ones you're having trouble with.  (This is by no means an official endorsement, but the app I use is "Voice Training - Learn to Sing" by the developer Learn to Master. It labels the notes on the keyboard and gives you real-time feedback on what note you're singing.) If you need a tutorial on how to read music, this one seems sufficient for helping you figure out which note you want to find on the keyboard.

We received $20 in donations this week. Thank you to our generous donor! If you would like to track our accounting, you can view our donations and expenses spreadsheet and receipts on our Drive.

We can't wait to sing with y'all!

- El Pethybridge, Administrative Director

TrianglePaganChoir@gmail.com

Next Rehearsal – 10/29/24

Our next meeting is next Tuesday!

October 29, 2024 7pm-9pm

Raleigh UU, Peace Hall, Rm. 101

3313 Wade Avenue

Raleigh, NC 27607

Since this will be only days before Samhain, we'll almost certainly continue working on "Samhain's Door". There was also some talk of singing some popular Halloween songs to mix it up and have some fun. There's also a decent chance we'll continue working on "Dark of the Moon", since Samhain falls in the Dark Moon period this year (Oct. 31, 0.6% illuminated. Nov. 1, 0.0% illuminated). If you'd like to be an overachiever and come prepared, sheet music and recordings for most pieces are available on our Drive. 

We welcome all safe and respectful Pagan and Pagan-adjacent adults of any skill and experience level! We're community-focused rather than performance-focused, so we don't hold auditions and we welcome drop-ins. Because of the music that is best-known and most-available, our starter songs trend a little Wiccan, but we will be seeking to incorporate all kinds of Pagan and Pagan-friendly music. You can help! We welcome recommendations and leads on pertinent music that is in the public domain or is low-royalty. 

There are no fees or dues for participating, but we do gratefully welcome any cash donations* to cover the cost of renting our rehearsal space. We will have a receipt book on hand to log all donations and post aggregate info (without personally identifying information) to the blog so everyone can see where their donations are going. *We are not currently a registered 501c, so we don't have financial accounts and I can't speak to whether or not your donation is tax-deductible.

If you are experiencing any symptoms of a contagious illness, especially Covid-19, please defer your attendance until you're feeling well. We'll all be breathing the same air in that meeting room and, while you are absolutely welcome to wear a mask, it isn't exactly conducive to singing.

We will have name/pronoun stickers, sheet music, and folders available at our meetings. The sheet music is also available on our Drive. The only things you need to bring are your voice and the vocal-chord-friendly drink of your choice!

The UU campus has multiple lots, buildings, and doors, so we have a video demonstrating how to get to our rehearsal space from either lot. (Apologies for my winded smoker wheezing!)

We can't wait to sing with y'all on Tuesday!

- El Pethybridge, Administrative Director

TrianglePaganChoir@gmail.com

P.S. In addition to this blog, there are a number of ways to stay updated on our events. We have a mailing list for weekly email reminders and can even send you an Invite directly through Google Calendar. Email us at the address above to be added to both or either of these lists. You can also find us on Facebook at our Page and in our Group, where we share Events and other info. If you'd like to be added to the Invite list for our Facebook Events, please follow our Page or join our Group (otherwise FB won't let me send it to you) and drop us a PM. Here's the FB Event for our October 29 rehearsal.

Rehearsal Summary - 10/23/24

We had five folks present this week and had TPC business to discuss, so this was more of a planning session than rehearsal. We were recently asked by a local organization to perform at their Winter Solstice party, so we spent our time discussing if we felt up to that, if we felt up to offering a song circle instead, and what our future ability to offer performances might look like. There is no formal deadline for a response, so our members are welcome to continue offering their perspective. At this time, we do not plan to offer this performance but are still gathering information and considering the possibility of leading a song circle or providing materials for individual members to offer the song circle outside of official TPC activity.

If you'd like to review any of our material, the sheet music and recordings are available on our Drive. For the naming conventions of the recordings, see the document in our Drive. You can also listen to the TPC playlist of recordings of some of the pieces by professional artists on Spotify. If you're trying to practice at home and can't quite discern your note, you can use a keyboard app to plunk out whichever ones you're having trouble with.  (This is by no means an official endorsement, but the app I use is "Voice Training - Learn to Sing" by the developer Learn to Master. It labels the notes on the keyboard and gives you real-time feedback on what note you're singing.) If you need a tutorial on how to read music, this one seems sufficient for helping you figure out which note you want to find on the keyboard.

We received $20 in donations this week. Thank you to our generous donor! If you would like to track our accounting, you can view our donations and expenses spreadsheet and receipts on our Drive.

We can't wait to sing with y'all!

- El Pethybridge, Administrative Director

TrianglePaganChoir@gmail.com

Next Rehearsal – 10/22/24

Our next meeting is next Tuesday!

October 22, 2024 7pm-9pm

Raleigh UU, Peace Hall, Rm. 101

3313 Wade Avenue

Raleigh, NC 27607

Since it's less than a month to Samhain, we'll probably continue working on "Samhain's Door". There was also some talk of singing some popular Halloween songs to mix it up and have some fun. There's also a decent chance we'll continue working on "Dark of the Moon". If you'd like to be an overachiever and come prepared, sheet music and recordings for most pieces are available on our Drive. 

We welcome all safe and respectful Pagan and Pagan-adjacent adults of any skill and experience level! We're community-focused rather than performance-focused, so we don't hold auditions and we welcome drop-ins. Because of the music that is best-known and most-available, our starter songs trend a little Wiccan, but we will be seeking to incorporate all kinds of Pagan and Pagan-friendly music. You can help! We welcome recommendations and leads on pertinent music that is in the public domain or is low-royalty. 

There are no fees or dues for participating, but we do gratefully welcome any cash donations* to cover the cost of renting our rehearsal space. We will have a receipt book on hand to log all donations and post aggregate info (without personally identifying information) to the blog so everyone can see where their donations are going. *We are not currently a registered 501c, so we don't have financial accounts and I can't speak to whether or not your donation is tax-deductible.

If you are experiencing any symptoms of a contagious illness, especially Covid-19, please defer your attendance until you're feeling well. We'll all be breathing the same air in that meeting room and, while you are absolutely welcome to wear a mask, it isn't exactly conducive to singing.

We will have name/pronoun stickers, sheet music, and folders available at our meetings. The sheet music is also available on our Drive. The only things you need to bring are your voice and the vocal-chord-friendly drink of your choice!

The UU campus has multiple lots, buildings, and doors, so we have a video demonstrating how to get to our rehearsal space from either lot. (Apologies for my winded smoker wheezing!)

We can't wait to sing with y'all on Tuesday!

- El Pethybridge, Administrative Director

TrianglePaganChoir@gmail.com

P.S. In addition to this blog, there are a number of ways to stay updated on our events. We have a mailing list for weekly email reminders and can even send you an Invite directly through Google Calendar. Email us at the address above to be added to both or either of these lists. You can also find us on Facebook at our Page and in our Group, where we share Events and other info. If you'd like to be added to the Invite list for our Facebook Events, please follow our Page or join our Group (otherwise FB won't let me send it to you) and drop us a PM. Here's the FB Event for our October 22 rehearsal.

Rehearsal Summary - 10/15/24

Unfortunately, I was too ill to make it this week but four other people were able to, including my husband, who was kind enough to give me a summary. After some brief warm-ups, Emori returned to the harmonic exercises designed to train our ears and vocal flexibility. For anyone who is unfamiliar or needs a refresher, each singer or set of singers take a note in a series of harmonies, which Emori assigns a number. When everyone has their series of notes down, Emori calls out numbers for everyone to switch to that harmony. This exercise is challenging but very useful for building choral skills. It's also specifically targeted at improving our facility with "Dark of the Moon", which is the piece the rest of rehearsal was spent working on.

If you'd like to review any of our material, the sheet music and recordings are available on our Drive. For the naming conventions of the recordings, see the document in our Drive. You can also listen to the TPC playlist of recordings of some of the pieces by professional artists on Spotify. If you're trying to practice at home and can't quite discern your note, you can use a keyboard app to plunk out whichever ones you're having trouble with.  (This is by no means an official endorsement, but the app I use is "Voice Training - Learn to Sing" by the developer Learn to Master. It labels the notes on the keyboard and gives you real-time feedback on what note you're singing.) If you need a tutorial on how to read music, this one seems sufficient for helping you figure out which note you want to find on the keyboard.

We didn't receive any donations this week but we remain grateful to all our previous donors! If you would like to track our accounting, you can view our donations and expenses spreadsheet and receipts on our Drive.

We can't wait to sing with y'all!

- El Pethybridge, Administrative Director

TrianglePaganChoir@gmail.com

Next Rehearsal – 10/15/24

Our next meeting is next Tuesday!

October 15, 2024 7pm-9pm

Raleigh UU, Peace Hall, Rm. 101

3313 Wade Avenue

Raleigh, NC 27607

Since it's less than a month to Samhain, we'll probably continue working on "Samhain's Door". It will be close to the Full Moon so we may also pick up "Moon, Sister Moon" again. If you'd like to be an overachiever and come prepared, sheet music and recordings for most pieces are available on our Drive. Pending developments to the contrary, I am still willing to collect Helene relief supplies from folks who can't make it to a drop-off point. Barring unforeseen circumstances, they'll go to Operation Air Drop (by way of Burial Beer Co.), which helps get supplies to the isolated neighborhoods that have lost their roads. Please check up-to-date lists about what supplies are needed, but what I've seen recently is that they need cold weather gear, as well as PPE, flat-head shovels, and muck boots for clean-up.

We welcome all safe and respectful Pagan and Pagan-adjacent adults of any skill and experience level! We're community-focused rather than performance-focused, so we don't hold auditions and we welcome drop-ins. Because of the music that is best-known and most-available, our starter songs trend a little Wiccan, but we will be seeking to incorporate all kinds of Pagan and Pagan-friendly music. You can help! We welcome recommendations and leads on pertinent music that is in the public domain or is low-royalty. 

There are no fees or dues for participating, but we do gratefully welcome any cash donations* to cover the cost of renting our rehearsal space. We will have a receipt book on hand to log all donations and post aggregate info (without personally identifying information) to the blog so everyone can see where their donations are going. *We are not currently a registered 501c, so we don't have financial accounts and I can't speak to whether or not your donation is tax-deductible.

If you are experiencing any symptoms of a contagious illness, especially Covid-19, please defer your attendance until you're feeling well. We'll all be breathing the same air in that meeting room and, while you are absolutely welcome to wear a mask, it isn't exactly conducive to singing.

We will have name/pronoun stickers, sheet music, and folders available at our meetings. The sheet music is also available on our Drive. The only things you need to bring are your voice and the vocal-chord-friendly drink of your choice!

The UU campus has multiple lots, buildings, and doors, so we have a video demonstrating how to get to our rehearsal space from either lot. (Apologies for my winded smoker wheezing!)

We can't wait to sing with y'all on Tuesday!

- El Pethybridge, Administrative Director

TrianglePaganChoir@gmail.com

P.S. In addition to this blog, there are a number of ways to stay updated on our events. We have a mailing list for weekly email reminders and can even send you an Invite directly through Google Calendar. Email us at the address above to be added to both or either of these lists. You can also find us on Facebook at our Page and in our Group, where we share Events and other info. If you'd like to be added to the Invite list for our Facebook Events, please follow our Page or join our Group (otherwise FB won't let me send it to you) and drop us a PM. Here's the FB Event for our October 15 rehearsal.

Rehearsal Summary - 10/08/24

We had a fun and productive rehearsal! Nine of us made it this week, including two of our new folks from last week. We started out with some gentle scale warm-ups and a spontaneous sing-along of "Do Re Mi" from Sound of Music. After that we worked on "Samhain's Door" from the chants set. It's a bit of a tricky piece to get used to, especially the way the lyrics are written in the sheet music, and we still have a little bit of polishing to do but we managed to get confident enough with it to make a recording! We closed out the evening with a casual sing-along of some fun Halloween songs from pop culture while we packed up and reset the room.

If you'd like to review any of our material, the sheet music and recordings are available on our Drive. For the naming conventions of the recordings, see the document in our Drive. You can also listen to the TPC playlist of recordings of some of the pieces by professional artists on Spotify. If you're trying to practice at home and can't quite discern your note, you can use a keyboard app to plunk out whichever ones you're having trouble with.  (This is by no means an official endorsement, but the app I use is "Voice Training - Learn to Sing" by the developer Learn to Master. It labels the notes on the keyboard and gives you real-time feedback on what note you're singing.) If you need a tutorial on how to read music, this one seems sufficient for helping you figure out which note you want to find on the keyboard.

We didn't receive any donations this week but we remain grateful to all our previous donors! If you would like to track our accounting, you can view our donations and expenses spreadsheet and receipts on our Drive.

We can't wait to sing with y'all!

- El Pethybridge, Administrative Director

TrianglePaganChoir@gmail.com

Next Rehearsal – 10/08/24

Our next meeting is next Tuesday!

October 8, 2024 7pm-9pm

Raleigh UU, Peace Hall, Rm. 101

3313 Wade Avenue

Raleigh, NC 27607

Since Samhain is fast approaching, it seems likely we'll start working on "Samhain's Door". If you'd like to be an overachiever and come prepared, sheet music and recordings for most pieces are available on our Drive. I didn't think of this last week, because my brain was sad-addled, but I'm sure the folks in WNC will continue to need aid for some time. Pending developments to the contrary, if y'all would like to bring supplies to donate to our neighbors out west, I'd be happy to ferry them to a donation point. Please check up-to-date lists about what supplies are needed, but cases of water seem like a good bet. 

We welcome all safe and respectful Pagan and Pagan-adjacent adults of any skill and experience level! We're community-focused rather than performance-focused, so we don't hold auditions and we welcome drop-ins. Because of the music that is best-known and most-available, our starter songs trend a little Wiccan, but we will be seeking to incorporate all kinds of Pagan and Pagan-friendly music. You can help! We welcome recommendations and leads on pertinent music that is in the public domain or is low-royalty. 

There are no fees or dues for participating, but we do gratefully welcome any cash donations* to cover the cost of renting our rehearsal space. We will have a receipt book on hand to log all donations and post aggregate info (without personally identifying information) to the blog so everyone can see where their donations are going. *We are not currently a registered 501c, so we don't have financial accounts and I can't speak to whether or not your donation is tax-deductible.

If you are experiencing any symptoms of a contagious illness, especially Covid-19, please defer your attendance until you're feeling well. We'll all be breathing the same air in that meeting room and, while you are absolutely welcome to wear a mask, it isn't exactly conducive to singing.

We will have name/pronoun stickers, sheet music, and folders available at our meetings. The sheet music is also available on our Drive. The only things you need to bring are your voice and the vocal-chord-friendly drink of your choice!

The UU campus has multiple lots, buildings, and doors, so we have a video demonstrating how to get to our rehearsal space from either lot. (Apologies for my winded smoker wheezing!)

We can't wait to sing with y'all on Tuesday!

- El Pethybridge, Administrative Director

TrianglePaganChoir@gmail.com

P.S. In addition to this blog, there are a number of ways to stay updated on our events. We have a mailing list for weekly email reminders and can even send you an Invite directly through Google Calendar. Email us at the address above to be added to both or either of these lists. You can also find us on Facebook at our Page and in our Group, where we share Events and other info. If you'd like to be added to the Invite list for our Facebook Events, please follow our Page or join our Group (otherwise FB won't let me send it to you) and drop us a PM. Here's the FB Event for our October 8 rehearsal.

Rehearsal Summary - 10/01/24

We had so many new folks this week! Of the nine of us present, four were new people! Emori couldn't make it but we managed to muddle through pretty well thanks to the rehearsal tracks one of our members has been putting together for us and guidance from one of the new folks, who is a music and voice teacher. After warming up with some exercises on Spotify, we worked on each of the three melodies of "Dark of the Moon" and, when everyone felt comfortable with those, we spent some time on "Harvest Chant".

If you'd like to review any of our material, the sheet music and recordings are available on our Drive. For the naming conventions of the recordings, see the document in our Drive. You can also listen to the TPC playlist of recordings of some of the pieces by professional artists on Spotify. If you're trying to practice at home and can't quite discern your note, you can use a keyboard app to plunk out whichever ones you're having trouble with.  (This is by no means an official endorsement, but the app I use is "Voice Training - Learn to Sing" by the developer Learn to Master. It labels the notes on the keyboard and gives you real-time feedback on what note you're singing.) If you need a tutorial on how to read music, this one seems sufficient for helping you figure out which note you want to find on the keyboard.

We received $20 donations this week; thank you to our generous donor! If you would like to track our accounting, you can view our donations and expenses spreadsheet and receipts on our Drive.

We can't wait to sing with y'all!

- El Pethybridge, Administrative Director

TrianglePaganChoir@gmail.com