points to ponder

Hi guys,

I was thinking about some ways to make the group vocals sound a bit tighter in Shine and the chorus to Paradise -- they're kind of muddy right now.  Y'all are right that I need to sing the melody louder in Shine, but I'm not sure I can.

(You know, Laura and Nathan have the strongest and most accurate singing voices; how did Howard and I wind up tackling the lead parts so often?  I guess because we knew the lyrics first.  Something to consider for future performances!)

ANYWAY, I think it might help if we make sure that there are at least 2 people on melody in any group vocals like that (except Turn Turn Turn*).  Laura already sings melody with Howard on My Rainbow Race, and it sounds really good.

I spoke to Nathan in the parking lot as we were leaving yesterday, and he said he'd do melody with me in the chorus to Paradise.  He's got a nice clear tenor that I think will balance well with Laura's and Howard's richer harmony.

Would either Nathan or Laura be willing to sing melody with me on Shine (at least for the verses)?  I know harmony in that one is super fun, but it might clean up the sound a little.  We can experiment a bit on Friday.  I'll practice sitting up straight and breathing from the diaphragm to try to boost my volume -- if I can do it without sacrificing pitch accuracy, maybe it won't be necessary.

*Turn Turn Turn actually sounds good without a dominant melody line, because that's the way people are used to hearing it from The Byrds.  Thanks, Byrds!