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Reflections On Singing With Dynamic Meladies By Joanne

As 2016 draws to a close I want to share something with you, I discovered in Spring of 2016 the most amazing group of ladies who sing for fun- it’s called Dynamic Meladies, run by the lovely Sheena and Karen.

Having never sung or performed at any stage in my life, and I’m now in my 40s, I found this group by luck, chance or fate, on the internet, and thought it sounded like a fun way to spend 2 hours on a Saturday morning.

I’m not embarrassed to share that I suffer with the most debilitating anxiety, which at times has left me housebound; and for the first few weeks I went along I found myself almost frozen to the spot contemplating going through the doors to the practice hall. However, what I discovered once inside was the friendliest, non-judgemental, varied group of women. Over the course of the next few weeks my trepidation reduced and I started to look forward to: a range of gentle physical warm-ups, and a not so gentle warm-up for my “never been used” singing vocal chords, learning scales, and singing songs – some I knew, some of which I’d never even heard before.

Initially, for me, one of the best exercises Karen and Sheena took us through was breathing. It sounds simple – of course we all know how to breathe, but do we really breathe properly? Hmmm. I found myself relaxing as Sheena counted us through breathing deeply into areas in our stomachs (not just the shallow breathing my anxiety normally allows me to do), then controlling the breath and releasing. I thought this might be useful for me and I began to practise at home, each week finding my breath reach areas in my lower diaphragm I didn’t know existed.

So what have I learned about my own singing voice since I started singing on a Saturday morning?

I learned that I can sometimes reach (make) high notes I didn’t know I was capable of producing, but my lower range definitely needs some work, and even sometimes collectively Sheena encourages by telling us “you were aiming for the right note” kind of like saying “your intention was good”.

As a group we have sung some of the most eclectic set of songs imaginable; including songs by Pentatonix, The Carpenters, Bill Withers, Marvin Gaye and Bruno Mars (at the same time- yes it did happen and yes it sounded amazing), Pharrell’s Happy, John Legend, Phil Collins, Abba, Paolo Nutini and Joni Mitchell. We’ve had fun and patter “goin’ doon the watter” in The Song o’ The Clyde and singing and enacting 100 legs of the Wee Kirkcudbright Centipede trampling on the floor – which fortunately did not end up looking like a bad attempt at “Twister”.

The monthly workshops have demonstrated the importance of listening to what others around you are singing; conveying a story in your song; pronunciation and diction (sometimes difficult with a Glasgow accent); range and breathing amongst many others.

We’ve had lots of laughs as we tried to keep warm in the Anderston Kelvingrove Church Hall– what a beautiful sound we managed to produce echoing around the pyramid ceiling. Then as winter set in moving to warmer climates (just like the birds) at the Unitarian Church, perhaps we scare the Yoga Class in the room above when we practise our sirening and mirening (look it up of you’ve never heard of it- I hadn’t). A few weeks ago we had a musical bath – well I thought it sounded just beautiful – we were asked to just make an “ooh” sound and try to get it to blend in with everyone around us, as we moved closer and closer towards each other.

We learned that Karen “likes it with her eyes closed”- I think she was genuinely referring to singing! It’s funny Karen always finds innuendo in things- I still haven’t worked out what she thought I said when we practised Uptown Funk and were singing the “doh doh doh doh – Swoosh” sound that I thought sounded like getting your legs waxed.

As Christmas gets closer we all agreed that it would be nice to sing a variety of festive songs, Lisa “the Latinist” hated singing in a foreign language as we sang the angelic Gaudete, Val wanted us to learn British Sign Language to go along with Silent Night, at one point we even had a “One Hearse Open Sleigh”. You will be surprised to hear that Karen (again) found “porn for copping” in Let it Snow.

I really want this to illustrate how much fun we all have on a Saturday morning, and appreciate how much work Sheena and Karen put in; preparing handouts, teaching us to sing, helping us explore our singing voices, encouraging us and allowing us to have an input in song choices.

So, as I look forward to our last singing session of 2016, this Saturday, with our festive sing-a-long and mince pies afterwards – I say thank you to all the ladies who have made Saturday morning for me so enjoyable. And to those not yet part of Dynamic Meladies reading this please give it a go, you have nothing to lose and so much to gain from singing with a fabulous group of ladies.

Have a lovely time over the festive period and I look forward to seeing and singing with you all in 2017. xxx