Filk Archive Update

I finished the U files in the filk lyrics today. This is taking longer than I thought it would! (Probably because I'm so picky.) Starting T now--a huge file. S is the biggest of all, and it will be next. . . .

Recording Imminent

For all those who are going to be on the CD: I know you've heard this so many times now that it's etched into your skulls for all time, but here's one final reminder: we are doing our recording for the CD all day on Saturday at the Stake Center by Joe's house. Those who are carpooling with Dawnya or want to follow in their own cars should meet at Dawnya's house at 9 AM. Otherwise, be at Joe's by 10.

Call Dawnya or Joe if you need directions, get lost, or need to give us a heads up on traffic or time concerns. If we know you're stuck on the freeway and won't be there for at least another 30 minutes, we can work on songs that you won't be in until you get there!

Remember to bring your songbooks! We don't want you to have to take the time to re-notate the songs you'll be singing in, since we're pressed for time with this as it is. Additionally, bring everything you need to make your voice function at its best: Ricola, ginger Altoids, etc. Julia will be bringing a 'hot pot', so if you have a favourite tea, bring that as well. We will probably have some things for voices provided, but don't rely on that assumption!

To help you out in this crunch time, here's some very useful practice tips Dawnya sent through the yahoo group email, so take a look!

Practice Tips:
1.Warm up. Start your personal practices by singing no less then 5 full scales - (up)  Do rae me fa so la te do - (down) do te la, so fa me rae do -  is a full scale.  If you're into show tunes, "Doe a Deer" from "The Sound of Music" is an excellent exercise choice.
2. Keep LUKEWARM water or Gatorade close. Keeping your throat lubricated and lukewarm is key to optimal vocal condition; cold water makes vocal muscles contract.
3. Avoid pomegranates and dairy for at least 2 hours before practices. Beverages that are too hot, sugary, or carbonated are hard on the throat; dairy and sugar specifically coat the throat and make voices 'rocky' or 'muddy'. Pomegranate juice is astringent and tightens the vocal cords, and we want our vocal cords loose for singing!
4. Do not practice for more then 2 hours straight on your own. Obviously when we're practicing together we have to keep time in mind, but when you're on your own, taking at least a 30-60 minute break between practice sessions or a 5-10 minute break between each song will allow your vocal muscles to relax and make straining them less likely.
5. If your throat feels scratchy or sore gargle with warm salt water during your break. Horehound candies or Ricola are also very soothing, as are honey-lemon or mint teas. Avoid very dark or very sugary teas as these can coat the throat instead of helping.
6. Sing in the shower! The steam from the shower is great for your throat, and it's a good enclosed space where you can hear yourself well.
7. Practice. Practice. Practice. Even if you can't have dedicated 'practice sessions', there are lots of places and times to practice: the shower, the car, while cooking meals, on walks, while doing chores, etc. (and for those with no shame: while shopping!)
8. Show your friends! We've all got friends and families! Get your muddy practice CDs and give them a show! Not only is it good practice to sing in front of people, when you practice a song over and over sometimes you can get what I call 'edit ear', where you stop really hearing yourself because you've listened to your version so often. Friends and family can hear your singing and help you improve.
9. Record yourself. This is a wonderful tool that you can do with any kind of recording device: digital recorder, karaoke machine, old tape recorder--heck even an old answering machine. Recording yourself will allow you to hear what you sound like outside your own head and let you know if you need to improve or change anything.

Things to NEVER do:
1. Do not start practice by 'clearing' the throat or forcing a cough. This can scratch your throat, so instead just warm up, which primes the vocal muscles. The vibrations of the throat will help it clean the guck out on its own--besides, a little bit of 'guck' actually protects your vocal cords and helps them stay lubricated.
2. Do not use alcoholic or highly acidic throat remedies: Lemonade, limeade, Chloraseptic, menthol, mouthwash, etc. These will help numb the throat and are good for colds, but NOT good for singing. Anything that stings the throat or makes you pucker your lips is a bad pre-practice choice. Also avoid Capsaicin, which is in hot sauce, chilies, Tabasco, etc.
3. Do not force your voice. If in practice you find there are notes you just can't hit, even warm, don't force it. Talk to Dawnya and she'll find you another note you can sing instead that will still sound good with the music. Another option: if you know there is a note you just can't hit or one that always forces your voice to crack or squeak, you can skip that note (unless you're doing a solo, of course). There are very few places in our song arrangements where people are singing very hard notes alone.
4. When you notice your throat getting sore and tired in practice DO NOT keep going. Stop and take a break, have some tea, and do something else for a little while. We don't want anyone injuring their throats before recording!

One more thing: don't overdo your practicing on Friday! We don't want you to give a great performance to your cat, only to have your voice be strained and too tired for the recording!

So, with all that in mind, we'll see you bright and early Saturday morning for the payoff for all our practicing!

Chaos Filk and Barbeque

On Friday, we had a very nice, if rather short, filk-sing. We first handled business regarding getting our website up and running--what we wanted/expected from it, how much that would cost, etc.--then went around the group and picked some of our favourites to sing, many of which did end up being songs from the CD, either for extra practice, or just because they happened to be in our heads. We wrapped up early, because Saturday was our last group practice before we record.

The next morning, we all met at Erin's house for our last practice and celebratory barbeque. We went through everything we needed practice on at least once, then broke out the charcoal for our kosher dogs and chicken kabobs. During the food break, we had much fun practicing our dances for a certain song we'll be performing at OVFF. We wrapped up around 3, except for Joe and Dawnya, who are working on getting some better instrumental tracks set down for the CD (and for practice) after discovering that we do, in fact, have a pre-amp.

Friday Filk alert (and CD update)

Our next Friday Filk is this week, on the 24th. The theme will be Chaos, so come ready to sing! The bringing of munchies for everyone would be much appreciated, to take some pressure off the host. :)

To all who are participating in the CD for OVFF, remember we're doing practice again this Saturday at 10 am. This will be our LAST practice before recording, so please also practice on your own time! We'll have made a practice CD for you to listen to and sing along with soon (hopefully tonight). Remember, we're hoping to record on the 2nd and 3rd of October, so practice while you can!

Update: 09/18/2010

We are currently spending most of our time working on a CD to be ready before OVFF (Ohio Valley Filk Festival), which many of the aliens will be attending. It will be called "UFO: First Encounter", and we'll be charging 10 dollars apiece, so come by if you're in the area and check us out!

On Friday, which was an off night for our group meeting, those who are singing on the CD met for a practice that lasted from around 9 to 11:30 PM. We broke it off early (yes, that is early for us) because the next morning we all rose bright and early in time for more practice at 10. We now have accompaniment for most of the songs, which helped us all to stay together and breeze through practice much quicker than was anticipated.

Archive status: We are done cleaning up the files through W, X, Y, and Z (we're starting from the back). The group is trying to acquire a few large file cabinets for when we start printing and organizing all the songs. In the future, we would like to get some heavy-duty fireproof ones, but for now we'll stick with something cheap that works!

One more thing: we now have a fan page on Facebook! Most of our updates will be on this blog, but we'll probably be posting to Facebook as well, so go click 'Like'!

We come in peace!

Hello, Earthlings! If you're reading this, you probably want to know a little more about who these filking aliens are, and what we plan to do now that we're established on Earth. The Utah Filk Organization, or UFO, was established in May 2005, following CONduit, which is the Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention where we all first met, and where we now perform a concert each year during the Masquerade. Our lead filk alien, Dawnya, was looking for people who wanted to get together and filk more often than once a year at a con, and so we started meeting twice a month in her basement, affectionately called "The Filk Dungeon". We've kept this schedule for the past five years, making us one of the most active filk groups in the western United States.

We are a diverse group made up of both experienced filkers and new recruits, prolific song-writers and people who just want to sing and have a good time. We delight in finding new filk, writing filk to share, and playing with harmonies and accompaniment. We also love gaining members, especially those new to filk to whom we can show the ropes, though we always welcome the more experienced who can show us a thing or two.

We are currently working on a large-scale project, which is to archive all the filk we can to make it more accessible and more easily shared (which is a good deal of what filk is about). One of our members, Julia, has been gathering filk since the 70's, and we're adding to her collection all the time. She's streamlined from the two suitcases of filk binders she used to drag around cons to a massive compilation of computer files, which we are now going through to spellcheck, format, and make hard copies.

Those interested in joining, or who want to know a little bit more about us, can contact ufo_muses @ yahoo.com (remove spaces). We meet the second and fourth Fridays of every month, and do at least one concert per year, at CONduit. We have in the past done other events, such as singing at the celebration in downtown SLC for the 50th anniversary of the moon landing. Participation in these events is encouraged but optional; most of UFO is the house-filks, in which we just sit around, sing, and have fun.