Caroling season starts this week for Minnich Music and the High Tea Carolers! Here’s our updated schedule and where we’ll be:

• Friday, December 4th

Our first performance! From 6-9PM, we’re performing at the Holiday Stroll and Christmas Tree Lighting at Old Town! We’ll be wandering from place to place, but for much of the night we’ll be near the big tree itself (can’t miss it!). Enjoy the festivities and come hear Christmas carols for a festive night!

• Sunday, December 6th

From 6:30 to 8:30PM, we’re performing the Albuquerque Botanical Gardens’ River of Lights! You’ll find us just inside the entrance to the gardens. Come out and see us and enjoy the lights!

• Saturday, December 12th

From 6:30 to 8:30PM is our second performance at the River of Lights!

Update: Our performance at Immanuel Presbyterian during the Nob Hill Shop and Stroll has been cancelled.
 
We’re also planning on singing at Lovelace Women’s Hospital sometime over the next couple of weeks! Check back here or on the High Tea Carolers’ Facebook for more updates on our performance schedule!

At Minnich Music, I teach more than how to sing or play an instrument. I also teach subjects like music history and theory, which is an integral part of understanding music itself.
 
The first thing many beginning students learn is the musical scale: doh, re, mi, and so on. But did you know that’s not the only scale, or mode?
 
What is a Mode?
A mode is a scale, like the “doh re me fa sol” scale made famous by Julie Andrews and The Sound of Music. “Mode” is Latin for “method, or “manner”. However, the modes originated in ancient Greece.
 
ClassicFM.com writes, “The modes were named after various regions, perhaps to represent the people who lived there, because Greek musical theorists were philosophers too, and associated the arts with aspects of morality.” In other words, each Greek mode represented a philosophy about the culture of the people in certain areas of ancient Greece.
 
The Modes
The modes were often used by the Church when putting psalms to music, and all music belong to at least one mode. The list of Greek modes are:
 

• Ionian

Ionian is the simple “doh re mi” major scale that begins on C. An example is Mozart’s “Flute and Harp Concerto in C major”
 

• Dorian

Like the natural modern minor scale except for the sixth note which is major instead of minor. The traditional favorite “Scarborough Fair” is in the Dorian mode.
 

• Phrygian

Phrygian is different from the modern minor mode because of the second note which is major instead of minor. This is the scale used in flamenco music and is also known as the “Spanish gypsy scale”.
 
A beautiful example of the Phrygian mode is “Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis” by Ralph Vaughan Williams.
 

• Lydian

Lydian is similar to Ionian but the fourth note is sharpened. The mode is in a major key.
 
A fun example? “The Simpsons” theme song!
 

• Mixolydian

Instead of a major seventh, the Mixolydian mode’s seventh note is flat. Both the original Star Trek theme and “Norwegian Wood” by The Beatles are in the Mixolydian mode.
 

• Aeolian

This mode is the natural minor mode. The pieces of music known as both “Greensleeves” and “What Child is This?” is in the Aeolian mode.
 

• Locrian

Five of the notes in the Locrian scale are flattened half a step. Sibelius’s Symphony no. 4 in A minor is in the Locrian mode.
 
If you’d like more information on how these modes work in music, this YouTube video explaining modes is a wonderful resource!
 
For more music education, you can contact me any time for lessons! I offer a comprehensive instruction for students of all ages and skill levels.

As promised, here’s an update for High Tea Carolers, including our repertoire list for our 2015 Holiday Season and updated performance schedules!
 
Our 2015 Holiday Season Repertoire
Our repertoire covers Christmas classics and hymns that span many historical eras. This year, we will be singing:
 

• Do You Hear What I hear

• The Lord Bless You (And Keep You)

• Banquet Fugue

• O Though in Whose Presence
  
• Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
• O Holy Night

• Away in a Manger

• Carol of the Bells
  
• Child in a Manger
• Deck the Halls

• God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

• Hark the Herald Angels Sing
  
• A Merry Christmas
  
• I wonder as I Wander

• Lo, How a Rose Ere Blooming

• 12 Days of Christmas
  
• Silent Night
• The Holly and the Ivy

• Peace on Earth

• Morning Hymn
  
• Jingle Bells
• Here We Come A-Wassailing

• Infant Holy, Infant Lowly

• Joy to the World
  
• O Come All Ye Faithful
• Child of the Poor/What Child is This

• It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas/Pine Cones

• Do You Hear What I Hear?
  
• Hanukkah, Hanukkah
  
• Ose Shalom
  

If you want the High Tea Carolers to perform at your function or holiday party and you would like certain songs performed above other, please contact us!

Our Performances and Our CostumesWe now have three performances scheduled for the holiday season:
 

• Thursday, December 3rd at the Nob Hill Shop and Stroll:

We will be strolling around, singing at the Nob Hill Shop at Stroll from 5PM to 9PM. Come shop, stroll, eat, and enjoy some wonderful music!

• Sunday, December 6th and Saturday, December 12th at the River of Lights at the ABQ Botanical Gardens:

Come look at the incredible light displays at the Bio Park’s River of Lights and hear us sing your favorite Christmas carols. It’s a wonderful event for the family!
 
We’re also in the process of working on costumes, and one is completely finished! Here’s a sneak peek:
 
Keep checking back for more updates and don’t forget to visit the Minnich Music Facebook and the High Tea Carolers Facebook!