On a song, and loving it

Whether it’s the musical note or the fabric, the word crotchet conjures up an image of harmony, a feeling that defines the members of the Western Music Society of Indraprastha College for Women perfectly.

Whether it’s the musical note or the fabric, the word crotchet conjures up an image of harmony, a feeling that defines the members of the Western Music Society of Indraprastha College for Women perfectly.

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With 17 members in total, the group practises thrice a week. The practice sessions, which take place after the classes, usually begin with vocal exercises, and are followed by rehearsals. Keeping the technical aspects in mind, the members are divided into four sub groups — bass, tenor, soprano and alto. “Each sub group has a different tonality and part in the song,” says Isha Chauhan, the society’s general secretary.

One need not be a trained singer to be part of this gang. All that the group looks for, is the right talent. “We carry out auditions in three parts, and they’re not very rigourous,” says Swati Jain, the president of the society. And, no fancy costumes needed. “We usually go for a formal dress code, with skirts or pants. Our costumes are not very elaborate, but we do have a colour code,” says Veronica Xavier, a member of the society.

Even though the essence of the group’s performances lies in the phonetics, its members leave no stone unturned to add the ‘pep factor’. “Despite the fact that we don’t have much to do except for the singing, we do clap, snap our fingers and sway while performing, just to indulge our audience,” says Isha.

Crotchet recently stood third at Commotion, a cultural event held jointly between Dilli Haat and the Indian Habitat Centre, and is busy working on an original composition now. Ask them if they’ve ever missed boys in their group, and the answer is, “Sometimes!”