In the recent Ansche Chesed High Holiday survey, “chanting and singing prayers together with hundreds of people” was marked by the overwhelming majority of respondents as something we most look forward to every High Holiday season.

And yet, this year, there is no safe way for all the members of our community to sing together in person. So we are going to try something we have never done before!

We present to you the WE ARE YOUR PEOPLE / Ki Anu Amecha Project

We hope that you will take part in creating a virtual tefilah recording, so when we join together online during the High Holidays, from wherever we find ourselves,  we will still be able to see and hear each other sing with a full heart, and join with a full voice.

We ask you to record a video of yourself (or your whole family!) singing one of our beloved High Holiday melodies, Ki Anu Amecha, from the comfort and safety of your own home. You’ll be singing along with Natasha’s voice on the guide track.

(You’ll notice that the guide track has a piano accompaniment. That is just to help us stay together during the recording process; it won’t be heard on the final video).

How To Record Your Video

What You’ll Need

  1. A camera (like a smartphone) to record your video.
  2. A second device (computer, tablet, 2nd smartphone) on which to watch and/or listen to the guide video.
  3. Headphones or earbuds. You’ll need to listen to the guide video while you record, but we don’t want your camera to hear it.
  4. A happy smile! Look like you’re having a great time!

Your Recording Space

  1. Prepare to record your video in front of a plain wall or other background that is free of any distractions.
  2. Record in a quiet place.  Turn off fans, dishwashers, or anything that might hum or make noise.
  3. Make sure you are brightly lit from the front and not from the back or side. Use whatever lamps or natural light you have available to achieve this.
  4. Secure your camera horizontally (landscape mode).

Time to Record! 

  1. Open the listening track so that it is ready to play.
  2. Plug in headphones (to your computer, tablet, 2nd smartphone)!
  3. Turn on your camera and put it in landscape mode (horizontally) if you have not yet done so.
  4. Hit record!
  5. Hit play on your computer
  6. Follow the instructions to Clap.
  7. Begin singing! End the recording when finished.
  8. Name your file Melody_Lastname_Firstname

You can use these PDFs of the words in Hebrew and transliteration, or the music notation, whichever is easier for you.  Please make sure to count out loud to 4 and clap on 5, just like Natasha is doing in the guide video; it will help us align all the recordings during the editing.  Begin singing on the words “s’lach lanu“.

How To Upload Your Video

Important Deadlines

We must receive your video no later than Monday, August 17, in order to use it in the final cut.  If you can make and upload it sooner, all the better!

If you have any questions or concerns, please write to us at WeAreYourPeople@anschechesed.org. Remember, you DON’T need to be a professional singer.  We just want to see your face and hear your voice, smooth or crackly, in tune or close to tune. Thank you for considering this invitation – we truly hope that you’ll join in!

This project should not take too much of your time, but it will make an enormous difference for our entire community, enabling us to bring our hearts and our voices together for this most unusual high holiday season, when we need each other more than ever. We may not be able to safely sing together in the same room.  But we can still sing as one community, one people, one nation – Ki Anu Amecha!

With love and blessings for a healthy summer,

 

Natasha and Daniella

Hazzan Natasha Hirschhorn
Cantorial Intern Daniella Risman