Sunday, January 22, 2012

We’re all equal here: singing together is the great leveller

Singing together or being in a choir is one of the most egalitarian experiences we can have.

lego people

Photo by wynlok

It doesn’t matter how much you earn, what your job is, where you went to school or who you know. Just add your voice to the overall sound.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Sometimes old is best – finding the balance between new and familiar

I have a low boredom threshold. There are 100s of gorgeous new songs I want to teach and it’s hard to cram them all in.

old sheet music

Photo by Leo Reynolds

But more often than not, singers want to sing the old, familiar songs they already know well. How to strike the right balance?

Sunday, January 08, 2012

How to improve your singing voice

This post is part of a series of occasional Questions and Answers.
Just contact Chris if you want to submit a question.

Question

 

Tim wrote in to ask:

“I have been trying to sing for a very long time but I feel I always get tight in the throat when I lose confidence, when I hear myself sound bad, or even if some people are around.

“I was in a chorus for a year and I could hit every note, I just can't exactly ‘sing’, do you know what I mean?  I can’t hear myself out of a group.”

 

Well, Tim, there are quite a few things going on here! And I’m sure there are plenty of other singers out there who can relate to what you’ve written.

Sunday, January 01, 2012

Setting your goals for 2012 (guaranteed to work!)

It’s the time of year when many people make resolutions, set goals and devise plans for the coming year.

seedlings

Photo by --Tico--

But is this a useful thing to do, and if you do it, how likely are you to achieve what you set out to do?

Sunday, December 25, 2011

The 10 most popular posts of 2011

First of all, if you’re reading this post on Christmas Day: shame on you! Can’t you leave the computer alone for just one day in the year??!!

father christmas

Photo by Paul Wittal

But since you’re here, I thought I’d highlight the most popular posts of 2011 in case you missed any of them . . .

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Focusing on the one frown in a sea of smiling faces

Everything in the concert is going brilliantly. The choir is firing on all cylinders. The audience are lapping it up, even your lame banter between songs.

bored face

Then you spot the one person frowning in amongst a thousand smiling faces and the doubts set in.

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Keeping a choir happy – you can’t please everyone

There have been grumblings in my choir of late. Some people are not happy.

complainer

But is it possible to keep everyone in a choir happy?