If I say ‘choir’, an image will pop into most people’s minds.
- a bunch of fidgety 7-year-olds screeching out a barely recognisable version of Once in Royal David’s City at the school nativity play
- a group of loud old white men with fruity voices singing in Welsh
- rows and rows of posh people holding music books and singing in superior upper-class accents
- an angelic cluster of fresh-faced boys with ruffles around their necks facing sideways onto the congregation during a very serious, important service in a big, old church
- a sea of exuberant black faces dressed in identical floor-length robes moving and singing with uncontained joy whilst battling against some loud guitars and an over-amplified drum kit
I may well have missed out your favourite image, but you get the idea!
These common images either leave me cold or make me feel excluded. They’re either really bad examples of what a choir can be, or seem to be a special club which wouldn’t have me as a a member.
the choral world
I flail around the web trying to find like-minded souls, but if I use search terms such as ‘choir’ or ‘choral’ I stumble into parallel universes that I simply don’t relate to.
This is the impression I get:
- much of the choral world exists in the USA (with a small, but significant outcrop in Singapore)
- most choirs are faith-based, usually Christian, and based in churches
- most choirs use written music which is often referred to as ‘choral literature’ and is usually Western Classical music
- choirs are formal, old-fashioned and predictable with an aging membership and aging audience
- there are countless choral festivals across the world, many in Europe, but rather than just celebrating choral singing, they insist on measuring, comparing, testing and judging choirs through competition
OK, OK, you’re bound to tell me that your choir isn’t like that and there are exciting choirs out there who don’t fit these stereotypes. And I’m sure there are.
My point is that this is the impression created by the choral world, whether intended or not.
what’s in a name?
As soon as you use the word ‘choir’ in your group’s name, or say that you sing ‘choral music’, the danger is that all these stereotypes come into play. In which case, you may well be putting off potential choir members and audiences for your performances.
I mean, what impression would you get from:
The Anytown Ladies Institute Choral Society
or
The Somewhere and District Municipal Choir ?
what can we do about this?
It’s going to be really, really hard to change the cliched images that are associated with the word ‘choir’. After all, they have been built up over hundreds of years.
The thing that we can change directly is the name we give to our group. There are many ways of avoiding the ‘C’ word, some more successful than others. I’ll give a few examples below, but I’d love to hear from you about other solutions.
- subverting the traditional: The Spooky Men’s Chorale or The Feral Choir
- using an evocative foreign name: Libana or Chechelele
- saying what you do: Singing for Fun or Singing Our Socks Off
- using a pun: Only Men Aloud or Vocal chords
- using an alternative word to ‘choir’: Sheeptown Songsters or The Singers’ Circle
- a mixture of the above: Kitka women’s vocal ensemble
What’s you ‘choir’ called? Do you think using the word ‘choir’ puts people off? What other alternatives are there to the dreaded ‘C’ word?
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22 comments:
Hi Chris,
Yeah, the "C" word. For me it evokes images of dowdy geriatrics.
Our choir is called "Ising on the Cake". There is also one called "Timbre Flaws".
I think the best thing to do is get out there and show people how different it can be.
- Kerryn
I quite agree Karen: just get out there and show people what we can do!
I love ISING ON THE CAKE ! Conjures up an image of a wedding cake and a lounge singer.
Chris
I resent the tone that any of these choir examples are bad things - especially the one about "the loud white men" - what about the "loud black men"? Everyone knows that black men are often the loudest and white men are often quite "exuberant"... I am tired of the political "correctness" that serves to demean our white men and "glorify" black men ... What gives? In real life we know that the "politically correct" is often the opposite of the facts ... Please don't incite more racial divide than already exists - especially when speaking of choirs ... thank you ....
Rebecca Marsh
Our 'choir' is called 'Singing City.' It has been around since 1948 when it was formed as a part of movement in Philadelphia to have blacks and whites involved in shared activities and experiences. The thought was, 'if we can get the whole city to sing together...' and it still works for us.
Hi Chris,
interesting post, reminds me of discussions we used to have in the old days about how to name a theatre group. I agree that its crucial to pick something that both reflects the aspirations of the group and stimulates the interest of potential punters.
I always like a musical group to be called a band: in astro physics theres a strata of deep space called the complex systems band which would be a great name for a combo, bit off topic though. The Natural Voice Band?
I rarely think puns are a good idea for a name, they always make me
think of barbers shops. A pun name is a joke that has to be funny over and over and over again and thats really rare.
I'm off to read your post about men and choirs, i wish you ran a choir down our way.
Jo
I have both/all/none -
Kaleidoscope Community Choir (does what it says on the tin)
Rough Ruffles (what? it's a long story)
Georgian voices (sing Georgian Songs)
I must report back that I don't think the name of the group has had much impact on how many join, or who joins in. Soz!
Hi Chris,
Enjoyed the post. It's a bit of What's In A Name, isn't it. I started up a singing group for U3A, calling it Singing for Fun - and so many people have asked me "Do you have to read music?" or "Do you have to be a good singer to come along?" and are mightily relieved when I tell them that I really do mean that they are coming to have fun. In fact, we met up this morning, and at the end, so many of them came up and said that they had really enjoyed it. They might not be the greatest singers in the world, but oh boy are they willing to have a go at everything. That's what it's all about, as far as I am concerned. We are putting on a small Christmas concert at the main U3A meeting in December, and excitement abounds. We have about 25 members, about 30 at most.
Great to meet you in Birmingham. We're not up to Mamma Mia standards yet, but still hoping!!!
Dawn
Hi Chris - I *loathe* the whole boring, white bread choir image thing! It is so untrue.
I think a big problem is the uniforms. We really need to get rid of some of the frumpiest.
Is it about the uniforms? I don't think so, I think it is more that many choirs have a relatively limited range of people in them...
think about how diverse your choir is (or is not) in terms of age, disability or ability, ethnicity, gender, nationality, religion, sexual orientation and social class. regards, Deb
Steve, thanks for dropping by. I like "Singing City" -- it sums up what the choir's aims are, and it sounds like you've achieved them!
Any hints on how to make a choir more diverse? Even though we live in a multi-cultural city, most choirs here tend to be all one colour or gender.
Chris
Hi Jo
Yeah, on one level it matters not one jot what the name is. I mean, look at some of the lame names that bands have ended up with! In the end, you just associate the words with the object and forget about individual meanings. Except when there's a word which has too many strong associations like 'choir'.
I really don't believe that a name needs to 'reflect the aspirations of the group' or have any meaning at all connected with what the group does (but hey, that's just me). As long as it's evocative, memorable and unique (and maybe not too hard to spell or hard to hear over the phone!).
I agree with you about puns -- like one line jokes, they get tedious very quickly.
I like the 'band' idea though.
Chris
Hi Beth
You say that "I don't think the name of the group has had much impact on how many join, or who joins in", but you haven't tried names like "The Derby Women's Choral Society". See how many men join that!!!
Chris
Hi Dawn
Glad your group is going well. I guess you're proof of what Beth was saying about the name not mattering. What on earth did they think "Singing for Fun" mean??!!
Chris
Hi Deb and daharja
Uniforms eh? Even if your choir is suitably diverse, the bloody uniforms get rid of all the diversity and individuality!
Chris
While I'm not sure that we in America have the same image of "church choir" when we hear the word "choir," I think Chris has hit on something important here. To respond, I would quote another Brit, and say, "What's in a name...?" From my perspective, the problem is (as John suggests) not the name but the game.
Say a new choir is formed by members of an old (now extinct) group, and those responsible call it, "Soul Fire & Hot Love." They're hoping to attract new audiences, since the audiences for their old group just kept dwindling -- no matter how perfect their phrasing, or how round their vowels. Or how much they tried to convey the emotion being expressed in the music.
Unfortunately, when the new audiences show up, the choir is still performing like "Soul Embers & Unintentional Disengagement."
I propose that most choirs in the world focus way too much on the technical elements, and don't do nearly enough to engage both singer and audience in an AUTHENTIC CONNECTION to the power/passion/poignancy of text and music. Because of this, audiences have a very unfortunate image of what "choir" is all about -- but equally unfortunately, their image is way too accurate.
Changing the name isn't going to do much. To change the global understanding of what a choir is, we choral directors and educators need to change OUR OWN understanding of what a choir can be. Once we do that, we can call a choir whatever we like, and people will STILL know that they're going to experience some fiery soul connection -- along with some passionate humanity -- when they immerse themselves in the concert experience.
Even if the choir is called "Just a Choir."
The good news is that more and more choirs are stepping out of the box, as many of us got to experience at the exciting national convention performances in Oklahoma City. Here's to the trend continuing.
All my best,
Tom
we don't use a uniform, just a colour theme - we chose all black with a splash of blue-green (which is the School's colour). I think it worked very well, a good combination of some similarity to indicate belonging, without complete uniformity.
regards, Deb
Hi Tom
If what you suggest is right (about authentic connection to the power and passion of the music) I wonder what the singers get out of it? If there are so many 'bad' choirs which lack "passionate humanity", why do singers stay? What are they actually getting out of it?
I would have thought that there are few singers who actually enjoy just the technical aspects of singing. Most want to have fun and to connect their souls and passion with the music their making. So how come they put up with it??!!
Chris
Hi Deb
Totally with you there. That's exactly what I do with my choirs. The colour scheme links everyone to show that they're in the same team, whilst the differences in precise clothing and colour reflect the individual's personality. Result!
There are still choir members who want to all wear the same t-shirt though!
Chris
Chris,
You ask, "If there are so many 'bad' choirs which lack 'passionate humanity,' why do singers stay? What are they actually getting out of it?"
First of all, I never said these relatively disconnected and/or technically oriented choirs were "bad."
Here's what I got out of being in many technically oriented and relatively disconnected choirs:
*The joy of singing for singing's sake
*The opportunity to be immersed in the aural magic that is harmony
*The opportunity to apply myself toward a collective goal
*The many victories we experienced when we overcame musical challenges
*The satisfaction of giving a well-wrapped and well-made present to the audience
*The camaraderie of many like-minded individuals
There are more, but you get the idea. Perhaps the following anecdote will shed more light on the distinction between the two experiences for singers.
A few months ago, I worked with an excellent college choir, led by an excellent director. We did the usual workshop, with the singers experientially discovering the skills for about 30 minutes, then applying those skills to the rep for another 2 hours.
At the end of the workshop, we had a feedback session. "What was your overall experience? What did you notice or learn?," I asked.
Here are a couple of things that the college students said:
"You know, if you asked any one of us if we were connected to the music before we did this workshop, I'm sure we all would have said 'Absolutely!' But now, I can see that we weren't connected at all."
"I have to say that now that we've done this, I look back and realize that I was actually bored before ... but didn't know it."
That last comment was a "Gulp!" moment for the director to hear, but it's not his fault!!! Choral directors are simply not trained to do this work, since MOST Music degree programs focus on the technical almost exclusively. And when they do attempt to help singers "be expressive," they almost always come at it from the exact wrong way. (Much more on my website about all of this, btw.)
All my best,
Tom
Chris,
Another thought.
You mention, "Most [choristers] want to have fun and to connect their souls and passion with the music their making."
This notion of passionate engagement is different than a specific text-based connection. It's similar to my first point above, about enjoying singing in choir because singing is fun. YES! It's fun to throw oneself into committed music-making ... but that's not the same as throwing yourself into a powerful purpose for singing the song, with a full Story behind it.
Here's more from a ChoralTalk post about my approach:
1. WHO ARE YOU?
Are you singing as yourself or a character? Who specifically?
2. WHAT'S THE STORY?
What's going on that motivates this song? What has just happened that compels you to sing the words and music? If you could see this song as taken from a Broadway production, what scene surrounds it? With Ave Maria, you might create a story (using your imagination) that you are a mother whose son has just lost his wife. Your son and family are in agony, and desperately need to find some kind of peace. Therefore, you turn to Mother Mary for help. With that and all stories, the more details you know/create, the easier you will be able to throw yourself into it without being self-conscious. So, what does your son look like? How did his wife die? What did she look like? What was her name? What just happened in the moments right before you sing ... are you watching your son sob over the coffin at the viewing of his wife's body? Do you then go into the funeral home's chapel?
2. WHO ARE YOU SINGING TO?
Using the text and music as your guide, determine to whom you are singing. It could be a person named in the text (Ave Maria is pretty clear!), or it could be completely ambiguous. Either way, you need to decide. Once you know, use your imagination to "flesh them out" -- what do they look like, who are they to you, what's your history....
3. HOW ARE YOU TRYING TO AFFECT THEM?
Once you know to whom you are singing, the next question is how do you want to affect what they think, feel, or do. It's always about them, and not about you. So, these would work: "I want Mother Mary to bring peace to my son." And for other songs: "I want to comfort a crying infant." "I want to make Jesus feel welcome in the world." "I want God to know how grateful I am for this wonderful world."
4. HOW DO THEY RESPOND?
As you sing, your imagination can create the Other's response, and that response will affect the way you sing. So, at one point in the music when the key changes and the dynamics go from piano to forte, you might decide that Mother Mary has turned away from you ... or maybe she has agreed to bring mercy and you are thanking her effusively. Regardless, you know exactly how and when the Other is responding.
If you answer all those questions, and sing with purpose and conviction as you've bought into the Story and all its elements, your experience will be entirely different. And so will your audience's.
A critical fact: Notice there's nothing here about "emoting," "showing the emotion on your face," or "convincing the audience that you're into it." All these are inauthentic human behaviors, and lead one to disconnect from Self, music, text, and ultimately the audience.
So, no need to "direct" your face, body or voice, as a puppet master would a puppet. When you commit to Story and its elements -- whether you are singing as yourself with a real story, or as a character with a made up story -- your face, body, and voice will respond authentically and organically. Without you telling it what to do.
And your audience will know the difference, and be impacted in an entirely deeper and more meaningful way.
***************
So, singing with the above approach engages the heart/mind/soul/body/voice very differently than merely "loving to sing Ave Maria."
All my best,
Tom
We call ourselves Grace Notes.
We jokingly thought we could the Marketplace Singers before we stopped cracking our heads and settled on Grace Notes.
Uniform? We don't have any but we try to have a colour theme in every event we put up. Which is fine except that some of us have to put in some cash to get some colours we don't have!
Hi Pearlie, good to hear from you!
I like the name and I agree with the colour scheme idea. We have the same problem with not enough cash, but we do have lots of charity shops in the UK!
Did you know that there are several groups called Grace Notes? This can be a problem when choosing a name, especially if they are in the same country. I ran a choir called Global Harmony for a while. When they made the name up they thought it was unique and original, and maybe it was, but there are already others out there!
I liked Halle, Halle, Halle -- I do that with our choir here. If I may make a comment though: why do you have musical backing? I found it distracting. You have fine strong voices and should let them shine through!
Chris
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