Sunday, April 29, 2012

Singing is all about listening

I wrote last week about people who think they can’t ‘sing’ because they think they need training or singing lessons first (Your singing voice: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!).

big-ears-animal

We focus so much on our mouths and what comes out of them, that often we forget one of the most important aspect of singing: listening.

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Your singing voice: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

I wrote a post a a few years back called Do you need singing lessons in order to sing?

head thrown back
Photo by Anna Strumillo

My main point was that many people are frightened to sing in public before they’ve had ‘training’ or ‘proper’ singing lessons. But can’t you just sing without any ‘technique’?

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Can you be the wrong age to sing?

Here in the UK the arts seem to cater for just three age groups.

young and old

Photo by vintagedept

If you don’t fit into one of these, then woe betide you!

Sunday, April 08, 2012

Does ‘world music choir’ actually mean anything?

When I’m promoting a singing workshop or recruiting for a choir, I want a shorthand way of describing the kind of songs I teach.

Photo by Amir Taj

There is such a range of different ‘choirs’ out there (which is great!), that we need to distinguish between them so people can make an informed choice. But does ‘world music choir’ actually mean anything useful?

Sunday, April 01, 2012

Invent a singing workshop (and win a free place)

I’m always on the lookout for new ideas for singing workshops.

lumberjack song

© Copyright Paul Anderson and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

I’ve pretty much covered all the bases so far: gospel, Eastern European, sacred songs, ABBA, Beatles, Beach Boys, Paul Simon, 60s California, World Music, Sing Africa, Rhythm and Voice, Songs from the British Isles, Men’s harmony singing, Classic Pop, Songs from the  60s, and more  ...

I’m running out of ideas, so I thought I’d hand it over to you.