Monday, October 14, 2024

The practicalities of running a singing event: 7 tips for absolute beginners

When talking about choir rehearsals or singing workshops, the emphasis is always on the musical skills involved: teaching, conducting, vocal training, etc.

But if you don’t get the basic practical elements right, then the singing event won’t work.

Monday, October 07, 2024

Warm ups for singers: 5 relevant reads

Last week I wrote about Why a warm up shouldn’t be just vocal exercises

This week I’m going to revisit five old posts which look at warm ups in more detail. This is one of a series of summary posts around a specific topic, bringing together five relevant posts from the past.

Monday, September 30, 2024

Why a warm up shouldn’t be just vocal exercises

Many of us choir leaders are constantly on the look-out for new warm up ideas.

Whenever I look on the internet, I always come across sheet music for vocalises. But these are only a small part of what a warm up should be.

Monday, September 23, 2024

Always listen more loudly than you sing

It always surprises me when singers sing so loudly that they can’t hear the rest of the choir.

photo by Constantin Tacke

It’s hearing the other harmony parts that keeps you on the straight and narrow, and it’s where the singing pleasure lies.

Monday, September 16, 2024

A great choir sound is all about balance: backing tracks, arrangements, voice parts, song choice, etc.

I came across a choir doing an outdoor performance recently.

They were really good, but were let down by the balance between backing tracks and the voices.

Monday, September 09, 2024

Starting back to choir after the summer break: 5 relevant reads

This is one of a series of summary posts around a specific topic, bringing together five relevant posts from the past. 

This summary is about the challenges and opportunities of getting back to choir after the long summer break.

Monday, September 02, 2024

Aiming high: trust the process, don’t focus on the goal

There is a big difference between succeeding at all costs and not bothering to make an effort. Neither brings true satisfaction.

The secret is to pitch somewhere in between: to take the work seriously, but to not lose sight of how relatively unimportant it is compared with what else is going on in the world.