I assume that we’d all like to become better at what we do. That could be teaching songs, singing, or leading a choir.
Inevitably, to improve, we will need to develop new habits or change existing ones. But that can feel awkward and unfamiliar, even painful at times.
For thousands of years, cultures across the globe have passed songs on orally to the next generation. This requires much repetition as well as active listening.
However, this is no longer a dominant part of many cultures today. What is the best way to learn a song by ear?
Silence is not just the absence of sound.
When singing as a group, there are several kinds of silence, each with its own quality.
Inevitably, some singers will wait around doing nothing while the choir leader focuses on one of the other harmony parts.
Whether you teach by ear (as I do) or use sheet music, this will happen. However, there are ways of minimising this waiting time.
We all spend a lot of time crafting and honing the publicity blurb for our choirs and singing workshops.
But are we sure we have explained exactly what singers can expect when they attend?
I tend to teach songs quickly (see How many songs can you teach in an hour?). I can easily get through 6-8 songs in a one-day workshop.
A singer recently said to me that quality might be better than quantity. Yes, she’d learnt a lot of different songs, but didn’t feel that she’d really nailed any of them.
It’s very easy for singers to stay in the same voice part in choir, even though it may not be the best place for them.
Lovemusic Community Choir by Patrick_Down is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.
Rather than assume you can’t sing that high (or low), why not put it to the test? You might be surprised.