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.
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.
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.
It always surprises me when singers sing so loudly that they can’t hear the rest of the choir.
It’s hearing the other harmony parts that keeps you on the straight and narrow, and it’s where the singing pleasure lies.
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.
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.
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.