Is it OK to wing it?

There will be times when you’re not fully prepared. It may be due to illness, laziness or circumstances outside your control.

 

The question is: should you go ahead regardless?

17 years on: what’s changed?

17 years ago I led one of my first residential singing weekends. The theme was the Beach Boys.

Beach Boys singing weekend, September 2009, Farncombe Estate

The other weekend, I was in Derbyshire leading another of my (rare) Beach Boys weekends. It got me thinking about all the things that have happened since 2009.

Does getting older make it harder to learn songs?

Most of the singers who attend my workshops are in their 60s and 70s. Many of them having been coming to my singing events for years.

The other day, somebody asked if I’d noticed whether they struggled more with learning songs as they got older.

How to be prepared for any combination of voices

I’m leading a singing workshop tomorrow. I know I will have 35 singers, seven of whom are men. Five of those are tenors.

That means that I can choose song arrangements accordingly. But what happens when you’ve no idea in advance which voice parts you’ll have?

How to sing a song as if it’s the first time

I went to a theatre performance the other day. It was basically one actor on stage for over two hours.

It was coming to the end of its seven-week run, but it still felt as fresh as the first time it was performed. How do you manage to keep a performance alive after so many repetitions?

Sing together and lose weight — 100% guaranteed!

You’ve tried Slimming World, Weight Watchers, weight-loss jabs, Aunty Jean’s herbal concoction, but nothing works.

photo by Alan Cleaver

It’s time to sing!

How to start a singing session without shouting

People are arriving and greeting each other; chairs are being set out; there is excitement in the air and the hubbub of conversation.

How do you get everyone to quieten down and focus in order to start your singing session?