I’ve seen several online videos recently of choirs using simple, fun songs as warm-ups.
It looks harmless enough. But some of these songs have dubious content, which I’m sure the choirs weren’t aware of. Even so, it’s our responsibility to check sources thoroughly.
At a choral concert there is usually someone standing in front of the singers waving their arms about.
But what are they actually doing, and is there really any need for them to be there?
When I started my first community choir way back in 1997, most of the singers were in their 40s and 50s.
Some of them are still in the same choir today, now in their 70s and 80s. But where are all the new, younger singers?
A couple of things recently reminded me just how important mistakes are when learning something new.
One was performer, song leader and composer Brendan Taaffe’s substack The most important thing you can do is fail, and the other was a voice, body and rhythm workshop I attended.
When someone doesn’t like what you do, it can make you wobble and start to doubt whether you’re any good.
But not everyone is going to like what you have to offer. Once you accept that, it’s easier to move on.
Recently, there’s been a spate of ‘tricky’ choir warm-up videos on Instagram.
They’re clever and challenging, but I can’t help wondering: do they actually lead to better choir performances?
