Sunday, December 30, 2012

Best posts of 2012: did you miss these?

2012 is drawing to a close so I thought it would be a good time to look back at my most popular posts for the year in case you missed any of them.

2012
photo by CCPiXel.net



Just click on the title to read the full article.
  1. The secret to great singing that teachers don’t tell you
    There is one vital ingredient to being a good singer. It’s not innate talent or vocal range or ability to read music or quality of voice. And it’s something that most singing teachers won’t tell you about.

    mirror image
  2. How to practice a choir song on your own (and a big concert’s coming up)
    A concert is looming and there are a couple of songs you don’t know that well. You’ll need to put in some practice at home, but how do you rehearse on your own?

    singing practice
  3. Singing is all about listening
    We focus so much on our mouths and what comes out of them, that often we forget one of the most important aspect of singing: listening.

    big-ears-animal
  4. How to improve your singing voice
    Tim wrote to say: “I have been trying to sing for a very long time but I feel I always get tight in the throat when I lose confidence, when I hear myself sound bad, or even if some people are around.” And I tried to help!

    yawn
  5. How to sing a song in a foreign language
    “Great, a new song to learn.” “Oh, no, it’s in ‘foreign’. Help!”

    Chinese song
  6. Easy songs for your choir 2: rounds, chants and call & response songs
    I wrote about what makes a song ‘easy’, then I wrote part 2 about specific types of easy songs.

    Kew Gardens (73)
  7. We’re all equal here: singing together is the great leveller
    Singing together or being in a choir is one of the most egalitarian experiences we can have. It doesn’t matter how much you earn, what your job is, where you went to school or who you know. Just add your voice to the overall sound.

    lego people
  8. How to plan and run a singing workshop
    Planning a singing workshop is a lot like planning a regular choir session. The main differences are that a workshop is usually a one-off and the participants will usually be strangers.

    singing rehearsal
  9. Arranging songs for your choir 2: the basics of arranging
    In part 1 I wrote about choosing suitable songs to arrange. In part 2 I get down to the nitty gritty of how to create an arrangement.

    Tuesday 19th September 2006 Menorca, Sa Mesquida. Jigsaw pieces - a selection on bridge at Sa Mesquida
  10. Why do I end up singing the tune when I should be singing a harmony?
    You’re learning a song in four-part harmony and you think you’ve nailed your harmony part. But when all the other parts come in, you end up singing the tune instead. What’s going on? I’ve identified several reasons why this might be happening. I’ll also outline some possible solutions.

    acappella singers
And here are a couple of posts which I think deserve a wider readership:

Singing: what a difference a man makes!
A woman came up to me last Saturday and said “I like coming to your workshops because there are always lots of men”. Little did she know that only a week before there had been 45 women and just one man enrolled on the workshop!

Men's singing workshop 2012
Does a community make a choir, or does a choir create a community?
I’ve written before about how hard it is to get a cross-section of ages and genders in your choir. But maybe that’s because we don’t have strong communities any more – at least not here in the UK.

Portuguese harvest

Well, that’s it for 2012. Thanks for reading, I couldn’t do it without you!

Happy new year, and I wish you every singing success for 2013.

Chris Rowbury's website: chrisrowbury.com

Chris Rowbury


 

Get more posts like this delivered straight to your inbox!

Click to subscribe by email.

 

found this helpful?

I provide this content free of charge, because I like to be helpful. If you have found it useful, you may like to ...

... to say thank you.


 

Website: chrisrowbury.com

Facebook: Facebook.com/ChrisRowbury

Twitter: Twitter.com/ChrisRowbury

Monthly Music Round-up: ChrisRowbury.substack.com

YouTube: YouTube.com/ChrisRowbury