When teaching new songs, especially those with foreign lyrics, I often end up teaching using only the words of the first verse.
But when it comes to the other verses, things get a bit wobbly! Why is that, and what can we do to stop it?
It’s very tempting, especially when teaching songs by ear, to use only the words of the first verse while singers are learning their parts. It can be overwhelming if they’re having to learn new melodies and lots of new words at the same time.
The downside is that the first verse quickly becomes familiar and confident, while the other verses never get the same attention. Then, when it comes to performance, there’s often noticeable hesitation as singers move into verse two or three.
How can we avoid this?
choose songs with only one verse – a bit of a cop-out, perhaps, but it certainly makes life easier. There are plenty of wonderful songs from different cultures with few words and only one verse.
get different sections to sing different verses – divide the verses between the choir so not everyone sings every verse. This can lead to interesting arrangements as you mix and match different harmonies.
learn the song in small sections using all the verses – teach everyone the first phrase with all the harmonies, then repeat that phrase us9ng the words of verse two, verse three, and so on. That way each verse gets equal attention.
allow lyric sheets in performance – teach the song using the words of verse one, but make sure you rehearse all the other verses too. The first verse will probably remain the most familiar, so letting singers have the lyrics in performance gives them the confidence to glance down when they're unsure.
what’s your solution? – I’d love to hear how your choir deals with this issue. Do drop by and leave a comment.
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.