What else can your singers do without you?

Often, when leading a singing workshop, singers will start putting chairs out or standing in a circle.

It’s maybe not the way I’d planned, but I’ll usually go with it. It turns out my singers are often more capable than they realise.

The day I thought I'd finally arrive as a song leader

In his book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell refers to the “10,000 hour rule”, claiming that the key to achieving expertise in any skill is to practise for around 10,000 hours.

I reckon I’ve done my 10,000 hours over the last 30 years of teaching songs and leading choirs. Yet I still can’t pull it out of the hat without preparation.

Why I rarely teach the same songs twice

I know you can’t please everyone, but when I plan a singing workshop I try to make sure I won’t be teaching anything that any of the singers already know.

An impossible task, but I have a low boredom threshold and feel I need to keep singers interested.

The curse of the second verse

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?

Missed your starting note? Don’t just sing anyway

I’m amazed at the number of singers who miss the starting note of a song, but then carry on regardless.

You have several options if you miss the start note, but one of them definitely isn’t: “sing anyway”!

What I’ve learnt from 20 years of creating scratch choirs

Twenty years ago, Warwick Folk Festival asked me to create a community choir as part of its education outreach programme.

Singing Safari, Warwick 2007

I was reluctant to use the word “choir” because I thought it might put some people off. So I used a thesaurus and came up with “Singing Safari”. This is the story of that project.

From strangers to singers

When you’re leading a one-off singing workshop, or have large influx of new members to your choir, there will be lots of people who don’t know each other.

Here are a few simple ways to mix people up so there’s less chance of things becoming cliquey.

Choirs versus workshops: the practical differences

I’m seeing lots of great warm-ups and singing advice online these days. But most of it is aimed at choirs which meet regularly.

Many of these ideas won’t work in one-off workshops. Let’s look at the different needs of each.

The kindness of strangers

As Blanche DuBois says in A streetcar named desire: “I’ve always depended on the kindness of strangers.”

Although I don’t actually depend on it, I’m always surprised and humbled when singers step up to help at a workshop.

When singers want different things

I wrote last week about how No choir can be all things to all singers. Some singers prefer sheet music, others learn best by ear. Some love movement and performance, others just want to stand still and sing.

Here are some of the most common tensions that arise — and a few ways to navigate them.

No choir can be all things to all singers

You can’t please all your singers all the time (see Keeping a choir happy – you can’t please everyone). 

There will inevitably be times when some singers want one thing while others want something very different. How do you keep everybody happy?

Why does movement put so many male singers off?

In my experience, when it comes to moving and singing at the same time, men seem to find it hardest.

photo by Kevin Burke

Why is this, and are there ways to help?

10 foolproof ways to stand out in your choir

It’s important for singers to feel wanted and to know that they play an important part in their choir.

But if nobody notices you, how will you ever shine?

Some want to sit. Some want to stand. Now what?

When I ran community choirs, I used to insist that singers stood during rehearsals. But some complained that their legs ached by the end of the evening.

Now I usually get people to sit for singing sessions. But recently some singers have complained because they prefer to stand! Is there a middle way to keep everybody happy.

The myth of the perfectly organised choir leader

If you’re a choir member, or thinking of starting a choir, you might imagine that all choir and workshop leaders have extremely ordered lives.

In my case, that’s absolutely not true!

That “fun warm-up song”? You might want to check it

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.

Can anyone learn to sing?

Yes!

Just do it.

What does a choir conductor actually do?

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?

Why are community choirs getting older?

When I started my first community choir way back in 1997, most of the singers were in their 40s and 50s. 

photo by DG EMPL

Some of them are still in the same choir today, now in their 70s and 80s. But where are all the new, younger singers?

Mistakes, failure, and the value of getting lost

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.