Why I write my blog “From the front of the choir”

I started this blog way back in December 2006. That’s 17 years of weekly blog posts!

I thought I’d make a little video to let you know why and how I got started.

10 ways in which leading a choir is like writing a blog – the day to day challenges

I’ve been writing a weekly blog since 2006 and leading choirs since 1997.



It turns out that there are quite a few things in common between these two seemingly unrelated activities.

Read all about it! Fancy a free monthly newsletter?

Many of you read this blog regularly, for which I am eternally grateful!



It would be great to get to know you better and to find out more about your singing lives.

You can now read this blog on your Kindle

I reckon quite a lot of you will have got a Kindle for Christmas and maybe don’t have many books on it yet.

photo by C. Frank Starmer

Did you know you can take out a monthly subscription to this blog on your Kindle? And it only costs 99p (UK) or 99c (US) a month. How convenient is that??!!

If you go the blog homepage: blog.chrisrowbury.com you will find an icon in the right hand sidebar across from the title of each post. Just click on the relevant one depending on whether you’re from the UK or the US.

Or just click on these links:

• add to Kindle (UK)
• add to Kindle (US)

If you’re from some other English-speaking country (Australia for example) and would like to subscribe this way, then please let me know and I’ll set it up for you.

Happy reading!

Chris Rowbury's website: chrisrowbury.com

Is this blog for singers or choir leaders – you decide!

It’s been just over four years since I started writing this blog. My aim was to share thoughts and ideas that arise from my work as a community choir leader and to try to generate discussion on those topics. It’s not for me to say how successful I’ve been!

Over the years I have written some posts which are directed at singers, and other posts which are directed at choir leaders. Am I trying to write for two completely separate groups of people? Should I focus the subject of this blog on just one group? I need your advice.

If a singer checks in to find out how to sing better, or how to improve their breath support, they might be put off by a post about how to start a community choir.

If a choir leader reads my blog to find out more about how to lead a choir or how to choose repertoire for a concert, they might not be interested in how a beginning singer learns to match pitch.

So over to you! My question is, should I focus the blog and be clearer who it’s for?

I could:

• alternate weekly between posts for singers and posts for choir leaders
• write a blog just for choir leaders (or just for singers)
• divide the blog into two: one for singers and one for choir leaders (rebranding I think they call it!).

There are pros and cons for each of these options (losing readers, more work for me, alienating everyone), so I’d like to hear what you, the readers, have to say.

Are you happy to read all the random things I throw at you, or is it a little confusing? Maybe choir members enjoy getting an insight into the world of their choir leader, and maybe choir leaders like to be reminded of the basics of singing technique every now and then.

What would you like this blog to be about? Do you have other ideas on how I might develop and improve the blog?

Do, please, drop by and leave a comment. After all, this blog is for you and I couldn’t do it without you!

 

Chris Rowbury's website: chrisrowbury.com

 

Looking forward/ looking back 1

It’s that time of year when I take the opportunity to look back over the past year, and to look forward to things I might want to achieve in the coming year.

I believe it’s a good to do, whether it’s at the start of a new year, on your birthday, or in the summer break: a time to reflect on where you’ve been and where you’re going.

I thought I’d share a few of my own highlights together with some general questions that you might help get you started on your own process of taking stock. First off: looking back.

I wrote a post in January about 10 things I wanted to achieve in 2010. I guess it’s time to see if I actually achieved any of them! I also posed some questions which may have given you some food for thought for the year ahead. You might like to dig out your responses (or come up with new ones for 2011) and see how things panned out.

These are the ten things that I came up with.

1. More ‘theatrical’ concerts

   QUESTION: have you ever performed in or attended a choral concert which was out of the ordinary in some way?
   
   I wanted to present concerts that were not just a choir standing still. I wanted to play with entrances and exits and different groupings of singers.
   
   I had two opportunities this year, both with Woven Chords, both in proper theatre spaces. We did manage to spice up the performances a little, but I was frustrated because there was simply not enough time in the spaces to practice different groupings, etc. and to do a decent lighting plan.
   
   What I’ve learnt from this is that the theatricality of a performance takes at least as long to put in place as does learning the songs in the first place! It would be a good idea to incorporate moving in space into our weekly rehearsals rather than adding it on at the last moment. Also, a good solid one-day rehearsal in the actual performing space would work wonders. 
   

2. Professional development

   QUESTION: what are you going to do next year to develop your own practice as a singer or choir leader?
   
   I really wanted to attend more workshops this year, but it just didn’t work out. I even had the opportunity to apply for funding for professional development, but I either couldn’t make the time or couldn’t find a suitable workshop.
   
   I tend to get booked up at least six months in advance, but I often get to hear about great workshops only a few weeks before they happen. Also, I’m more and more interested in unusual workshops which are few and far between. 
   

3. Engage more with readers

   QUESTION: what is stopping you from leaving a comment on this blog?
   
   I still haven’t figured out why some posts attract loads of comments and others none. Nor why some people are happy to leave comments whilst others just sit back and read or email me personally. It does get a little frustrating and I often feel like I’m sending messages out into deep space which just never arrive! 
   

4. Develop more social networks

   QUESTION: do you have any experience using social networks that you can pass on? If you’re already in one of these networks, how about connecting with me there?
   
   Well, it looks like Digg, Delic.io.us, Stumbleupon, etc. seem to be falling by the wayside and Facebook is taking over. I’ve spent more time on LinkedIn, but am finding it difficult to find my particular ‘tribe’. My ‘official’ Facebook page garnered a further 70 likes this year which is great, but still a drop in the ocean. You can also connect with me on Twitter and LinkedIn. 
   

5. Get more guest blog posts

   QUESTION: what are you passionate about that you could write a short article on?
   
   Still rather underwhelmed by the amount of guest posts I have! This year I had posts from Janet Shell (How do you keep your natural sound yet develop real tone quality?) and Jocelyn Lavin (It’s all arranged).
    
   If you fancy writing a post on something dear to your heart (and believe me: if I can do it, anyone can!), then drop me a line and let me know that you’d like to write a guest post. 
   

6. Re-evaluate exactly what I do

   QUESTION: what is the most important reason that you either attend or lead a choir?
   
   I asked: “Am I simply a teacher of songs or a community builder or a singing enabler?” And I still don’t have an answer! I suppose the very fact that I keep asking the question keeps my practice alive. 
   

7. Run less pop song workshops

   QUESTION: have you ever been labelled in a way that became restrictive? How did you change the situation?
   
   Well, I managed to succeed in this one! I’ve taken all the pop song workshops off my website and only offer them as an ‘under-the-counter’ option.
   
   I realised some time ago that not only do I not like choirs singing pop songs, but pop song workshops are actually very advanced and should be advertised as master classes (It’s hard to teach songs that people already know)! 
   

8. Re-design the blog

   QUESTION: do you have any hints on how I might best re-design this blog to make it easier to use and nicer to look at?
   
   As you can see, the blog didn’t get re-designed in 2010! But it’s still very much on my ‘to do’ list. The point I made about freelancers still stands: how do we fit in all the admin (publicity, web design, accounts, etc.) and leave time for our actual job? 
   

9. Attract more audiences for choral music

   QUESTION: how do you publicise your own concerts and do you have any tips on how to widen your audience base?
   
   I wrote about this again during the year as Finding an audience, breaking it down into Identifying what your choir does, Describing what we do, Letting people know, and finishing off with 20 ways to increase your concert audience.
   
   I’m not sure that I managed to attract more audience to our concerts, and we still get people saying that it wasn’t what they expected, but they really enjoyed it.
   

10. Regularly reflect on and evaluate my own working methods

    QUESTION: are there any assumptions you make about singing in a choir that maybe you’re not aware of?
    
    It’s not enough to reflect on our practice just once a year, it’s something that should be done on a regular basis.

Next week I’ll be looking forward to the coming year and raising some questions which might help you reflect on what you hope to achieve in 2011.

 

Chris Rowbury's website: chrisrowbury.com

 

New comments feature

Just a short post today as I will be in France when you read this!

Comments book by thath

I recently added a new comments feature to the blog which I hope will improve your experience, make it easier to leave comments, and increase the interaction between you, me and other readers of the blog.

The comments system is run by Disqus and allows you to choose your identity with Facebook Connect, OpenID, Yahoo or Twitter Sign-in, when you leave a comment. You can, of course, continue to remain anonymous if you want to!

It also allows comments to be ‘threaded’. That is, you can respond to a particular thread of conversation directly without simply having your comment appear at the bottom of the stack.

You can also easily share your comments with others in your social networks like Facebook and Twitter.

You can easily subscribe to the comments to any particular post and you will be notified of any new comments that come later.

If you’d like to have a thumbnail photo of yourself whenever you leave a comment, then you can upload one to Gravatar. Your photo will then appear automatically anywhere on the web where you use your email address to leave a comment. It’s always nice to see what people look like when you’re writing a reply to them!

If you choose to, you can register (free) with Disqus and create a profile (including a photo). This allows you to keep track of any comments you leave anywhere on the web which runs the Disqus comment feature.

I do hope you find this new system easy to use. I was finding that there were quite a few problems trying to use the old Blogger comments.

Do drop by and leave a comment to see how the system works, and to let me know if you find it clear and easy to use.

For those of you who receive these posts by RSS reader or email, then just click on comments below and you should be taken to the comments section of the blog (doesn’t work with Opera for some reason – you’ll have to scroll down to the comments section). Good luck!

Chris Rowbury's website: chrisrowbury.com

10 things I want to achieve in 2010

It’s year’s end and thoughts turn to the year that’s just gone (The 10 most popular posts of 2009) and hopes for the year to come.

photo by photon bomb

I do hope it will be a happy new year, but also a productive, fulfilling and successful one. Which got me thinking: what do I want to change next year? What do I want to achieve? Are there new things I could try that I’ve been putting off?

These are ten things that I came up with. Maybe some of them will resonate with you too.

1. more ‘theatrical’ concerts

   2010 will be the 15th anniversary of the birth of Woven Chords, the community choir that I lead. I took over as musical director 10 years ago, so that’s two birthdays this year! To celebrate, our spring concert in March will be in a ‘proper’ theatre with lighting, wings, raised stage, etc. – something we’ve not done before.
   
   I want to create a performance that is not just a choir standing still (or jiggling a bit) on stage singing (What are you looking at?). I’d like to play with the dynamics, groupings, entrances & exits, lighting, etc. to make for a more theatrical show.
   
   Nothing too adventurous (or scary for the singers!) but something a little different in order to put on a proper entertaining ‘show’ with a few surprises for the audience. Nothing gimmicky, but not ‘just’ a concert.
   
   QUESTION: have you ever performed in or attended a choral concert which was out of the ordinary in some way?
   
   

2. professional development

   Some years ago, at this same time of year, I went on a weekend musicians’ retreat. It was a chance to reflect on our career, our practice, our future, etc.
   
   There was a disparate group of musicians from a range of backgrounds, but we had one important thing in common. When the facilitator asked us what we did for our professional development, she was met with a sea of bemused faces!
   
   She told us that it was important for us to always be developing and growing as musicians and that it was all too easy for our day job to get in the way. Either we didn’t make time, or thought that we had nothing new to learn.
   
   This was a real eye-opener for me. When was the last time I’d attended a workshop as a regular punter? When was the last time I’d read a book or article on choirs and singing? When was I going to make time to go and learn more about teaching rhythm for example?
   
   So that following year I attended several excellent workshops and not only learnt new songs and new approaches, but also learnt a lot about being on the receiving end and how workshop leaders work effectively. And I read a lot of books and articles too.
   
   But I’ve slipped off the wagon once more and haven’t made enough time for my own professional development. Not only does it rejuvenate my own practice, but it’s a wonderful break from feeling that I’m giving out all the time.
   
   QUESTION: what are you going to do next year to develop your own practice as a singer or choir leader?
   
   

3. engage more with readers

   Ever since I started this blog I’ve always intended it to be a dialogue. I have so much to learn and this is a way of putting ideas out there and (I hope) getting useful responses (Looking back – a year of blogging).
   
   I know a lot of you get something out of reading my blog because you’ve told me so. I also know that a lot of you are ‘lurkers’ – you enjoy reading, but don’t feel moved to ever leave a comment.
   
   I’m going to make more of an effort this year to engage more with you, the readers. Not sure how yet! Any suggestions gratefully received. It can get a bit lonely some times!
   
   One thing I’m definitely going to do is to leave more comments on other blogs. After all, I need to put my money where my mouth is!
   
   QUESTION: what is stopping you from leaving a comment?
   
   

4. develop more social networks

   Although I’ve been using the internet since 1975 (wow! it was called the Arpanet then), I’m still no expert. I have a Facebook page and I dabble on Twitter, but I haven’t really investigated sites like Digg, StumbleUpon, LinkedIn, etc. I want to try to exploit sites like this more in order to create a sense of community online.
   
   Singing in a choir is one of the most popular hobbies in the world, and yet it’s hard to find that many choral singers on Twitter for example. I know you’re all out there, it’s just a matter of finding you all!
   
   QUESTION: do you have any experience using social networks that you can pass on? If you’re already in one of these networks, how about connecting with me there?
   
   

5. get more guest blog posts

   Last year I was privileged to have guest posts from David Burbidge, Alexander Massey and Deb Viney. That was three more guest posts than the previous two years!
   
   Sometimes I get bored with the sound of my own voice! It’s also nice to get a different perspective on a subject, or to hear from someone on a subject that I don’t know much about.
   
   So . . . even if you’re ‘just’ a singer in a choir, or you come from a non-Western singing culture, or you have a background in percussion, or the last concert you attended was particularly special – I’d like to hear from you.
   
   You don’t have to write much (I tend to have verbal diarrhoea so don’t use me as a role model!), just write from the heart. Drop me a line (chris@chrisrowbury.com) and let me know that you’d like to write a guest post.
   
   QUESTION: what are you passionate about that you could write a short article on?
   
   

6. re-evaluate exactly what I do

   Am I simply a teacher of songs or a community builder or a singing enabler? Maybe I’m all these things.
   
   I’ve been doing this singing lark for over ten years now so maybe it’s time to re-evaluate what I do. Perhaps it’s time for a complete change or at least a change of focus.
   
   I’m pretty sure I don’t do this because I’m only interested in, say, health or community. For example, I personally wouldn’t get much pleasure from leading unison singing in an old people’s home.
   
   But I’m not just in it for the end product otherwise I’d be running a sight-reading choir and churning out songs by the dozen.
   
   I do know that I love what is called ‘World Music’, especially the harmonies of Eastern Europe and the rhythms of Africa. I also know that I like to work in a relaxed, non-threatening, fun way and not to be always focused on performance. Beyond that . . . I’ll just have to see!
   
   QUESTION: what is the most important reason that you either attend or lead a choir?
   
   

7. run less pop song workshops

   Once upon a time I was struggling to get more people to join WorldSong. I realised that if I collared an average person on the street, they would know nothing of the singing traditions of the Republic of Georgia (Georgia on my mind), they would probably be put off by the idea of singing in foreign languages, and they would maybe think choirs were posh and only for people who read music.
   
   So I invented a range of populist workshops that I hoped anyone could respond to: Beatles acappella, Beach Boys bonanza, The Paul Simon songbook, etc. They were all very successful, and many people who attended these workshops ended up joining the choir (and learnt to love Georgian singing!). So much so, that the choir became full and we had to set up a waiting list.
   
   But now, all these years later, I have become known for these more populist workshops and it’s become a bit of an albatross around my neck. I enjoy running the workshops occasionally, but I don’t get nearly enough opportunities to teach the kinds of songs that I really love.
   
   It would be great to become known more for world music workshops than pop song workshops! Workshops like Songs on the Eastern Wind and World Songs.
   
   QUESTION: have you ever been labelled in a way that became restrictive? How did you change the situation?
   
   

8. re-design the blog

   When I started this blog way back in December 2006 (Choirs are becoming cool!), I didn’t know much about using Blogger. I used WorldSong’s red and black theme as a basis and threw together a quick design. Over time I’ve added more and more widgets to the blog too.
   
   During this time I’ve set up my own website (ChrisRowbury.com) with a clear and simple design which I’d like reflected in this blog. The main problem is finding the time to do it all!
   
   Since I’m not a full-time blogger or website designer, I have to find time amongst all my other higher priority commitments to get down to re-designing the blog. It’s all about priorities and trying to create an eight-day week! Do I migrate to the more flexible WordPress platform or do I design my own template or modify and existing Blogger theme? Time will tell!
   
   There are a couple of issues here: how we prioritise all the different types of work that we need to do as freelancers (The job of being a choir leader) and whether we can afford to pay someone to do work for us – website design, publicity, PR, etc.
   
   QUESTION: do you have any hints on how I might best re-design this blog to make it easier to use and nicer to look at?
   
   

9. attract more audiences for choral music

   We had a new guy join the basses this term. He persuaded his partner to come and watch Woven Chords’ Christmas concert.
   
   Apparently she had said: “I don’t like choral music!”, but ended up having a great evening, played our CD all the next day, and even gave her Mum a CD for Christmas!
   
   We often come across this: if we can just manage to get people through the door, they usually end up really enjoying themselves. But so many people get put of by words like ‘choir’ and ‘choral’ (Avoiding the ‘C’ word). If they do eventually get to a concert, they often say: “Oh, that’s what you do! Not what I expected at all.” (It does exactly what it says in the blurb – or not!)
   
   Does that mean that all our publicity was simply wrong? How do we describe what we do in order to get people to give our kind of music a go (Fitting into the right musical box)? How can we attract more (and younger) people to our concerts (Who is our audience?)? How do we dispel out-of-date preconceptions?
   
   QUESTION: how do you publicise your own concerts and do you have any tips on how to widen your audience base?
   
   

10. regularly reflect on and evaluate my own working methods

    It’s not enough to reflect on our practice just once a year, it’s something that should be done on a regular basis.
    
    Every new term I try to introduce new warm ups, new challenges, new approaches so that we’re always developing and not becoming complacent (Fighting habit and complacency). But this coming year I want to try and challenge many of the implicit assumptions I make.
    
    Why only acappella? Why world music? Am I a community musician or just a teacher of songs? Am I just interested in the end product? Why don’t I ever use written music?
    
    QUESTION: are there any assumptions you make about singing in a choir that maybe you’re not aware of?

 

So there we have it: my (professional) New Year resolutions for 2010.

Happy New Year and may all your own
hopes and dreams come true in 2010!

 

Chris Rowbury's website: chrisrowbury.com

A small post about blogs and blogging

I only usually post on this blog about choirs and singing, but I’d like to share a couple of items about my blog in general.

You may be interested in a little interview I did for Fuel My Blog the other week: We Are Fuel My Blog. I talk a little bit about how and why I started the blog, and the process of writing each week.

I also got a 7.0 (very good) rating out of 10 from blogged.com. They evaluated the blog based on the following criteria: Frequency of Updates, Relevance of Content, Site Design, and Writing Style.

go to Chris Rowbury's website

7 Reasons Why I Hate Blog Posts Which Are Just Lists

1. The number always seems arbitrary. Why are there only seven interesting things to say about one subject, but 10 about another?
2. If something is sufficiently interesting and complex, it’s very rare that it can be reduced to simple bullet points. Reading a list is a bit like eating a Chinese meal: two minutes later and you're ready for something more substantial.
   
3. By reducing something to a simple list, readers are given the impression that there is an easy fix to everything. That is just not true. A bit like self-help books.
   
4. List headlines are lazy and often done just to get more readers. I wonder how many more readers I'll get with this post?
   
5. We generally have a much shorter attention span than in the past, by producing short, punchy lists we are simply reinforcing that. (are you still reading?)
   
6. Some posts that use lists are of the ‘Top Ten’ variety. Often, the most interesting entries are way down at number 34. Or at number 58.
   
7. One of the easiest ways to write a post is to make a list. This encourages lazy writing and doesn’t allow for richer, more textured arguments and discussions.
8. Oh yes, by the way: sometimes there are more points than neatly fit into the list.

go to Chris Rowbury's website