What you can learn from singing workshops to become a better singer or workshop leader

None of us is perfect. There are always things we can do to improve our singing or teaching abilities.



We can learn how to do that at every single rehearsal or singing workshop we attend. Here’s what I learnt from a recent singing workshop – and how you can too.

Choir committees and how to handle them 3: the advantages of a good committee

I’ve written about the things that can go wrong with choir committees, now it’s time to celebrate the good bits.

photo by Sebastiaan ter Burg

A good committee can be a huge benefit to any choir.

Choir committees and how to handle them 2: when committees go bad

Having a good committee can be a huge benefit to a choir.

By Abraham Teniers

But having a bad committee can be horrid and even destructive. Here are some common problems and how to deal with them.

Choir committees and how to handle them 1: what is a committee for?

Many choirs have committees. These are usually made up of choir members and exist to help the choir run smoothly.



At least that’s the idea, but sometimes things can go wrong and your committee can become a hindrance. Here are some tips on how to make the most of your committee.

Front, back or side? The best place to stand in your choir

When you first join a choir it’s very tempting to stand on the back row and hide until you feel more confident.

photo by Pam Fray

But did you know that’s the worst place for a beginner to be? Here’s why.

Why learning songs with foreign lyrics need not be scary

I teach songs from all over the world, often in foreign languages. But people are always asking me for more songs in English.



Why is this? Especially since singers usually find the songs with English lyrics harder!

How male singers can successfully pitch from a woman (and how women can pitch from a man)

As we saw last week, many singers struggle with finding (and keeping) their starting notes.

photo by Albin Olsson

What can make it even harder is if a man is trying to pitch from a woman, or vice versa. Here’s what happens and how you can overcome any difficulties.

Finding (and keeping) your starting note

Many singers struggle with finding their starting note. Once they’ve nailed that, they’re off and it’s no problem.



How can you make sure you’ve got the right starting note and, more importantly, how can you keep hold of it before the song sets off?

I know over 600 songs so how come I can’t think of one when someone asks?

I added it up the other day and I’ve taught over 600 songs in 3- and 4-part harmony over the last 15 years or so.

photo by Eric Kilby

But when someone unexpectedly asks me to teach or sing a song, I can’t think of one! What’s that about?

Neither fish nor fowl – why most singers don’t fit neatly into SATB boxes

You know the situation: one harmony part goes too high for you, but the other option goes way too low.



The fact is that most of us don’t fit neatly into SATB boxes. What are we to do?

When nobody comes to your concert or workshop – how to avoid or recover from a marketing fail

You’ve put all the time and hard work into publicising your next concert or workshop, but then hardly anybody turns up.



How do you figure out what went wrong? It’s all about the what, the when and the where.

Stuck in a rut? 10 ways to revitalise your choir

It happens to the best of us: choir used to be fun, but now it seems to have lost its sparkle.



What can we do to get out of a rut? Here are 10 ways to revitalise your choir.

Why returning to your choir after a long absence need not be difficult

Sometimes life intervenes and singers need to take a whole term off or even longer. It could be illness, bereavement, job demands or just that it’s good to have a break from time to time.



But when it’s time to return to choir there can be all sorts of psychological obstacles, and some singers never make it back. How can you avoid this?

Singing in a group is a learnt skill – if you find it hard, it doesn’t mean you can’t sing

Many people won’t consider joining a choir or going to a singing workshop because they believe they can’t ‘sing’.



Yet ask them to sing something familiar like Happy Birthday and they have no problem. What’s going on here?

Does your choir need a conductor?

The OK Chorale had their annual concert this weekend. There were over 40 singers squeezed into quite a tight space and I stood out front and conducted them. We were supported by the 13 women of Heartbeat who had no conductor.



How big does your choir need to be to warrant someone being out front? Can a large choir do without a conductor?

The costs of cancelling a concert or singing workshop (and ways to avoid it in the first place)

I wrote recently about how to decide whether to cancel a concert or singing workshop.


It’s a difficult decision to make, but even when you’ve made it there are plenty of repercussions to take into account.

How to be a bad choir director (it’s easier than you think)

Ann read my post The six qualities need to be a good choral director and it sparked off a quite a rant.

photo by bagogames

She has obviously had a bad experience. I thought I would share it with you.

How to decide whether to cancel a concert or singing workshop

It’s your worst fear: despite all your hard work publicising the event, only a handful of people turn up. Or the musical director is taken ill. Or perhaps the venue burns down.

photo by B Rosen

The difficult question is: can you continue or should you cancel? And if you do decide to cancel what’s the best way to do it, and what are the implications? There are no easy answers, but here are some things to consider.

Your job as a singer is to get out of your own way and be in the moment

I’ve just run a workshop for members of my choir to help improve their singing technique.

photo by Intel Free Press

I realised whilst teaching that all the singers had the necessary knowledge already, it was simply a matter of reminding them to put it into practice. I’ll explain what I mean.

Money matters 2 – online payments and ticketing systems

The other week I wrote about practical solutions for dealing with choir finances.



This week I want to look at the many options for using online services to collect payments and set up box office systems for concerts.

Sing the intention, not the meaning

We’re always told to focus on the meaning of the lyrics when singing a song in order to communicate it properly and to give some emotion to our delivery.



But what if the lyrics are “lully lullay” or “fa la la” or what if the context seems to contradict the meaning or what if any ‘meaning’ is ambiguous? Then you need to sing your intention. I’ll explain more below.

Money matters 1 – practical solutions for dealing with choir finances

Whatever kind of choir you run, at some point you’ll have to deal with money. Whether it’s hiring a rehearsal space or paying an accompanist or collecting members’ subs.

photo by nikoretro

Money and finances can be scary though. Here are some practical steps you can take to ease the pain.

What to expect at my singing workshops (and those run by other Natural Voice Practitioners)

I started a brand new project last weekend called Sing Out Saturdays. It’s a monthly drop-in singing session for anyone who loves to sing.



It was quite clear that many people came with little idea of what was going to happen! I thought I’d answer some frequently asked questions about what to expect at one of my workshops.

What would you do differently if you were starting your choir today?

I have learnt a great deal since I started my first choir in 1997.

WorldSong in Coventry, June 2000

If I were starting a choir again today I may well do things differently.

What single thing will make you a better singer this year?

It’s that time of year when lots of us make New Year resolutions, then a week later usually abandon them!



The secret is to be realistic. So how about choosing just one thing to change this year?

How men sing (Part 3) – amazing examples from across the globe #getmensinging

I’ve written two posts now showing amazing examples of men singing: Part 1 and Part 2 – now it’s time for Part 3. Given that it’s December I thought I’d throw a few seasonal songs in!

My hope is that if men see a huge variety of different kinds of men singing together, they might be inspired to get off the sofa and go and try it themselves.

Can singing together bring about world peace?

The world can be a terrible place sometimes as we’ve seen in the news lately. It’s hard to imagine how a single person can make a difference.

Chór aleksandrowa 2009 by Loraine

Can singing together or being in a choir bring about change?

Perfect presents for choral singers

It’s that time of year again (actually, it’s not: Christmas is 10 days away yet) and you still have time to shop for presents.



What on earth can you get for the choral singers in your life? Here are some super ideas for ideal presents.

Ideal presents for the choir leader in your life

It’s that time of year again (in case you haven’t noticed). The magazines are full of Christmas present ideas, but they always seem to miss out choir leaders.

photo by asenat29

So here are some perfect presents for any choir leaders in your life (hint, hint!).

How can I extend my vocal range as a singer?

I often get asked this, along with “How can I sing high without hurting myself?”

photo by Allisonnik

There is no quick fix, but here are some ideas that might help you.

Best laid plans – dealing with the unexpected in singing sessions

Always expect the unexpected. No matter how carefully you’ve planned your choir rehearsal or singing workshop, one day something unexpected will happen.



You can’t plan for every eventuality, but there are some precautions you can take. Here are some ideas.

Why can’t I sing low notes with more power and volume?

Many men (and some women) complain about not having much vocal power on low notes.

photo by GigNroll.com

If you have good power, control and volume in the rest of your range then there’s an easy explanation.

Only connect – a brief introduction to social media for choirs

In case you haven’t noticed: this is the modern world.

photo by Yoel Ben-Avraham

If you’re not promoting your choir on social media, then you’re missing a trick. Here’s a handy introduction.

How to sing quietly (without running out of breath)

Some people find it hard to sing quietly. They seem to run out of breath easily and their voice goes all wobbly.

photo by Cristian V.

Why is this and how can you learn to sing quietly?

One recording is worth a thousand photos – use sound to promote your choir

Singing is all about sound, whether it’s a one-day workshop, a live concert or a CD.



I’m amazed at choir websites, concert promotion and singing workshop publicity which is full of photos, but have no sound clips. If you don’t have sound, you’re missing out.

6 ways to stop the strain of other singers relying on you (or you relying on them)

The rehearsal begins and the Altos looks around in panic: “Where’s Carol?” Carol is a strong, confident singer, but she’s not here this week.

Pieter Bruegel the Elder - The Parable of the Blind Leading the Blind (detail)

The trouble is, the Alto section has come to rely on Carol, and now that she’s not here, they’re all a bit lost. How has this situation arisen, and what can be done about it?

10 choir website mistakes to avoid (or how to look professional online)

I was trawling through a bunch of choir websites the other day in order to send out some information about a workshop I’m running.



I was amazed how hard it was to contact many of them and in general how badly designed many of the websites were. I’ve come up with 10 mistakes that you should avoid.

Want to sing with more energy? – pretend to be somebody else

I ran a gospel singing weekend recently. One of the songs was flagging a bit so I suggested people ham it up a bit and be more “American”.


Miranda Sings by Gage Skidmore. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons

Suddenly the song came to life and everyone was energised. Playing some kind of ‘character’ when you’re singing can really enliven your singing. Here’s how ...

Fit the song arrangement to your singers and not the other way round

Most singers in choirs don’t fit neatly into choral vocal ranges. Yet we try to squeeze them in to our off-the-shelf arrangements, chastising them when they can’t reach the notes.

photo by Garry Knight

How about thinking of your singers first and choosing arrangements that fit their voices rather than the other way round?

How to be a better singer if you’re a mere mortal

When you think you’re not singing well, you’ll often blame yourself. But what if it’s something else, something outside yourself that you can fix quite easily?



Here are some reasons why you might not think you’re a good singer and what you can do about it.

Effective ways to recruit more men for your choir #getmensinging

Lots of mixed choirs don’t have enough male singers, and many established male voice choirs are not managing to find younger recruits (see my series of three posts Men and singing).



Here are some ideas to help you recruit more men and to get men singing in general.

How welcoming is your choir?

I bet you think your choir is a wonderful, friendly little community that welcomes newcomers with open arms.



What if I told you that new members might find your choir scary, cliquey and unwelcoming? Maybe it’s time to look at things from a different perspective.

Sing something simple (and see if your singing is as good as you think it is)

If you’re like me, you’re always tempted to add harmonies to the simplest of melodies whether it’s singing along with others or arranging a song.



But don’t overlook the simplicity of unison singing and drones. These are great ways of finding out if your singing is as good as you think!

Planning ahead: leave space for the unexpected

Many choir leaders will be using the long break to plan their next season.

photo by webmink

But be careful not to over-plan or you won’t be able to respond to the unexpected.

Get out of your singing rut and try something new – it will make you a better singer

I’ve written before about how you can use the long choir break to get better at what you do.

photo by troy

One way is to attend singing workshops lead by a variety of different leaders. It’s a great opportunity to try something new.

How men sing (Part 2) – amazing examples from across the globe #getmensinging

A while back I shared some amazing examples from all over the world of men singing together.



I thought it was about time I shared some more!

Choir leaders: who’ll replace you when you’re gone?

Nothing lasts forever. There will come a time when you will leave your choir and need someone else to take over.



Who will you hand over to and how easy is it to do? Let’s look at some options.

Making the most of your singing voice – it’s not what you’ve got, it’s what you do with it

We are not all born equal. Some have longer legs which helps them to win at hurdles or the high jump. Some have longer fingers which helps them to play jazz chords on the piano.

photo by muzina_shanghai

But what you are born with need not limit what you do. It’s not what you’ve got, it’s what you do with it that counts.

What is your measure of success? – choir leading and self-reflection

How do you know if a choir session or singing workshop or performance has been a success?

photo by shadowkilla_tk

And if it has gone badly, how does that feed back into your teaching and choir directing?

How men sing (Part 1) – amazing examples from across the globe #getmensinging

Many choirs have a shortage of male singers. Most of my singing workshops attract just 10% men. Is it just a problem here in the UK?

photo by Matthias Zepper

In an attempt to get more men singing, I’m going to share some amazing examples of men singing together from all over the world.