How a choir is like an orange – and other useful comparisons

Have you ever wondered why a choir is so like and orange?

Wondering about this is a very useful exercise and can throw up some surprises. Here’s how.

The difference between foreign song lyrics and made-up sounds

How important is it that the words in songs mean something, or can they be meaningless sounds?

Many choirs sing songs in languages they don’t understand, so does it matter whether lyrics are in a real language?

What to do if you don’t like your choir leader

Not every choir leader suits every singer.

Here are some questions to help you work out what to do if you don’t like your choir leader.

Plans are worthless, but planning is everything

I always, always plan my rehearsals and workshops in great detail, including the warm ups.

But invariably the unexpected happens and my plan goes out the window! Nevertheless, here’s why planning is still vital.

5 ideas for when your mind goes blank in front of your singers

It’s happened to us all: you’re mid-rehearsal and suddenly your mind goes completely blank.

Instead of panicking, here are some things you can do.

The more trust there is in your choir, the more trustworthy people become

Can you trust that your singers will do their best in the concert? Do you trust your choir leader to not harm your voice?

Rather than wait until you feel somebody is ‘trustworthy’, assume that you can trust everyone in your choir and they will rise to the occasion.

We all want to be seen and heard – so join a choir!

One of the most powerful human needs is to be seen and heard.

We all want to feel valued, important and that we matter. Being in a choir does all that and more.

Are only ‘singers’ allowed to sing?

Following on from last week’s post (Can only singers lead choirs, only music readers arrange songs and only musicians be songwriters?), it’s time to consider ‘singers’.

 

I think most of you know by now that I believe that everyone can sing. I’d like to delve a little deeper into whether you need to be a ‘singer’ in order to sing.

Can only singers lead choirs, only music readers arrange songs and only musicians be songwriters?

Many choir leaders demonstrate and teach songs by singing them. But can you lead a choir without being able to sing? Similarly, do you need to be able to read music to be a song arranger, or be a musician to write songs?

 

The simple answer to these questions (I believe) is “No.” Here’s why.

Why you can only focus on one thing at a time when singing

Singing can be daunting at first because there are so many things to remember: posture, breathing, smiling, tuning, balance and so on.

But if you try to focus on all these at once, it will end in disaster (especially in performance). Here’s what you can do instead.

How to ensure that your choir is inclusive as Covid restrictions start to lift

Even though we’re still in the midst of a pandemic, some countries are slowly beginning to lift Covid restrictions to varying degrees.

When your choir is finally able to rehearse indoors once again, how can you stay safe, but ensure that you’re as inclusive as possible?

The healing power of choirs: how singing together is good for your mental health

I’ve written before about the general and well-known benefits of singing in a choir: Why you should start the year singing – and then sing some more!

In this post I’d like to look at how singing together can benefit your mental health and how and why that works.

How to be a really successful singer or choir leader – deliver more than expected

If you want to be a real success, it’s not enough to just do the job at hand. You need to deliver more than is expected.

What does that mean for singers and choir leaders?

Finding positives from the pandemic when your choir finally gets back together

It has been said that every setback is an opportunity in disguise. Singing together has had many setbacks during the pandemic and choirs have been affected badly.

Here’s how you can turn those obstacles into positives.

Skills you’ll need to brush up when your choir rehearses again in person

Here in England, we’re limited to a maximum of six singers rehearsing indoors.

photo by allan harris

When restrictions are finally lifted (in three weeks we hope), many choral skills will have gone rusty over the last year or more.

Honouring the song 6: summing up and further resources

This is the last in my series of how to honour the source of a song.

photo by WorldFish

I’m going to sum up briefly give an overview of the process and point you to some further resources which might help.

Honouring the song 5: who wrote or arranged the song?

I’ve written before that even if it’s a folk song, somebody wrote it.

 

The identity of that individual may have been lost over time, but to honour the song, you still have the responsibility to try to find out who it was.

Honouring the song 4: what is the cultural and historical context of the song?

Just because we can sing a song, doesn’t mean that we should sing it.

It is important to honour the cultural and historical origins of a song so we know whether it’s appropriate to sing it in a different context or not.

Honouring the song 3: can you teach or perform the song accurately?

When using songs from cultures different to ours, we have the responsibility to teach or perform them as accurately as we can.

 

We honour the song by being as authentic as possible when pronouncing the words, and reproducing the melody and harmonies.

Honouring the song 2: what does the song mean?

When you learn a song — especially if it’s by ear — you take on trust what you’re told about the song’s meaning. This is particularly relevant if the song is in a foreign language.

 

But meaning is a slippery thing. Incorrect meanings get passed on like Chinese whispers. Some inexperienced song teachers even make stuff up if they’re not sure (see Bele mama from last week’s post).

Honouring the song 1: where does the song come from?

When honouring the origins of any song, you need to be as precise as you can about where the song came from.

 

It might be hard to find out, but there is no excuse for being lazy and saying something like “This song is from Africa.” Here are some things to consider when tracing a song’s origins.

How to honour the source of a song (and why it’s important)

Many songs get handed down by ear and labelled ‘traditional’ without any clear understanding of where they come from.

It’s important to honour the source of all songs and the cultures they originate from. Here’s a guide to the things that you need to consider.

Even if all your singers are vaccinated, there are still risks

There has been some talk of insisting that singers are vaccinated before they can attend choir.

photo by U.S. Secretary of Defense

Not only is this problematic, but even if all your singers are vaccinated, there are still risks involved.

Don’t be put off by the word ‘choir’ – there are plenty of different kinds out there

Many people are put off by the word ‘choir’. It can mean that people feel excluded from singing with others because of their preconceptions.

The choir of St. Peter's Bournemouth

‘Choir’ can take many forms though, so maybe you’re looking in the wrong place.

Will my choir still be there when lockdown is over?

Some choirs decided to stop all activities when the pandemic started.

photo by Cory Doctorow

As restrictions begin to ease in many countries, singers are wondering: will my choir still be there?

When will it be safe to sing together again in person?

Many of you won’t have sung with others in a physical space for several months, or even a year or more.

Seattle Metropolitan Singers

As vaccination roll-out increases and restrictions are eased in many countries, when will it be safe to sing together again in person?

How to sing a drone of staggering beauty

A drone is a note continuously sounded throughout most or all of a song.

 

But singers have to breathe, so how can this be achieved?

If you don’t sing (or lead a choir), are you still a ‘singer’ (or ‘choir leader’)?

Many of you won’t have sung with others or led a choir over the last year.

Does that mean you can’t call yourself a ‘singer’ or ‘choir leader’ any more?

The biscuits for my singing workshops have gone stale. Have I gone stale too?

It’s been a year since I last led a singing workshop with real live people together in a room.

Ship's biscuit, SS Great Britain, 1874

When it becomes possible to lead singing sessions again, will I still be able to do it?

Merry Christmas everyone!

I couldn’t let Christmas pass without a final post before this blog goes into ‘pause’ mode (see Time to hit pause on this blog).

 

Also, being a numbers nerd, I needed to publish post number 800 to finish on a round number!

Time to hit pause on this blog

I can hardly believe it, but I’ve been writing this weekly blog for 14 years – that’s 798 articles!

I haven’t missed a single week in all that time. Until now.

Find new songs for the winter and festive season

It’s the time of year when many choirs roll out their familiar winter repertoire. Whether it be Christmas carols or Hanukkah songs, they tend to be the same old favourites.

But what if you want to try something different? Here are some resources for discovering new songs for the winter festivals.

The different types of polyphonic singing 9: synthesis polyphony

Joseph Jordania has outlined nine different types of polyphonic singing in his book Choral singing in human evolution.

I will be working through each type trying to give a simplified explanation and some musical examples.

This week it’s synthesis polyphony, the last of the nine types of polyphonic singing.

The different types of polyphonic singing 8: chordal polyphony

Joseph Jordania has outlined nine different types of polyphonic singing in his book Choral singing in human evolution.

Tenores di Bitti, Sardinia

I will be working through each type trying to give a simplified explanation and some musical examples.

This week it’s chordal polyphony.

The different types of polyphonic singing 7: overlapping polyphony

Joseph Jordania has outlined nine different types of polyphonic singing in his book Choral singing in human evolution.

 

I will be working through each type trying to give a simplified explanation and some musical examples.

This week it’s overlapping polyphony.

The different types of polyphonic singing 6: heterophonic polyphony

Joseph Jordania has outlined nine different types of polyphonic singing in his book Choral singing in human evolution.

I will be working through each type trying to give a simplified explanation and some musical examples.

This week it’s heterophonic polyphony.

The different types of polyphonic singing 5: ostinato polyphony

Joseph Jordania has outlined nine different types of polyphonic singing in his book Choral singing in human evolution.

I will be working through each type trying to give a simplified explanation and some musical examples. 

This week it’s ostinato polyphony.

The different types of polyphonic singing 4: contrapuntal polyphony

Joseph Jordania has outlined nine different types of polyphonic singing in his book Choral singing in human evolution.

 

I will be working through each type trying to give a simplified explanation and some musical examples. This week it’s contrapuntal polyphony.

The different types of polyphonic singing 3: canonic polyphony

Joseph Jordania has outlined nine different types of polyphonic singing in his book Choral singing in human evolution.

Gailė Paštukaitė, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

I will be working through each type trying to give a simplified explanation and some musical examples. This week it’s canonical polyphony.

The different types of polyphonic singing 2: drone polyphony

Joseph Jordania has outlined nine different types of polyphonic singing in his book Choral singing in human evolution.

 

I will be working through each type trying to give a simplified explanation and some musical examples. This week it’s drone polyphony.

The different types of polyphonic singing 1: parallel polyphony

Joseph Jordania has outlined nine different types of polyphonic singing in his book Choral singing in human evolution.

Photo by Michael Trolove

I will be working through each type trying to give a simplified explanation and some musical examples. This week it’s parallel polyphony.

What is polyphonic singing?

Most choirs sing in harmony. They sing a kind of ‘vocal polyphony’.

It’s a bit of a daunting word, but very useful. So let’s find out what ‘polyphony’ means.

Singing with masks: advice for choir leaders

I wrote last week about how wearing masks might affect singers and how they can overcome any obstacles.

This week I want to look at the impact on choir leaders.

Singing with masks: advice for singers

Choirs are starting to rehearse again, both indoors and outdoors. Many are insisting that their singers wear masks.

Archway Gospelish Choir, Sussex

What are the difficulties (if any) of singing while wearing a mask?

Singing harmony can be hard and scary – here’s how to make it easier

Those of use who love to sing in harmony sometimes forget how hard and scary it can be for those who haven’t tried it before.

The Watersons

Here are some handy hints on how to ease your way into harmony singing without getting too worried.

The 7 types of choir leader – which one are you?

We all lead our choirs in different ways. There is a whole range of leadership styles out there.

Photo by COD Newsroom

What type of choir leader are you?

Is it time to re-invent your singing self?

The world is full of clichés at the moment: “We’re living in unprecedented times”, “Every cloud has a silver lining”, “Getting used to the new normal”.

With everything in such turmoil, now might be a good time to re-evaluate your relationship with singing.

Can an “all voices welcome” choir ever be totally inclusive?

Many choirs are open-access: they welcome all kinds of voices and don’t hold auditions.

Photo by Fabrice Florin

But is it still possible to keep everyone happy and be truly inclusive without making too many concessions?

Choir leading as low-impact aerobics, or, how I gained weight during lockdown

Although I don’t have a regular choir, before the pandemic I used to lead one or two singing workshops each week.

I now realise that was my main exercise! Since lockdown, I’ve become a couch potato.

How to make plans for your choir when the future is uncertain

The socially-distanced reopening of indoor performances in England was due to take place last Saturday, but the government has now postponed it for at least another two weeks.

With circumstances changing so frequently, how do you prepare for future concerts and rehearsals?