Some choirs (believe it or not) are already researching new songs for their
Christmas concert repertoire in August. Some even begin rehearsing their
Christmas concert in the summer!
If you feel like you’re on an endless concert roller coaster and want to get off, here are some thoughts that may help.
Has your choir been asked to perform at an event for free? Or maybe you’ve been asked to run a singing workshop for a big corporation for ‘exposure’.
It’s easy for people to imagine that there are no costs involved in doing a bit of singing, but that’s far from the truth.
I had an interesting query from someone recently. In their choir, the tenor men sang the soprano part (an octave lower) and the soprano women sang the tenor part (an octave higher).
They asked me if there was any rule in choral music about which gender sang which part.
I used to create a choir from scratch over six rehearsals – all strangers, no auditions. We would then present a concert of the songs we’d learnt. I was always amazed at how good we sounded.
One day one of the participants explained: “There’s no way we’re going to be perfect with so few rehearsals, so we let go of that possibility.”
It seems obvious to me, but I’ve known choirs, singing workshops and singing groups who don’t always work in a safe space.
But how else will you get the best out of singers? Here’s why a safe, supported space is important.
Recently I led a local singing day open to everyone and, as always, we ended up making a great sound.
But talking to people in the breaks, many of those who came claimed that they couldn’t really sing. What’s going on here?
I used a new space for a singing workshop recently and realised (too late) that I’d forgotten a few practical things.
I thought I’d list some of them here to you can avoid the same mistake.
No matter how engaged your singers are, there will come a time in any rehearsal or workshop when the energy is low.
Time to energise your singers! But how can you do that?
I saw an interview with George Clooney the other day and he pointed out that “You learn nothing from success. You learn everything from failure.”
Fear of failing is what holds people back. Yet failure is how we grow and learn.
No matter how well-prepared we are, there’s always a chance we’ll forget something.
That’s why it’s important to always remember to bring a spare.
Many people would love to sing, but something is holding them back.
Here are five common obstacles that can easily be overcome.
I wrote recently about Why your throat might be sore after singing. One of the reasons can be overuse. You’re just doing too much.
But how can you spot when you’re in danger of doing too much so you can stop in time? Here are three ideas that might help.
I ran a singing day in London recently. I had booked the venue nearly a year in advance. The day went brilliantly with a full house of singers.
What I hadn’t reckoned on was that West Ham had a home game that day so my journey back to Suffolk was a complete nightmare! What can you do to avoid things like that?
I’ve caught some bug from all my recent travels and workshops. I have a sore throat amongst other things.
But I have a whole weekend of singing to prepare for and need to sing through the arrangements. What can I do?
I was singing along with my electric shaver the other day – as you do.
I realised that it was a great way to explore harmonising in the privacy of your own home.
I ran a full day of singing last Saturday. At the end, a few people came up to say that their throats hurt.
Let’s look at why this might be and how you might avoid it.
Many of the queries I get sent concern ‘toxic’ choir members. People who disrupt things and spoil it for others.
I thought I’d look a bit deeper into what’s going on and consider what you can do.
I’ve now outlined all three steps to becoming a singer: 1: sing, 2: join a choir and 3: be self-aware.
Now here is a bonus fourth step: relevant posts from the archives.
People often ask how they can become a singer.
Here are three simple steps to follow. Results guaranteed.
People often write to me asking me why it takes them ages to learn a song.
They think it might be due to age, dyslexia, or all manner of other ‘problems’. But it’s probably simpler than that.
My partner is always sending me videos with ideas for singing warm ups, usually involving complex clapping or stepping.
I tell her that they will be too difficult for the singers I work with. But am I being too safe and under-estimating the singers’ abilities?
Sometimes an individual choir member needs to be told that they’re getting it wrong.
In our attempt to not be unkind, we can sometimes end up being too nice, which is not helpful.
There is something special about a group of people singing together.
And it’s not just about sense of community and the health benefits. It really is a unique activity.
We went to the theatre the other day and we were the only people in the audience wearing masks.
But in all other ways, we were exactly the same as any other audience member. The same, but different.
Lots of people often tell me a similar story: someone they know is planning to go professional, but they can’t sing in tune.
Should they be told, or be allowed to make a fool of themselves in public?
Not all songs are appropriate to sing in all circumstances.
But how do we know when a song is ‘inappropriate’? Here are some guidelines.
I’m always looking for new ideas for the warm up start of my singing sessions.
But constant novelty is not necessarily a good thing. It can often lead to overlooking old, familiar, tried and tested exercises.
I wrote an earlier post about different choir payment systems: Pay as you go or regular fee upfront – what is the best system for singers in your choir?
What if you want to change from one system to another? How can you make it as pain-free and simple as possible?
It was blue Monday this week: apparently the most depressing day of the year here in the UK.
The short days, bad weather, cold nights, all conspire to rob us of our motivation. Here’s an idea that might help.
A couple of months ago I wrote a post entitled What is a ‘community choir’?
Now it’s the turn of Liz Rog to attempt a definition. Last week was part 1, now this is part 2.
A couple of months ago I wrote a post entitled What is a ‘community choir’?
Now it’s the turn of Liz Rog to attempt a definition.
Many people use the New Year as a trigger to set themselves goals for the future. And many people fail by being unrealistic.
Whether that’s you or not, it is vital to take stock from time to time, even if it’s not at New Year.
What could be more true to the spirit of Christmas than standing in a crowded pub and singing Christmas carols?
Especially if the tunes are only to be heard in a few towns and villages near Sheffield, in South Yorkshire.
We’ve all been there: a big concert is coming up and we feel under-prepared.
Should we just duck out, or soldier on and busk it? Here’s what I think.
This is one of a series of summary posts around a specific topic, bringing together five relevant posts from the past.
This summary is all about looking after your voice, especially in the winter months or when you have a busy concert season or if feasting is involved.
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.
I’m not in the mood to write this blog today. But I need to.
How can you get on with things when you’re just not in the mood?
Many choirs charge their members as and when they turn up: a pay as you go system.
But there are disadvantages to that approach, so other choirs operate a lump sum in advance system. Let’s look at the pros and cons of these and which might suit your choir best.
This is one of a series of summary posts around a specific topic, bringing together five relevant posts from the past.
This summary is about the difficulties and apparent strangeness of men and women singing the same pitch together.
The term ‘community choir’ is used a lot, but what does it actually mean?
There is no single definition, but I thought I’d look at some common characteristics.
Not everyone likes to sing in harmony with others, but those who do are often really nice people.
Why is that? And is it a universal truth?
I’ve written over 900 articles on this blog since I started in December 2006.
That’s a lot of information to wade through! Here’s a short guide to help you find what you’re looking for.
Often a singer will come up to me in a session and tell me their throat is hurting. I usually tell them to stop singing.
In this post want to look at what might cause pain or discomfort when singing and what you can do about it.
People often ask about my background, assuming that I have a musical education.
They are rather surprised when I tell them that my training is as a computer scientist, but I then spent over 20 years as a theatre maker and performer. So how did I end up as a choir leader?
We all want audiences at our concerts, so we have to let people know about them.
I’ve seen so many bad examples of concert publicity recently, I thought I’d write a few tips.
I am a member of the Natural Voice Network and all my work is based on their ethos.
But what exactly is ‘Natural Voice’ and how do Natural Voice choirs differ from other kinds of choir?
Most choirs get to the point where they want to share the songs they’ve learnt with an audience.
But how do you know that the songs are in a good enough state to share?
Everybody talks about the importance of warming up and properly preparing to sing before each rehearsal.
But what about ending a rehearsal? Not as much attention is paid to that. How do we end so singers go away feeling great?
