Don’t sing because you’re happy — be happy because you sing!

Staring at a blank page waiting for the muse to strike. Slumped in a chair waiting to feel energised enough to go jogging. Feeling down and the last thing you want to do is to sing.

Photo by C. Frank Starmer

Sounds familiar? Next time, rather than waiting to feel the urge, take action and the feeling will follow.

Why too much rehearsal can be a bad thing

I went to see a concert by Village Harmony this week. It was over an hour long and included an amazing variety of songs from around the world: Georgia, USA, Bulgaria, South Africa – including some pretty smart dance moves! No lyrics and no sheet music in hands.



There were about 20 singers who’d come together only a week before to learn around 30 – 35 songs. They worked for up to seven hours each day to learn the songs. That’s about one song every 1½ hours. A pretty impressive feat.

Does your choir need a constitution?

This post is part of a series of occasional Questions and Answers. Just contact Chris if you want to submit a question.

Sue wrote in to ask:
“As a self-funded community choir, do we need a constitution?”



The short answer is “No”!

Unless ... you're applying for funding or opening a business bank account. In which case you will also have to have a committee with posts such as treasurer, etc.

How to cope when singers miss choir sessions

What’s great about a group of singers who meet regularly is that you can grow and develop together, improving skills and techniques week on week.

Photo by Listen Missy!

But what happens if not everyone comes to every session?

How long does it take to learn a song?

Of course it depends on how complex the song is and how many verses there are.

Photo by Frodo Babbs

But how long does it take to really get a song under your belt so you can sing it confidently without referring to either lyrics or sheet music?

How to answer the question: “What note is that?”

We’re in the middle of learning a song. People are struggling a bit. Then someone asks: “What note is that?”

Photo by photosteve101

A seemingly simple question, but how on earth do you answer it?

Your music theory questions please

I’ve been planning for a long time to write a beginner’s guide to music theory and jargon for singers who learn by ear.

Photo by Cuito Cuanavale

I’m going to try very hard to write it this summer. Honest!

So ... I’m asking for your input.

What musical jargon or concepts would you like me to explain?

I’m just going to cover those bits of theory that a singer in a community choir who learns by ear might encounter. I’m not going to deal with written music (so nothing about repeat signs, key signatures, treble clefs, etc.).

Do leave a comment and let me know if there’s anything particular you’d like me to cover, whether it be ‘thirds’ or ‘semitone’ or ‘pitch’. Any questions welcome, no matter how elementary they might seem.

 

Chris Rowbury's website: chrisrowbury.com

Why the singers in your choir still love you even though they look bored

Even though I’ve been teaching for almost 30 years, I still get affected by that glum-looking face in the third row.

... and it's not just the men!

Just one frown amongst a sea of smiling faces is enough to make me doubt myself. But what might that glum face mean?

Arranging songs for your choir 2: the basics of arranging

Last week I wrote about choosing suitable songs to arrange.

Photo by the incredible how

This week I want to get down to the nitty gritty of how to create an arrangement.

Arranging songs for your choir 1: choosing the right song

A friend of mine asked the other day: “How do you find songs? And how do you do vocal arrangements of them?”

 

Photo by Jorge Franganillo/

Well, it’s a long story and I certainly can’t teach song arranging in a blog, but I can give a few pointers. There’s quite a lot to cover, so I’ve split the subject in two. Second part next week.

Singing: what a difference a man makes!

A woman came up to me last Saturday and said “I like coming to your workshops because there are always lots of men”.

Keen singers from The OK Chorale

Little did she know that only a week before there had been 45 women and just one man enrolled on the workshop!

Beginners choir or established choir: time to re-evaluate?

When I started my first ever choir, WorldSong, it was an open-access beginner’s choir and anyone who wanted to sing could join.

Over time, as people stuck with the choir, the singing and the singers got better. We weren’t really a beginner’s choir any more. But beginners still wanted to join!

There's always one! – coping with different singing abilities in a small group

Sometimes in a small group there is just one person out of step with everyone else.

Photo by Trish Steel

In a large choir, it’s not too much of a problem, but the smaller the group, the more noticeable it is. How can we deal with this?

Normal service has been resumed!

Some of you may have had difficulty finding this blog these last few days.

My apologies. I changed website host and have only now just managed to link the blog to my website address.

Did ya miss me?

When is singing jargon not singing jargon?

Jargon is a useful shorthand for people in the know. But for those outside our world, it can be confusing or even meaningless.

We might think we’re being clear, but how can we be sure that everyone understands what we’re trying to get across?

Training to be a choir or singing workshop leader

I often get enquiries about how you train to become a choir or singing workshop leader.

I don’t offer courses myself, but there are a few around. But do you really need training?

Singing is all about listening

I wrote last week about people who think they can’t ‘sing’ because they think they need training or singing lessons first (Your singing voice: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!).

We focus so much on our mouths and what comes out of them, that often we forget one of the most important aspect of singing: listening.

Your singing voice: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

I wrote a post a a few years back called Do you need singing lessons in order to sing?

Photo by Anna Strumillo

My main point was that many people are frightened to sing in public before they’ve had ‘training’ or ‘proper’ singing lessons. But can’t you just sing without any ‘technique’?

Can you be the wrong age to sing?

Here in the UK the arts seem to cater for just three age groups.

Photo by vintagedept

If you don’t fit into one of these, then woe betide you!

Does ‘world music choir’ actually mean anything?

When I’m promoting a singing workshop or recruiting for a choir, I want a shorthand way of describing the kind of songs I teach.

Photo by Amir Taj

There is such a range of different ‘choirs’ out there (which is great!), that we need to distinguish between them so people can make an informed choice. But does ‘world music choir’ actually mean anything useful?