Singers who learn by ear vs. those who use sheet music – what happens when they swap?

The Natural Voice Practitioners’ Network (NVPN) has done a great deal to dispel the myth that you have to be able to read music to be in a choir.

photo by Tichonov / Тихонов

There are now plenty of choirs around where people sing and perform to a high standard learning all the songs by ear.

But sometimes a singer who learns by ear might attend a singing workshop where sheet music is handed out. How will they cope?

Help! How to deal with choir members who sing out of tune?

In open-access choirs (which don’t audition), you often find one or two singers who struggle to pitch notes accurately.

photo by Jesus Solana

In a large choir, a few individuals singing out of tune won’t usually notice. But if it does become a problem, here are some actions you can take.

How to set up a choir if you’re not a choir leader PART 2

Last week, Angela Gracey wrote about the first two key stages of the five involved in setting up a choir: getting organised and having a plan.

photo by Joe Strupek

This week she looks at the remaining key stages: finances, finding someone to lead your choir and your first performance and beyond.

How to set up a choir if you’re not a choir leader PART 1

I’ve written before about how to set up your own community choir, assuming that you want to run it yourself.

But what if you’re not a musical director and you want to set up a choir?

photo by Garry Knight

Here’s a guest post by Angela Gracey outlining five key steps to starting a choir. Warning - this venture is not for the faint hearted!

How long is the ideal choir session?

There’s a gig coming up and you’ve still got work to do. Do you keep bashing out the notes until everyone’s perfect or do you rehearse ‘just enough’ and then go home?

photo by Toni Verdú Carbó

Or maybe your choir doesn’t perform. In which case what’s the best length for a really good singing session? One hour? A whole afternoon? An entire day?

Fresh blood: the pros and cons of letting new singers join your choir

As choir starts back after a break, you might notice a few new faces in the ranks.

photo by Scott A. Thornbloom

Bringing in new recruits maintains the lifeblood of a choir, but what are the pros and cons?

Re-booting your choir: shake things up for a new season

Many choirs will be starting back soon after a long break.

photo by velkr0

This is the perfect time to shake things up a bit if you feel things have gone a bit stale.

Buy song arrangements for your choir

Choir leaders often ask me where I source my songs. I’ve written about this in previous posts: Finding songs for your choir and Easy songs for your choir.



One place you can get some tried and tested songs for your choir is from me!

Why can’t we sing more songs in English?

I often get asked this at workshops after people have struggled to get their tongues around a few foreign songs.



I point out that my speciality is “traditional songs from around the world in the original languages”, then I tell them that foreign songs are easier to learn. Really?

What to do if you don’t have a ‘nice’ voice

Many of us don’t like the sound of our singing voice. Some people won’t even sing in front of others because they don’t want to inflict their ‘horrible’ voice on them.

photo by konch

Is there anything we can do if we don’t have a ‘nice’ voice?

Singing the wrong note is not the end of the world

How many times have you been standing next to someone in your choir section and realised that they’re singing something different from you?

photo by Luis Miguel Bugallo Sánchez

Are you wrong, or it it them? Actually, it (usually) doesn’t matter!

Use the long choir break to get better at what you do

Most choirs have a long break at this time of year (whether it’s your summer or your winter).

officially on vacation by Timothy Valentine

Apart from missing the singing and your choir friends, what will you do with yourself? Here are some ways you can use the break to your advantage (whether you’re a singer or choir leader).

How to learn effectively from a recording of a song in parts

Sometimes you might have to learn your song part from a recording rather than with everyone else in a choir session.

photo by Kathy Cassidy

Here are some hints on how to do that in the most effective way.

How to sing religious songs if you’re not religious (or it’s not your religion)

I sing and teach sacred songs from a wide range of religious traditions. But I don’t have a religious bone in my body.

photo by 10x10 - Educate Girls. Change the World

I have no problems singing about ‘spirit’ or ‘God’, but I do hesitate when ‘Jesus’ or ‘Christ’ or ‘Krishna’ or similar specific words come up. Should I be singing such songs? How can I sing religious songs if I’m not religious?

Why does the first wrong note you learn stay with you forever?

Sometimes (yes, I admit it), I make a mistake when I’m teaching a new song. It maybe a wrong note, wrong timing or wrong phrasing.



Yet even though I correct it quickly, this first mistake stays in people’s heads. Why is that?

Raising the bar: singing with people who are more experienced than you

Many of us are wary of attending singing workshops or choirs when we feel that people will be a lot more experienced than us.

This is particularly true when you’re starting out as a singer, but that feeling never goes away!

photo by Stefan Karpiniec

But singing with more experienced singers need not be frightening and can help you raise your game.

How to use your audience to recruit choir members

To maintain a healthy, growing choir, you need new recruits, but often you feel like you’ve exhausted all your usual sources.

photo by Star File Photo (On the home front: Toronto in WWI, Toronto Star)

Here are some ideas for how to use your audience to recruit new choir members.

Ask not what your choir can do for you – ask what you can you do for your choir

Kirsten recently left a comment on my post How to be a good choir member.

photo by Brandon Cripps

She suggested that a good choir member should “go beyond the music”, i.e. get involved with the practicalities of running the choir. Great idea, but it does have its downsides too.

Don’t try to help your fellow singers – it’s not your job!

Many’s the time I see Ann lean over to Gill (not their real names!) to help her get her part right. And every time I see a pained expression on Gill’s face.

photo by m_culnane

She doesn’t want Ann’s help and didn’t ask for it. And it’s not Ann’s job to give it any way.

Two big ideas to create the perfect choir or singing experience

Singing is very simple really: you open your mouth and the sound comes out.

Manchester amateur choral competition 2009 by chaosmunkey

But we often allow our heads (and doubts and expectations and fears and ...) to get in the way. Here are two big ideas that can help singers and choir leaders get the most out of singing.