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.