Singing outdoors in the winter: a survival guide

Many choirs perform outdoors during the winter, especially in the run-up to Christmas.

photo by Peter

Here are some tips to help make the experience as pleasurable as possible.

Why getting it wrong is the best way to learn

A couple of things this week reminded me how important mistakes are when learning something new.

photo by N i c o l a

One was performer, song leader and composer Brendan Taaffe’s substack: The most important thing you can do is fail”, and the other was a workshop I attended on Voice, Body and Rhythm with Helen Chadwick and Tania Bosak.

“You’ll enjoy it when you get there” — why growth always feels uncomfortable

I’m attending a three-day workshop this weekend and I’m feeling nervous.

photo by Kathryn Greenhill

It’s a common feeling when stepping into the unknown. But I’ve been to countless workshops before — so what’s going on?

Can people find and contact your choir easily?

There was a choir I needed to contact recently. I knew their name and where they’re based, but I couldn’t find their contact details anywhere online.

Is your choir easy to find and contact?

No mailing list? You’re missing out on singers!

If you don’t have a mailing list for people interested in your choir or singing workshops, you’re missing a trick.

It’s the easiest and most powerful way to recruit singers.

When the song you know isn’t quite the same: Tips for re-learning variations

Sometimes I teach a song at a workshop that some singers already know.

Image generated by Gemini AI

Invariably it will be a different arrangement. So how can singers approach re-learning a version that has only slight variations?

Don’t stagnate: there is always something new to learn and discover

I was trying to come up with an idea for this week’s blog post, but everything I thought of I’d already written about!

Image generated by Gemini AI

For a moment, I started to worry that I’d run out of things to say about choirs and singing. Surely that can’t be true — can it?

Why singing feels easier in workshops than in choir rehearsals

When I lead a one-off singing day or weekend, I’m always amazed at how many songs I’m able to teach — and how quickly singers pick them up.

photo by Max Crawford CC BY-SA 2.0

This is in stark contrast to weekly choir rehearsals which are often harder work and far less productive. So what’s going on here?

Why you should have a refund policy for your choir and singing workshops

Quite often, something happens that means a singer can’t attend a singing event they’ve paid for.

I used to deal with each situation individually, which caused me a lot of stress and anguish. That’s where a clear cancellation policy comes in handy.

Why is there so much talking when I’m teaching a song (and why don’t I notice it)?

After teaching songs to a group of singers, I often get feedback that it was hard to concentrate because so many people were talking.

It always surprises me, since I don’t usually notice. So what’s going on here?

Lifelong learning for singers and choir leaders

Any half-decent choir will help singers improve their skills week by week.

But sometimes that alone is not enough if you really want to develop and grow.

Keeping it simple: Serving the song, not the arrangement

Sometimes I come across a beautiful song and start searching online for a choral arrangement.

All too often, though, what I find is weighed down with so many bells and whistles that the original melody—the very thing that drew me to the song in the first place—ends up buried under the layers.

Looking for inspiration? It might be right in front of you

The thing about creative inspiration is that you can’t conjure it at will.

It pops up when you least expect it. Rather than tackling lack of inspiration head on, simply wait and something will appear, often right in front of you.

Singing together is therapeutic, but it’s not therapy

Over the years, countless singers have told me how much choir has supported their mental wellbeing.

There’s no doubt: singing together has real therapeutic benefits. But we need to be clear — it isn’t the same as therapy.

Become a better singer or choir leader by mastering new habits

I assume that we’d all like to become better at what we do. That could be teaching songs, singing, or leading a choir. 

Changes Ahead by Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0 Alpha Stock Images

Inevitably, to improve, we will need to develop new habits or change existing ones. But that can feel awkward and unfamiliar, even painful at times.

Your complete guide to learning songs by ear

For thousands of years, cultures across the globe have passed songs on orally to the next generation. This requires much repetition as well as active listening.

However, this is no longer a dominant part of many cultures today. What is the best way to learn a song by ear?

The different silences in singing

Silence is not just the absence of sound.

photo by Thomas Leuthard

When singing as a group, there are several kinds of silence, each with its own quality.

How can you avoid singers doing nothing while other parts are being taught? — 4 ideas to reduce waiting time

Inevitably, some singers will wait around doing nothing while the choir leader focuses on one of the other harmony parts. 

Whether you teach by ear (as I do) or use sheet music, this will happen. However, there are ways of minimising this waiting time.

Do singers know what to expect from your choir or singing workshop?

We all spend a lot of time crafting and honing the publicity blurb for our choirs and singing workshops.

But are we sure we have explained exactly what singers can expect when they attend?

Finding the right balance in singing workshops: Quality vs. Quantity

I tend to teach songs quickly (see How many songs can you teach in an hour?). I can easily get through 6-8 songs in a one-day workshop.

image generated by DeepAI

A singer recently said to me that quality might be better than quantity. Yes, she’d learnt a lot of different songs, but didn’t feel that she’d really nailed any of them.