Avoid toxic choir leaders – the end does NOT justify the means

There are some workshop and choir leaders who work through fear. They are not particularly nice people, but they do get good results.

photo by Craig Sunter

Yet it is possible to work compassionately and with fun to get the same results. That’s my kind of choir leader!

Joining an established choir: a guide for how choir leaders can help new singers

Last week I wrote about the challenges faced by singers joining an established choir.

photo by fromcolettewithlove

This week I will look at what choir leaders and committees can do to make the transition easier.

Joining an established choir: a guide for new singers

Joining a new choir is a bit like going to big school: it’s exciting, but a bit scary and it will take a while to learn the ropes.

photo by VisitCopenhagen

Here is a guide to help you take your first few steps as a new singer in an established choir. Next week I’ll be writing a guide for choir leaders and choir committees on how to ease new members into established choirs.

Why some singers find it hard to learn by ear (and what you can do to make it easier)

Some people really struggle when it comes to learning a song by ear. Often it’s singers who are used to using sheet music, but not always.

photo by bokeh burger

I’ll explain why I believe some people find it hard and then I’ll outline some strategies for getting better at it.

You can’t franchise charisma – why your choir leader is special

The fact is that pretty much anyone can lead a choir. Some do it better than others and some do it worse, but it’s not rocket science. However, your particular choir leader is special and brings something unique to your choir.



That special something can’t be copied or franchised. Choirs are all about the people in them – including their leader. I’ll show you some lessons that can be learnt from this, whether you’re a singer or a choir leader (or a business opportunist!).

Don’t peak too soon – effective rehearsal planning for your next concert

The OK Chorale have just started back after a long Christmas break. This term we’re working towards our annual spring concert. I need to plan an effective rehearsal schedule.



Our singers are all amateurs with busy lives, so what’s the best way to organise rehearsals so we peak at the right time?

7 ways to share your choir’s singing without making a big performance of it

Some choirs don’t perform at all (see Choirs that don’t perform). But most choirs, at some point, will want to share their hard work with others.

photo by pyramis

It is possible to share your choir songs without it being scary or making it a big deal. I’ll show you how.

What small changes will make you a better singer or choir leader in the coming year?

There is always room for improvement, whether you’re a singer, a choir leader, a choral arranger, a workshop leader or a choir committee member. But it can become overwhelming if you tackle everything at once and try to make too many changes.

photo by Ben Terrett

Focus on just a few small changes for the better. Here’s how.

Putting your house in order or how to clear up after a busy choir season

The choir season is over and the holidays are here. If your workspace is anything like mine, you’ll have sheet music scattered over the floor, piles of random notes from choir sessions, possible songs for the new season, CDs out of their cases, and various other flotsam and jetsam liberally sprinkled around the room.

photo by Jeffrey Beall

Time to get things sorted!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Many thanks to all of you who read this blog regularly. I couldn’t do it without you!

photo by Mark McLaughlin

I hope you find something of interest here. If you do, please let others know about it!

10 tips to get the whole family singing this Christmas

’Tis the season to be jolly, fa la la la la ... Instead of slumping in front of the TV this Christmas, why not get the whole family singing?

photo by Spinndoctor

Here are some tips for creating the perfect Christmas family sing-along.

Looking after yourself in a busy concert season

For many of us, this time of year is just one concert after another. It’s great to be doing so much singing, but it can have its downsides.

photo by Jonathan Lundkvist

If we overdo it, we can get ill or lose our voice. How can we take care ourselves during a busy concert season?

One unkind word can put you off singing for ever – how to protect yourself

There have been a lot of UK television programmes recently which have involved solo singing auditions: The Voice, X Factor, The Choir. Comments about the standard of singing have sometimes been off-hand, sarcastic, and even cruel.

photo by keith ellwood

A comment about your singing voice can be taken as a comment on who you are as a person. How can you avoid taking criticism of your singing voice too personally?

Should you have auditions for a workplace or community choir?

Gareth Malone is back on UK television with a second series of The Choir: Sing While You Work. The choirmaster goes into five different organisations to form workplace choirs which then go on to compete against each other.

photo by DianeSunshineCoast

He auditions staff to create the choirs, but is that necessary to form a workplace choir?

What motivates you to turn up to choir week after week?

You can tell winter is on its way because it’s dark and cold when I set off for choir each week.

photo by Todd Shaffer

It would be much easier to stay at home in front of the fire, so what motivates you to wrap up warm, leave the house and brave the cold to get to choir?

Dealing with choir members who are always late

It’s the final rehearsal before your big concert. The warm up is over and everyone is ready to go. But a handful of singers (the usual suspects) are not there. Late again!

photo by lunarnature

What can you do about those singers who are always late to choir?

Be the best singer you can, but don’t forget there’s more to life

For some people being a famous singer or being in the best choir in the world or making a hit record or singing a piece perfectly in competition is the be-all and end-all.

photo by make little sharks

But if you take it too seriously and it doesn’t work out for you, then what? There is more to life than just singing!

How to catch up if you miss a choir rehearsal

Apparently there is more to life than just singing (can’t imagine what!), so occasionally you may have to miss a choir rehearsal (not me though!).

photo by nataliej

Here are some tips for catching up with what you’ve missed.

How to cope with learning by ear if you usually read music notation

Many choirs use written notation to learn and perform songs. Over time singers can come to depend on having the dots in front of them.

These singers may then join a different choir or go to a singing workshop where songs are learnt by ear and sheet music is not available. How do they cope?

photo by Molly Germaine

Last week I wrote about how singers who usually learn by ear can cope when given sheet music. In this post I’ll show you how to cope if you read music and usually learn songs using sheet music, but are asked to learn a song by ear.

How to cope with sheet music if you don’t read and usually learn songs by ear

As promised in last week’s post (Singers who learn by ear vs. those who use sheet music – what happens when they swap?), this is the first of two posts helping you cope with an unfamiliar way of learning songs.

Many people love to sing, but don’t read music. That shouldn’t exclude them from joining choirs or attending singing workshops.

photo by Judy Baxter

In this post I’ll show you how to cope if you don’t read music and usually learn songs by ear, but are asked to learn a song by using sheet music.