From the front of the choir

There will be times when you’re not fully prepared.

17 years ago I led one of my first residential singing weekends.

Most of the singers who attend my workshops are in their 60s and 70s.

I’m leading a singing workshop tomorrow.

I went to a theatre performance the other day.

You’ve tried Slimming World, Weight Watchers, weight-loss jabs, Aunty Jean’s herbal concoction, but nothing works. photo by Alan Cleaver It’s time to sing!

People are arriving and greeting each other; chairs are being set out; there is excitement in the air and the hubbub of conversation.

Singers often say how tired they feel after a rehearsal or workshop.

Someone wrote to me recently asking if I thought my workshops would be suitable for them.

I always chose the repertoire for my community choirs.

At the end of a recent residential singing weekend I was acutely aware of absence when everyone had left.

I’m officially on my summer break.

Often, when leading a singing workshop, singers will start putting chairs out or standing in a circle.

In his book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell refers to the “10,000 hour rule”, claiming that the key to achieving expertise in any skill is to practise for around 10,000 hours.

I know you can’t please everyone, but when I plan a singing workshop I try to make sure I won’t be teaching anything that any of the singers already know.

When teaching new songs, especially those with foreign lyrics, I often end up teaching using only the words of the first verse.

I’m amazed at the number of singers who miss the starting note of a song, but then carry on regardless.

Twenty years ago, Warwick Folk Festival asked me to create a community choir as part of its education outreach programme.

When you’re leading a one-off singing workshop, or have large influx of new members to your choir, there will be lots of people who don’t know each other.

I’m seeing lots of great warm-ups and singing advice online these days.

As Blanche DuBois says in A streetcar named desire: “I’ve always depended on the kindness of strangers.”

I wrote last week about how No choir can be all things to all singers.

You can’t please all your singers all the time (see Keeping a choir happy – you can’t please everyone).

In my experience, when it comes to moving and singing at the same time, men seem to find it hardest. photo by Kevin Burke Why is this, and are there ways to help?

It’s important for singers to feel wanted and to know that they play an important part in their choir.

When I ran community choirs, I used to insist that singers stood during rehearsals.

If you’re a choir member, or thinking of starting a choir, you might imagine that all choir and workshop leaders have extremely ordered lives.

I’ve seen several online videos recently of choirs using simple, fun songs as warm-ups.

Yes!

At a choral concert there is usually someone standing in front of the singers waving their arms about.

When I started my first community choir way back in 1997, most of the singers were in their 40s and 50s. photo by DG EMPL Some of them are still in the same choir today, now in their 70s and 80s.

A couple of things recently reminded me just how important mistakes are when learning something new.