[A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir]
Sometimes old choir repertoire becomes stale.
Well-loved songs start to wear out and lose their sparkle. What can you do to overcome this?
The more the choir sing a particular song, the deeper they go into the words and music, revealing hidden subtleties and producing a richer interpretation.
But there is a danger that if a song is sung too many times, singers stop discovering new treasures and begin going through the motions. The singers know the song so well that they no longer make an effort, go on automatic pilot and the song starts to lose its magic.
Here are ten things to try when this happens.
Any of these tricks and methods should be used playfully. It’s fun to try as many ‘wrong’ ways of singing the song as possible. It can reveal previously hidden gems. At the very least, it will have refreshed the song when you come back to do it ‘properly’.
I’m sure you all have loads of other ideas that you’ve tried. Do leave a comment and let me know what works for you.
Chris Rowbury
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