[The views expressed in this blog are from my personal experiences from 25 years of leading non-auditioned community choirs in the UK, as well as adult singing workshops. My focus is on teaching by ear using a repertoire of songs from traditions across the globe. Your experiences may differ from mine, so do feel free to leave a comment and let's begin a conversation! A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir]
We all have our favourite warm ups and our favourite jokes. But if someone comes to choir every week, they may soon get weary of our patter.
How can you keep things fresh so choir members stay engaged? Here are some ideas.
I run many singing workshops across the country. At each of these one-off events I deliver a similar spiel, including several ‘jokes’. I also have favourite warm up exercises that I come back to again and again.
I’m very fortunate that I have many singers who come to my workshops regularly. And when I ran weekly choirs, there would be singers who stayed for years.
I quickly realised that a particular vocal exercise or visual image or “off-the-cuff” remark can soon get stale if you encounter it for the 100th time.
As soon as singers think “I’ve heard this before” or “Here we go, same old warm up”, then they can easily zone out. If singers aren’t in the moment, then the work can suffer.
How can you overcome this?
One possibility is to introduce new warm ups, new patter, new songs, all the time. However, not only is that a lot of work, but singers like to sing familiar repertoire, enjoy well-known warm up rounds, look forward to regular stretching exercises. Having to confront something new every single time can be tiring.
You need to find a balance between the familiar (without letting it go stale) and the new.
Here are five ideas that may help keep your singers engaged.
I’m sure you can think of plenty of other great ideas for keeping it fresh. Do drop by and leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you.
You might also find these old posts of interest:
Breaking the habit of a lunchtime
Re-booting your choir: shake things up for a new season
Singers and choir leaders: what bad habits have you got into?
Sometimes old is best – finding the balance between new and familiar
Chris Rowbury
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