[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]
It’s that time of year when lots of us make New Year resolutions, then a week later usually abandon them!
The secret is to be realistic. So how about choosing just one thing to change this year?
With the best intentions in the world, there are so many things that we promise we will do differently or better when we sing.
It might be to get to choir on time each week or to check your posture each time you sing or to make time to really learn the lyrics for your next concert or to stop chatting in rehearsal whilst others are learning.
There can seem to be so many things we need to work on that it can feel overwhelming. It’s so easy to make a long list of New Year resolutions with the full intention of fulfilling them all. But inevitably we bite off more than we can chew, end up feeling a bit of a failure, and maybe not achieving even one of our goals.
Just choose one. Make it clear and simple: something you want to change, i.e. start doing, improve, or stop doing. Write it down in big letters and pin it up somewhere prominent (or put it in your choir folder).
Who knows, you may make the single change you want, then find there’s room for another!
You might find it useful to read an earlier post of mine called What small change will make you a better singer or choir leader?
And do let us know how it goes. Sharing your one goal in public can be great incentive to making the change!
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Chris Rowbury
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