[this is a version of a post which first appeared on my Blog From the Front of the Choir]   Many people have no idea how a song is learnt by ear. They assume that written music is a must. But don’t forget that people have been Singing (and l...

[this is a version of a post which first appeared on my Blog From the Front of the Choir]   It’s only September, but many choirs are already thinking of their Christmas concerts. Christmas is also the time of year when choirs release new CDs...

This post was orginally found on our Embro Thistle Singers Blog. I remember when we had Professional Development Days when I was teaching, the teachers would complain that they were more tired that day than from a whole day of teaching.  I had had...

[this is a version of a post which first appeared on my Blog From the Front of the Choir]   A while ago I wrote about an artist who thought that music resides in the musical notation and a musician's job is to realise that notation perfectly. &nb...

[A version of this article first appeared as a post on my Blog From the Front of the Choir] I had a friend who moved to a new town and set up a new choir, blissfully ignorant of the 100+ community chorus that already existed there.   phot...

[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 th...

[A version of this article first appeared as a post on my Blog From the Front of the Choir]   Some people just love anything that’s finely honed, all shined up, squeaky clean, highly skilled and perfectly rendered. Not me.     ...

[A version of this article first appeared as a post on my Blog From the Front of the Choir]   I was at a business meeting recently and we were asked what we did. I explained as well as I could.   Photo © Copyright Anne Burgess an...

[this is an updated version of a post which first appeared on my Blog From the Front of the Choir]   First I need to fess up: I have a low boredom threshold and always try to squeeze in as many songs as possible. Not always a good idea!  ...

Okay- so I've been a bit slack about Blogging lately.  Not that I have been idol- there is so much to Blog about but 24 hours in a day a full time job and more music than I can ever learn to play means there  isn't enough time!   In the l...