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Chris Rowbury's Blog Entries

  • Want to sing with more energy? – pretend to be somebody else

    Added January 22, 2020 by Chris Rowbury - 1165 views - 0 comments
    [A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir] I ran a gospel singing weekend recently. One of the songs was flagging a bit so I suggested people ham it up a bit and be more “American”.   Miranda Sings by Gage Skidmore. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons   Suddenly t... read more

  • Fit the song arrangement to your singers and not the other way round

    Added January 8, 2020 by Chris Rowbury - 980 views - 0 comments
    [A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir] Most singers in choirs don’t fit neatly into choral vocal ranges. Yet we try to squeeze them in to our off-the-shelf arrangements, chastising them when they can’t reach the notes.   photo by Garry Knight   How about thinking ... read more

  • Busily doing nothing – 5 reasons why downtime is important for singers and choir leaders

    Added January 1, 2020 by Chris Rowbury - 1305 views - 0 comments
    [A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir] Feel like you’re on a treadmill? Constantly learning and practising and planning but never arriving? Not enough time to catch your breath between concerts?   photo by Roger Gordon   Then you need some downtime! That is, time spent ... read more

  • Can singing together bring about world peace?

    Added December 18, 2019 by Chris Rowbury - 956 views - 0 comments
    [A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir] The world can be a terrible place sometimes as we’ve seen in the news lately. It’s hard to imagine how a single person can make a difference. Chór aleksandrowa 2009 by Loraine   Can singing together or being in a choir bring ... read more

  • How to be a better singer if you’re a mere mortal

    Added December 4, 2019 by Chris Rowbury - 1034 views - 0 comments
    [A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir] When you think you’re not singing well, you’ll often blame yourself. But what if it’s something else, something outside yourself that you can fix quite easily?   Here are some reasons why you might not think you’re a good... read more

  • Effective ways to recruit more men for your choir #getmensinging

    Added November 27, 2019 by Chris Rowbury - 1478 views - 0 comments
    [A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir] Lots of mixed choirs don’t have enough male singers, and many established male voice choirs are not managing to find younger recruits (see my series of three posts Men and singing).     Here are some ideas to help you recruit more m... read more

  • Last minute easy Christmas carol arrangements!

    Added November 20, 2019 by Chris Rowbury - 852 views - 0 comments
    [A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir] If you're anything like me, you leave everything to the last minute. If you're not one of those people who start their Christmas repertoire back in June, you might find a few gaps in your Christmas song list. Or you might be looking for something Christ... read more

  • How welcoming is your choir?

    Added November 20, 2019 by Chris Rowbury - 657 views - 0 comments
    [A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir] I bet you think your choir is a wonderful, friendly little community that welcomes newcomers with open arms. But what if I told you that new members might find your choir scary, cliquey and unwelcoming? Maybe it’s time to look at things from a di... read more

  • Sing something simple (and see if your singing is as good as you think it is)

    Added November 13, 2019 by Chris Rowbury - 749 views - 0 comments
    [A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir] If you’re like me, you’re always tempted to add harmonies to the simplest of melodies, whether it’s singing along with others or arranging a song. But don’t overlook the simplicity of unison singing and drones. These are great w... read more

  • Planning ahead: leave space for the unexpected

    Added November 6, 2019 by Chris Rowbury - 663 views - 0 comments
    [A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir]A vital part of a choir leader's job is to spend time planning: individual rehearsals, concerts, repertoire, choir seasons, etc.   photo by webmink   But be careful not to over-plan or you won’t be able to respond to the unexpected.... read more