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Chris Rowbury's Blog Entries

  • Music is too freely available – 10 things we've lost because of that

    Added October 23, 2014 by Chris Rowbury - 1024 views - 0 comments
    [A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir]   Once upon a time you could only hear your favourite song if you travelled to a live performance. It was a special, one-off, shared experience.     photo by Dave Smith   If you wanted to hear Central African pygmies singing, you... read more

  • When rehearsals go bad

    Added October 15, 2014 by Chris Rowbury - 1696 views - 0 comments
    [A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir]   Occasionally a rehearsal goes totally pear-shaped and I have no idea why.     photo by hebedesign   Despite my best efforts everything goes horribly wrong, and there’s no easy explanation. Perhaps it’s down to the w... read more

  • How are mixed choirs different to single-sex choirs?

    Added October 8, 2014 by Chris Rowbury - 1870 views - 0 comments
    [A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir]   How do mixed choirs and single-sex choirs differ, if at all?   Victoria Choir, Uganda by Adamesmith   I was partly inspired to write this by an article on ChoralNet (Are women’s choirs different?). There are clearly some differ... read more

  • Not everyone experiences a concert in the same way

    Added September 25, 2014 by Chris Rowbury - 1272 views - 0 comments
    [A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir]   Just because you as a singer have a great time in a concert doesn’t mean it went well.     Happy audience by Ekke Vasli   Just because you as a choral director felt the rehearsal went much better than the actual performan... read more

  • Don’t stress about things you can’t control

    Added August 28, 2014 by Chris Rowbury - 1213 views - 0 comments
    I’ve just finished reading a remarkable book called The Art of Possibility. It’s jointly authored by Rosamund Stone Zander and her husband, Benjamin Zander, who is an orchestral conductor.   Ben Zander by p_c_w   In the book, Ben Zander tells an anecdote about absenteeism in a community orchestra. It certainly rang bells... read more

  • How audiences behave and how we respond

    Added August 21, 2014 by Chris Rowbury - 1373 views - 0 comments
    [A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir]   The way an audience responds can affect our performance. In the absence of feedback, our most negative thoughts can raise their ugly heads.   Bored audience by artfulblogger   If an audience is unresponsive, we can start to believe t... read more

  • Trust is the key to a great singing experience in a choir

    Added August 13, 2014 by Chris Rowbury - 3193 views - 0 comments
    [A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir]   There is a lot of trust involved in being a singer in a choir.     Trust that you will eventually learn the song; trust that, even if you’re slightly under-rehearsed, your musical director will guide you through the concert OK; ... read more

  • Helping new choir members learn the old songs

    Added August 7, 2014 by Chris Rowbury - 2937 views - 0 comments
    [A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir]   When a choir has been going for a long time and you want to revive some of your old repertoire, you will find that a lot of the newer members won’t know the songs.   Fun with babies by TedsBlog   With perhaps hundreds of songs ... read more

  • How to find new songs for your choir

    Added July 30, 2014 by Chris Rowbury - 1567 views - 0 comments
    [this is a version of a post which first appeared on my blog From the Front of the Choir]   I’m often asked by concert-goers and choir leaders alike:   “Where do you get all your songs from?”     Well, here’s the short answer to this simple question:   “From everyone and everywhere... read more

  • It’s hard to teach songs that people already know

    Added July 24, 2014 by Chris Rowbury - 1912 views - 0 comments
    [this is a version of a post which first appeared on my blog From the Front of the Choir]   My real love is to teach a lot of relatively simple songs so people can spend more time singing and less time learning in a workshop (see We’ve come to sing, not to learn!).   photo by Lucius Beebe Memorial Library   But people ... read more