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Chris Rowbury's Blog Entries

  • Get your family singing this Christmas – turn off the TV!

    Added December 24, 2014 by Chris Rowbury - 886 views - 0 comments
    [A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir]   Fed up with the family slumped in front of the TV every Christmas and not communicating?     Then turn off the TV and start singing! Christmas is a fantastic time to sing with others. There are so many Christmas songs and carols out ... read more

  • Singing is for life, not just for Christmas

    Added December 17, 2014 by Chris Rowbury - 1420 views - 0 comments
    [A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir]   “Hark the herald angels sing”. A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols from King’s College, Cambridge. Slade’s “Merry Christmas everybody”. “White Christmas” on TV. Midnight mass at the local church. &n... read more

  • The sheet music is not the song!

    Added December 10, 2014 by Chris Rowbury - 1050 views - 0 comments
    [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.     I disagree completely – the sheet music is not the song!   songs ar... read more

  • Dealing with individual singers in a large choir

    Added December 3, 2014 by Chris Rowbury - 1415 views - 0 comments
    [A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir]     This post is part of a series of occasional Questions and Answers. Just use the contact form if you want to submit a question.   Morning Star asks:   “What do you do with your big chorus, when there are some folks that ha... read more

  • Now THAT’S what I call singing! Volume 2

    Added November 26, 2014 by Chris Rowbury - 1545 views - 0 comments
    [A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir]   Last week in Now THAT’S what I call singing! Volume 1 I shared some of my favourite songs from Europe: Corsica, Georgia, Russian orthodox, gypsy, the Balkans and Bulgaria.     This week it’s the turn of the rest of the wor... read more

  • Now THAT’S what I call singing! Volume 1

    Added November 19, 2014 by Chris Rowbury - 1464 views - 0 comments
    [A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir]   Last week I wrote about the kinds of singing that I like (I may not know much about music, but I know what I like!).     Now I want to give you some concrete examples of the kinds of singing that I love. This week Europe: Corsica, Geo... read more

  • I may not know much about music, but I know what I like!

    Added November 13, 2014 by Chris Rowbury - 1076 views - 0 comments
    [A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir]   Somebody asked me the other day if I do workshops on songs from the musicals. I don't like musical theatre, so the answer was a resounding “No”.     Many people come to singing workshops because they just love to sing. The... read more

  • Get in line! - the trials of getting your singers to stand in the right places

    Added November 5, 2014 by Chris Rowbury - 1901 views - 0 comments
    [A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir]   Sometimes trying to get your choir to stand in the right places is like dealing with an unruly kindergarten class. It seems as if spatial awareness and singing don’t go together.   photo by johntrainor   NB this is a fictional ... read more

  • Why men won’t sing: a discussion

    Added October 29, 2014 by Chris Rowbury - 2662 views - 0 comments
    This is a blog post with a difference. I want to start a discussion using the comments facility.   photo by loungerie    Yesterday there was a veritable Twitter storm when I posed the question:   "What do you think is the main reason more men don't sing in choirs?"   using the hashtag #getmensinging. If you want t... read more

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

    Added October 23, 2014 by Chris Rowbury - 1021 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