[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]
Many of us are in choirs which sing a particular kind of repertoire.
But it’s good to get out of our comfort zone now and again and see what else is out there.
We’ve just had a big election here in the UK. For those who use social media, it was quite easy to believe that everyone else in the country felt the same way as we did. But when the results came in, it wasn’t necessarily the case.
Similarly, in real life, we tend to hang out with people who share a similar worldview to us. We join choirs usually because we share the musical director’s vision and we like the songs they choose.
It’s easy to end up in a bubble of people who all enjoy the same kind of music.
There’s nothing wrong with that, as long as you’re aware that you’ve made that choice. However, there is a whole world of music out there and how do you know you like it or not if you never hear it?
One way of widening your horizons is to read my Monthly Music Round-Up.
Each month I include ten items of interest related to music, singing and choirs.
Sometimes it gets a bit weird (a percussion piece played in a DIY store), sometimes it’s a bit campaigning (why it’s a good idea to promote music in schools), and sometimes it’s funny (weird instruments that you’ve never come across before).
I always include a song of the month which introduces you to singing from different parts of the world in a variety of different styles.
It’s easy to sign up for your own copy, just go here: chrisrowbury.substack.com and pop your email address in. You can also view archive editions. It comes out on the 1st of each month.
Another way to widen your horizons is to Get out of your singing rut and try something new – it will make you a better singer.
By staying in our comfort zone we can easily develop bad habits. The problem with habits is that it stops us noticing new things around us. We can easily forget that there are different ways of doing things and different kinds of music out there. You might want to consider What bad habits have you got into?
Good luck with discovering new things!
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to say thank you.
Chris Rowbury
website: chrisrowbury.com
blog: blog.chrisrowbury.com
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Monthly Music Round-up: ChrisRowbury.substack.com
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