[A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir] I occasionally run workshops for members of my choir to help improve their singing technique. photo by Intel Free Press I realised whilst teaching that al...
SHEET MUSIC: https://musicspoke.com/downloads/the-... PROGRAM NOTES: “I breathed a song into the air, it fell to earth I knew not where.” Ten years ago, I wrote a composition called Always Keep This Close with little idea of where it would go or wh... onclick="$(this).getParent().getNext().style.display='';$(this).getParent().style.display='none';">moreone;">SHEET MUSIC: https://musicspoke.com/downloads/the-... PROGRAM NOTES: “I breathed a song into the air, it fell to earth I knew not where.” Ten years ago, I wrote a composition called Always Keep This Close with little idea of where it would go or what it would come to mean for others. To find that song living in the hearts of other musicians is both humbling and surprising. For me, it’s a reminder of how powerful our actions and words can be. Something that feels insignificant to one person can be life-changing to another. While creating The Heart of a Friend, I knew from the start that I wanted to shape a melodic arc that captured the trajectory of both the arrow and the song. I felt strongly that the first two stanzas needed to end at a High point, preserving the uncertainty of where each might land. only in the third stanza does the melody turn downward, revealing the rest of its path. I then combine these two halves to symbolically represent reflection—looking back on an action and seeing the journe... onclick="$(this).getParent().getPrevious().style.display='';$(this).getParent().style.display='none';">less
[this is a version of a post which first appeared on my blog From the Front of the Choir] People sometimes welcome a distraction from watching rows of identically dressed choristers singing with books in front of their faces. Photo by...
[this is an updated version of a post which first appeared on my blog From the Front of the Choir] Last week I wrote about whether you need singing lessons in order to be able to sing. I suggested that people should simply jump in and join a...
[this is an updated version of a post which first appeared on my blog From the Front of the Choir] Your church or community centre sets up the concerts. Your committee deals with the finances and the social events. Your musical director teac...
[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 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] There were two articles in the UK national press a few years ago, one bemoaning the fact that we don’t sing Christmas carols together as much as we u...
[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...
