Toxic choir (and committee) members – how to stop them spoiling it for others

Many of the queries I get sent concern ‘toxic’ choir members. People who disrupt things and spoil it for others. 

photo by eek the cat

I thought I’d look a bit deeper into what’s going on and consider what you can do.

The 3 steps to becoming a singer: step 2 — JOIN A CHOIR

Last week I wrote about the first step to becoming a singer.

photo by Rex Pe

You need to actually start singing! Now here’s step 2.

Why does it take me so long to learn a song? Everyone else seems to pick it up fast.

People often write to me asking me why it takes them ages to learn a song.

photo by matea2506

They think it might be due to age, dyslexia, or all manner of other ‘problems’. But it’s probably simpler than that.

Moving outside your comfort zone – comfortably

My partner is always sending me videos with ideas for singing warm ups, usually involving complex clapping or stepping.

I tell her that they will be too difficult for the singers I work with. But am I being too safe and under-estimating the singers’ abilities?

Choir leaders: are you being too nice to your singers?

Sometimes an individual choir member needs to be told that they’re getting it wrong. 

photo by Ondřej Lipár

In our attempt to not be unkind, we can sometimes end up being too nice, which is not helpful.

Looking after your own needs in a choir: don’t be a sheep

We went to the theatre the other day and we were the only people in the audience wearing masks.

photo by Nigel Mykura

But in all other ways, we were exactly the same as any other audience member. The same, but different.

Looking for new warm up ideas? Don’t dismiss the old and familiar

I’m always looking for new ideas for the warm up start of my singing sessions.

But constant novelty is not necessarily a good thing. It can often lead to overlooking old, familiar, tried and tested exercises.

Changing your choir members’ payment system

I wrote an earlier post about different choir payment systems: Pay as you go or regular fee upfront – what is the best system for singers in your choir?

photo by Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0 Alpha Stock Images

What if you want to change from one system to another? How can you make it as pain-free and simple as possible?

There is no ‘right’ time for taking stock, but it’s important to do so from time to time

Many people use the New Year as a trigger to set themselves goals for the future. And many people fail by being unrealistic.

Whether that’s you or not, it is vital to take stock from time to time, even if it’s not at New Year.

The Sheffield carols

What could be more true to the spirit of Christmas than standing in a crowded pub and singing Christmas carols?

photo by Delaina Haslam

Especially if the tunes are only to be heard in a few towns and villages near Sheffield, in South Yorkshire.

If you don’t know the songs that well, should you sing in your next concert?

We’ve all been there: a big concert is coming up and we feel under-prepared.

photo from depositphotos.com

Should we just duck out, or soldier on and busk it? Here’s what I think.

Why I write my blog “From the front of the choir”

I started this blog way back in December 2006. That’s 17 years of weekly blog posts!

I thought I’d make a little video to let you know why and how I got started.

What is a ‘community choir’?

The term ‘community choir’ is used a lot, but what does it actually mean?

There is no single definition, but I thought I’d look at some common characteristics.

Why harmony singers are (usually) lovely people

Not everyone likes to sing in harmony with others, but those who do are often really nice people.

photo by Richard Foster

Why is that? And is it a universal truth?

Why I became a choir leader

People often ask about my background, assuming that I have a musical education.

They are rather surprised when I tell them that my training is as a computer scientist, but I then spent over 20 years as a theatre maker and performer. So how did I end up as a choir leader?

Why your concert publicity isn’t working

We all want audiences at our concerts, so we have to let people know about them.

I’ve seen so many bad examples of concert publicity recently, I thought I’d write a few tips.

What is a ‘Natural Voice’ choir?

I am a member of the Natural Voice Network and all my work is based on their ethos.

But what exactly is ‘Natural Voice’ and how do Natural Voice choirs differ from other kinds of choir?

How do you know when your choir is performance ready?

Most choirs get to the point where they want to share the songs they’ve learnt with an audience.

Prepared by Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0 Alpha Stock Images

But how do you know that the songs are in a good enough state to share?

How to finish a choir rehearsal well

Everybody talks about the importance of warming up and properly preparing to sing before each rehearsal.

photo by spelio

But what about ending a rehearsal? Not as much attention is paid to that. How do we end so singers go away feeling great?

Don’t forget that your singers have come to SING!

It’s easy to forget, especially when preparing for a concert, that singers come each week to have a good old sing.

photo by Alex Beattie

They don’t want to be learning new material all the time or focusing on vocal development.