For the hopelessly gregarious they can provide an essential, regular dose of friendly contact and interaction. For introverts, choirs can be the perfect solution to participating in a crowd. Next, map out a good strong line for the basses; a solid foundation to support the rest. Finally, tackle the inner parts. Use your altos and tenors to fill in the missing harmony notes, and complete the chords.
Be sure to avoid ungainly leaps from note to note; smooth, stepwise progression is the ideal. What this last rule means, in practice, is that alto and tenor parts, while essential for the harmony we hear, often leave a lot to be desired in terms of basic melodic beauty. They can meander slightly aimlessly from phrase to phrase.
When they do get a lovely tune, oh look! There are exceptions. Can you see why choirs all love the great fugues of Bach, Handel and Mozart — music where each of the voices is held on a much more equal footing? And, to be sure, the best arrangers can and do bring great sophistication to their art. Nonetheless, spare a thought and an ear for the inner voices — whose lot is so often to wrestle great beauty from less thaninspiring melodies.
To wring fervent emotion from leaden lines. Read the list below for nine reasons to join a choir, and to see photos of some fine choirs across Canada currently accepting new members. You should join! When we think about great classical music, we tend to focus on symphonies, concertos, sonatas, string quartets and operas. But the truth is, many of the best composers saved their most inspired creativity for choral music. Pictured below: Under the direction of Paul Halley, Halifax's voice King's College Chapel Choir performs at weekly evensong and eucharist services in the King's College Chapel, as well as other major services throughout the academic year.
You rush to meet deadlines, deal with unhappy clients, cope with a rage-aholic boss and — if you're lucky — eat lunch in front of your computer. By the time you get to your choir rehearsal, you're a nervous wreck. But sitting up straight, relaxing your shoulders and breathing from your diaphragm is a great way to return to your centre and leave the day's stress behind you.
Pictured below: Montreal's St. Lawrence Choir is a member mixed-voice ensemble that performs classical repertoire and contemporary works. The artistic director is Philippe Bourque. Nowadays people make "friends" without ever meeting in person. Joining a choir is an old-school way to meet nice, like-minded people interested in having a good time together. What a concept! The choir are always really supportive of helping people who want to learn whether adult or children and encourage them with lots of smiles and kind words.
I feel this is part of my role in running my music business — to help others develop both musically and in building their conficence — another skill I use on a daily basis learned in the business world and in bringing up children too!
I have also made it a priority to attend courses and take CPD very seriously. CPD is a chance to learn new skills or build on existing ones and you also get to meet many new contacts who could help you or vice versa.
I am based in East Kent but regularly attend London events to get a wider perspective. The Schools Music Association recently merged with the ISM was a great help to me starting out and I attended a conducting course at the beginning where I was able to try out my conducting with a real supportive choir!
II seek out opportunities to develop all the time as I have so much to learn — which is what is exciting — and the choir enjoy seeing me grow in my role and they also grow in experience and confidence. Your email address will not be published. Violet says:. Victoria Hopkins says:. Terkimbi says:. Christine Mulgrew says:.
Whatever our style of conducting and managing a choir, we are in a position of authority and we are directing the proceedings. Most people are terrified of being thrust into the limelight. The ability, and willingness, to take charge confidently is one that lends itself to many walks of life. Community groups, local political organisations and charities are often crying out for people who are willing to step up.
Your choir members look to you for support and encouragement as they develop their singing and performance skills. You are probably bombarded with questions at rehearsals and you do your best to answer them helpfully. You encourage them to embrace new challenges and reach new goals. Mentoring skills can be hugely valuable to people who lack the confidence to embark on a significant project without support.
Perhaps a local business network or college would be keen to put your mentoring skills to good use, perhaps with budding musicians or with anyone planning a career change.
0コメント