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  • How to sing together in times of isolation

    Added April 8, 2020 by Chris Rowbury - 1247 views - 0 comments
    [A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir] We are living in unprecedented times. People are not allowed to socialise.     How do we keep singing together? I’ll look at some of the options.It’s not only during a pandemic that we need to stay at home. There are times whe... read more

  • Why can’t I sing low notes with more power and volume?

    Added April 3, 2020 by Chris Rowbury - 526 views - 0 comments
    [A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir] Many men (and some women) complain about not having much vocal power on low notes. photo by GigNroll.com If you have good power, control and volume in the rest of your range then there’s an easy explanation.I often get asked by men why they don... read more

  • Only connect – a brief introduction to social media for choirs

    Added March 25, 2020 by Chris Rowbury - 554 views - 0 comments
    [A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir] In case you haven’t noticed: this is the modern world.   photo by Yoel Ben-Avraham   If you’re not promoting your choir on social media, then you’re missing a trick. Here’s a handy introduction.   internet ... read more

  • How to sing quietly (without running out of breath)

    Added March 11, 2020 by Chris Rowbury - 1188 views - 0 comments
    [A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir] Some people find it hard to sing quietly. They seem to run out of breath easily and their voice goes all wobbly.   photo by Cristian V.   Why is this and how can you learn to sing quietly?When we’re asked to sing quietly, we can th... read more

  • One recording is worth a thousand photos – use sound to promote your choir

    Added March 4, 2020 by Chris Rowbury - 501 views - 0 comments
    [A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir] Singing is all about sound, whether it’s a one-day workshop, a live concert or a CD.     I’m amazed at choir websites, concert promotion and singing workshop publicity which is full of photos, but have no sound clips. If you d... read more

  • 6 ways to stop the strain of other singers relying on you (or you relying on them)

    Added February 26, 2020 by Chris Rowbury - 826 views - 0 comments
    [A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir] The rehearsal begins and the Altos looks around in panic: “Where’s Carol?” Carol is a strong, confident singer, but she’s not here this week.   Pieter Bruegel the Elder - The Parable of the Blind Leading the Blind (detai... read more

  • 10 choir website mistakes to avoid (or how to look professional online)

    Added February 13, 2020 by Chris Rowbury - 1071 views - 0 comments
    [A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir] I was trawling through a bunch of choir websites the other day in order to send out some information about a workshop I’m running.     I was amazed how hard it was to contact many of them and in general how badly designed many of th... read more

  • Want to sing with more energy? – pretend to be somebody else

    Added January 22, 2020 by Chris Rowbury - 1088 views - 0 comments
    [A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir] I ran a gospel singing weekend recently. One of the songs was flagging a bit so I suggested people ham it up a bit and be more “American”.   Miranda Sings by Gage Skidmore. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons   Suddenly t... read more

  • Fit the song arrangement to your singers and not the other way round

    Added January 8, 2020 by Chris Rowbury - 887 views - 0 comments
    [A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir] Most singers in choirs don’t fit neatly into choral vocal ranges. Yet we try to squeeze them in to our off-the-shelf arrangements, chastising them when they can’t reach the notes.   photo by Garry Knight   How about thinking ... read more

  • Busily doing nothing – 5 reasons why downtime is important for singers and choir leaders

    Added January 1, 2020 by Chris Rowbury - 1235 views - 0 comments
    [A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir] Feel like you’re on a treadmill? Constantly learning and practising and planning but never arriving? Not enough time to catch your breath between concerts?   photo by Roger Gordon   Then you need some downtime! That is, time spent ... read more