Page 7 - Voice for Life Songbook 1

􏰀 Always be positive, even when you are correcting faults.
􏰀 Make sure you know the music well enough so you can look around at your singers while you are conducting. It is important to have eye contact with your singers while they perform.Wait until everyone is watching you before you start a piece.While performing a piece, see if you can get eye contact with every member of the choir.
􏰀 Do not single out the less able singers in front of the other singers and do not let anyone make rude comments about their singing.
􏰀 Never ask a poor singer to stop singing or stand at the back. Place a weak singer with two better singers, one on either side, without making it obvious why you are doing it.
􏰀 Begin your rehearsals with warm-ups, targeting areas you think may need improving.Try and incorporate difficult phrases from the pieces you are learning so that the warm-ups prepare them for the work later in the rehearsal.
􏰀 When working with children, you will find it easier to encourage them to perform with confidence if they have memorized the words and music. Particularly at primary school level, it is often unnecessary to use printed words or music at all. If you do need music/words for any
of the songs, you may find an overhead projector useful.This enables children to look forward as they sing, rather than looking down at word sheets.
􏰀 A greater sense of involvement, performance and enjoyment can be achieved if the choir is encouraged to move as it sings. If you include actions or movement, remember to practise these individually; the visual effect should enhance the performance without distracting singers from musical accuracy.
􏰀 Always end the rehearsal with a ‘performance’ of a piece, or part of a piece, which the choir can sing well.This will send them away with a sense of achievement.
􏰀 Encourage your singers to sing at home, so they are not just singing just once or twice a week, but daily. Singing is no different from playing an instrument – the more regularly you sing, the better you become.
There is more extensive advice available on the practicalities of running a choir in the Voice for Life Choir Trainer’s Book.
7
o