Mark De-Lisser & Dominic Peckham Illustrations by Ross Crawford
LON DON • OX F O R D • N E W YO R K • N E W D E L H I • SY DN EY
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Published 2015 by A&C Black Publishers an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 50 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3DP www.bloomsbury.com Bloomsbury is a registered trademark of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 978-1-4729-2740-8 Text copyright © Mark De-Lisser and Dominic Peckham Illustrations © Ross Crawford All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means – graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or information storage or retrieval systems – without the prior permission in writing of the publishers. Typeset by Newgen Knowledge Works (P) Ltd., Chennai, India Printed and bound by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY This book is produced using paper that is made from wood grown in managed, sustainable forests. It is natural, renewable and recyclable. The logging and manufacturing processes conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin.
To view more of our titles please visit www.bloomsbury.com/music
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Contents About the authors 6 Introduction 7 Acknowledgements 8 How to use this book 9
Part 1: From the top
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1 Starting a choir 2 The search begins 3 Finding a good rehearsal space 4 One Voice, One Vision: aims and objectives 5 How many rehearsals? 6 Money, money, money 7 What voice am I? 8 One size fits all? 9 A choir with a difference 10 What’s your style? 11 Icebreaker
12 14 16 18 19 20 22 23 24 25 26
Part 2: Preparation and organisation
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12 A failsafe rehearsal plan 13 Warm-ups – why bother? 14 Sorry I’m late, again... 15 Achievable targets 16 Getting your choir to focus 17 Shut up and listen! 18 What are the lyrics again? 19 Listen and learn 20 Change it up 21 Scrambling 22 The Pressure Cooker 23 Creative improvisation 24 You are your brother’s keeper
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Part 3: In rehearsal
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25 Play the game 26 Identity and pride 27 Positive vibes 28 Crack the whip 29 Hitting a rut, and how to get out of it 30 Sectional leaders 31 Dead wood 32 Considering a cull? Meet it head on! 33 Please don’t go! 34 Blend vs great solo voices
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Part 4: Developing your singers
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35 Keeping the beat 60 36 Tricky rhythms 61 37 360° musicianship 62 38 Straight up! 63 39 Magic ingredient no.1: The engine room 64 40 Magic ingredient no.2: Much ado about nothing 65 41 Magic ingredient no.3: Making faces 66 42 Breathing, breathing, breathing 68 43 Words, words, words 69 44 Emotional extras 70 45 Ensemble skills 72 46 In or out (of tune) 73 47 A cappella 74
Part 5: Group dynamics
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48 Location, location, implication 78 49 Rows, and blocks ... YAWN! 79 50 Stamina for the show 80 51 The final countdown 81 52 Off by heart or from the dots? 82 53 Lord of the dance 83 54 Over to you 84 55 Sharing the spotlight 85 56 Looking good 86 57 What to wear 88 58 Let there be light 89 59 I can hear music 90
Part 6: In concert
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60 Choosing repertoire 94 61 Picking good vocal ranges 95 62 Notation or not? 96 63 Why bother singing a cappella? 97 64 Turn up the volume 98 65 The world’s a stage 99 66 Checkmate! 100
Part 7: Not just concerts
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67 Smart recording 102 68 Singing for weird events 103 69 Embrace your inner YouTube 104 70 Singing lessons 105 71 A different pair of ears 106 72 Singing for each other 107 73 Sharing concerts 108 74 Get your wellies on! 109 75 Respecting the body 110 76 A one off 111
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Part 8: Surviving in leadership
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77 It’s not about you 114 78 Friend vs Leader 115 79 Getting respect as a leader 116 80 I can’t sing! 117 81 First steps as a conductor 118 82 Don’t stop, never give up 119 83 Shared responsibility 120 84 DIY: Do it yourself 121 85 Metaphors and imagery 122 86 Singing lingo 123
Part 9: Making your voice heard
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87 Make some noise 126 88 Concert titles 127 89 Read all about it! 128 90 Social media savvy 129 91 We are family: your choral community 130 92 Who needs a website? 131 93 Great news travels fast 132
Part 10: Technology
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94 Make a video 95 Up in the cloud 96 Creating a professional recording 97 Crowdfunding 98 Making your CD legally 99 Mashing and looping 100 Making technology work for you
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Idea 21
Scrambling “My singers are getting a bit lazy in rehearsals. How can I keep them ‘on it’?” If your singers are in a daydream during a rehearsal, looking at phones, tweeting, ‘liking’ a photo or checking the football score, keep the session challenging by mixing things up a little. Here we try moving our singers so that they are physically further away from other members of their section. Taking it further... To increase the challenge, do this with material as it is being learned for the first time.
Bonus idea Once you have tried this a few times and if you have the space to move around, ask your choir to walk around the room while singing. This way the sound around them is constantly changing which in turn creates new challenges.
Prepare a list of songs or pieces the choir are already familiar with. Start your rehearsal as normal, but with each member beside someone from another section. Each singer should have a singer from a different section on either side. Sing through one of the pieces and ask the members how they found the experience. What did they have to focus on more? What did they find difficult? Did it positively influence anything? The sound will be different, so feed back to the choir on how the sound changed, what suffered and what improved. Try the next piece in new positions, but still scrambled, perhaps spreading out even more within the space, so the singers are more aware of their own voices. End the exercise with a break for tea and cake! Use this exercise regularly. It will not only help the singers to increase their concentration levels, but also consolidate their knowledge of their part.
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