The Choir

Just come across a copy of today's Sunday telegraph magazine in which Michael Deacon reviews The Choir. This is part of what he says:

"In each of the original 4 series of The Choir, Gareth Malone taught choral singing to a single group or community (an all-boys school or the wives of British servicemen). In Sing While You Work, he sets up choirs at various workplaces and then pits them against each other. Personally I preferred the first version. In spirit it felt so unlike other TV talent shows; above all else it was about using music to unite a community, give shyer members self-confidence, get them working together to achieve something they all felt proud of. And have a lot of fun too. It was uplifting."

He says more, but that is the gist of it - and hear hear say I!

So glad I found the U3A singing group here. I feel far more confident about opening my mouth!
And there is a prospect of a folk song group too.
I protested in the first group about singing too much Rodgers and Hammerstein.....but now we are into C......s songs!

My OH has PD and his voice is very quiet and he finds it harder to control - but he sings with my choir and enjoys himself.

I always tell people to sing the bits they can manage and leave the other bits to someone else - we have not yet been faced by a deafening silence! The important thing is the being a part of it and having some fun!

I wish... I would love to sing in a big choir, belting out Belshazzar's Feast. But my vocal chords have been damaged by stomach acid and although I can reach some very high and very low notes, my middle range is creaky to put it mildly. Not that I was ever a great singer - my sister used to nudge me in the ribs at church when we were teenagers.

Interesting debate this.

Regarding not being able to sing..there is a book/cd called 'Singing for Dummies' which I bought years ago. It is a mix of clever technical instruction and sound advice with useful voice training exercises on the cd where you can mimic the two singers on the disk. I use it in the car on the way to rehearsals/concerts, mainly to warm up my vocal chords which now that I am ageing, need plenty of warming up! On that subject I watched Celine Dion talking to Jonathon Ross last night and showing him an incredible voice warm up technique. So if someone with a voice range like Celine Dion needs to warm up - that makes me feel better!

I sing soprano (the easiest voice because we usually have the melody) in a choir but am unable to pitch by sight unless I have guidance - then I'm ok. I learn each piece off by heart but still get told off by my betters because my enthusiasm sometimes makes me forget note values. It is a truly rewarding activity if you can overcome your fears.

I used to be in a local choir which once a year, in September, joins up with choirs from all round the UK to "Sing for Water" at the Thames Festival, raising money for Water Aid. As the last year or so has been quite busy for me, I haven't been going but it truly was a lovely experience to sing with so many other choirs.

There is something really uplifting about singing in a choir.

I suppose with competition it does sharpen performance. Brass Bands and Male voice choirs seem to go in for this in a big way. Its not difficult these days (unless you live in the sticks) to find a choir that will suit whatever stuff you want to do.

Truly yogagran people come to my choir and say exactly what you are saying and then get carried along with it all, and before you know it - bingo, they are singing!! There is nothing like a group of others around you to help guide you to the right notes.

mishap asked what we meant by not being able to sing. Just that I'm afraid mishap, I've tried (seem to remember that I wasn't too bad at school), but now I can't hold a note, keep changing octaves as I don't know whether to go high or lower, it's flat - it's really horrible! Even my DC used to ask me to stop when I tried to sing to them

I've considered lessons but feel too embarrassed to try now

I watched the programme last night on BBC4 (Sacred Music
The Story of Allegri's Miserere) that a previous poster mentioned and thought it was fabulous

But isn't there a middle way. With all that competition in life now, people need how to motivate themselves for joy & common purpose. I'm not against competition but it can either be the prime reason or a subordinate one where it can improve performance. I used to sing in a choir in Bath for fun & performance & at a high standard. Every year we entered one or two competitions and had great fun, sometimes winning but mainly they stopped us being complacent & we got new ideas from others.
Re class: The founders of this and many other choirs were not stereotypical middle-class choirs. Their founder & half the members lived on council estates with jobs as sales assistants etc. The others were every other class, education & job & the woman who stood next to me is a multi-millionaire inventor's wife (you probably have an invention in your home). Our repertoire included Britten, Bach, Mozart etc. as well as Beach Boys & Beatles & nothing had to be dumbed down. So many working class people in the past learnt their music in Chapel & Church, colliery & factory.

Good post specki - primary schools refusing to do any competitive sport is an example of silliness.
I personally would prefer not to belong to a choir that is part of a competitive framework because I just want to have an enjoyable sing, not spend many many hours perfecting one or two songs.

I agree Specky that competition in itself is not necessarily a bad thing, but it is not always appropriate. Mastermind, University Challenge, Only Connect etc. - fun and interesting.

Malone's programmes used to be about encouraging people to the knowledge that singing is for everyone. So many have been told at school that they cannot sing, or that it is not cool, and they finish up missing out.

Already several people have posted on this thread to say they cannot sing - what do they mean by that? That they cannot sing to performance standard, or some other standard that they have set for themselves. Go to Africa - people just sing for the joy of it and do not worry about whether they are "good at it." They just throw themselves into all that singing brings - better health, better mood, the joy of a joint undertaking with others.

Malone's first programmes brought all of that and the competition was not needed. There is a strong enough pressure telling people that they cannot sing without introducing an element of "failure."

The way TV directors milk the competitive element in programmes is often distasteful and degrading, exploiting the sad desire of the vulnerable to be in TV at all costs with the hope of becoming a "celeb."

I woke up in the night and got to thinking about competitions. I arrived at the conclusion that the competition element in these things has to be perceived an essential part. Ok the wringing of emotion that producers love to emphasise is just 'telly' - 'bland and emotionless' would not add to the viewing figures. Its their job.

LIFE is competitive, children are encouraged to play competitive sports; to sit exams where their results will be compared with others; to try to be top of the class. Adults continue to strive to win - remember the magic of last years' Olympics? Competition is healthy and drives individuals to success. Whats wrong with that? So often these days, we hear of silly rules like teachers not being able to use red marking pens for fear of hurting someone's feelings - oh purrleees!!!!

Watch the faces of those choristers when they enter the final competition - they're full of joy and anticipation. Those who win are ecstatic and those who don't win have the satisfaction of knowing that they took part and tried. C'est la vie as we say in France!

Indeed - the time when he got those boys singing was wonderful. It gave them such confidence in the arts-deprived environment of a sport-obsessed school where macho was all that mattered. I really took my hat of to him.

I was only able to watch half of it and I don't think I'll bother with the rest. It's all been done before and like Mishap, I don't like the songs.

To return - the early ones, especially in the boy's school made me cry - so much hard work with kids who really needed something special to achieve & they got it. Similarly the community choir - really showed Gareth had guts. There was still an element of competition with other choirs but it wasn't the be-all-and-end-all of the series. One knock-out series with company choirs was enough. I do find the inner workings & culture of the companies interesting though.

Doomed, we're all doomed graces mum

I deny everything!!

Must have been mishap

I knew this thread was doomed ("we're all doomed, Captain Mainwaring") when Mishap (or was it JessM?)started talking about *Natural Vices*

There was a very interesting study done which followed peoples' eye movements using some sort of laser technology, which meant that a little red dot appeared wherever their eyes were looking when they were in a roomful of people. It was very revealing!

Letting your mind wander during the boring bits of a rehearsal when you are not allowed to talk means it's not just the MD who comes in for scrutiny.

Jess really! I never expected apologies.(or a lecture!)

All I did was show that I was offended. I was not nasty about it. If it made others feel better then good for them. Enjoy......

I'm not apologising I'm afraid MargaretX - such humorous moments occur in face to face conversations on all subjects (even in serious business meetings) and thank goodness they do, or wouldn't life be dour. I think we all need our spirits raising a bit after such a sad couple of weeks.

Sorry if the bit of humour offended! - humour is the stuff that keeps us young and fit - laughter therapy is all the rage now.

I take choirs very seriously indeed - promoting choirs, conducting them and singing in them have been part of the whole of my life - and very wonderful it is too!

Competition can be good, especially where they is constructive advice from the judges - I just dislike the fact that it seems to permeate everything on TV now - even programmes, like Malone's original choir ones, where it is not appropriate. I dislike the idea of trying to wring emotion from people for the sake of "good" TV rather than for the benefit of the individuals involved.

The original programmes where he went into schools and got young people singing were truly inspirational.