Teaching

If singers consistently sing flat, the problem is most likely related to a lack of breath support.  Just like Mama Bear’s porridge, which was too cold and needed to be warmed up, flat singers need [...]

In Bottoms UP! I suggested that the choir is better served by having the piano cue them from the bass up, not the top down. Here’s another piano Cue Tip that is helpful to the [...]

Whether it is nobler for the conductor to sing while conducting or not . . . THAT is the question.  And the answer is not simply yes or no.  Here are some thoughts.  If a conductor [...]

  In any choir I’ve led, the sopranos always ‘get’ their parts before the altos, tenors and basses.  But it’s not because sopranos are smarter or better musicians.  It is simply because the melody is [...]

One of my all-time favourite jazzy-sounding chords is the ‘Greensleeves’ chord... the  chord of the added 9th.  I learned it from Fred Harding who mentored my own ‘playing by ear’ with his Sunday morning offertories. [...]

I love the way certain words just sound like their meaning... like muffin. When I see the word, and say the word, I can almost smell the warm, freshly baked goodness wafting from the kitchen. [...]

When things aren’t quite coming together you need to stop singing and start saying!  Because, sometimes a word rhythm just doesn’t feel right until we routinize it or make it natural.  Saying it together in a [...]

I’ve often admitted that the hardest thing to get used to when leading a group is ‘being naked in front of them’.  And if you’re an introvert like I am, you’ll know what I mean. [...]

There’s nothing like getting down to basics.  And there’s nothing more basic than the title at the top of the page!  When was the last time you referred to the title when trying to teach a [...]