THE Choir Trainer's TOOLKIT
A Guide for Reluctant Choir Trainer's
Introduction
This site is intended for reluctant, stand-in conductors and choir-trainers. Those people who, in normal circumstances, would not choose to train and direct a choir; those who realised that without
their help a choir would wither and die. (Or those who stood still when everyone else took one step backwards.)
There are many small church choirs scattered up and down the country saved from oblivion by a member of their own ranks who, when qualified and/or experienced leadership left and couldn't be replaced, stepped forward
to keep things going. They may be experienced singers who have learned much as a choir member but haven't had to actually take charge before. Or perhaps, someone who has agreed to the play the organ and then discovered
that there is a choir to run. It's not unknown for such people to find, some months or even years later, that they are still in harness with no relief immediately in sight.
Always, always, always (assuming that it's possible) have a tuned instrument available for accompanying rehearsals. Singers can't learn to appreciated accurate pitch if all they hear is a howling organ
or jangling piano.
These pages do not pretend to be an exhaustive treatise on directing a choir, but rather a compilation of the most important things to take into account,
with some pages of deeper background available for those who need or want them.
The points below are not given in a pre-conceived order of importance, as that order could be different from place to place.
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Courage
There's a popular image of The Conductor,
forged during the 19th Century, of a wild genius, hot-lined to Eternity, seeking to draw from the music great philosophical and human truths. Well, this may be true in some circles, but mostly the whole process comes down to making sure that everyone starts and stops together, sings in the same way, and doesn't sound too unpleasant. Within these prosaic parameters, and perhaps a touch of imagination, a lot can be achieved.
In other words, don't feel overwhelmed by the situation. Within a church, the choir director's job is to make sure that everything is satisfactorily done; to be an enhancement of a service rather than a distraction.
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Competency
It's useful if a choir's director has a little more knowledge of music than the members. Although it's not totally necessary, an understanding of music at least equivalent to that to be found in The Singers Toolkit is worth striving for (if not already achieved).
If you could persuade your singers to get to grips with these pages as well, a lot of time and grief in rehearsals would be saved.
Some pages go well beyond the knowledge needed for simple survival (see the Menu page) but if you have time to become confident with these, the process of directing and running
a choir will become much easier.
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Rehearsals
Have them. Even is it's only for 30 minutes on a Sunday morning. It's important that a choir knows what it's doing, even if it has done all of it before. It can be very distracting if, during a service,
some choir members are trying to catch up with what's going on. If it's possible, hold rehearsals some other time in the week so that performances can be more secure and the singing a little more polished.
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Budget
However modest the choir, and however restricted it's ambitions, it's always useful to have access to some funds for development and new repertoire without expecting members to pay for things themselves. A bit of negotiation with church councils may be needed.
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Profile
If a choir hopes to gain new members, it's vital that people know about it and how to make contact with it. If a church's magazine, newssheet,
or website don't mention the choir of who runs it, this is a really important thing to rectify. There are churches that advertise on Organists Online that,
although seeking an organist and choirmaster (so we know that they have both) don't mention either on any of their publicity material.
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New Repertoire
It's hard to persuade people to come to rehearsals if they are only going to run through the same pieces they have been singing for years. Every choir need challenge and variety if it is going to grow. There are lots of free pieces suitable for small church choirs on The Small Choirs Website, and the Simple Arranging page of this site shows how to prepare simple pieces yourself.
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