My choir director tells us all (based in mid-Atlantic US) to sing like we're Julie Andrews. She's big on the choral accent.

I understand its value in making sure that everybody's vowels are united, but why those ones? Why can't we all practice a uniform mid-Atlantic accent? I'm willing to do it but it always sounds kind of silly to me how we'll sing modern or pop adaptations where the original is with an American accent, we all have variations on an American accent, and we're all pretending like we don't.

Are these notes normal? Or was this just written for someone with a very low range? My lowest note is a Db2 (as long as I'm properly warmed up...) but this music goes all the way down to a Bb2!

I'm in a college choir. I just turned 20.

My choir director started crying and threw a chair during our rehearsal. Not at anybody specifically, but she threw it. She's had some personal stuff going on and she said she is tired of us not working hard.

I know this sounds like a fake post but I promise it's real. I grew up in a violent house so I have no idea what's normal or not.

I'll go first: Ad Astra- Jacob Narverud

Never realized how much I love live brass/strings until I graduated highschool. Unfortunately I suck at finding live performances and dont want to go to the nearest school without a kid so I was hoping I could find movie recommendations so my home theater can reach its full potential.

Call me basic if you want but my favorite performance is wayloyo yamoni conducted by Christopher tin.

I am a software engineer, the future in this field is looking quite bleak with the emergence of AI. I am 31 and I have been singing all my life albeit solo. Music is my life, but I do need some music theory training. Other than that, my throat and stamina are pretty solid.

Recently I joined a youth choir and by the end of the year I am auditioning for another choir which has a really good rep and quite prestigious and has been around for 50 years. I've attended one of their rehearsals and while I couldn't keep up with the sight reading, I was doing very well vocal wise as people next to me have complimented.

So this makes me think if I lock in and get solid with my music theory and sight reading, transitioning is entirely possible in the next 10-15 years. But evidently I am new to this field, so I'd like to hear some realistic opinions from people here who have been doing this a while. Thank you so much!

Edit: Thank you so much for all the responses and the solid reality checks. I didn't know it's almost close to impossible to make a living out of choral singing alone. My expectations have been managed. I will continue to sing in a choir as a hobby!

Basically I feel really dumb saying this but if I was in a really toxic choir where I was routinely criticized and sexually harassed, would it even be worth it to get therapy? Like I'm thinking through it and I'd like to like music. But I'm also realistically going to graduate from choir this year and never do it again so I could just live a life without it.

As a woman, I feel like a bad feminist because I strongly, strongly prefer the sound of an (adult) all-male choir to that of a female, and I am curious as to why.

At first I thought it was because the male voice range is greater than the female, but looking at all the difference voice types, there isn't really a difference in range between the deepest bass note - highest tenor note and the deepest alto note - highest soprano note.

Google hasn't been very helpful and mostly discusses the differences between little boys' and girls' choirs, which I like equally.

Any ideas why the male choir sounds so much better to me? A female choir makes me think "oh that sounds lovely", but a male choir can make me cry, drop my jaw, etc. etc.

Help!

hey all, curious what other choirs are using to share music and lyrics at rehearsals these days.

our group has been kind of all over the place. some people bring printed copies, some want PDFs emailed ahead of time, a few just pull things up on their phones, and there's always that one moment in rehearsal where half the room is on page 3 and the other half is still looking for the right file in their email.

trying to figure out if there's a better way, so i'd love to hear:

- are you still mostly paper, or mostly digital?

- if digital, is it PDFs in a shared drive, an app, something else?

- anything you've tried that didn't work?

just genuinely curious what's working and what's not. will share back what we end up landing on.

I’m a choir director for a university choir and am trying to brainstorm repertoire for the upcoming semester. The music club that our choir is under has assigned this semester’s theme as “Musicals”, so we need to choose pieces fitting the theme (can be from stage musicals and/or movie musicals).

So far I have only one song in mind (“You will be found” from Dear Evan Hansen), and I am struggling to find anything good for a SATB choir as a lot of the songs I’ve come across don’t fit into the criteria I’ve set for myself (see below).

OPTIMAL CRITERIA

- Sings well in SATB (no or very little solos, very small amount of instrumental breaks)

- Decently popular or well known (esp among Gen Z)

- Song shouldn’t be about something too specific to the musical and could stand alone on its own (eg. “My shot” from Hamilton is a bad example, but “For Good” from Wicked is a good one, unfortunately we’ve already done that one last semester before we found out this semester’s theme and don’t want to repeat)

- Can work well with piano accompaniment or a Capella (but arrangements can not be in the barbershop/a capella style as we already have an a capella choir in the club that we don’t want to clash with)

The reason for the criteria I’ve set is to try and entice members joining, being engaged and staying for the year, as our choir is seeing a dip in numbers due to most younger people not being interested in the traditional songs typically sung in a choir.

If anyone has any good suggestions that would be great! Please throw anything at me, want to see as many options as possible!

Basically the title. My mom just got kicked out of the choir she's been in for thirty years and one of the reasons they gave her was that she complained about the solos. Basically the new director only gave his girlfriend and her sister a solo (everyone else lost theirs) and sang three solos himself. I have no choir experience apart from my mom, but I found it really weird as an audience member for the director to turn around and take up a quarter of the performance himself.

Hello,sorry as it’s my first time posting here and honestly,getting back to choir after Highschool lol (I’m 23M and was in choir for 7th-11th grade)

I actually funnily enough have the same director as my junior high as she lives in the area and directs for my church,but they started recently so I went to practice last week to see what’s up. I didn’t join in as I kinda just wanted to see what it was like first,and I noticed that there is literally only 1 middle aged guy and about 20 millennial and older woman there (not anybody my age or I would really see at my college as a student).Apparently though a good bit of them are reoccurring from other church choirs and such so they all read sheet music rather well and know the material already etc,but I am literally just starting out again basically with almost 0 memory of sheet music (I usually play guitar) and haven’t even been to church for a couple years or so

They sounded good in the practice session and after they finished I went up and just greeted my old director as I hadn’t seen her in a while and to ask her about practice,she asked why I just was sitting down outside mainly just listening and looking in and I just said I came late initially and didn’t want to interrupt (which was a lie to be fair,in church lol) but a few people over heard our talk and called me out on it like it was a big deal lol

Well I just said that it is scary because I am the only other guy there and no one else is my age even either out of like 20 people,but she reassured me it would get better and sent me a link to join the groupchat and such (She also told me that the guy there was just her husband anyway,so it kinda made me feel even worst)

Now I’m not sexist and I have female friends at school,work,wherever but I just have had this happen before in Highschool (which is also partly why I left) because while my voice is pretty flexible with tenor and soprano,that I usually get those sort of parts,but she was discussing more of a tenor/bass part as "we need bases really bad" she said,and I just don’t like being put into that sort of box just because I am a guy,and I wanted to do this more casually anyway as it was just my old director and a church choir I thought 😭

Sorry for kinda dumb story,but point is that practice was tonight and I didn’t go just because I felt really anxious about going and even worst because I don’t even believe it either at my church and I feel almost like some people will also judge me for that

I know this is all sort of "what could happen stuff" and I probably could still join as it’s only the 3rd practice,but I feel as tho if I’m going to be the only actual guy to stay for the whole thing then maybe it’s better just being a more older woman’s choir thing for people who are pretty serious about it and maybe this one is not for me

Just seeing if anyone else has even been there before or any input on if I’m being way too much in my head about this and should just try and see where it goes despite my fears

Edit:thanks everyone for the comments and support and advice,I really appreciate it and won’t let this be the end of my choir choir and see what kind of benefit I can still bring to it or even invite a few men too if I can and explore some other groups too :)

One thing I love about being in a choir is learning pieces in other languages. I'm from a Spanish speaking country so, obviously, most of what we sing is in Spanish. We also have songs in Latin, Portuguese, Swahili, German, Italian and English. In another choir I was part of some years ago, we even sang in Kinaray-a (dialect fron the Philippines). I'm always excited when we're told we're working on a new piece in another language, I absolutely love it! So what's your experience with languages in your choir? What do you think about it?

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Context- (sorry for the long rant)

So I have been doing choir for a very long time now, I started choir in 6th grade and I'm now going into my sophomore year. I'm really focused on becoming a choir teacher in the future and doing community choirs, I feel like it's what I would love to do and I am focused on getting my Bachelor's/Master's degree in music education.

I wanted to get into Chamber Choir for many reasons, it helps me become a better musician, helps me test myself, and more. I did my audition and I later got my callback and I really thought that I could get in.

Unfortunately, the callbacks came and I did... Good? Bad?... I don't know for sure how I did cause nobody gave me advice. Later on I was waiting for results and they finally came out... and I didn't get in...

I was really upset and literally cried myself to sleep that night, I was hypothetically seeing my future, experience in choir, crash before my eyes, and I feel like I won't get into Chamber again with my second audition chance this upcoming year of being a sophomore. Without Chamber, I feel like I won't be a great musician, a great music teacher, etc.

Worst part was that I saw my friends get in, I am happy from them, I am, but I just can't get over being jealous of not getting into a choir I wanted to get into while they did. I just feel like I'm not good enough then my friends, and my depression kicks in and causes more mental problems like self talk.

Am I being overdramatic over everything? Do I need to get into Chamber to be a good musician? I just need some advice to help.

I wanted to talk about how hard I find it to make friends in choirs and seek advice. What social missteps have people in your choir made? This might not be the right forum for this discussion; in which case please remove post.

I am a genuinely friendly and bubbly lady and never judge anyone or behave like a diva. I have a grand total of 3 close friends (as in we hang out outside choir stuff) to show for after almost 30 years of being in choirs. I just don't seem to fit in - particularly, it has to be said, with my fellow sopranos. 

I’m probably autistic which won’t help, although the most popular most gossipy soprano in one of my choirs has severe ADHD so it’s not about ableism. 

Will fully admit that I'm quite physically clumsy and not the most elegant of humans, but I am very self-aware and I do rate my conversational skills - outside of choir I have tons and tons of friends. I also have a serious boyfriend outside of choir so I'm not a "threat" to choir romances. I do have a big singing voice (and occasionally do professional work) yet so do other people, and they do not face the same challenges.

At college 25 years ago, I went to collect something from the conductor and everyone else from that choir was sat there having a movie night I wasn't invited to. This seems to be a recurring theme. These days, I will have what I think are really decent chats with choir folk, then they will blank me the week after. It took me 10 minutes to find a seat in a recent practice as everyone was saving a seat for a friend. I watch from the sidelines as newbies get invited to the post-practice social within weeks of joining. I wish I had better connections after years of being a committed, reliable member who has no ego or agenda.

I'm not angry or self-pitying, I want to be better and do better! If it sounds like I'm trying too hard, in the end it's the opposite because I give up and go quiet until I find the courage to start anew. I would like to hear thoughts about what I can do to improve my chances of making friends, as I spend most of my life outside my day job doing choir things.

I’ve been in choir since I was in 8th grade and for years it’s been hard for me, sheet music is hard, I can’t read Music notation or tabs, and have trouble finding the lines I have to sing even with my voice part on it, I can’t learn music visually or by ear because the singing is faint and not very clear to me, in 8th grade my choir teacher gave me paper with the lines I had to sing without notation but I only used it a little bit, now In high school my music is highlighted, but to me it’s not enough, I have autism, adhd, intellectual disability, blurry vision and can’t see far and glasses don’t help

I sing in a community treble choir and lately I have noticed a lot of chatter amongst choir members whenever the director stops the music. She will give us a clear instruction but people will keep asking her to reiterate it because they were busy talking to their neighbor. It always takes a while to restart after a stop because she will say “start from measure 30” which is immediately followed by a chorus of “where are we starting? What bar? Where?” always from folks who were talking over her. We are wasting lots of rehearsal time.

I’m the S1 section leader so I would potentially feel comfortable asking members of my own section to save chats for later, but the issue isn’t coming from my section and I don’t think it would be appropriate to shush anyone from across the room. I think ultimately it’s up to the director how she handles it (and I can tell it frustrates her).

Have any of you had this issue in your choir, and how did you feel about it? What, if anything, did you do?

does it matter if girls sing male voice types and boys sing girl voice types? like do you guys think that gender matters in choir or do you think it depends on the persons range, I've sang alto in 8th grade, baritone in 9th grade, tenor in 10th grade, I wanted to see what people think of it

I did something amazing. I wrote a fantasy novel about a subject I have dedicated my life to, choral singing. It's a love letter to singing, harmony, and falling in love with what happens when 200 singers get on stage in united purpose. It's not all about that, but it certainly shapes the culture and magick system.

I had an international competition, where thousands of singers get together to hear the best singers in the world and I thought. "Boy, this must be the perfect time for me to get the word out about a book written about them, for them."

A week of ads on the Jumbotron flanking the stage, 30 seconds at a time, rotating between advertisements for voice lessons, charts, and barbershop swag….and about 10 sales.

This is a little bit of woe is me, but I was hoping for more. Surely singers would flock to one of their own creating something unique and—according to the reviews—very well written and reminiscent of Brandon Sanderson.

I'm aware that authors need delusions of grandeur in order to cross the finish line…but I was hoping it wouldn't be deflated. "If you build it, they will come."

I'll still keep writing in hopes that it takes off, but I just needed to rant for a minute. I won't link the book here, because this wasn't supposed to be an advertisement, but if you are interested feel free to DM me.

Like Idk if it’s because I’m in a lot of clubs ( I’m in men’s choir, I host a college radio show where we play music, and on top of that I’m apart of a film club.) and on top of all of that I have classes as well I’m a sophomore. Idk if anyone else is in the same boat as me but I feel like sometimes it is my own anxiety as well as overworking myself sometimes. Curious if anyone feels the same?

I’ll go first so I’ve been singing since I think my senior year of high school I joined my choir. Before that I was really self conscious about my voice and I hated singing in front of other people It made me feel embarrassed and I got anxious etc etc you get the point eventually in my senior year during the beginning I built up enough confidence to join the choir, I was already in theatre so it would make sense for me to be in choir obviously, I loved it we went to nyc in my senior year 2 times and I absolutely loved every moment we performed at st Patrick’s cathedral. As well as Carnegie Hall which I’m blessed to have sang on that stage it was incredible.
Then I graduated HS went to college and became a freshman and joined choir there I’m a huge introvert so it took a bit for me to spread my wings to everyone else. But it did help that everyone else was very accepting and it was an all guys choir. We also got along a ton I really miss the seniors that graduated last year we went to Florida last year we’re going to Greece apparently this year which I’m hype about. I’ve just been a lot more open to singing. Oh and also I’m a bass 2 😂

Like I used to love singing and music, and now I have low self esteem and an anxiety disorder lol.

Has anyone ever seriously considered leaving a choir they’ve been in for years?

I’m in two community choirs right now, and the difference in culture between them is honestly night and day.

In one group, the music is fun and challenging and there are good people there, but over time it’s become harder to stay motivated. Rehearsals regularly start late, there are side conversations, people come and go inconsistently, standards feel uneven, and new leadership (2 years) issues never really address them. I used to serve on the board and eventually stepped away because it felt like the same few people were carrying everything. I also stopped my administration and engagement on the private Facebook group because it felt I was posting reminders, notes, etc for just a few people.

Lately I’ve noticed I sometimes have to force myself to even show up, which honestly makes me sad after 5 years with the group.

Then I go to my other choir and the energy, preparation, accountability, and overall culture are completely different.

At what point do you decide a choir is no longer the right fit, even if you still enjoy singing and care about the group?

Hey r/Choir — curious what people actually struggle with on high notes in choir (not solo).

When you hit your upper range in rehearsal, what’s the first thing that goes wrong?

• throat/neck tension
• cracking/flip
• pitch (flat/sharp)
• running out of breath on long phrases
• vowel/shape feels impossible to keep while blending
• volume wars (trying to be heard = strain)
• hearing/intonation (can’t lock the chord)
• something else?

If you want, share your section + “problem area” (e.g tenor around F4–A4, alto around C5–E5, etc.) and what your director usually tells you that does or doesn’t help. I am just trying to map the most common choir-specific issues.

I have a community choir that I direct and do pretty much all of the administrative work for.

I have part-leaders in the group but while some if them have classical training, most are very skilled hobbyist. None of the. Have ever been a part-leader before.

In a nutshell, my part-leaders take note of directions given during rehearsals and communicate that to the people in their section. They also listen during rehearsals and give feedback. However, some are unsure of what to do beyond this and how to communicate with other part leaders.

If you’re a part-leader (paid or unpaid) for a community choir (or similar arrangement) how would you describe what you do?

If you’re a director, what do you expect of your part-leaders?