Liz, this reminds me of a time when I discovered by accident a way of engaging the singers in my choir more. I had had a bad cold and lost my voice for the first time in my life. I could just about whisper and very gently sing single notes.
It was choir night and I felt well enough to lead the session, but I had no voice! Because I was virtually silent for the whole session, people paid far more attention than usual, chit chat amongst singers disappeared, everyone slowed down and there was no tension in the room, singers listened to each other more, and singing was far more nuanced.
What I did think afterwards though (and this may well apply to the suggestions you make too), was that if I tried this tactic too often, the novelty would wear off and things would revert to how they had been before.
Which means ... we have to have a variety of strategies up our sleeves which need to be constantly refreshed.
Liz, this reminds me of a time when I discovered by accident a way of engaging the singers in my choir more. I had had a bad cold and lost my voice for the first time in my life. I could just about whisper and very gently sing single notes.
It was choir night and I felt well enough to lead the session, but I had no voice! Because I was virtually silent for the whole session, people paid far more attention than usual, chit chat amongst singers disappeared, everyone slowed down and there was no tension in the room, singers listened to each other more, and singing was far more nuanced.
I wrote it up on my own blog: Little voice
What I did think afterwards though (and this may well apply to the suggestions you make too), was that if I tried this tactic too often, the novelty would wear off and things would revert to how they had been before.
Which means ... we have to have a variety of strategies up our sleeves which need to be constantly refreshed.
Chris
From the front of the choir