The majority of people who sing in choirs do so for the fun and fulfilment of making

music in a group. It’s a break from the rules and routines of day to day life. How can we

strike a balance between requiring an appropriate standard of behavior from our choirs

and making sure that everyone’s still having an enjoyable time?

What type of choir do you run?

The type of choir you run will dictate to a great extent what is required of its members.

For example, if you run a large, ‘pay-as-you-go’ community choir, you may not be too

strict on their attendance. On the other hand, if you run a smaller chamber-style choir

where you only have a few voices on each part, you have to be more active in getting

people to commit to rehearsals and performances.

Performances

In the run-up to a performance, it can be crucial that members attend regularly so that

they learn their parts, and the conductor’s interpretation of the music, thoroughly. Many

choirs will have at least one compulsory rehearsal, particularly if they’re working with an

orchestra. With my community choir I haven’t ever insisted on a level of attendance as

it’s designed to be flexible for those with busy lives. However, I sometimes wonder if I

am being fair to those who attend week after week preparing for a performance when I

allow those coming along at the last minute to take part in that performance. It’s

sometimes a tricky balance and I have found individuals really vary. Some will let you

know whenever they can’t attend whilst others will just disappear then reappear some

weeks later. Again perhaps this goes back to the type of choir you run and its size.

A potential problem of having compulsory attendance levels is how to police it. If you

always work on a single performance before starting the next, it might not be too tricky.

But what if you’re juggling more than one project? What counts as a rehearsal for a

particular performance?

Behaviour in rehearsals

I hope you’ll agree that completely unruly behaviour in choirs is unusual as a level of
common courtesy and manners already exists in individuals. However, it’s important to

keep your choir in check as people can become excited about a song or seeing their
friends which can lead to noise levels increasing. If you have problems with individuals

who constantly interupt, this can be very annoying for other members. Rather than

create tension in the room, it might be worth having a chat with them in the break or at

the end and ask them if everything is okay and if there’s something you can help them

with. If the problem persists, you may need to tell them the expectations you have of

choir members and how they should conduct themselves to work alongside the others

to be part of the choir. Always be respectful – you’re guiding, not telling off.

In our experience, most ‘bad’ behaviour isn’t deliberate. We had a problem a while ago

with people saving seats in the rehearsal room for friends. Newer members felt

excluded and weren’t sure where to sit. The people saving the seats weren’t

deliberately trying to be hurtful or exclusive – they just wanted to sit with their friends.

Usually, a lighthearted reminder to the whole choir will do the trick.

A written code?

Some choirs have written codes of conduct which all choir members are expected to

adhere to. A written code has the advantage of being clear and, hopefully,

unambiguous. A possible disadvantage is that people could feel patronised and

resentful of the level of prescription. Whether you decide to have written rules or an

unwritten understanding, a good rule of thumb is to only make rules when they are

absolutely necessary.

Get the finances right

One area of running you choir where you may need to be more specific about rules is

finance. If there is a weekly or termly rate, you need to state this, ideally in written form

by way of letter or email. Members need to be clear about when they pay and how

much. If they pay a quarterly or termly fee which is non-refundable, you need to make

sure you have stated that. We often run workshops or activities for choir members for

which they pay fees. These days, we always state our cancellation policy explicitly and

take payment in advance. That way, we are able to make sure that our costs are

covered and that all our events are financially viable.

You have limited rehearsal time and a lot of ground to cover. You’re making progress
and the sound is good, but every time the music stops, the chatter begins. Sound
familiar? It’s a problem for choirs large and small, in every genre of music. So what can
you do? In this post, I’ll share my 3 top tips for maintaining good choral discipline.

First of all, let’s just hop off the podium and change our mindset from choir leader to
choir singer for a moment. Maybe its a long time since you sang in a choir, maybe not,
but when we’re in front of our choirs, it’s sometimes tricky to remember that the singer’s
experience is very different from the conductor’s. Of course choral singers want to be
part of making wonderful music, but they’re also engaged in a social activity. Interaction
between choir members is vital for them to bond as a group and develop a sense of
cohesion that they carry into their singing. So, bearing that in mind, how can we take the
fullest advantage of our rehearsal time without making our singers feel that they might
prefer to stay at home?

Take a break
Your singers need time to catch up with each other, share news, and talk about their
experience in the choir. Have a half-time break that’s sufficiently long to accomplish this.
If at all possible, make sure that space is available for people to hang around and chat
before and after rehearsals as well. In my chamber choir, we often retire to the pub after
rehearsal for a refreshing libation and a de-brief. That might not be feasible if your choir
is a hundred strong, but you get the idea. It’s much easier to insist on no chatter during
rehearsal if your choir has plenty of time for chatter outside rehearsal.

Be the strong, silent type

When I was at school, the teachers who were least effective at maintaining discipline
were those who shouted the loudest and most often. Shouting was their default, so we
just edited it out, ghastly kids that we were. The teachers we obeyed were those who
rarely or never raised their voices, and who only had to look at us with a steely gaze to
get our full attention.

I’m not suggesting that you treat your adult singers like schoolkids, but you can very
effectively employ the power of silence. I warn you though, it takes some guts if you’re
not used to it. When your choir finishes singing for a moment, and the inevitable chatter
begins, you just stand there, ready to conduct (possibly with a conspiratorial glance to
your accompanist) and wait. When you employ this technique for the first time, it will feel
like an eternity, but stay strong. Make eye contact with the choir and let them know that
you’re ready to conduct. And then wait some more if necessary. The ones who cotton
on to your readiness will “sshh” the chatterers until there is silence. This technique is
very powerful because you don’t undermine your authority by shouting or, worse,
pleading with the choir to be quiet. After a while, the time needed to bring the choir to
silence in this way will shorten and your singers will know that there isn’t time to chat
until they have a break.

Don’t forget, while you’re employing this technique, to smile. It’s not you versus them.
They’re just having fun, and anyway they’re probably talking about the piece.

Get everyone to sing everything

Choir discipline can be at its very worst when you’re “note-bashing”. Whichever part
you’re working on, there’s another two or three parts that are doing nothing and getting
bored. I get round this by getting everyone to sing everything, so if we’re learning the
tenor part, we all sing the tenor part. If, for example, the sopranos have the tune I might
get them to hum their part while the rest of us learn the bass part. Or maybe everyone
will hum their parts except the part that we’re focusing on. If we’re working on a section
where just the men are singing, I might have the sops sing with the tenors and the altos
sing with the basses. You get the idea – it’s mix ‘n’ match.

The upshot is, it’s great sight-reading practice, it keeps everyone engaged, and it gives
your singers a much better feeling for how the arrangement fits together.

So there we have it. 3 quick tips for better choir discipline.

Give your singers some designated chatter time

Use silence as a powerful tool to get silence
Get everyone to sing everything in rehearsals