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Extra-curricular activities

Find advice on the best extra curricular activities in secondary schools and primary schools here.

cathedral choir

12 replies

notanidea · 18/01/2010 22:52

DD would like to learn singing.I have spoken to her teacher regarding choir. what exactly are the benefits. Everyone says it ia good for singing but can some one explai n how does it actually help. Thanks in advance

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HallelujahHeisBorntoMary · 19/01/2010 07:34

DD is in the church choir. It has taught her so much - she has learned to read music, she has learned about vocal exercises, warming up the vocal chords, stretching her singing range, she is learning to sing more and more complex pieces of music, singing and holding a different tune from others around her, and lots more.

Its also taught her commitment and discipline, IMO

ZZZenAgain · 20/01/2010 12:48

not really sure I understand - you think being in a choir might not make much difference to how she sings, is that it? Don't know how that could be the case unless it was one heck of a crap choir really.

Depends on age a bit too. Dd goes to a fab choir. I would not honestly say she has a breath-takingly beautiful voice solo and neither do a lot of girls but when you hear them singing TOGETHER after instruction, it sounds magnificent. I think it's quite amazing to hear the effect a choir has.

I've found it helps with training the ear. A lot of singing must involve listening to yourself and dd has to do this (in theory at least) for violin too so spin-off effect is beneficial.

Singing generally is good exercise too - lungs. And it looks like fun. You should see the beaming faces of those girls when they run off after choir practice still singing. I don't know maybe there are bad choirs, am not great judge of singing myself but I think the benefits are enormous actually.

Ours do warm ups (fun), scales (they don't seem to mind it), learn new songs and work on them and it doesn't seem a trial at all. Sounds good when they are all singing together and it is less intimidating for a child than singing alone in front of a teacher. To sing well you need to acquire a few skills, in a choir you'd learn how to sight read music presumably if you did not know how, you learn to hear and recognise notes and hear whether you are in tune or not, you learn to blend in with other voices, where to get your voice from (ie preferably not pressed out off the throat), how to articulate when you sing and how to project your voice- all sorts of things.

Why not try it?

ZZZenAgain · 20/01/2010 13:31

just another thought about choir. Dd was in a school choir year 2 which she enjoyed but where AFAIK they did none of that, just learnt new songs and sung them together. She found it enjoyable but I don't think she would necessarily have progressed much in terms of developping musicality/her singing voice.

Presume though a cathedral choir involves singing instruction so should be good so long as your dd likes the atmosphere and the people and your timetable allows it.

notanidea · 20/01/2010 19:57

zzzenagain - thanks for your reply. I am new to all this and the choir she would be in is fantastic and the children love it. I just wanted to know exactly how it helps them. Not a question mark about the choir - just genuinely interested in knowing howit helps thats all.

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ZZZenAgain · 21/01/2010 10:17

am not the big expert either. I've found a good choir is great for dc. Only situation where I personally would hesitate is the cathedral school set-up where choristers have practice every morning before school and a lot of other singing committments in addition to regular school days. If it is that kind of set-up you're looking at, I think it can be good for the dc but you have to know your dc and just how long a day they can realistically manage.

AMumInScotland · 21/01/2010 10:51

If your dd wants to sing, then it can be fun and encouraging to sing in a choir instead of just on your own or with a teacher, and you obviously also have the chance to sing things in different parts which helps you leanr how the different parts of the music all join together to make a more full and interesting sound than a single voice.

It also gives you a group of people of a similar age that you have in common with, which is always enjoyable.

And lots of choirs will teach things like reading music, and vocal exercises, which she might or might not get form her singing teacher.

A cathedral choir is a much bigger commitment than the usual kind of childrens choirs - my DS was a cathedral chorister and that meant practice every day before school, more practice and services after school, plus 2 services every Sunday. It was a massive committment, but gave him a wonderful musical education plus lots of self-discipline. But I'm assuming that's not the kind of choir you're thinking about at this stage?

notanidea · 21/01/2010 19:44

It is a school choir(junior girls ) do practice in the school time 2 times a week and has commitment one of of the school evenings and some weekend in the cathedral . Boys have a lot more commitment than the girls. I have spoken to DD and other mums whose children are going and I am going to speak to the choir master who is responsible tomorrow. Thanks everyone for all the advice given so far.

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ZZZenAgain · 22/01/2010 14:17

how did you get on with choir master NAI?

Lilymaid · 22/01/2010 14:27

A few ideas (from my experience of adult choirs):
It can improve self esteem - you have the chance to perform to a high standard in front of other people
You make new friends and might visit new places on tours/for concerts
It improves your own self discipline
It improves your concentration - you have to concentrate or you lose your place!

notanidea · 22/01/2010 14:39

I have mailed her ( I spoke to two mums whose daughterS go to the same choir) and apparently she( the choir master/maam is wonderful) and children really have a good time. I have mailed them and hope she will get in. She is musical and hopefully she will have a good time as well. Thanks lilymaid. She is a shy girl and she has started to come out of her shell recently and I will be very happy if it improves her self esteem as well. One of the girls mum offered to share the picks ups and for the weekend - either me or my DH dont work together during the weekend.

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ZZZenAgain · 22/01/2010 16:57

it does sound nice then. If she is musical and they have places, I should think she will have a good chance of getting in. Will the practices during the school day be during the lunchbreak? You could always give it a term and see how your dd copes with the additional workload and how much pleasure she gets out of it.

notanidea · 22/01/2010 18:32

They have a music period - chorister do singing practise whereas the rest of them do an instrument either a recorder / violin. They also have another singing practice and call it as a class period - choristers do singing whereas the rest of them do reading and finish off the work in any subject which they could not during that time ( apparently the class teacher and an assistant are present) The teacher did tell that DD would not have any problem missing that as she normally does reading and finishes most of the work

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