Sector: Housing
Location: Wakefield
Participants: 4
Workshop type: Half day workshop
I’ve visited Stoney Garth many times to perform with my choir for the residents. This time it was nice to visit and sing with the residents who we’ve got to know over the years. The group was only small but we learnt a song in two parts and had lots of fun warming up our voices together. Since my visit the residents have been more excited about singing and one has even joined a choir.
The participants knew me, having seen me directing my choir many times, however, three of the singers were very quiet and nervous about being heard – in a group of just four, that presented some difficulties. Some of them had sung karaoke before, but never sung harmonies.
We spent plenty of time warming up and getting comfortable singing. One of the singers is a seasoned choir member so she took the harmony line and I worked on building the other singers’ confidence up so they could take the tune. We built up each section line by line, making sure everyone was happy before moving on. They grew in confidence as the song started to come together.
The group was incredibly happy with the final song and couldn’t quite believe they’d managed it. They reported feeling great after the session. Now, when the participants meet up, they talk about the workshops and singing, and one was so happy about how singing made her feel, she joined a local choir!
“I found that absolutely brilliant, very exhilarating, it really buoyed everybody up, really fantastic. Singing makes me feel better, it makes me feel good and most of all, I enjoy it. Singing is a most essential part of my life, it helps me focus, it gives me happiness and it does make you feel better all round. Singing brings you together and you have better friendships, it helps you make friends. If you’re thinking about starting singing, just go for it, there’s nothing to lose, you don’t need to be a great singer, you don’t
