10 Ideas to Keep Choristers Interested

Here are ten tips to keep choral students alert and interested. Take these as suggestions. Obviously, there are many other tricks some other conductors may have found useful and effective. But this may be very helpful to the neophyte and to the "has-been" who may be losing the touch lately.

Some Opening Spiels.
Provide them with the big picture. Detail to your choir your plans for the night. Also, instead of admonishing the choir as practice ends, do the reminding and warning, if necessary, as the session begins. Drop the "bomb" right away. Tell them to "kill" the distractions before they begin. Distractions can be persons coming in late, the greeting and talking to latecomers, kidding around, chattering, SMS texting, et al. Make them feel that there is a need to deliver and that time is of the essence. So, also be brief here yourself.

Assign Music Portions to Group Study.
Zero in on difficult passages and assign these by vocal groups. Leaving them for about less than 10 minutes to study the difficult sections of the music will make them focus on them, and thus increase the possibility of them mastering it before the session ends. Do the polishing as you return.

Put Someone "On-the-Spot."
Randomly call somebody and ask him to read aloud or sing a certain line from the piece at hand. Or ask him how he understands the song's message. Try to give a positive comment or a constructive correction if he fails to deliver. You may or may not call another person. This will keep people on their toes.

Let Them Massage Each Other's Shoulders.
Routines could bore us. So, halfway through, let them give each other a back rub or a shoulder massage. It could do wonders. It will restore the zest and energy of the singers.

Let Someone Speak His Mind.
Beforehand, ask a member to prepare a 3-4 minute speech of his own (or give it as an assignment for the next meeting) about anything under the sun, which he believes would benefit the choir. But give him the spot after music has been learned, so it would not distract the thought flow of the group in the middle of study.

Some Humor Helps.
Inject some good-natured humor. Don't be too serious about really entertaining them though. A lot of times, you just have to be natural and spontaneous. Nothing scripted here. But avoid making fun of people.

Give Credit Whenever Credit is Due.
Praise individuals or groups for past effort and performance. E. g. the soloist who did a fine job last Sunday, a group who 'finally' learned an extremely difficult portion of the song, or individuals who "took an extra mile" for others or the whole choir.

CAYGO (Clean-As-You-Go!)
Giving them some chores, no matter how simple would give them a feeling of usefulness. Have a schedule of cleanup assignments. Divide the choir by SATB and by groups let them do the preparation of the venue, the preparation of music pieces, and the cleanup. Mention their performance as in No. 7 the next time you meet.

A Solo Number After the Rehearsal
As the practice ends (scheduled), someone will render a special number. This is double-purposed. You find potential soloists, watch that person's "growth" as a singer, and get to entertain the group simultaneously.

Surprise Them from Time to time.
Use your ingenuity. I have some in mind, but this part I leave to you. And I would definitely appreciate it if you could share them with me, won't you?