31 things only people who’ve been in a choir will know
/Originally published November 14 2014
For many people, singing is saved for the shower and drunken karaoke nights only. But for members of the estimated 25,000 choirs in the UK alone (and anyone out there who sang in their school choir), there are a lot of things we have all come to know and love about being in a choir.
Here are 31 things we've learnt from running our choirs!
Feel free to leave your thoughts and comments about being in a choir below.
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1. The phrase "I can't, I have rehearsal"
2. All of your black clothes were originally purchased as concert clothing
3. Birthdays aren't birthdays without a rendition of 'Happy Birthday' complete with multi-part harmony!
4. "One more time" is always a lie
5. You can never wear too much make up for a show. Stage make up packs a punch in broad day light!
6. The awkward moment you start singing a bar early (particularly loudly!)
7. It sounds really good. Until you try and dance at the same time
8. When talking about sports, you accidentally refer to kick-off as 'curtains up' and half-time as 'the interval'
9. The joy of back massage lines during warm ups
10. November 1st? Bring out the Christmas music! All I want for Christmas is a cracking Christmas song
11. The moment during warm up scales when it becomes a soprano solo with a few valiant (and red-faced) altos and tenors joining in
12. Home alone? Time to start your concert (okay, rehearsal)
13. The squeals of joy in the alto section when they get the tune!
14. Getting a harmony line of a well known song stuck in your head and having people look at you like you've just re-written their favourite song
15. The section of the dance where you always hit the people around you. Show offs... in a choir?!
16. Every trick in the book to try and convince your friends and family to watch your next concert ("I look great in stage make up!" / "I'll buy your a drink afterwards!" / "Remember when I came and watched your 10k race at 8.30am once? In the snow...")
Source: Popsugar.com
17. The moment everything comes together and there’s a collective 'Ahh' (or even a round of applause, if you’re lucky!)
18. Sopranos only sing the top line so they get the tune, right?
19. When you’re having a bad day and all you want to do is curl up in bed but you still go to choir rehearsal and feel a hundred times better just from walking in the door. Singing is therapy
20. The way your choir directors look more and more dishevelled as your concert date approaches
21. The beat your heart skips when you realise you’ve left your music on the printer at work
22. That moment you have a clashy note in a song, and assume you’re wrong but the choir director congratulates you
23. When you find innuendo in a song, and giggle every time it comes round
24. When the girl/boy ratio is 20:1
25. When someone starts singing music from a past show, and everyone joins in. Once a choir member, always a choir member
26. When no one remembers the dance you learnt last week... or before the break
27. Short people always get put at the front
28. That one song with impossible lyrics you never really learnt
29. Exclaiming "I did this song in choir!" when you’re in the pub with your friends and everyone looks at you blankly
30. "Sorry, as I said last week (and every week before that), I can’t, I have choir"
31. When you realise that choir makes up at least 50% of your conversations, but you don't care, because you love choir
Let us know which are true for you!
We love getting groups singing, and would love to sing with you!
Email us at info@starlingarts.com to chat!
