START A CHOIR

HELP Volunteer Choir Directors

December, 2007

coming soon: HUMOROUS ways to inspire your choir to sing YOUR WAY.

Artistree Ministry are now linked back to

START A CHOIR E-Magazine.

"HELP!!!

My very small Church

Wants ME (?) to

START A CHOIR!"

That was my first thought when friends* from my church brought up the idea of starting a choir. Ours is the typical small Adventist church--about 150? (I've never seen an official count.) members on the books, with regular attendance far below that. Our church had never had an "official" church choir before--only temporary "let's sing a cantata next month" or "we need special music next week" small groups. There was no choir music library and no budget to buy music, no choir rehearsal room, no room in the schedule, no regular singers, and definitely no budget to pay a choir director. You get the picture.

Well, I didn't have current information on anything, but I knew that I needed it. So I started gathering up "how-to" advice and lots of resources. The next step was obvious. If I needed all those resources, so would other musicians; so I decided to share the results of my research. Hopefully, this information will help you make the transition from musician to choir director and will contribute to the success of your choir.

*"with friends like those . . ."

This website is intended to share my research and experience starting a choir "from scratch." Several people have contributed the benefits of their accumulated knowledge. I will attempt to organize the philosophies, advice, tips, suggestions, promotion strategies, and resources in a form that will be the most useful. There will be links to music publishing companies, recommendations, free choral music sites, copyright information and other helpful websites. You will also have a chance to add your own advice to the website by contacting me or sending in the forms provided.

You will have to decide on your own whether or not the advice and resources work for your church and your group.

Thank God For Music,

If you find this site useful,

please link it to your website.

(Some page view counters have been reset to zero due to web host's hardware upgrade. -- After the zero-out, a few were reset to the last known count. Most recent reset was in August, 2007.)

Table of Contents

*Find it on the Navigator bar.

* Motivation tips*
* New Article: "Managing the Music Library"
Article: "How to Annoy & Alienate Your Choir Singers"
Article: "How to Alienate Your Pastor and Church"
Choir LINKS: booking information.
* Ask Marie, Q & A Choir psychology, conducting, & church-to-musician relationships questions answered. *
Article: "How to Kill a Choir"
International Web Visitor Registry See where Start A Choir visitors are from.
Choir of the Month Feature Page: You can Promote YOUR choir here.*
Help With Rhythm Send your rhythm-challenged singers here for basic accent information for common time signatures.
Can I Direct? Am I Able to Start a Choir? Questions to answer before deciding to start a choir.
Practical hints.* Help from people, technology and planning.
Why I Volunteer. An interview with a volunteer minister of music for a Methodist church.
International Copyright Information *
Free Music:* Lots of websites that will send you free choral music.
*New Resources *
*New Choir Directors' Favorites* Favorite titles, music, products.
Chapter 10 of How It All Started. The continued story of how one small church got their choir.
*Promotion.*Your Church Needs a Church Choir, or enough reasons to persuade your church to Start A Choir.
Is My Church Too Small for a Choir? or "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Choir Loft." Observations about how having a choir affects church attendance.
*How to Choose Music * for your choir
*Copyright Information:* what's legal, what isn't, and how to find out where to pay the royalties that make certain uses legal.
The Ultimate Free Music: Use the Hymnal to make your own arrangements, or write your own.
*Get Started.* How to Begin a Choir
*Can I Direct?*Am I Able to Start a Choir?
*Conductors' Organizational Tips*
*Conducting and Rehearsal Techniques*
*Conducting Patterns *
"Advice" from Audrey Dean-Wright
"Music Is Humble" by Joelle Gouel
"Choir Starting Tips" from Don Land
Volunteer Music in the Adventist Church
How It All Started. The continued story of how one small church got their choir.
*Singers' Page: * Tips for the choral singer
*Pastors' Page: * Why communication is necessary, How to communicate with a Choir Director, and Why the choir needs what it does.
*Questions and Answers*, Ask Marie.
*Contact* Information and Contributors' Guidelines

*Find it on the Navigator bar.

This is an e-magazine. It will be much better and more interactive if you submit your resources, articles, questions, and ideas.

Feedback, submissions, ideas? Go to contact page

or email composurself@aol.com

(All replies are considered for publication unless you ask NOT to be quoted or listed.)

Your contact information is NEVER sold and is only published if you ASK to be linked as a resource.

ONLY MUSIC & CHURCH MUSIC-RELATED items are accepted. All correspondence, URL's and resources are reviewed for relevant content before being added.