Q&A Rehearsals
Where does choir rehearse?
Malmesbury Town Hall, in the Old School Room.
When does it rehearse?
Monday evenings, 7:30 – 9:30 for about 44 weeks of the year, broken into 4 ‘Quarters’. Exact dates for each quarter are made available in the Members’ area of the website.
What do I need to bring to rehearsals?
Your music, water or some other non alcoholic beverage. Some members find it useful to record rehearsals on a phone to help them practise later. A pencil to make annotations on the music.
Will we use sheet music or just lyrics and our ears to learn the songs?
Sheet music will be used for all pieces. Members will receive one copy each, and it will be the member’s responsibility to keep that music safe and bring it along each week. Duplicate copies will need to be charged for at £2 per copy.
What if I need help with learning the song?
The great thing about our community choir is that each section has a strong comeraderie, helping each other with learning notes and getting the pitch and timing right. Some members have more musical experience than others and are always happy help. The accompianist often makes recordings of each part, which are made available on the Members’ area of the website for extra practice and musical director will also continually provide professional guidance as rehearsals progress. If you are still worried, please contact us and we will do whatever we can to help!
Do I have to be able to read music?
No, most learning is done by ear, through the piano accompaniment. Even if you can’t read music, you can soon associate a note from the pianist with a note on the sheet music, even if you don’t know what it is called.
I don’t know which choir part I can sing, what do I need to do?
There are four sections to the choir. Soprano (women – high), Alto (women – not so high), Tenor (men – low) and Bass (men – very low). When you join, just go and sing with the section you think you would feel most comfortable in. So, if you’re a woman and feel you won’t be able to hit the really high notes, go and sing with the altos. You won’t be stuck in whatever section you start in; if it doesn’t work for you, you can always move! If you’re really not sure where you belong, the Musical Director can help you establish which part you naturally sing.
Will there be social activities?
Yes, absolutely! Singing in a choir is a very social activity by its nature and we have plenty of laughs. We just need to remember that rehearsals form a very important part of creating a fantastic sound. With that in mind we do ask that choir members maintain focus and attention with the Musical Director during the rehearsal and minimise social chit chat and other distractions until after the rehearsal when we can decamp to the pub. There are times when you will need to sit quietly and wait while other parts practice a section.