Singer’s Toolkit 2

Join Ben for a unique course that will explore the art of reading music in context. We will begin at the beginning (a very good place to start!), inviting you to sing along as we build from reading basic rhythms and pitches to sight-reading long sections of music with increasing complexity.

This practical course will look at a wide range of musical styles and genres with tips and exercises to develop your music reading and singing from beginner to advanced level. Everyone who signs up will receive a pack of digital music to sing, with approx 50 extracts in total to sing during the course all with recorded piano accompaniment.

This sing-along course will continue on seamlessly from the first Singer’s Toolkit, yet it does not require having taken part in that course. Those who sign up for this course are invited to buy the first Singer’s Toolkit course at half price at £22:50 (originally £45) - please see here for more details: https://choiroftheearth.com/singers-toolkit

Course Outline

The course includes six LIVE teaching sessions led by Ben England BEM. Each session will take the form of an 80 minute broadcast on YouTube, followed a 30 minute live Zoom chat where you can ask Ben follow-up questions.

Wednesday sessions start at 19:00 UK time, while Sunday sessions start at 17:00 UK time.

The outline for each session is as follows:

Session One on Wednesday 28th September 2022 at 19:00 UK time: Moving by step, simple rhythms

Our first step is to sing the simplest rhythmic patterns to notes that either stay on the same pitch or move by step. Dynamics will be simple - loud/quiet.

Session Two on Sunday 2nd October 2022 at 17:00 UK time: Small leap, dotted rhythms

The second step is to incorporate leaps of a minor or major third, and add in simple dotted rhythms. We will begin to include dynamics that increase or decrease as the piece progresses.

Session Three on Wednesday 5th October 2022 at 19:00 UK time: Larger leaps, unexpected rhythms, varied dynamics

By this time we will be looking to take larger leaps of up to a 5th and any other intervals in between. Rhythms will be varied and dynamics beginning to require careful planning. We will start to see unexpected rhythms and pitch leaps to catch you out…

Session Four on Sunday 9th October 2022 at 17:00 UK time: Wider still and wider, tempo changes, triplets

This fourth session will include a widening range of pitches up to a 6th, and may include sequences of trickier intervals. New rhythmic devices will be introduced including triplets and more elaborate dotted rhythms. Tempo changes and the full range of dynamics will be explored.

Session Five on Wednesday 12th October 2022 at 19:00 UK time: Anything goes!

Intervals will include anything up to an octave, with unexpected rhythms and leaps. Dynamics will be gradual and require careful attention, along with a range of flexible tempi and articulation.

Session Six on Sunday 16th October 2022 at 17:00 UK time: All together now…

We will explore extracts from operas, oratorios, folk songs and more, examining the scores carefully before singing along with the accompaniments. We will look at the ways in which music can catch us out and consider preparation techniques to aid our successful sight-reading.

Cost of Course - £50

The cost of this course is £50.

Those who sign up for this course are invited to buy the first Singer’s Toolkit course at half price at £22.50 (originally £45) - please see here for more details: https://choiroftheearth.com/singers-toolkit