- When the choir makes a crescendo, make sure they know precisely at what point to start and finish. Ensure that the crescendo is a gradual development and not a sudden forte.
- Ensure that the choir differentiates between one f and two ffs, or one p and two pps.
- Get as much colour into the sound as possible. If a bright passage is being sung, get the singers to sing it through on an “e” sound. Judicious use of vowels in rehearsal will still colour the sound when the words are put back.
- Always start a rehearsal on time. Don't wait for latecomers.
- Don't turn pages during quiet bits. If there are awkward page turns during a pianissimo, make the choir memorise the next page.
- Practice from memory and see how far the choir can get - it will often be further than you think. If they perform from memory, so much the better.
- Never think up to a high note, always think down.
- During vocal warm-ups always take the choir a third higher than they will go in performance.
- Insist that singers bring a rubber and pencil to rehearsals.
- Mark up your score with dynamic and breathing marks so that you can be consistent in rehearsals. Don't rely on your memory, it will inevitably let you down.
- Don't say, "It will be alright on the night". It often won't.
- Don't waste time in rehearsal. Know what you want and get it. Don't do too much "note-bashing": it becomes counter-productive after a while. Always look for signs of boredom and take counter-measures.
- If you are singing in another language, get a native speaker along who is either a singer or knows about singing - and always have a translation.
- Do everything possible to improve the aural training of the choir. For example, play a three-part chord on the piano and ask the choir to sing the middle note. Or play a four-part chord and ask them to sing the third note down from the top - they never get this right! To enable them to hear the note, play the chord without the note, and then with.
- Ensure that the choir listens when they sing - listen to the tuning, sound and diction.
- Another good aural training tip is to get the choir to sing a chord of C major, then play the piano in unconnected keys, then challenge them to repeat the original chord of C major.
- Another greatly enjoyed event is for the choir to sing a scale of C major while you play a scale of Dâ™ major.
- Make aural training a game between you and the choir.
- If you're about to lose your temper, count up to 10 - and don't.
- Breath control is vital. Get the choir to breathe in and ask them to breathe out over a set time - 10 seconds, 20 seconds etc - while they gently hiss through their teeth. Get them to understand that singing calls for different amounts of breath.
- Practice good attacks, and make sure the choir understands the effects of consonants and precision of attack. Consonants have different lengths.
- Don't overdo consonants.
- Train the singer to follow other people's lines as well as their own. They need to know what's going on.
- Re-audition all choir members every two years.
- Get a friend to time how much talking you do during practice with a stopwatch - you might get a surprise!