Many of you faithful readers have probably been directing a choir for what feels like ages.
But I recognize that some of you are new to this: maybe this is your first church job or your first time directing the choir at your church after serving in another capacity.
Maybe you have choral conducting experience, but not in a church setting.
For all of these reasons, I thought today, I'd share five practical insights into directing a church choir.
These are drawn from my experience directing adult church choirs (in three states and three denominations) and I hope this is a helpful starting place for those of you who are new to the field.
Because when it comes to directing a church choir, there are a few things you should know:
Directing a Church Choir: 5 Things You Should Know
1. You’ll have a mix of abilities within the group.
Some of your choir members may be music professionals with years of experience singing in choirs. Others may have never sung in a choir before now. Keep this in mind as you choose music and plan your rehearsals each week.
It can be challenging to teach with this wide range of abilities, musical understanding, and choral-singing experience, but it can be done. A good rule of thumb is to teach to the mean (average) level within the group. This will challenge your less-experienced singers to continue learning and developing their skills while also keeping your more-experienced singers engaged.
Related post: How to Choose Music for Your SAB Choir
2. You probably won’t have perfect attendance every week.
Yes, it's true. Even if you make choir the most fun place to be, remember that your choir members are volunteering their time to be there each week. As such, attendance may be sporadic sometimes and you may find that half your tenor section signed out on the same Sunday or only half the choir shows up on a night when the weather is bad. Encourage good attendance and be sure to say “thank you” frequently for the time people are dedicating to singing in choir.
Make the best of having a smaller group by having a few quick-study anthems on hand.
Related post: No-Fuss, Instant Anthems for the Small Church Choir
3. Your choir members want to feel successful.
Choose music that will stretch them and help them grow in their musicianship but make sure it’s attainable, in the end. I recommend evaluating a new anthem with a few criteria:
text (Scripture-based, hymn-based, spiritual theme)
musical characteristics (lyrical, upbeat, contemporary, classical, modern)
worship context (following Scripture reading, following sermon, offertory)
accessibility (range, tessitura, rhythmic complexity, melodic contour)
relevancy (personal or social relevancy)
accompaniment style (simple, supportive, complex)
musical variety/diversity (meter, mode, key, composer diversity)
opportunities for growth (new musical concept, a cappella)
Read more about these criteria in this post.
Equip your choir with the skills they need to face the challenges inherent in the music and work to overcome them and be successful. Then, celebrate those successes!
Related post: How to Choose Music for Your Choir: An Inside Look at My Process
Looking for more?
Join me inside Music Education and Leadership Skills for the Adult Choir Director, a 2-hour, on-demand, online mini-course for church musicians.
Packed with practical tools, resources, and strategies you can use right away in your ministry and teaching, we'll cover the basics of how adults learn, how to teach vocal technique and choral methods, develop sight-reading skills, choose music, and plan rehearsals.
4. The social element may be just as important as the musical element.
I believe the heart of ministry is community—a sense of connectedness, fellowship, and unity; shared responsibility, and ownership.
This is one of the things that sets a church choir apart from a community choir or school-based choir. There's a greater mission and purpose behind your work together. It's more than just the music.
For this reason, it's important to cultivate a sense of community and fellowship in your choir. Create space for singers to get to know one another, connect each week, and develop friendships.
Related post: How to Build Community in Your Church Choir
5. They show up because they want to be there.
This goes back to what we talked about in No. 2. Yes, your choir members are faithful volunteers, but they show up week after week, for rehearsals and worship, because they want to be there. It's not out of obligation—there are no terms to serve here—and it's not for monetary gain (unless you have paid section leaders).
Your choir members show up week in and week out because they love to sing and make music and they want to connect with a group of people who feel the same way. They want to be part of a shared musical experience.
I hope this is encouraging to you!
I'd love to hear from you:
Do you have any practical insights to share with other church choir directors? Leave a comment below. I'd love to hear your thoughts!
