Some people practice at home, some don’t. It’s your choir and your time so it’s up to you. But if you DID want to practice at home, here are some things that might help.

Lyrics learning is the thing people stress about the most. If you’re an auditory learner then listening on repeat will work. If you’re a visual learner, draw little pictures on your lyrics or write the words out to tricky parts on a separate piece of paper.

Use your lyrics sheets and feel free to scribble on them. Many people find it beneficial to draw the song – this is simply a good way of focusing on listening as opposed to joining and/or guessing. Mark the points where the part you’re singing goes up or down – remove the lyrics you’re not singing and add in things like oohhh and ahh where appropriate.

Listen to the song from the recordings provided. Sometimes, the harmonies I create are different to the ones on the original tracks, sometimes the originals don’t have any harmony at all.

The most value is in listening without joining in – just like in the full rehearsals. Really focusing one the melody of your part requires thought. It’s OK to listen whilst doing something else but actually, if you’re struggling with a specific song or section, take the time to really, really listen.

Sing along with your part – they’re all on the Shared Drive. Again, singing along while you’re cooking tea or walking to dog is great but if you’re really trying to get to grips with a song, then sit with your words, and sing along mindfully.

When you think you’ve got it, try singing along YOUR part against one of the other parts! If you’ve s harmony, sing against the Yellow (tune) part. When you’ve mastered that, sing along against ALL PARTS versions.

Remember, when you sing with the choir, you’re not on your own like you are at home. You can always rely on other people to help, but not to carry you through the whole song!

I hope this helps x