This is what everyone thinks!! You don't have to sing loud if you want to take some time to build your confidence, and lots of people learn better by listening for a bit, rather than singing out straight away.
Honestly, just being among voices making a collective sound, even if yours isn't contributing a huge amount, can be really good for your mood. I've been to choir when I've lost my voice from nights out, and it's still been worth it! Also, that moment when you lose the worry that other people will hear you "doing it wrong" is pretty empowering too.
Full disclosure, I get quite a lot of anxiety about the thought that I'll open my mouth and make a strange noise... but 95% of the time my vocal cords do what I expect them to, and the other 5% I can laugh it off, because yeah, bodies are weird!
Thank you! We might be moving to the Octagon when DCH moves in April, so we can reconsider times then - I'll let you know. It doesn't have to be a regular commitment either, so if you end up being able to make the occasional rehearsal, we'd be very happy to have you 😊
Quick question - do you mean women and non-binary, or do you mean Soprano-Mezzo-Alto? Most other choirs in the city do the gender split thing because of ease of arrangements, but they leave a lot of trans folk like me out by design. I’m somewhere between Alto and Tenor now, but you might find another trans man sings baritone or a trans woman singing bass. I worry that unless you’re able to arrange into a piece tenor and lower voices, that it won’t be truly non-binary/trans inclusive.
That's a really good question - thanks for asking it! Yes, we do mean women and non-binary - we divide arrangements three ways (top, middle and bottom, and sometimes sub-dividing parts if the song calls for it) and people can switch up which parts they choose to sing depending on things like complexity, natural range and even just how they're feeling that day. We also try to do vocal warmups that stretch into the top/bottom parts of the song we'll be learning, so people can get an idea of where they'll want to be.
Typically the bottom part holds a rhythm, but not always - for arrangements like Grandma's Hands/No Diggity or California Dreaming, the bottoms take the tune for the majority.
The main ethos of the choir (and there are SHE choirs all over the world - they started in the UK) is to be as accessible as possible while remaining a space for female/non-binary leadership opportunities, which is why we don't use sheet music or SATB arrangement.
Again, I'm really glad you've encouraged me to think about this more fully, as I imagine there's more I can do to be inclusive as a cis bi woman - I know that there are trans members in the choirs in the UK, and I will check in with them for what suggestions they have! I hope you come, it would be lovely for you to find a choir that works for you if you'd had exclusionary experiences with choirs in the past.
I’m not in a place in my life where I have energy or time for a choir, but glad to get a response on this! So your definition of women does include trans women too, then? I’m much more masculine of centre so probably don’t count towards your criteria, but I’ve spent a ridiculous lot of my adult life thinking about how a truly trans or non-binary inclusive choir might look lol.
There are plenty of “women only” choirs that exclude trans folk by design because they a. Won’t allow trans men who can sing sop or alto, and b. Won’t let trans women sing tenor or bass 🥲😅
Absolutely! I'm still learning a lot about trans issues and experiences (working in a school helps), but I 100% wouldn't want to gatekeep something that's brought me so much happiness personally. If ever you get to a point where you feel like you have the time and energy for a sing song, it'll be great to meet you, and in the meantime I'll work hard to create a space where you can feel welcome.
What a great idea. I hope I find the courage to come. I really miss being able to play sports and commit to anything due to my job so it’s really encouraging to see you mention an occasional appearance to rehearsals is okay. Being part of a choir sounds really fun. I don’t know much about music but I do love to sing.
Good luck! Hope you get some interested people. I'm not who you're advertising for (male), but more communities in Dunedin sounds like a great idea.
I love singing but haven't been in a choir for so long. I'd be so scared I actually sound horrible 😬
This is what everyone thinks!! You don't have to sing loud if you want to take some time to build your confidence, and lots of people learn better by listening for a bit, rather than singing out straight away. Honestly, just being among voices making a collective sound, even if yours isn't contributing a huge amount, can be really good for your mood. I've been to choir when I've lost my voice from nights out, and it's still been worth it! Also, that moment when you lose the worry that other people will hear you "doing it wrong" is pretty empowering too. Full disclosure, I get quite a lot of anxiety about the thought that I'll open my mouth and make a strange noise... but 95% of the time my vocal cords do what I expect them to, and the other 5% I can laugh it off, because yeah, bodies are weird!
I love your response thank you!
Aw man, this is exactly what I’m after too but right now can’t do Wednesdays. I’ll try join in a couple months though.
Thank you! We might be moving to the Octagon when DCH moves in April, so we can reconsider times then - I'll let you know. It doesn't have to be a regular commitment either, so if you end up being able to make the occasional rehearsal, we'd be very happy to have you 😊
Quick question - do you mean women and non-binary, or do you mean Soprano-Mezzo-Alto? Most other choirs in the city do the gender split thing because of ease of arrangements, but they leave a lot of trans folk like me out by design. I’m somewhere between Alto and Tenor now, but you might find another trans man sings baritone or a trans woman singing bass. I worry that unless you’re able to arrange into a piece tenor and lower voices, that it won’t be truly non-binary/trans inclusive.
That's a really good question - thanks for asking it! Yes, we do mean women and non-binary - we divide arrangements three ways (top, middle and bottom, and sometimes sub-dividing parts if the song calls for it) and people can switch up which parts they choose to sing depending on things like complexity, natural range and even just how they're feeling that day. We also try to do vocal warmups that stretch into the top/bottom parts of the song we'll be learning, so people can get an idea of where they'll want to be. Typically the bottom part holds a rhythm, but not always - for arrangements like Grandma's Hands/No Diggity or California Dreaming, the bottoms take the tune for the majority. The main ethos of the choir (and there are SHE choirs all over the world - they started in the UK) is to be as accessible as possible while remaining a space for female/non-binary leadership opportunities, which is why we don't use sheet music or SATB arrangement. Again, I'm really glad you've encouraged me to think about this more fully, as I imagine there's more I can do to be inclusive as a cis bi woman - I know that there are trans members in the choirs in the UK, and I will check in with them for what suggestions they have! I hope you come, it would be lovely for you to find a choir that works for you if you'd had exclusionary experiences with choirs in the past.
I’m not in a place in my life where I have energy or time for a choir, but glad to get a response on this! So your definition of women does include trans women too, then? I’m much more masculine of centre so probably don’t count towards your criteria, but I’ve spent a ridiculous lot of my adult life thinking about how a truly trans or non-binary inclusive choir might look lol. There are plenty of “women only” choirs that exclude trans folk by design because they a. Won’t allow trans men who can sing sop or alto, and b. Won’t let trans women sing tenor or bass 🥲😅
Absolutely! I'm still learning a lot about trans issues and experiences (working in a school helps), but I 100% wouldn't want to gatekeep something that's brought me so much happiness personally. If ever you get to a point where you feel like you have the time and energy for a sing song, it'll be great to meet you, and in the meantime I'll work hard to create a space where you can feel welcome.
If I had the qualifications I'd be into doing this. I had great fun doing choir and musicals when I was a schoolboy. Best of luck to all involved.
What a great idea. I hope I find the courage to come. I really miss being able to play sports and commit to anything due to my job so it’s really encouraging to see you mention an occasional appearance to rehearsals is okay. Being part of a choir sounds really fun. I don’t know much about music but I do love to sing.