Rock Choir!

I didn't really mean to join Rock Choir. It just sort of happened! It's quite expensive, so I just planned to go along to the free taster session last month as a fun evening out. But I enjoyed it so much that I decided to join.

The choir leader directed me towards the soprano section when I said that I usually tend to sing the high notes. I ended up sitting next to a very chic lady who I was sure I recognised. After quizzing her a bit about where she had worked in the past, I discovered that I was right - she had been one of the assistant heads in my primary school when I was there! She knew who I was when I mentioned my mum, who worked there too. I discovered at the end of the evening that there were a couple of other people I knew there, too, including someone who had worked beside me at the high school when I first started.

For the first three weeks we were learning Don't Stop Me Now by Queen, which is a song I've always really loved and loved singing along to. After the second session there were downloads of the song on the website, which meant that I could practice in my own time, and this really helped. It's easy to forget your notes over the course of a week, but practicing on my own meant that I did remember most of them. And it's easy to do while carrying out other tasks, like doing the dishes or ironing.

We then moved on to learning Hold My Hand by Jess Glynne. I didn't know this song very well, but still enjoyed learning it. Each week we also sing a song that the choir has learned in a previous term, and the new members just have to pick it up as it goes along - but the downloads of these are also on the website so I have practiced a few of my favourites!

On the first evening I didn't know that it would be a good idea to take along a bottle of water, so if you are going I would highly recommend this. I've actually just bought myself a couple of funky new water bottles from Asda, a pink one and a teal one. There is a little bit of dancing about as well as singing, so you can get quite thirsty. It's also a good idea to have a pen or pencil, a highlighter pen, and a folder or wallet to put your lyrics in.

I love the feeling of being part of a choir, especially when the different parts and harmonies start coming together. There's a real feeling of accomplishment. But it's also a great laugh when things go wrong. The choir leader is really bubbly and enthusiastic, and always gives us positive encouragement.

I've also been reading a book about creativity, which says that doing things unrelated to your creative pursuit, like singing in a choir, can help to boost your creativity. This is a theory I've had for year myself anyway, that you need to "feed" your creativity by doing fun activities.