Tag: music

  • The Benefits of Sight Singing

    Sight-singing means taking a piece you’ve never seen, or heard before, and singing your way through it, or a section of it. This can be an intimidating process, but it can be very beneficial for singers: #1. Conquering fear: Many people don’t like sight-singing because it makes them incredibly vulnerable. The risk of singing a…

  • The Value of Singing Acapella

    The term acapella refers to singing without any accompaniment by instruments. The word is Italian, and means, ‘of the chapel’. It refers to early sacred music, when instrumentation was not permitted inside the church, and specifically the chapel. Only human voices were permitted, and thus acapella music was created. There are many benefits to singing…

  • Music At Celebrations

    Music is a valuable element in many aspects of our lives. We’ve discussed music at sporting events before. Celebrations are another aspect of our lives at which music is an important element. Celebrations are a meaningful part of the fabric of our society. They allow us to come together as a community, and partake in…

  • Math and Science in Music: Brain Power

    Music is such a wonderful pursuit for mind and body because it is not just an art form, but combines a myriad of other disciplines, including mathematics, biology, and physics. This series, Math and Science in Music will explore the many ways in which music incorporates a variety of these disciplines. BRAIN POWER Musicians require…

  • Math and Science In Music – Engineering Instruments:

    Music is such a wonderful pursuit for mind and body because it is not just an art form, but combines a myriad of other disciplines, including mathematics, biology, and physics. This series, Math and Science in Music will explore the many ways in which music incorporates a variety of these disciplines. ENGINEERING INSTRUMENTS Music is…

  • Math and Science In Music: Harmonics

    Music is such a wonderful pursuit for mind and body because it is not just an art form, but combines a myriad of other disciplines, including mathematics, biology, and physics. This series, Math and Science in Music will explore the many ways in which music incorporates a variety of these disciplines. HARMONICS  Musical harmonics are…

  • Math and Science In Music: Muscle Memory

    Music is such a wonderful pursuit for mind and body because it is not just an art form, but combines a myriad of other disciplines, including mathematics, biology, and physics. This series, Math and Science in Music will explore the many ways in which music incorporates a variety of these disciplines. MUSCLE MEMORY  Our bodies…

  • Math and Science In Music – Sound Waves

    Music is such a wonderful pursuit for mind and body because it is not just an art form, but combines a myriad of other disciplines, including mathematics, biology, and physics. This series, Math and Science in Music will explore the many ways in which music incorporates a variety of these disciplines. Sound Waves The way…

  • Math and Science in Music – Time Signatures

    Music is such a wonderful pursuit for mind and body because it is not just an art form, but combines a myriad of other disciplines, including mathematics, biology, and physics. This series, Math and Science in Music will explore the many ways in which music incorporates a variety of these disciplines. TIME SIGNATURES Time signatures…

  • 3 Ways In Which Singing Makes You More Independent

    Here are three ways in which singing can make you more independent: #1. Uncertainty: Because of the transitive nature of music, and performance, musicians must become comfortable with uncertainty. A performance will never be perfect; a piece never played the same way twice. In music, there are no absolutes, and musicians are experts at accepting…

  • The Value of Singing With Different Ages

    There are many reasons why it is valuable to sing with others, but it is especially beneficial to sing with others of different ages. Here are three reasons why: #1. Voice types: For many children, being able to sing with the full spectrum of voice types is something they have to wait until they are…

  • Choir Camp 2015 Roundup!

    This past weekend we were very excited to be out in Bragg Creek, on our annual retreat to choir camp! Camp is a great opportunity for our choristers to get to know one another better, to rehearse new music, and learn more about what it means to sing as part of an ensemble! We had…

  • 3 Ways In Which Singing Improves Communication Skills

    #1. Listening: Listening is an essential aspect of singing, and of music in general, but it is also an important aspect of communicating with others. By listening to others around us, we gain a better understanding of the complete picture, and the diverse perspectives of others. #2. Understanding Text: The ability to analyze text in…

  • Ottawa Tour 2015 – Day 5!

    Today we started with the doors to the breakfast hall being locked, so after some confusion and some well placed phone calls by Heather Fradette we got our morning meal in lots of time. We then walked through Ottawa to get to the national arts centre and got to see some of the prep work…

  • Introduction To Madrigals

    Our upcoming Spring Concert on May 24th, 2015 is called Madrigals and More, and unsurprisingly, will feature a type of music known as madrigals! Madrigals are a type of music that became popular during the Renaissance period. A madrigal is usually a secular vocal piece of music, often unaccompanied by instruments. These types of songs…

  • Ottawa 2015 Tour Shirts!

    The Calgary Children’s Choir is very lucky to have a wonderful artist as part of our staff. Our Creative Consultant, Kat Long-Jones, recently created three new t-shirt designs for the choir to wear on our upcoming tour to the Unisong Choral Festival this summer! Kat designed these three t-shirts to be something the choristers would…

  • Singing and Sports

    As our Calgary Flames play in the second round of the 2015 Stanley Cup playoffs, it seemed like a great time to write a post about two distinct aspects of our popular culture that may seem incongruous, but are in fact closely aligned – sports and singing!   Anthems: Anthems are extremely prevalent at sporting events.…

  • Vulnerability In Singing

    Music strikes an interesting balance between being an art form and a discipline. It is a difficult process to learn the intricacies of  music; understanding the mathematical principles behind music concepts such as time signatures, intervals, and chord progressions. But it is equally difficult to learn how to approach music as an art form; learning…

  • Multiple Parts VS Unison

    There are many different ways to sing as part of an ensemble, as we discussed in our blog post A Brief History of Choral Music. When people sing the same part at the same time, it is called Unison singing. When people sing in multiple parts it can be homophonic music – when the voices move…

  • A Brief History Of Choral Music

    People have been singing together for as long as we have kept recorded history. The history of Western choral music as we know it today had its origins in sacred music. Gregorian chant was commonly used in churches as a form of worship. Monks would sing the passages in unison, blending their voices to create…

  • 4 Ways In Which Singing In A Choir Increases Your Confidence

    Musicians often have a healthy dose of confidence. It comes from the self-discipline, self-awareness, and sheer amount of practice that is a part of the process of learning music. Here are four ways in which singing in a choir can increase your confidence: #1. Conductor: Despite the myriad of jokes about what exactly a conductor’s…

  • The Value Of Not Performing

    The Calgary Children’s Choir has three major performances a year; our Christmas concert, our Folk Concert, and our Spring concert. Sometimes we’ll have other singing engagements sprinkled in as well. Much of the music that we learn throughout the year is chosen for one of those concerts, but sometimes we learn music without having a…

  • Folk Concert 2015 – ‘Home’ Roundup!

    On Sunday afternoon, March 1st 2015, the Calgary Children’s Choir performed at our annual Folk Music concert at the Rozsa Centre. The theme of this year’s Folk Concert, was ‘Home’, and our concert was emceed by our talented Creative Consultant, Kat Long-Jones. Our concert featured artwork made by the choristers at our recent Winter Retreat,…

  • Singing Spaces

      The best kind of music is influenced by small, seemingly insignificant elements. Where the musicians stand or sit, how well they watch their conductor, the way in which they listen to the other performers. One of these subtle elements, is the space in which a musician performs. A ‘live’ space, is one in which…

  • The 5 Best Music Apps For Singers

    Apps have become prevalent with our use of technology, and they can be highly beneficial for singers on the go. There are a myriad of excellent resources available for musicians at the touch of a finger, but here are 5 apps that we think are some of the best for singers. YouTube: (available for iOS and…