Is singing dying?

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Singing in schools has, it seems, been on the decline for around 40 years. John Rutter famously said that people stopped singing folk-songs in 1967. He was wrong, of course, because I made sure they did so when I started to teach music. And there was a wealth of new material by the likes of Michael Hurd and Carey Blyton. Yet singing in primary and secondary schools has slumped dramatically. In many schools, if you want to sing, you get yourself a singing teacher, because it's unlikely you'll do any class singing.
Ther has been an attempt to reverse the decline in recent years, with the SingUp initiative. This has achieved some success in primary schools, but it is largely pop focussed and relies on backing tracks, as it is assumed that schools no longer have teachers who can play the piano.
It's very sad, because singing has so many positive benefits.

[ardcarp]

I agree with all the above, but singing hasn't died out in our household! We have three generations singing under our roof. Only tonight our twelve-year-old grand-child was thundering out that old chestnut, The Holy City. Singing in schools is entirely dependent on (a) the whim of the head-teacher and (b) whether there's anyone there to do it. One primary school near us of roll 40 hires in a brilliant singing teacher and the whole school is a choir. Another, roll 360, has no singing at all.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I was lucky enough to have a brilliant singing teacher at school, and I like to think I passed on much of his inspiration. But he was no softy. He didn't allow skivers, taking the approach that singing was important and everyone should do it. And everyone did. So-called tone-deafness was not recognised, and we all learnt to sight sing.

[rauschwerk]

I'm very much afraid that it is if this area (admittedly a musical backwater) is anything to go by. When I moved here 35 years ago (not for the music!), I was briefly a member of the choir which formed part of what people thought of as a youth music group. There were plenty of keen students in both choir and orchestra, though there were also adults such as myself to augment the forces where necessary. Earlier this year I went to a concert organised by this same group. I reckoned that there was nobody under 40 in the 90-strong choir.

There is plenty of instumental teaching in schools round here, but as for singing - forget it.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

In our area, there are now peripatetic singing teachers as well as instrumental ones, but his only tickles the surface. School choirs in many secondary schools barely reach double figures, if they exist at all.

[David Underdown]

On the other hand there does seem to be an upsurge in community choirs, gospel choirs and the like, these are often more "pop" focussed admittedly, but there does still seem to be an appetite for singing. Perhaps all is not lost?

[gradus]

Choral singing was never a strong point in my grammar school, in fact it was near farcical whenever the music master, a poor teacher, tried to galvanise us into singing anything, he ususally ended up in tears of frustration, something that amused us (horribly sadistic) schoolboys enormously. So from the narrow viewpoint of personal experience, I am not surprised if singing, with notable exceptions, remains badly taught or ignored in schools.
The saving grace (ahem) for me was joining the church choir. It was a bit of a laugh with your friends, you got paid - half a crown went quite a long way in the sweet shop - and you could sing the descants to well known hymns as well as read Autocar etc during the interminable services. It helps to be asked to sing tunes that you know well. We are arranging our Carol service and a dozen or so people have come forward to form a choir, all however are middle-aged.

[Mary Chambers]

I get very upset about this. Singing was such a huge part of my school life, from the age of four to eighteen, and it has influenced my whole life. The whole school sang good stuff, too - folk songs, Schubert, Vaughan Williams, and I remember doing Beethoven's Creation's Hymn and Parry's Blest Pair of Sirens. The words were as gripping as the music.

My own children did quite a lot of singing at primary school, but virtually none after that. I have been looking ahead at possible schools for my grandson (who will be two in February), and so far it seems to me that if you want good music you have to pay. The majority of young applicants to decent choirs have either been to private schools or church schools, and that doesn't seem right to me.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

When I was being observed by a county music adviser, as I was teaching a class to sing a particular song, I insisted that one or two skivers joined in. The music adviser said (afterwards): "Do you think you should force then to sing?". What emotive language. Did he think it acceptable for the same individuals to opt out of Maths, English and Science when it suited them.
But when the same adviser wanted a boys' choir to supplement the county adult choir, which school did he rely upon then?

[Simon]

It's fairly clear, I think, that there's a massive variation between different parts of the country. So many factors influence the situation - teachers, vicars, county music departments etc.

I can only say that around here - though not throughout the whole of Derbyshire, as far as I can tell - it's thriving in both primary and secondary schools - and there are a fair few non-school choirs for older people, too.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

That's good to hear. I taught music in Derbyshire in the 70s and 80s and the standard of singing was very good. I recall a joint schools' concert in 1984 at Chesterfield Parish Church (crooked spire) which was most memorable.

[hmvman]

I agree, Simon, that it must be a regional thing. Here in York there are many choirs catering for all tastes and abilities. I sing in a community choir and we perform a wide-ish variety of repertoire including classical, folk and jazz. The choir members are mainly over 50s but there are a few younger ones too. Our choir has been so successful (building to 60+ strong in 18 months) that the people who run it have started a second choir in the city and another in a nearby town. I can't comment on the situation in local schools, however.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Well, yes, there are some excellent choirs in York. I was in one of them for some years. But it's the demographics that concerns me.

[hmvman]

Well, yes, there are some excellent choirs in York. I was in one of them for some years. But it's the demographics that concerns me.

I'm sure you're right, EA, if you're thinking about school-age singers. But take, for example, the Yorkshire Bach Choir (which will be performing Handel's 'Saul' this Saturday.) It's made up predominently of youngsters in their late teens or early twenties - mainly students from the University. They are excellent singers, in my view and, judging by their comments on the YBC Facebook page, they are enthusiastic and have a genuine love of the music. That's got to be encouraging surely?

[Simon]

Ah yes, Alpen. The famous crooked spire. Twisted when a Chesterfield virgin got married there, I believe.

And will go back straight again when the next one does!

===

HMV

Good to hear about the York situation: I believe that with the growth of the Uni over the past few years, such things have been encouraged - credit due!

bws S-S!