Popular Choir songs for Church

We have a great choral tradition in Britain and today people are re-discovering community singing. Think about the kind of music you would like to be involved in and try to find a choir that has a repertoire that appeals to you.

Types of choirs

Some types of choirs include:

• Classical concert choirs and choral societies
  These are often large choirs which put on several concerts through the year, sometimes with an orchestra, and they may perform concert works like Mozart's Requiem or Handel's Messiah.
• Church choirs
  If you like religious music, singing in church might appeal to you. Many church choirs do traditional sacred music — listen to Choral Evensong on Radio 3 for examples of beautiful church singing. Other churches prefer a Gospel style of music, which goes with more or a swing!
• Community choirs and other singing groups
  There is now a wider range of choirs than ever before - gospel, rock, church, barbershop, beatbox - so you don't have to go to church if you don't want to! You can find choirs who do popular chart hits arranged for choir, songs from the shows, or traditional folk music. There are Welsh-language choirs, Gaelic singing groups… something for everyone!
  

Your questions

I've not done this before. Will I be good enough? There are choirs to suit all levels of ability — some are for singers with a lot of experience, others welcome singers of all levels, including beginners. If you're a bit nervous, don't worry if you make mistakes because you learn as a group to get the right notes when you rehearse. What if I can't read music? Some choirs need you to read music but many other choirs don't require this - they learn the notes as a group without music. Do I need to audition? I'm nervous! Not all choirs ask you to audition, so if the thought terrfies you, don't worry. You should be able to find a chorus that does not audition. If they do ask you to audition, what usually happens is that you take a piece which you know to sing to the choir director. It is nothing like the X-Factor!

There's something to suit everybody, but you have to get out there and find what's right for you. Contact the choir director to find out what standard they are looking for. Even if you don't join up, they may be able to put you in touch with another local choir.

Where to find a choir:

• British Choirs on the Net is a website with contact details for choirs all over the UK
• Find a Choir - search your local area with Making Music
• Your local church may have a choir - if you like sacred music, look out for sung services or gospel choirs
• Find out if your local authority offers group singing workshops
• Arts centres and colleges often have music education programmes that include singing workshops