Useful links and guidance for musicians and their choirs.
If you come across other useful resources, do let us know so that we can add them to the list.
A new four-stage roadmap was announced by the Government on 22 February to lift the current restrictions in England over the next few months.
Click here for revised performing arts guidelines
Click here for revised worship guidelines
We strongly recommend that you read all the guidance in detail as part of your planning for returning to singing.
We've put together three documents to help you and your choir with your planning and risk assessments for returning to singing in light of the current COVID-19 pandemic. These detailed documents were updated to take account of the government guidelines before the latest lockdown, so are suitable for planning ahead to when activity is allowed again.
Find all the documents and more advice here.
You can find out more information and view a summary in our news section, but we strongly recommend that the full paper is read, which you can find here.
The DCMS commissioned scientific studies to develop the scientific evidence on singing, wind instruments and performance activities. This included the PERFORM and SOBADRA research projects. You can read the resulting SAGE paper here.
#CanDoMusic is a UK-wide campaign organised by Music Mark, Music Teachers' Association and the ISM that aims to ensure all children and young people can resume their musical learning as schools reopen after lockdown. There is a huge list of constantly updated resources there. See listings and learn more about the full campaign here. Together we #CanDoMusic.
Educator's Discount from Hal Leonard. abcd Gold Commercial Members Hal Leonard Europe have launched a range of initiatives to help people continue making music during these unprecedented times, via their online store Musicroom.com, including extending their standard educators discount to 15% with free shipping on all orders. Find out more here.
Musicroom is also launching a set of campaigns for home music making:
Our colleagues at NYCoS always have plenty of useful hints on their website and they have put together a set of daily musical activities - with or without actions!
The Diocese of Leeds Schools Singing Programme is an award-winning programme reaching around 4,500 children across the Diocese every week. Visit their YouTube channel for a vast range of resources for young singers, including warm-ups, sing-a-longs, games and more.
Drake Music have information and suggestions about the need for digital accessibility and sharing their learning about how to make video conferencing more accessible. There is also a Coronavirus resource list page for musicians, music leaders & teachers, parents and carers.
Music Mark have a big list of online home learning resources of all kinds for all ages. They have also published lots of helpful guidance for schools and music providers about starting up activity in schools again.
Sing Up have introduced Sing Up at Home, with lots of resources for online learning, much of it freely available. You can also view #Feelgoodfifteen live every Tuesday at 9am, or catch up in the archive.
Global Song Circle have new songs every month for community, family and friends to sing along to, complete with teaching video and song sheets which can be downloaded.
Ex Cathedra's SingMake films are all available on YouTube, for KS1 and KS2, complete with downloadable resources to maximise learning and enjoyment of participation.
There is a joint portal of information for musicians at:
http://www.coronamusicians.info/
This has been put together by Help Musicians, the Incorporated Society of Musicians, The Ivors Academy, the Music Managers Forum, the Music Producers Guild, the Musicians' Union, and UK Music and is being regularly updated. It includes advice on how to apply for Government support and details of hardship funds, as well as where to find legal and health support, working online and creative support.
Help Musicians is an independent UK charity for professional musicians of all genres, from starting out through to retirement. Click here to find out more about it and make a donation.
Banks Music Publications have a range of PPE equipment for choirs, including singers' masks with a specially designed lightweight frame that holds the material away from the nose and mouth allowing normal vowel production and projection.
The Broadway Relief Project is a coalition of Broadway designers and stitchers that normally build costumes for Broadway hit musicals. The team was enlisted by the City of New York to creating over 2 million medical gowns for NYC public hospitals. The Singer's Mask was developed for singers to capture droplets while singing and provide comfort and ease of motion while singing.
There are a growing number of other suppliers making to order:
Joan Fernley has produced patterns for making singers' masks and YouTube tutorials - many of the names above are producing to her pattern. She also runs a Facebook group 'Masks for performers'.
SingSafe is an affordable silicone spacer which fits underneath a facemask, allowing for comfortable and confident singing while wearing a mask, designed with singers in mind. It prevents you inhaling your mask when breathing in, while still allowing a full range of jaw and facial movement.
Check out our remote learning resources page for articles and our latest resource video from Richard Jeffries on rehearsing youth choirs online. A number of our webinars have also covered technology - click here to see the full list.
Here are some possible software options and useful articles:
The American site Chorus Connection has a good article on running online rehearsals and what to consider.
Our friend and colleague, Professor Jim Daus Hjernøe at RAMA Vocal Center Denmark, who delegates will remember from last year's Convention, has produced some very helpful tutorials on using Zoom in rehearsal situations - click here.
Many online choirs of all kinds have been running very successfully over the last year. Your choir might be interested in some of the following:
Stay at Home Choir run by Tori Longdon and Jamie Wright. An online platform to keep musicians connected
The Self-isolation Choir Live weekly rehearsals; following the successful performances in 2020, there is a full schedule of events up for 2021.
The Sofa Singers led by James Sills
Distant-Sing run by Choir Community
