Why Rehearsal Needs To Be About More Than Learning Notes

When working with male or lower-voice choirs, there's often a temptation to use rehearsal time to drill notes until they're roughly in place. But if we really want to raise the musical standard, we have to shift our focus. Rehearsals should be for developing musicianship, not just for note-bashing.

Think of rehearsal as a space where singers become more than part-holders. They become musicians. That means we need to create space for skills like listening, blending, shaping phrases, and responding to others in real time. The time for learning notes is at home, not in the room. We should equip singers with tools to do that independently. Rehearsal then becomes about ensemble.

A useful way to think about this is through Maslow's hierarchy of needs. At the base is "singing the right notes at the right time." Without that, nothing else matters. But once that’s in place, we can move into areas like tone colour, tuning, balance, and ensemble. That's where the music lives. The higher up the pyramid we go, the more expressive the music becomes.

So, how do we get there? Start by avoiding teach tracks. As tempting as they are, they encourage passive learning. Walking the dog with your part in your ear might help you memorise pitches, but it doesn’t teach you anything about ensemble. Instead, get singers used to working with tools like pitch apps and rehearsal apps such as PracticeBird. Send them away with the expectation that they’ll come back ready to rehearse, not learn.

When everyone arrives prepared, we can use rehearsal time for the things that can only happen when we’re together: matching vowels, adjusting balance, building dynamics into the line. These things require mutual awareness and live interaction.

And here’s the real benefit: when singers stop relying on someone else to get it right first, they start listening harder, and the group becomes more connected. That’s the sort of choir culture that leads to real musical growth.

Yes, it takes time. And yes, not every group is ready for it straight away. But the more we treat our singers like musicians and expect them to behave that way, the more they rise to it. The result? A choir that’s not just accurate, but musically alive.

Next time: practical strategies to get your choir thinking - and sounding - like an ensemble from the first bar.

Will Prideaux

Will Prideaux is a choral conductor, educator, and director of Peterborough Sings!, the award-winning choral organisation behind Peterborough Male Voice Choir, Peterborough Voices, and Peterborough Youth Choir. A graduate of Cambridge University and the Royal Academy of Music, William is known for his work revitalising the male choir sector through inclusive leadership, bold repertoire, and project-based recruitment. He has worked with leading ensembles including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and BBC Concert Orchestra, and has been recognised as an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music and a Fellow of the Royal Schools of Music. A passionate advocate for musical excellence and community engagement, William is shaping the future of choral singing—one rehearsal at a time.

https://www.peterboroughsings.org.uk/willprideaux-biography
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Building Ensemble from the Ground Up

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Recruitment Is Not a Waiting Game