Walk right in, sit right down...........

We didn't do much new technical work last evening since we were getting ready for this weekend's concert at St Aldhelms's Church - however we did think about the lessons from previous weeks and thought a little bit about posture and worked on how to "relax our apparatus" (Ooerr Missus!) - unlike our friend to the left. This chap doesn't look very relaxed does he, such a tight mouth, head tilted back, trying to swallow a football, never mind a orange or small grapefruit!

Humming is a good way to warm up, as it puts very few stresses on your voice but how to hum effectively in a relaxed and stress free way.

• Make sure your lips are barely touching - if you squeeze them together it sounds like you need more fibre in your diet!
• Keep your teeth slightly apart - imagine you are holding a matchstick between them.
• Imagine the sound starting about 1 inch (2.5cms) in front of your lips

We spoke about the dry air around at the moment - I am taking tablets for hay fever and find them very drying - we should be drinking a lot of water.

Your vocal chords (or folds to be precise) are very delicate and need to be protected. If you cough, the chords rub against each other instead of vibrating smoothly together, so if you feel you need to cough to clear your throat - DON'T! Try swallowing instead, creating saliva to help clear your throat.

As a singer there should never be tension in the neck.

Finally - we talked about sitting during rehearsals - for some this is a no-no "You can only sing properly whilst standing" - this is untrue! Sure, if you slouch you can't sing well but if you follow the snappily named "Bournemouth Male Voice Choir Five Top Tips To Better Singing Whilst Sitting" all will be well!

1. Sit up tall - imagine a perpendicular line running through your ear down to your hip, If you slouch you will be fighting against your rib cage.
2. Don't cross your legs
3. Rest your weight on the balls of your feet and take up some of the weight with your thigh muscles. Sit as if you are just about to stand up.
4. Keep your shoulders relaxed.
5. Whilst we sing in performance without music - rehearsing without the scores is useless. When sitting with your score, your shoulders should be relaxed and down. Your shoulder supporting your elbow which supports your wrist and your arm is slightly extended from the body. Keep your head level and your line of sight so your eyes can move easily between the score and the conductor without having to move your body.