I like to program only repertoire I love – I love the text, or I love the arrangement, or I love the melody, or I love the concepts it teaches – but it’s never attainable for all singers in a choir love all the pieces in their folders.
As a choral singer, how do you handle a piece you don’t love? Here’s a few steps I take when I’m dealing with that challenge:
- Try to understand why my conductor chose it. If I assume that my conductor chooses pieces for good reasons, then if I can put myself in their head, I’ll understand their logic and come to appreciate what they appreciate about it.
- Ask my friends what they like about it. Typically, there is not a piece in a repertoire that isn’t beloved by at least some of the ensemble. I seek out the people who love the piece I don’t love, and ask them why.
- Study the piece. Perhaps my dislike of a piece stems from a lack of understanding of the piece.
- Trust the process. Often, a piece that a choir doesn’t like on first sight becomes a favorite, as they grow through the rehearsal process.
- Listen to a great performance. Once I heard a piece for the first time in a subpar live performance, and wrote it off as a piece I didn’t like. When a friend suggested a specific version to check out instead, my opinion was transformed. The same problem can happen when I’m sight reading: I can’t appreciate the piece the ensemble is struggling through notes and rhythms.
- Fake it till I make it. I don’t ever want to be the reason a piece doesn’t reach its potential – even a piece that I don’t like. I’ll give it my all because I want my choir and every piece we sing to be the best it can be.
How do you deal with singing pieces you don’t love? And how do you guide students who express that feeling?