When I scroll around the internet, I see more and more examples of great choir rehearsals going on around the world. It’s an exciting time to be a member of this profession! But, it also gives me a sense of how hard we all are working to get sound out of kids. Do we need to be?
Or, do we have a hero complex of sorts that we need to work out with our therapists. I know I did in the early years. In my Masters Conducting recital, I was told that “it looked like I was working way harder than the singers.” In my first, 5-6 of teaching I was absolutely working harder than anyone in the room.
If a note or rhythm was going to be right, it would be because I played on the piano or sang it. I was the barrier to learning when I was wrong, and the gateway to learning when I was right. ALL of the weight of the learning fell on me. I was falling on my sword every day and didn’t know it. My job isn’t that way at all anymore. Now, I teach them TOOLS, and let them build the music with them. It is also hard work. But, I no longer feel like I am the only one working. Class is more fun, we laugh more, kids focus more, get in less trouble, and the final product is better. So, lets dig into why that is.
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The pivot from carrying the full learning load to handing over tools and letting singers construct the piece themselves is one of those deceptively simple changes that reshapes everything in the room. That early phase you describe — where every right note or rhythm hinged on your piano or voice, and a wrong one blocked progress — is painfully familiar; it’s exhausting, and it subtly trains dependence rather than independence. Stepping back so the weight is shared feels counterintuitive at first (directors are wired to fix things instantly), but the outcomes you note — more genuine laughter, sharper focus, fewer disruptions, and ultimately a stronger, more owned sound — make it hard to argue against. It’s not about doing less in total; it’s about directing effort where it multiplies rather than bottlenecks. The hero complex bit rings true too — easy to fall into when results feel personal, but breaking it frees up energy for the bigger musical questions. Solid reflection; it’s the kind of episode that sticks because it challenges the default mode without dismissing the hard work that’s still required. Keen to hear how others in the community are applying this in their own rehearsals.