How do I learn the music?

18 November 2020

Because we work on very few rehearsals (none at all for Messiah from Scratch®!) we have to rely on singers learning their part at home or with their own choir. With so many people singing, our events are ideal for less confident singers, but everyone should do their best to learn the notes beforehand.  If you don’t bother at all, it limits your own enjoyment and may also be very trying for the singers around you  who have spent time on their homework. There are plenty of learning aids available to help you if your music reading lacks confidence (see other FAQs).

We also publish chorus notes. These are available to download for Messiah from Scratch®, and sometimes for overseas events as well. They contain instructions for you to copy into your score before you start to learn the music.

If you do not read music and would like to learn, Making Music (the umbrella association for amateur music groups) has a useful page on their website: https://www.makingmusic.org.uk/resource/reading-sheet-music-choir

Reasonably confident music readers, with a good ear, can sing along with any performance CDs (widely available from all music shops or online), or using one of the music streaming services like Spotify.