Since 2012, Roisin Savage has headed up The Line Up Choir, a contemporary music choir. Through her work, she regularly heard from people who wanted the experience of singing in a choir, but couldn’t commit to turning up to rehearsals every week due to work or family commitments. More recently, she decided to discover if there was any demand for a casual choir. She envisaged a fortnightly music session with no auditions, no commitment and no concerts. Participants would not need any prior musical training and the emphasis would instead be on having fun. Each session would see participants learn a new song from scratch with the final performance being filmed for social media. Savage put the idea out to the universe and was soon inundated with messages from people expressing interest in such a choir. Within a few weeks, she had secured a rehearsal venue, set up a social media presence, and sold over 100 tickets. Casual Choir was born.
The maiden singalong took place in September. Since then, it has become a phenomenon with each session selling out almost instantly. “It’s just been beyond my wildest dreams,” says Savage. “I never anticipated that people would jump on board and be so enthusiastic.” Savage is responsible for all the arrangements while musical accompaniment is provided by Aengus Devine. Her main objective is to make everything as informal and accessible as possible. She teaches modern pop and rock songs – think Hit Me Baby One More Time or Don’t Look Back in Anger – and avoids using too much musical jargon lest it alienate people. In fact, you’re more likely to hear her commenting on the the toxic dynamic between Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Bermingham than you are to hear her dropping any advanced musical terminology.
At each session, singers are sorted into voice types – highs, mids, lows – and seated accordingly. Each group receives their own lyrics sheet with harmonies and rhythms written out phonetically like, “Ba da bap a dah! Ba da bap a dah!” and “Oooh bop bop, ooh bop bop, ooh bop bop”. It’s essentially Choir Singing for Dummies, which is exactly how Savage likes it. “People have preconceptions of what a choir is and what it should be,” she says. “They think they don’t fit the box of what a ‘choir person’ is. I was a bit hesitant to put the word choir into the title because of that.” “This is for everybody so you don’t have to have previous experience, you don’t have to read sheet music. Even if you’re thinking that you might not be able to harmonise or that you might struggle with that . . . It’s not about being perfect.”
“Singing is singing. When you listen to the radio, you don’t analyse it. I very much teach by ear and by feeling as well. I tend to use my hands and expressions to get the point across rather than being like, ‘Let’s use staccato’ because I don’t want people to think it’s getting too meaty or too technical.” Savage says there is no one type of person who attends Casual Choir with attendees ranging in age from “18 to 85”. It does, however, tend to skew towards women. On the night I attended, I could count the number of men on one hand. Savage suspects that this is because women are more willing to embrace the choir as a form of self-care.
Indeed, research has shown that singing in choirs is good for your overall health and wellbeing. It can improve your mood and alleviate stress. For her part, Roisin Savage says nothing compares to the rush you get from communal singing. “Most people sing at home or sing along to their car radio but there is a buzz from singing with a group of people,” she explains. “When you’re all on that same hymn sheet, it’s pretty incredible. The endorphins you get from it . . . I can’t really compare it to any other activity.” The response to Casual Choir has been “really positive” so far, says Savage. Among the most common piece of feedback she receives is surprise at what can be achieved in two hours.
