A Newbie's 4 Step Guide To Learning a song

We all come together and sing awesome songs in epic 3, 4 or even 5 part harmony that sound awesome and feel impressive.

Are you brand new to singing in a virtual choir? Got some fear around giving it a go? If the answer is yes then please read on for some helpful tricks to get you belting out a song from start to finish. No previous experience or musical skills are needed. So if you’re wondering “Can I join a virtual choir?”, yes you can!  

1. Road Mapping

One of the best ways of navigating your way through a new song is to map it out. Every song you learn will differ, however jotting down notes on your lyric sheet will allow you to see what’s coming next. Is the second verse slightly higher than the first? Are you joining in with a different section on the chorus? Will you be singing the final chorus much louder than the others? Do you need to remember to take a big breath before long finishing note? Writing all this down will be a great guide to you each time you sing your new song from top to bottom. 

At Superchoir Online, our lyrics fit perfectly on one side of paper. If there isn’t space to write all your notes on the lyric side, you can just flip that sheet over. 

2. Secret Code 

The “Secret Code” is very similar to road mapping, just far more personal to each singer. Some people use basic up and down arrows across their song sheets to remind of which direction to move their voice and others develop their very own hieroglyphics. Squiggles, squares, circles… they may be of no help to a stranger! However, if designing a key of symbols to use across your sheet works for you and get that’s song stuck in your head, then go for it! Superchoir song sheets for our virtual choir members are all coded at the top of the page. These feature a note of who is singing what colour with plenty of space for you to add your very own. 

3. Repeat, Repeat, Repeat 

They say consistency is key and if you do something enough it becomes second nature. Think about those songs that you haven’t heard since childhood. When you hear it out of the blue your brain knee jerks into action and somehow you remember all the words again… it’s exactly that! This is an especially effective technique if you’re learning a song you’ve literally never heard before. We’ve all been in that situation and it just makes it more challenging when there’s nothing in there that you’re familiar with. 

Cut the song into little chunks and tackle it line by line. Sing the first line through 2 or 3 times in a loop, then do the same with the second. Once you’ve done that, stick them together. It takes time but when you finish the song this technique will have you remembering your harmonies. You’ll also likely know it so well you’ll be chucking your sheet and ready to belt it out at a gig. Superchoir has 2 online choir practices taking place every week. Attending both sessions is sure way of our members getting super confident. 

4. Practise Makes Perfect 

Got an online choir concert coming up and you’re not quite 100% confident with your set list yet? Much like the point above, the more rehearsal time you can get in the better. If you keep going over your song it’s going to eventually get into your head via some kind of strange musical osmosis. However, if you’re not able to squeeze in extra virtual choir rehearsals with your online choir leader or singing teacher, why not make some voice notes or recordings in your sessions? Any of those fiddlier bits that you always need support will be there on your phone or computer. Your teacher will be their guiding you without actually needing to be! 

All members of Superchoir have access to a purpose built Online Harmony Learning System. This contains the massive Superchoir back catalogue of songs so they can listen to their studio recorded harmonies, watch useful guide videos and read over how-to sheets. It’s really handy! 

Secret option 5

Failing all of the above, the secret number 5 is… just be a ballsy blagger! We all have mind blanks from time to time and if the song you need to have in your head just isn’t there, just give it everything you’ve got with a smile on your face, and no one will notice you’ve put a foot (or note) wrong. As long as you feel good and look like you’re having a great time that is all that matters.  

Here at Superchoir Online it doesn’t matter whether the last time you sang was at school or in a karaoke bar pre-covid. We all come together and sing awesome songs in epic 3, 4 or even 5 part harmony that sound awesome and feel impressive. If you spoke to our members, most would tell you that singing in a virtual choir is something that was brand new to them before joining – so don’t ever feel like it’s out of reach! There’s even more sneaky techniques used at Superchoir Online that we use to help you feel like a total pro so come and give it a go and test out some of the above. 

You’re gonna be a Rockstar in no time