Gareth Malone recounts the heart-warming stories and transformations behind the award-winning BBC2 series 'The Choir' and 'Sing While You Work'. For the first time, Gareth reveals everything he has learned from working with so many groups of memorable people.

WINNER OF THE ROYAL PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY STORYTELLING AWARD 2021 ‘Riveting, taking in prejudice as well as sacrifice. There are 4.30am starts, lost instruments, fractured wrists, all captured with vivid flourishes. A paean to camaraderie.’ Observer Seven brothers and sisters. All of them classically trained musicians. One was Young Musician of the Year and performed for the royal family. The eldest has released her first album, showcasing the works of Clara Schumann. These siblings don’t come from the rarefied environment of elite music schools, but from a state comprehensive in Nottingham. How did they do it? Their mother, Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason, opens up about what it takes to raise a musical family in a Britain divided by class and race. What comes out is a beautiful and heartrending memoir of the power of determination, camaraderie and a lot of hard work. The Kanneh-Masons are a remarkable family. But what truly sparkles in this eloquent memoir is the joyous affirmation that children are a gift and we must do all we can to nurture them.

‘I loved every minute of this fantastic story!’ Christie Barlow It’s time to face the music...

The two lead choir mentors from BBC's The Naked Choir. which airs autumn 2015, provide a practical dip-in book of tips and techniques to get choirs to excel. Perfect for all choral leaders, enthusiasts and singers, Dominic and Mark explain how to raise your game and take your choir to the next level, with advice on technical excellence, creating a good working environment, and managing people. The two lead choir mentors from BBC's The Naked Choir. which airs autumn 2015, provide a practical dip-in book of tips and techniques to get choirs to excel. Perfect for all choral leaders, enthusiasts and singers, Dominic and Mark explain how to raise your game and take your choir to the next level, with advice on technical excellence, creating a good working environment, and managing people. With over 25,000 choirs in the UK and the numbers growing, Mark De-Lisser (vocal coach on BBC's 'The Voice' and mentor on 'The Naked Choir') and Dominic Peckham (leading choral director & ambassador and mentor on 'The Naked Choir') provide 100 ideas on how to take choirs to the next level. Sharing their wealth of knowledge and experience, Dominic and Mark's advice will get great groups started, keep choirs moving forward and encourage the best from individual singers, keeping it fun along the way. With advice on how to start a choir from scratch, develop your own musicianship, rehearse effectively, and excel in performance, this pocket-sized guide is an essential resource and its practical guidance will get all choirs on the right track!

Have you ever been carried away by a piece of classical music? In this funny, evocative, personal eBook, previously published as ‘Music for the People: The Pleasures and Pitfalls of Classical Music’, Gareth takes us on a journey of musical discovery that explains and entertains in equal measure.

The personal stories behind the phenomenon that got Britain's schools, towns and workplaces singing again. --Cover.

From amateur collegiate a cappella groups to professional ensembles like Straight No Chaser and Pentatonix, contemporary a cappella has exploded onto the world pop music scene. In So You Want to Sing A Cappella, Deke Sharon combines historical context and a comprehensive look at the a cappella community with a detailed discussion of vocal techniques, rehearsal practices, and live audio support needed to sing great a cappella. Additional contributed chapters discuss singing and voice science, vocal health, vocal percussion, and audio technology. The So You Want to Sing series is produced in partnership with the National Association of Teachers of Singing, and each book features online supplemental material on the NATS website. Please visit www.nats.org to access style-specific exercises, audio and video files, and additional resources.

Why do we sing and what first drove early humans to sing? How might they have sung and how might those styles have survived to the present day? This history addresses these questions and many more, examining singing as a historical and cross-cultural phenomenon. It explores the evolution of singing in a global context - from Neanderthal Man to Auto-tune via the infinite varieties of world music from Orient to Occident, classical music from medieval music to the avant-garde and popular music from vaudeville to rock and beyond. Considering singing as a universal human activity, the book provides an in-depth perspective on singing from many cultures and periods: western and non-western, prehistoric to present. Written in a lively and entertaining style, the history contains a comprehensive reference section for those who wish to explore the topic further and will appeal to an international readership of singers, students and scholars.