I have been involved in music for over 30 years, including teaching piano and leading choirs.

There is a wide variety of choir music available for children and young people to sing. However, if you are looking to start a choir, or you have taken over a flagging choir which needs a breath of fresh air, you may find that money is tight for buying new music.

Junior Voiceworks - 33 Songs per volume

That's where Junior Voiceworks comes in. Each of the two Juior Voiceworks volumes has 33 songs in it. But what makes it so fantastically good value is that each page can be photocopied legally. So instead of buying a set of original sheet music for your choir - say 30 copies at $3 each = $90 for one song, with Junior Voiceworks you get 33 songs for the cover price of $55.

Even better, you get not only the sheet music with the score for the singers and the piano accompaniment and guitar chords,but you get a CD too. This includes a performance track for each song so you can hear what it should sound like, and also a backing track, so if you do not play the piano, or your accompanist is away for a week of choir practise you can carry on unpeturbed.

Warm up exercises

In addition you get lots of performance and rehearsal tips for each song, and a cross reference to which warm up exercises (included at the front of the book) are the best preparation for each piece of music.

I love a bargain, but Junior Voiceworks not just good value, it is full of fantastic simple and diverse choir music for kids. Later on in this hub I will take you through the sorts of music you will find in each volume, and suggest a sample easy concert repertoire that can be learnt quickly, and performed impressively - and above all, which the kids will love.

Junior Voiceworks is a wide range of songs aimed a children aged from about 7-11. It is arranged in the following sections:

1. Chant it and sing. This includes songs from around the world with interesting rhythms and some singing in a canon or round, as a good introduction to singing together for youngsters with no previous experience. Our choir of children aged 8-11 particularly enjoyed  'Fifteen Men and Old Abram Brown' sung together.
2. Exploring Two Part Harmony. This section uses ostinato rhythms very effectively to provide a confortable structure for some morechallenging singing.  There are catchy melodies with optional harmony parts which are often introduced as an extension of the melody so as to be easy to learn and unintimidating for novice singers who imagine they can't sing in parts.  'A Cat Called Alexander' is a must from this section, and 'Tinga Layo' gives some fun too.
3. Around and Around.  Lots of rounds - both modern and traditional with lots of different styles of music so there is no danger of your choir getting bored. Some that you and your audience may already know include 'Kookaburra' although the alternative words will keep everybody's tongues twisting.  'Scooby Doo' uses the voice to make an entire acapella band, climaxing with everybody singing together as different instruments.  We used hand actions to be double bass, flute, saxophone, trombone etc, and performed to an entranced audience! 'Simple Melody' is an Irving Berlin classic which will have Grandma smiling and the kids will love the ragtime rhythms.  teach them the two tunes separately and they won't believe that they can sing them together at the same time!
4. Unison Songs.  These are often traditional folk songs and offer an opportunity to think about the emotion behind the words, and sometimes the history and culture behind the song.  We enjoyed 'Land of the Silver Birch' and 'The Skye Boat Song'.
5. Challenging Songs. This is the final section of music and combines many of the features which the choir will have experienced in previous sections.  The songs are more musically demanding, but all the more rewarding as a result.  'The Highwayman' kept us happily occupied for weeks as we endeavoured to create a spooky atmotphere in our music.

 As with the first volume Junior Voiceworks 2 aims to inspire primary school age children to sing.  Again there are five section of different music to explore:

1. Rhythm and Language.  Songs in different languages which encourage good diction, breathing and revel in the diversity of the voice through chanting rapping and singing.  Try 'We all love to sing!' from Malaysia or 'Sarasponda' from Finland for a global music tour.
2. Rounds. Rounds in up to 4 or 5 parts are included here and get children singing about all sorts of topics, encouraging them to consider everyday matters just as valid for singing as more high brow or worthy subjects. We love 'Our dustbin' and 'Singing All Together' as easy to learn and rewarding songs for a choir concert.
3. Around the World. More challenging world music with complex rhythms and more demanding volcal leaps.  Young people will need to understand the spirit of the music to perform these well, and havign done so the results are spactacular.  One of our choir is a very gifted persussionist, and we performed 'El Cumbanchero' with him on the bongoes - it brought the house down!
4. Animal Antics. Character songs are always appealing to children and this section includes some poetry set to music which encourages children to think and act like the animal they are singing about.  Songs include 'Penguin', 'Puffin' and 'Whale'
5. Humanity. This section is designed to make the choir stop and think about why we sing about what we sing about and whether there is a message in what we are singing.  There are a combination of unison and two part harmony songs which will stretch young singers, whilst staying comfortably within their vocal range. 'Child of Tomorrow' made all the Mums in our audience cry!

 You can put together a great and varied concert programme just by using material from the Junior Voiceworks books.  Because it pulls together so many different styles of music by som many differewnt composers, there is no danger of 'sameness'  If you mix up a piano accompaniment for one song and then the CD backing for another you will have a programme to be proud of:

How about:

1. Scooby Doo - Rousing introduction - proof that you don't need to play an instrument to be in a band
2. Singing All Together - what we love to do, sung in two easy parts.
3. A Cat Called Alexander- sung in a mixture of unison and two parts with improvised meowing between each line
4. Land of the Silver Birch - a different feel to it, sing all together and then as a round with great rhythm
5. The Highwayman - moody and spooky
6. Simple Melody - Irving Berlin knew how to write a good tune
7. Skye Boat Song - calmer more sophisticated unison song
8. El Cumbanchero - big finale - Cum Ba!!

Whatever you choose enjoy Junior Voiceworks, enjoy singing and have fun!