FAQs
Joining and taking part – projects
You can join the Stay At Home Choir by signing up for one of our projects here (look for projects marked ‘active’ or ‘upcoming’).
You can also keep up to date with the Stay At Home Choir by joining our mailing list.
The cost of our projects varies depending on the length, complexity, and number of artists involved. We try to make our projects as accessible as possible and we offer some events for free.
We run a waiting list for each project which offers sponsored places to those who would otherwise be unable to take part. These places are sponsored by our members and our partners, and we additionally match-fund as many as we can.
We receive no external funding and we greatly appreciate your support. Your donations mean that we can continue to pay artists fairly, keep project costs accessible, and offer sponsored places to those who would otherwise be unable to take part.
You can support the Stay At Home Choir here.
We offer free places to as many people on our waitlist as we can. If you’re on the waitlist, we’ll let you know via email if we can offer you a place. We try to do this shortly before a project starts.
We rely on the generosity of our members to sponsor waitlist places, so we can’t guarantee a place will become available for you. If you have any questions, or if there’s something about your circumstances we should know, email us at [email protected].
No! Everything you need to take part in the project will be included in the learning resources.
If you need anything extra to take part, email us at [email protected] and we’ll do our best to support you.
It’s up to you! Please choose a voice part which fits your vocal range and feels comfortable for you.
Our engineers are adept at balancing parts so please don’t worry about us ‘needing’ more of a certain voice type.
But please stick to only one voice part during your recording – don’t change halfway through!
You’ll have access to all the learning resources for the ‘active’ duration of a project – so from the date learning resources are released to the final deadline for submitting recordings.
Due to licensing and the agreements we make with our artists, we unfortunately can’t make learning resources available after a project.
No; anyone can join a project at any time while the project is open. You can join as many individual projects as you like. Subscribers (below) have access to additional workshop content separate from our regular projects .
Subscriptions
The SAHC Subscription is our new subscription service, launching August 2022. With The SAHC Subscription you receive a fortnightly singing lesson live via Zoom, access to our Warm-ups Bundle, and 20% off all SAHC projects including our annual Album Project.
The SAHC Subscription costs £9.99 per month. You have access to fortnightly lessons and other SAHC Subscription content for as long as you remain a subscriber.
Subscribers have access to our Warm-Up Bundle included as part of the subscription. If you just want the warmups on their own, the Warmup Bundle can also be purchased separately as a one-off purchase.
The SingPlus Vocal Studio is our new series of regular singing lessons taking place live via Zoom. SingPlus is included as part of The SAHC Subscription.
SingPlus can be alternatively accessed on its own (without the WarmUp Bundle or the 20% project discount) at a price of £7.99 per month.
Once you have signed up to The SAHC Subscription or SingPlus, you can find the SingPlus project via your dashboard in the same way you would access any other project (see the menu link at the top of the page). Once in the project page you can click on “The Singing Studio” to access the live sessions.
Lessons will include sessions on vocal health and singing technique, workshops in different styles of music, and lessons on choral repertory. A list of upcoming sessions can be viewed on the SingPlus information page.
No; subscribers have access to the additional workshop and learning content outlined above, separate from our regular projects. You do not need to be a subscriber to join a project.
Rehearsals – projects
You can take part in rehearsals by watching live on YouTube or by joining us in the Zoom room.
If you miss a rehearsal, don’t worry! We record our sessions so you can catch up later.
Yes, of course! Our sessions are optional; you’re free to learn in your own way.
We also record all of our sessions so you can watch them at a time that suits you.
If you can’t attend a Zoom rehearsal and need to cancel your place, open your confirmation email. Scroll down until you see a sentence which reads ‘you can cancel your registration at any time’. Click on the link in the word ‘cancel’ to cancel your place.
If you haven’t received a confirmation email, contact us at [email protected]. We’ll check the status of your registration and give you a direct Zoom link if you need one.
We vary the times of our live sessions from week to week. This is so that as many people as possible can participate, regardless of their timezone, work schedule, or other regular commitments.
Tutti rehearsals: ‘Tutti’ means ‘all’, so these rehearsals are for everyone!
Sectional rehearsals: Our sectional rehearsals are an opportunity to look at your part in more detail. ‘S&A’ stands for ‘soprano and alto’, the higher voice parts. ‘T&B’ stands for ‘tenor and bass’, the lower voice parts.
Vocal technique/health forums: These are technique sessions with an industry expert. We’ll ask you to submit your questions in advance via a Google Form in our weekly email.
Drop-ins: These are informal sessions where you can ask the SAHC team your questions, musical or technical! Ask us about vocal technique, recording, technology issues – anything at all. You can drop in for a few minutes or the whole session.
Global socials: These are relaxed social sessions where you can spend time with the SAHC team and your fellow members! We’ll answer your questions, chat about the project so far, and play a few games together.
Submitting a recording – projects
When you’re ready to make a recording, you will need:
1. A device with a voice recorder (e.g. a phone)
2. A second device which can play a YouTube video (e.g. a computer, laptop, or tablet)
3. Headphones
We provide a full recording and submissions guide for each project – but the basic process is below!
1. Set up your phone – or whatever you’re using to record your voice – so that it’s ready to record your performance.
2. Set up your second device – your computer, laptop, or tablet – so you’re ready to press play on the learning video. Plug your headphones into this device so you can hear the guide track.
3. Press play on the learning video, following all of Jamie’s instructions – especially the clap!
4. Press record and sing your part!
No! Every part of the project is optional, and you can take part however you like.
If you’re just camera-shy, don’t worry! Our submission portal also accepts audio files, so you can send us a voice recording if you prefer.
We receive hundreds of recordings for each project, so we ask that you only submit a recording for one voice part per piece.
You can wear whatever you like! Please wear whatever makes you feel comfortable and confident.
There’s no dress code and no obligation to wear our Stay At Home Choir merch (which you can find here…).
Some of our members like to wear a bright colour so they can find themselves more easily in our videos.
Make sure you have a strong internet signal, and try moving your device closer to your WiFi router. It may also help if there aren’t any other devices connected to the internet at the same time.
You might find it easier to upload if your file is smaller. You can compress your file using this website: https://convert-video-online.com
We can accept any file type or size.
You don’t need to compress your file unless you’re having trouble uploading it.
If you’re submitting a video, please make sure you record it in landscape orientation.
If you receive the Congratulations message we have received your submission.
For your own reference you can also click ‘Complete and Continue’ at the bottom of the Submission page to remind you whether you’ve submitted a track. For Album projects, you can click Complete and Continue for each track submitted. A green tick will show at the bottom of the page if you click this button.
It is not necessary to click Complete and Continue to upload the track, but you may find it a useful reminder of which tracks you have submitted (especially for multi-track projects).
We can only accept one file per person, so please only make your submission when you are completely happy with your recording.
Please do not upload more than one file – this will create duplicates in our new system. If we receive duplicate files from you, we won’t be able to tell which one is your preferred submission, and we may have to discard all of your files.
If you submit the wrong file in error then do not submit another file. Please contact us at [email protected] before proceeding.
About our videos – projects
We’re a small team and hundreds of singers submit recordings for every project. We strive to release the highest quality videos which truly showcase the talent of our singers and artists, so we take every care during the production process – which can take time! Our projects take around 2-3 months to complete after we’ve received all your submissions.
We provide updates about previous projects by email and social media, so make sure you sign up to our mailing list and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram – @stayathomechoir.
We use a computer programme to randomise the submissions and place them in our videos. Our visual editor then checks the ‘grids’ and removes duplicates wherever possible. We don’t always catch them all though, because we’re a small team and we receive hundreds of submissions!
We particularly try to avoid duplicates in the middle of the grid, and we actively fill the ‘faded out’ areas around the edges with people who have already been featured in the middle somewhere, so that no-one ends up hanging off the edge of the screen! It’s a complicated process, and we get better at it with each project.
Although we try to make sure every singer’s face is featured in our videos, we receive hundreds of submissions, and we don’t have the capacity to place everyone by hand. This makes it very tricky to make sure that everyone can see themselves.
If you can’t find your face in the video but your name is in the credits, then please rest assured that you’re definitely part of the track!
You can watch our final performance videos on our YouTube channel or on our projects page.
You can also buy The Album Project: Volume 1 on CD here.
Contact us
Yes! Please email [email protected] with any PR requests, and include ‘PR REQUEST’ in the subject line.
If you haven’t found the answer to your question on this FAQ page or elsewhere on our website, please email us at [email protected].