WANT TO SING? DON’T READ MUSIC? Then My Pop Choir is where you belong!

We wanted to find out what it was really like to join My Pop Choir without the musical background that includes being able to read music. So we talked to members of the Whitby choir, directed by Mary Lynne Calvert, to find out.

Nadia Winter has been with the Whitby group since it started up in the fall of 2024. She recalls that first night experience: “From the very first day, Mary Lynne told us, ‘You don’t have to read music; you don’t have to be a singer.’

I felt very comfortable right from the beginning,” Nadia continues. “If you like music, even if you can’t read it, you’re going to have a good time!”

Director Mary Lynne shares the same attitude as all the My Pop Choir directors.  “I don’t know how many singers know how to read music as I have never done a poll. Because it doesn’t matter,” she says.

Cathy Cameron also joined the Whitby choir in its first term. “I always wanted to sing in a choir, but most of them wanted you to try out and be really disciplined.  I want to have fun!”

So how did she feel when she first had a look at the MPC sheet music?  “I’m looking at the squiggly lines and dots and stuff and I don’t know what this says, but I just followed Mary Lynne’s lead.”

My Pop Choir is all about welcoming everyone who wants to sing, no matter what their music training, so formally teaching how to read music is not a part of what the directors do. But they will drop in the occasional tidbit of information when it’s appropriate.

With every new song, Mary Lynne has the choir quickly scan the music and asks them what it is they see. “I ask them to look for weird things, look for surprising things, look for interesting things.  That’s when someone will say ‘I see what looks like a circle with a cross through it’ and then I can explain what a coda is.”

Rosa Baccellieri is another of the Whitby choir’s original singers.  “I have zero experience,” she laughs. “But I always loved singing in the car and in the shower.”

She is very enthusiastic about one of the features offered by the My Pop Choir website. “I love the practice tracks and I often practice with my own voice section. But as I get more comfortable, I find I love singing with all the voices together because that’s the hardest thing to do.”

Director Mary Lynne agrees: “The tracks are so wonderful. I am in awe of people who learn by ear. So many non-music readers learn that way and it’s inspiring to me.”

Some MPC singers, who don’t read music, point out advantages to learning the songs in a different way from those who do.

“With My Pop Choir we’re training our brain, while we sing the music over and over again.,” Cathy explains. “It becomes ingrained. Everyone in the choir is encouraged not to look at the music that much, and if you don’t read music that’s actually more easily done.”

At the last Whitby end-of-term Family and Friends performance, Cathy challenged herself to memorize every song. “I didn’t look at my music at all and I did it!   

Rosa also discovered new skills that she wasn’t expecting: “I didn’t realize that we would be getting sheet music or know that it was going to be three-part harmony. But Mary Lynne said you don’t have to read it, so I didn’t worry.  And in retirement, you are supposed to keep learning!”

Cathy uses strategies to master the music that are useful for all singers, but perhaps especially so for those who don’t read music. “I will be playing the music as I’m working around the house, because I find that just listening is another way to absorb the music and the melody.”

And if one song seems particularly challenging?  “I write down the words to keep learning,” she explains. “And I look up the meaning behind the song because when I understand that, I can tell the story in my head as I learn the words.”

“I would like to reassure people that you are never struggling along by yourself, says Mary Lynne. “You’ll be in very good company and we figure things out together.”

One of the great strengths of My Pop Choir is the warm, welcoming environment singers find. Whether or not you read music is simply not important.  And if it’s wanted, people are quick to offer help to each other.

“We will turn to the new people and say don’t worry about it, you’ll catch on,” says Nadia. “If you’re not such a confident person, don’t worry.  We will put our arm around you and you’ll be fine!”