A CHOIR with a difference is warming up their voices to help members boost their mental wellbeing this month.
As January is the month for the blues, Maidenhead Tuneless Choir sung a range of music featuring the colour blue in its title for their first session back for 2022.
The choir is for those who love to sing but maybe lack the ability, practice or confidence to sing in tune.
Tabitha Beaven, choir leader, said: “There’s no voice too bad for tuneless.
“I meet people who are adamant that we would not want them in our choir but I tell them, that’s exactly who we are for.”
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The group has also been raising money for mental health charity, Mind, and recently passed their £10,000 target.
Beaven explained: “Joining a community group such as a choir not only gives you a regular opportunity to release the feel-good happy hormones (endorphins) but also the chance to make new friends and feel connected to something bigger than yourself.
“With the ‘tuneless’ approach it’s also a practice in letting go of some of the negative self-talk we might subject ourselves to.
“Many of our members have had ‘I can’t sing’ stories in their head for years and tuneless helps them come ‘off mute’ and respond to that inner voice in a really positive way.”
The choir even kept going throughout the pandemic by hosting sessions on online platform Zoom and outside when restrictions eased.
Beaven added: “It was so good to be singing in person together again and kicking off 2022 with a sing and a smile.
“It felt great to welcome six new members and to see faces we haven’t seen since the start of the pandemic.”
For their first session back, the group sung hits including Blueberry Hill, Blue Moon, Mr Blue Sky, Madonna’s True Blue and Blue (Da Ba Dee).
Beaven explained after the session she got messages from new members saying they drove home with a smile on their face.
Maidenhead Tuneless Choirs' past performances include singing in Windsor Castle at Christmas, Windsor bandstand in summer, London’s Southbank.
And most recently, they also featured on BBC Radio 1- on Christmas Day with Greg James.
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Beaven said: “I’m really excited to see what 2022 has in store, we’re starting to see slivers of hope for brighter days ahead – which we plan to fill with ‘singing like no one is listening’ whenever we can.”
The sessions take place every Wednesday night at 8pm to 9.15pm.
It welcomes everyone and Beaven added no one will be turned away for being too bad a singer.
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