What have Smiley Tunes got to SING about?

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December 2021 brought the first performance for 'The Alley Cats ESCAPE Choir' since the pandemic began and what a joy it was. 

The performance was part of St. Mary's annual Christmas Tree Festival.  We put up our fun and sparkly tree on Thursday 2nd December in St. Mary's beautiful church and performed on the following Saturday.  

It was so wonderful to sing in such magnificent surroundings, the choir did a wonderful job.  We sang a range of music including classic Christmas songs, popular pop classics and fun rounds.  We loved the relaxed vibe of the event with some visitors choosing to sit in the pews and watch whilst others walked around the church admiring the various trees and singing along.

It is so wonderful to be out performing again, sharing joy through singing and spreading the Smiley Tunes SMILE.

I'm ready now to support more people in the community with singing.  After completing the Alzheimer's Society online training I am now a Singing for the Brain delivery partner, which means I can deliver session with the full support of the  Alzheimer's Society.  I'm excited to start a group locally and enhance the participants well being.  Bring a smile to their faces through singing.

I feel fresh inspiration for singing since completing the leader training with Kate Valentine and the Singing Mamas network.   

The training (November 2021) provided the space and support needed for each individual involved.  There were three parts to the training;

• Part one – Online
  From the convenience of your own home, come together with other women over four evenings of live sessions.  Sing, share stories, make connections, have thought provoking discussions, and learn the practical steps to facilitate Group Singing sessions.
• Part two – Retreat
  Immerse yourself in song over a 3-day weekend of nourishing food and great company set in a beautiful location. Leave bursting with new songs to share.
• Part three – One to one
  Brush up on some of the theory behind the practice in online tutorials and put together your individual development plan with the support of a mentor and the wider network.

I now feel very privileged to be a member of a supportive network of strong women determined to make a difference to our well-being through singing.

I've just completed the first course and qualification since leaving University in July 2000.  The training was fantastic and will make a huge difference to me, as a singer myself and for the singers I lead and and support.  The course provided me with an understanding of vocal health and the factors that can affect vocal wellbeing.  I was given practical skills to spot the signs of a range of vocal dysfunction and imbalance.  I was also given knowledge to help someone towards recovery by:

• Guiding them in self-management, or
• Passing them on to further support, whether that is specialist vocal rehabilitation coaching or clinical treatment

I would recommend this course to anyone who is interested in caring for the voice.

It was a very sad day when I had to cancel my weekly choir rehearsals with 'Cheshire Cats Children's Choir' and 'The Alley cats ESCAPE Choir' due to COVID-19.  This virus wasn't going to stop Smiley Tunes though.  The sole purpose of Smiley tunes is to sing and feel good and that was exactly what people needed so I decided to try out LIVE Facebook sessions for both children and adults.  The interest was overwhelming. My first ever live session was viewed by over 5.9 thousand people and then that was topped by my first children's session which had a staggering 33 thousand views.  People were singing with Smiley Tunes in Australia, Thailand, Switzerland and America.

Over 10 weeks I delivered 19 live children's sessions (2 per week) and 11 adults sessions (1 per week).  The feedback was wonderful but as the research was pointing to choirs not being able to meet for a very long time due to the coronavirus I felt it was time to move to Zoom.

Zoom rehearsals are my next challenge - I'm really looking forward to singing and socialising with my wonderful singers again.  Also, now the choir is not limited to Lymm and the surrounding area - anyone in the world can join us.  

Sunday December 8th, 2019 found Lymm Village Hall alive with chatting, laughter and lots of singing.  Smiley Tunes held it's first combined event.  The hall contained lots of activities and stalls including; tombola, raffle, delicious cakes, children's craft activities, name the giant Elf and much more.  Friends and family of the choir members had a great afternoon.  We also raised £415.15 for the Alzheimer's Society.  I was so pound of all the choir members involved.  The Cheshire Cats and Alley Cats sang solo spots and also joint items.  It was such an amazing feeling to have them singing together and brough a tear to my eye (in a good way)- last year Smiley Tunes was still a dream now its a reality.  

The Alley Cats ESCAPE Choir made their debut performance in front of The Cross in July.  Some of its members hadn’t sung in a choir since school days and had never before performed in public.  The residents of Lymm welcomed their outdoor performance with smiles and appreciative applause, a video even made its way on to the Lymm Facebook page having 1.9K views.

The Alley Cats ESCAPE Choir is open to all adults, music reading is not required.  They rehearse weekly at Lymm Village Hall on Wednesday 10:45 – 12:00, during term time.

June 2019, saw Smiley Tunes launch its children’s choir, The Cheshire Cats Children’s Choir, in Lymm.   Children from primary schools across the Lymm area came together to sing, laugh and have fun.  After just three rehearsals the choir, aged between 6 and 11, performed a small concert, to the delight of their friends and relatives.

Helen Elliott, the founder of Smiley Tunes said, “There is no better feeling for me than singing in a group, to be part of a team and making fabulous music together.  The children have been really enthusiastic and have enjoyed making new friends and learning new songs.  It is such a joy to launch a new children’s choir in Lymm.  I look forward to watching the group grow and develop into an amazing children’s choir.”

The Cheshire Cats Children’s Choir rehearse on Friday’s 3:45 – 5:00pm at Lymm Village Hall during term time.  New members are always welcome.

Wednesday 24th April, 2019, marked the launch of The Alley Cats ESCAPE Choir. The lead up to the launch was both exciting and terrifying.  I have always loved singing and I get so much joy from it that I really wanted the launch to be a success and for others to feel a similar joy when singing.
The anticipation was huge - I had no idea how many people would arrive, I didn't know if anyone had seen my posters around the village or spotted my posts on social media.  A handful of people had contacted me and signed up but total numbers and interest was unknown.  
The lovely people of Lymm started to arrive and they didn't let me down. When our first Alley Cats session started there were 31 singers in front of me - I was totally overwhelmed.  31 wonderful faces smiling back at me and singing.  
We started with a fun warmup to prepare our voices and bodies for singing, then we learned a simple round about 'Gin and Tonic'!  With a little movement we moved to the Congo to sing a Congolese folksong about bananas 'Banaha'. Soon it was time for a break and a chat; with this being our launch I treated the singers to cake as well as the usual biscuits and a brew.  After our break we ended our rehearsal with the popular song 'Ain't no Mountain high enough' the 1960s hit by Martin Gaye.
What an amazing first ever Smiley Tunes choir event - I am so excited to see who will join us and what fabulous moments we will experience and create together.