Musical Joy

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I have often said that I play a lot of music here because of the joy we can get from listening to it – one of the best things in life, for me. That can be happy songs, or maybe more serious songs which touch a chord in our hearts. But one thing I haven’t written much about is the joy that comes from participating. Thanks to another of YouTube’s recommendations – their algorithm is very good! – I’ve come across something which I’m going to share with you today. You may already know of this, in which case I apologise for the repetition, but the videos will still be fun!

I’m talking about something called Pub Choir, which is a musical act founded in 2017 in Brisbane, Australia, by Astrid Jorgensen. At each Pub Choir event Astrid arranges a popular song and teaches it to the audience in three-part harmony, concluding with a performance which is filmed and shared on social media. There is no formal recurring membership and participants purchase tickets to attend each show, which is usually held at a licensed venue, hence the name. She has said that she founded Pub Choir “to help regular people reclaim music in their lives, free of pressure or judgement.” Judging from the videos I’ve watched, this seems to be working well! These are often amalgamations of various events, which are very skilfully edited together – the clue is usually in Astrid’s different outfits! Here’s one I really like:

That gives you a good idea of how it works, and one of the beauties of it for me is that I find myself enjoying a performance of a song that is miles from being a favourite of mine. The video was posted on YouTube last August, and has upwards of 493k views already. Pub Choir has held events widely around Australia, as well as in New Zealand, the United States and England, and performed at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Here’s another from multiple Australian locations, of a song I like a lot (with some added extras):

Pub Choir raises lots of money for charities, both from sharing some of the ticket revenues and from donations at events. The concept was expanded during the pandemic in 2020 to form a newly renamed Couch Choir, and worldwide participation resulted. Their Christmas 2020 video raised over $30k Australian dollars, and was shared online by the originator of the song – but as that was Mariah Carey I’m afraid I can’t bring myself to play it! You can get a good idea of the concept from this one, though, which was shared last April to mark Pub Choir’s sixth anniversary:

I mentioned that Pub Choir has been taken overseas, and here is another fairly recent (September 2023) video from their trip around the US:

That kind of sums up the whole thing for me. Just watch any of Pub Choir’s videos and you will see large numbers of people having a whale of a time, both with people they know and people they have only just met. Music is meant to be joyful, and without it the world would be a dismal place. This little trip around what Pub Choir is doing shows me that it needn’t be that way: if only this spirit could be reflected more widely in life. Pub Choir is about to embark on more performances, in New Zealand, Australia and the US, and many of the venues are already sold out. I think a great many people are about to enjoy a wonderful evening that will probably stay in their memories for a very long time. I hope these samples of their work that I’m sharing today bring you some joy, too.

See you again for Song Lyric Sunday? 😊

68 thoughts on “Musical Joy”

    • and I’ve got a sort of connection – I am currently in Australia. I was also in New Zealnd for a bit, and you’ll be happy to know we went to watch a cricket match. I asked the gent next to me if he could explain a few things to me, and he was kind enough to do so. I’ve also watched a few matches on the TV while in the pubs in Sydney…

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      • Lucky you! Being there in their summer is a good plan! Great to hear that you’re improving your cricket knowledge, just in time for the T20 World Cup being held in the US and West Indies in June. I wonder if any of your tv channels will cover it? For us it just means that the evening games will be in the middle of our night!

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      • yes, we are lucky to be here this time of year. One of the things I noticed about cricket is that most of the players do not wear gloves, so they catch the ball bare-handed. So I had to go a sporting goods store after the game to see what one of the balls was like. Seems like it could hurt a bit. It would be intersting to see baseball players without a glove. I’m sure I’ll be watching the World Cup, and asking you some questions along the way!

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      • A hit from a cricket ball can be very painful – I know from experience! It’s a bit like the difference between rugby and that thing you call ‘football’ – over-protection versus none at all. Questions will be welcome, though if they are in the middle of the night answers may be delayed 🤣

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      • I just read that some rugby players are stating to show early signs of dementia; sad but perhaps not unexpected. I read there are different styles of cricket matches, some that can last for days. What will be the format of the World Cup?

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      • And football players too, from years of heading the ball. Sad indeed.

        There are three main formats for cricket. The traditional version is the long form, played over three, four or five days. Then there are the two ‘limited overs’ versions. An ‘over’ is a bowler bowling six balls, then another does that from the other end. The ‘one day’ format is 50 overs per side, and the shortest form – this year’s World Cup – is called T20, ie 20 overs per side. It’s the most action packed format, and they gave the World Cup to the US in the hope of widening interest in the game there. We’ll see!

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      • thanks for the explanation. I think the match we watched in New Zealand was the 50 overs format. I remember asking the guy next to me why there was a different pitcher, oops bowler 🙂 every few throws.

        I think it could be a tough sell. I look at football/soccer, and how long it’s taken to pick up just mild interest. Maybe having Messi here will help more people get interested…

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      • The different pitcher thing is the basis of all formats, but you can usually judge the format from the time taken. A regular day of a multi day game is scheduled to last seven hours, but can take longer, and then they all come back again the next day. 50 over games usually last around eight hours, including breaks, and T20 aro7nd 3 to 4 hours, again including breaks.

        I agree, and you may have noted a degree of cynicism in my previous comment. It has taken a long time and loads of money even to get football where it is over there, and throwing huge sums at players who are well past their best might not do much either.

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      • Spoken like a true impatient American! The only country which has a manufactured sport where one hour of play takes up to four hours!

        The point of cricket is that you spend a day out, in the great British sunshine, stuffing a picnic and getting pissed out of your head in the beer tent!

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      • I find it painful to watch any of it, to be honest! The beer part is good, and we have proper ale, too.

        I’ve left Oysterband a message on YouTube. Now I wait with fingers crossed!

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      • There were several. For bitters, there were London Pride, Director’s, Spitfire, among others. For lagers, Tuborg (Danish), Stella Artois (French), and Löwenbrau (German). All behind me now, though, for medical reasons 😢

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  4. This is fantastic! I’m from a musical family; we all sang in various choirs and played some type of instrument (except for mom who only sang). The joy I derived from being a choral member is something that will stay with me forever. I love singing (I’m an alto); hand me a mic and I’ll sing you a song! My son, David, is lead tenor with the Taconic Opera, a local operatic group and all my grand kids play multiple instruments. Music has so many restorative factors but the biggest benefit for me is it fills my soul and heart and mind with joy and love. It makes me happy when I’m down and brings me peace when I’m troubled. Thanks for sharing this incredible post, Clive!

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    • We have something similar here called Rock Choir but it works on a different model. Here you join a local choir and they then meet up for events. I think the Pub Choir is better, as it doesn’t require any commitment other than buying a ticket and turning up. Are 10 March in San Francisco or 11 March in LA any good for you? Tickets now on sale!

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    • They’re great fun, aren’t they. I’m not good in crowds nowadays either, but I don’t get out anyway. I think we might both enjoy being part of one of these events, though 😊

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  10. Joyful and uplifting indeed! Not my thing songwise but its nice to see people lose their inhibitions and go for it. It would be something to be there but if I was, I would probably mime. My vocal range is limited and my ears know it.

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  11. Wow, how joyful they are to watch. I especially liked ‘Africa’. I didn’t know about this an it’s clear how much people are enjoying themselves and loosening their inhibitions! Music is, simply the best! Thanks for sharing.

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  12. When the wild dogs cry out in the night for no apparent reason this could be an omen of death, because they are able to detect when the Grim Reaper is nearby, and somebody is going to die. Great post, Clive and I am just adding my two cents in,

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