Knowless (2024-25)
The By-Ear Choir Workbook
The By-Ear Choir Workbook reimagines choral singing as an act of collective listening rather than score-reading. In most traditional choirs, music is organised around written notation or lyric sheets. While this system has a long and rich history, it can also create barriers for people who do not read music or who feel intimidated by formal musical training.
The By-Ear approach begins from a different premise: that the voice is an intuitive and responsive instrument, and that music-making can emerge through listening, interaction, and shared attention.
Instead of decoding written notes, singers respond to one another in real time. The focus shifts from reading to hearing, reacting, and collaborating.
This project was developed in partnership with HIVE, Belfast’s leading experimental vocal ensemble. Together we produced and published a workbook designed to help choir leaders, educators, and community artists establish By-Ear choirs in educational, community, and artistic contexts.
A Different Way of Singing Together
The workbook grows out of the By-Ear Songbook, a collection of thirteen open-form pieces that combine vocal improvisation, Fluxus-inspired actions, and spatial sound games.
Rather than using conventional notation, the pieces are guided by instructions, prompts, and interactions. These frameworks allow each group to create its own version of the music. No two performances are exactly the same.
Through exercises that combine sound, text, and movement, singers gradually develop confidence in listening and responding to one another. Over time, groups begin to shape their own collective musical language.
The result is a repertoire that evolves organically — reflecting the personalities, voices, and relationships within each ensemble.
Vocal Exploration
The workbook includes guided warm-ups, improvisation exercises, and vocal explorations that encourage singers to discover the full range of their voice.
Participants explore elements such as:
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breath and resonance
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timbre and articulation
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vocal texture and layering
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spatial listening
These exercises help singers develop healthy vocal awareness while remaining accessible to those with no formal musical background.
By removing the pressure to “read correctly,” the focus moves toward curiosity, play, and discovery.
Collaborative Artistry
Every piece in the By-Ear collection is designed to cultivate deep listening and ensemble responsiveness.
Without a fixed score, singers learn to build musical coherence through attention and empathy. Instead of following predetermined instructions from a conductor or page, the ensemble negotiates musical decisions together in real time.
This approach encourages:
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trust within the group
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shared responsibility for the sound
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a sense of collective authorship
In many ways, the choir becomes less like an orchestra following a blueprint and more like a living ecosystem of voices.
A Listening Community
Ultimately, the By-Ear Choir Workbook transforms the choir from a score-based ensemble into a listening community.
In this model:
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sound becomes more important than symbols
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process becomes more important than product
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creativity becomes more important than perfection
Through this approach, singing together becomes not only a musical activity but also a way of learning how to listen, collaborate, and create collectively.
The By-Ear project invites choirs to rediscover something simple yet profound:
that music can begin not from the page, but from the act of listening to one another.
Singing Without Notation
A central feature of the workbook is its departure from traditional notation.
Rather than printed scores, the music is guided by Role Cards and Style Cards.
Role Cards describe how a singer might behave within the ensemble. Examples include:
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The Initiator
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The Listener
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The Collector
Style Cards suggest qualities of sound or expression using descriptive language drawn from everyday experience rather than technical musical terms.
This system removes the anxiety of “getting the notes right.” Instead, singers focus on listening and shaping sound together.
The result is a form of music-making that is both inclusive and creatively open.
A Shift in My Compositional Practice
The creation of the By-Ear Choir Workbook also marked a significant shift in my own artistic process.
Having grown up within the classical music tradition, I have relied on written notation for most of my musical life. When I began composing the pieces for this project, my instinct was to plan structures in the usual way — organising entries, balancing solo and ensemble moments, and shaping musical form through notation.
However, when I attempted to translate these ideas into verbal instructions, I discovered that the process required a different mindset.
Traditional notation describes what should be heard.
Verbal instructions describe what performers do.
This change opened up new possibilities.
Embracing Freedom and Uncertainty
Verbal instructions give performers freedom in how they interpret each action. This inevitably produces variation in the resulting sound.
Over time I came to see this uncertainty not as a weakness but as a strength.
Each performance becomes unique — shaped by the singers’ choices, experience, and the collective energy of the moment.
As the project developed, I gradually reduced the level of control in the instructions. The less I prescribed, the more vivid and alive the music became.