About

We are a very friendly, secular Edinburgh singing group with no auditions and no music to read.  Everyone with a desire to sing is welcome – whether untrained or musically adept. For people who want to sing but are a little scared or hesitant – “I can’t Singers” – the group will suit you well.

Our singing style varies hugely from song to song – whether it’s a blues number, a Georgian folk song, a Sami yoik, a Beach Boys hit, a gentle African lullaby or a highly rhythmical indigenous song.  You’ll get to learn all the parts for a harmony, not just one, so you can play with singing different parts and even switch parts while we’re singing, if you want to…  We’re not a performing choir, so there’s no pressure and it’s a safe space for you to find your voice and try different singing styles. We list the songs we sing each week on our Latest Songs page, ocsg.org/latest-songs/

Penny Stone is our incredible, charismatic Song Leader who specialises in voice production and encourages us to experiment, play, have fun and be creative. Teaching is by ear i.e. call and response.

Venue
 
Directions: If you’d like to join us, we meet on Thursday evenings from 6.30pm-8.30pm and you are welcome to turn up at the Reid Memorial Church, West Savile Terrace, EH9 3HY.  We meet in the church building itself which can be accessed via the gate to the church gardens which is about 30m along West Savile Terrace from the traffic lights with Blackford Avenue.  After the gate follow the path through the garden and on through a second gate, then down a flight of stone steps turn immediately right to gain access via the wooden door in the cloister.
We were unable to meet during the prolonged months of the Covid pandemic, but did manage some great outdoor sessions in a member’s garden once regulations allowed.  We were unable to resume at our original venue in the Eric Liddell Centre as it does not  have adequate ventilation for singing while adhering to Covid recommendations. In October 2021 we held a successful trial session at Reid Memorial Church which we found has a fabulous acoustic and we are now firmly established there.
A weekly email goes out to members reminding them of the next session and new members can be added to the mailing list by contacting us at opencommunitysinginggroup@gmail.com.

Also of note – during the pandemic, our Song Leader, Penny Stone, sent us a weekly video with a song to learn, including harmonies. You can access these videos on Penny’s website with the link singlouderthanguns.com/singalong-songs/ and there are many more videos there for you to explore and enjoy.

Charges: We are self-funding and cover all our costs from our subs.  After 8 years without any subs increases we’ve regrettably had to increase our subs from 8th Sept 2022 to cover rising costs.

Subs are now £10 if paying one session at a time, or £45 for a block of five sessions (used over a reasonable period of time).  Payment can be made in cash on the night, or online, however in this case you need to make sure you have paid in advance.

We are an open group and believe everyone should have the chance to sing, regardless of their ability to pay.  If the level of sub would prevent you from coming, please contact us confidentially by email and we will try and find a way that works well for your situation.

Do please join us!