Ep11 Pressing Play with Yula Andrews and the power of singing in Menopause

Yeah, we need more of this in the world.

We, especially now more than ever, we need this more in the world.

And you've been named like the UK's friendliest choir, but also if someone's,

which I just love, I mean, I'm already in.

I'm like, right, where do I, when I come back, where am I going? But for someone who's coming in for the first time and they're listening now and they're going, I really want to go.

What can they expect? What's happening when they walk through the door?

I think that's the hardest bit, you know, building up the courage to come in.

So people contact us, first of all, and they have a nice sort of email exchange with me or with Gemma, our administrator.

And we'll kind of explain how it all works.

And they come along and I know it's really hard to walk in the door.

You know, there's a babble of noise.

But inevitably, somebody in that room will look around and go, That's a new face.

And they will come and say hi.

Or they'll catch you outside and go, are you looking for the choir? Come on in.

You might just been passing to go to the shops.

You'll get dragged in off the street.

But people are just so friendly and welcoming.

They all remember what it was like to be new.

And somebody will sit with you then.

And when you come into the room, I'm like a sorting hat in Harry Potter, you know.

I just have a chat to you and go, right, are we going to put you in the highs? We have highs, middles and lows with our voices.

It's all relative.

So try and keep everything... just as accessible as possible to people and then just partner you up with somebody who is going to be friendly and well, anybody, frankly, in our choirs and kind and welcoming and they'll share their notes and they'll show how they mark it up and kind of get you to know the ropes and you'll just lose an hour and a half of your life and go, well, where did that go? And go out beaming.

It's almost guaranteed that you will just go out feeling so much better than you came in.

And it's, I can't make your problems go away, but I can leave them at the door for an hour and a half.