Training
We welcome a limited number of new singers into our bedside singing program every 2 years. The next training course for interested singers begins in September 2010.
If you missed attending our June 2nd, 2010 information session, you can still contact our group coordinator at bedsidesingers@shaw.ca during the upcoming summer to see if there are any openings left for our September training program. If we do have space for another new singer, you would then be invited to set up a meeting with Marnie to explore your interest in bedside singing, along with an informal opportunity to sing something very simple with her. It is not necessary for you to have a professionally trained voice. What we are looking for is your ability to carry a basic melody and to smoothly blend your voice with one other person.
Our bedside singing program is designed to help singers develop the repertoire and sensitivity skills required for this specialized service. Your initial training takes 4 - 6 months, after which there is a period of being mentored one-on-one by a more experienced bedside singer on the Victoria Hospice inpatient unit.
We believe that it is important for prospective singers to know what our training involves, and also what your time commitment is likely to be. The following overview may help you consider if you would be interested in joining us and learning how to become a Bedside Singer.
Regular Practice Schedule – Group singing practices take place on alternate Wednesday evenings from 7:30pm to 9pm, over two consecutive singing seasons: Fall/Winter (October to February), and Spring (March to June).
Although we regularly practice our songs together in a group at these Wednesday night sessions, we are not a performance choir, and we always work in teams of only two singers at each patient’s bedside.
The Bedside Singers are deeply grateful to the Fairfield Gonzales Community Association in Victoria, BC for providing the space for our regular Wednesday night practices. You can find out more about this wonderful community organization by going to www.fairfieldcommunity.ca.
Saturday afternoon workshops will be offered on a monthly basis beginning in November.
There are no Wednesday night practices or Saturday workshops during July and August, although our bedside singing shift schedules at Victoria Hospice and the Royal Jubilee Hospital Inpatient Oncology unit operate throughout the entire year.
Repertoire - Bedside singing usually requires us to sing melodies in unison, although we will add simple optional harmonies when that is appropriate for an individual patient. It is not mandatory that you learn to sing a harmony part; however, you will be expected to hold the main melody line if your partner does add in harmony.
The ability to sight-read music is not required to join our group since most of our songs can be easily learned through repetition. We have also created a Training CD which you can use for your individual practice.
Our core repertoire includes songs of comfort and general blessing, as well as some familiar songs from popular culture. This range allows us to offer either meditative or upbeat songs during our visits so that we can match the kind of support that may be needed at any particular time by the patient or their family.
Contributions - Because the Bedside Singers group has no outside funding, there is a fee for our two practice seasons to cover expenses for collecting and photocopying music, maintaining supplies for our bedside singing shifts, etc.
Singers are asked to pay $25 for each of our two seasonal practice schedules. This fee is due in full at the first practice of the Fall/Winter season in September and again at the beginning of our Spring season in March.
Other payment arrangements can be made on an individual basis by contacting Marnie at bedsidesingers@shaw.ca.
The Rooftop Garden at Victoria Hospice
The Pathway to Becoming a Bedside Singer:
- Your main vocal goals are to stay on key, generally sing in a warm lullaby tone, and be able to smoothly blend your voice with one other singer.
- Although our music sheets are always available for you to quickly check during your shifts if needed, we sing to patients and their families without having the words or notation pages in our hands. This ability to sing “off book” allows your focus to be fully on the person to whom you are singing. The starting note for each song is provided by a small music keyboard which goes with you on a wheeled trolley for your patient visits.
- You will need to regularly attend your two scheduled Wednesday night practices every month in order to become familiar with our repertoire and to also get to know other group members who may end up forming bedside singing shift teams with you.
- Our voices are the medium that we offer to patients for energy support, so your ability to sing our very simple repertoire is only the first step. Consequently, you will need to attend our 2-hour Saturday afternoon workshops when they are offered. During these workshops, you will receive training in sensitivity issues, hand signals, team work, etc. Workshops also provide opportunities for you to gently and gradually become more comfortable with singing in teams of two.
- You need to have easy and regular access to email in order to participate in our bedside singing program.
- Victoria Hospice requires that you attend a free general volunteer evening orientation to their inpatient unit, and that you also go through a criminal record check prior to working there. There is no cost to you for this record search.
- New bedside singers who are not already Victoria Hospice unit volunteers will need to attend a special Hospice-sponsored training course before you can be mentored on the inpatient unit. There will be four training sessions taking place on the following dates this Fall: Wednesday evening, October 13; Saturday, October 16; Wednesday evening, October 20; and Saturday, October 23. This training includes a focus on communication skills and psychosocial issues in palliative care. If you are not able to attend these modules in October, you can opt to take this training package when it is offered again sometime in Spring 2011; however, your ability to be mentored as a Bedside Singer would be then delayed until you have completed the four sessions. There is no cost to you for this hospice-related training.
If you wish to have more information about our overall training process, please feel free to contact us through contact us
Bedside Singers at the June 2009 Victoria Hospice volunteer appreciation dinner
Mentorship Program:
Our volunteers provide ongoing bedside singing services to the Victoria Hospice inpatient unit under the supervision of the Music Therapist. We now also offer weekly shifts on the Inpatient Oncology unit at the Royal Jubilee Hospital. All new singers are mentored by more-experienced bedside singers during our regular hospice shift schedule.
After you graduate from being mentored, you are then able to partner with other fully trained singers to continue working on bedside singing shifts at either Victoria Hospice and/or Inpatient Oncology.
All active Bedside Singers are expected to keep up their skills by continuing to attend their regular Wednesday night group practices and Saturday afternoon workshops.
Please note: Only those singers who have successfully completed our full training/mentoring program and who are still currently singing on our scheduled bedside singing shifts may represent themselves to patients and families as being one of our Bedside Singers.
Please see Guidelines for further information.
