Quirky singing fitness sessions to launch that fool the brain over exercise

A unique musical fitness project is launching in the Black Country to help residents exercise without realising it. The People’s Orchestra (TPO) came up with the idea of free Walking Choirs across Sandwell and Dudley.

The quirky idea is that those taking part will be so preoccupied with learning a new song while walking around a park for an hour, they won’t notice how many steps they have clocked up.

Walking Choirs will launch at Leasowes Park in Halesowen and Swan Pool at Sandwell Valley in October. The healthy scheme gets under way on Saturday October 5 and, if successful, could branch out further afield in a similar vein to Parkruns.

Chris Weber, who leads the TPO’s Show Choirs, came up with the idea. He said: “The concept is that if we are teaching someone to sing something new while exercising, would they realise they are keeping fit, because the brain tends to focus on one thing.

“If a person is learning something while walking, that’s good exercise to stimulate both the body and mind, plus there’s the feel-good factor of singing.

“Although, the other people in the park will think it sounds horrible as they won’t be in tune because they’ll all have earphones on. Singing in tune isn’t the point of it though, it’s about getting fit.”

Four pilot walks went well and led to The National Lottery Community Fund, SCVO and The Big Give being awarded to the TPO to fund earphones, staffing and equipment for the first year.

Three ‘Walking Choirs’ will run over the coming year and will be free for residents to take part. TPO hopes this is the beginning of a huge project that could expand nationwide and become a regular weekly fixture.

Everyone joining in the Walking Choir session will be able to hear the leader through wireless headphones. Using a microphone and MP3 player full of backing music, the choir leader will teach a new song while the group walks.

Chris added: “I got the idea when I was in a park in London with my brother and saw a group of women led by a fitness instructor with a microphone and loud speaker. She was ordering them to do Army style call and response stuff and I thought how fantastic it could be with singing.

“When I first proposed the idea to TPO founder Sarah Marshall, we were laughing about how bonkers it was, but it’s gone down really well.

“There are unusual tracks, as they need to be songs no-one knows, so the brain doesn’t think about all the walking and everyone is focused on learning instead. There are simple harmonies and cannons designed to vary in pace with quicker sections and slower music for cooling down.”

The only other type of walking choir in the UK is different as it is a hiking group that performs once it reaches a destination, explained Chris.

“It would be a dream to roll the TPO’s Walking Choirs out across the country,” added Chris. “I’m hoping they will be really successful and help people keep fit without thinking about it.”

The People’s Walking Choir is working in partnership with The Change Consortium CIC, funded by The National Lottery Community Fund, SCVO and The Big Give. For more information on the TPO and the Walking Choir events, visit The People’s Orchestra social media channels or website at https://thepeoplesorchestra.com/