Love is in the air, poems are in the post and yet ideas are still hard to come by for the hopeless romantic on Valentines Day.

Making a big impression is never easy, but here at musicroom we don’t think you can go far wrong with a time tested classic: the serenade.

Expressing your inner most feelings is hard enough at the best of times. Nerves, fears and confidence all play their part in wilting the enthusiasm of potential Casanovas.

To help you find that spark of inspiration, we thought we’d put together a quick 5 step ‘How To’ guide for musicians seeking the right sentiments on this most mushy day of the year.

Step one: pick the right song

Choose something in your singing range!

Barry White’s earthshaking tones are a romance standard, but such a rumbling range is off limits for most singers. Instead, find something in-line with your natural voice – something you’ll find comfortable and easy to sing. You want that special person to focus on your expression of love, but your off-track wailings as you butcher a Valentines classic!

Sing one of their favorites!

Find out what your beloved’s favorite track is and learn it. Not only will they appreciated a song they’re already familiar with and enjoy more, but showing you’ve gone that extra mile to find out what they like is exactly the sort of spark that can send a serenade into the stratosphere!

On the other hand, choosing a track that YOU love, or assume they’d like can be a recipe for disaster. Your impassioned Cradle of Filth cover may allow you to scream out your feelings, but if they’re not interested in Filth, they could soon become disinterested with you!

Step two: find the perfect place

Quiet and private is more romantic

The balcony is the classic hotspot for a serenade, but not everyone is lucky enough to have one. Instead, a nice, relaxing venue such as a riverbank, garden or somewhere private and secluded will help make your serenade much more focused, personal and romantic. Again, find out where they like to go or any special quiet places they enjoy.

Don’t go too public or choose an inconvenient time to play

A full, round moon is another romantic staple of the picture perfect serenade, but don’t leave your serenading till it’s too late. Nobody likes being woken up in the dead of night, and rocking up at 2am is a sure fire way to catch your Valentine in the wrong mood, or even miss your chance to woo completely. Go for a dusky evening instead if you want your performance to shimmer in the tender light of the moon.

Avoid large apartment buildings of offices at all costs, or at least take a helmet. You’re more like to annoy the neighbors or invite abuse if you don’t take into account other people and their proximity. Its hard to make the right impression under a rain of boo’s, heckles and rotten fruit.

Step three: accompaniment?

Can’t sing or play? Want to make a BIG impression? Call up some friends.

Singing isn’t everything! Whilst the stereotypical image of the serenade is a singing muso, pouring out their heart through vocals and guitar strings, bringing an accompanist or singer to cover your weaknesses can make your intended listener feel even more special. The extra effort goes a long way and strumming along can be just as impressive as singing your heart out when done with some real feeling! Of course, covering your deficiencies is a much better option than stumbling through, trying to cover both.

Some extra voices or instruments can also ramp up the scale of your display of affection. Maybe you know a few guitarists and a bongo player that could form a backing band for a one-off, under-the-window performance? Just make sure the focus is on what you’re trying to say and avoid inviting Brad, your face melting, shred solo guitarist friend. His arpeggios may be impressive but your sentiments will soon be obscured as the purpose of the performance is lost.

Make sure you can play!

As the old adage goes ‘practice makes perfect’- make sure any performance is well oiled and ready for display, and contains musicians who can actually play. No one wants to be serenaded by a hopeless mess of bum notes by a clueless quartet out of time with each other.

Step four: accessorise!

Bring a gift and add some atmospheric touches

Flowers, chocolates, teddy bears or something more personal or fun (a shirt from her favourite football team? A rare Bolivian addition to his stamp collection?) always make an impression and can add a nice finish to your serenade, as you present your Valetines offering.

Adding some candles, rose petals or other hopelessly romantic touches can also set the tone and create the right atmosphere. Just don’t go over elaborate! Reconstructing the main stage of Glastonbury where you shared your first kiss may sound like a good idea at the time, but in practise you’ll end up being disruptive and annoying rather than thoughtful and clever. Again, the focus should be on your intimate musical expression, but the size of your Pyramid stage!

Stating the obvious…

Practical accessories such a guitar tuner or strap can also save you the embarrassment of a dodgy G string or unwieldy saxophone.

Step five: Go for it!

Break into song! Show lots of passion with a smile and pour out your love

The key to the perfect serenade, regardless of the fixtures, fittings and planning, is putting as much passion into your performance as possible. This is supposed to be the ultimate declaration of your love for the lucky person listening intently to you and your playing.

Don’t throw a diva strop if you make a mistake, or stare out your beloved as if you’re grinding through a serious recital. Smile, have fun and enjoy it! If you slip up, laugh it off. The key is to make them know you really mean it. Don’t sound bored, sad or play half-hearted. Just go for it!

If all else fails however, you can always just ‘do a Cusack’!

Stuck for ideas of what to play? Check out the Greatest Love Songs app for iPod, iPhone and iPad!

How will you be showing your affections today? Will you be seranading a loved one from beneath a picturesque balcony?

Do you have any anecdotes of serenades gone good or even gone bad?!

Singers and choral music lovers have less than two weeks left to become a voice in Eric Whitacre’s Virtual Choir 3 – the composer’s most ambitious online collective singing project so far.

The 31 January deadline looms large for those wishing to submit their webcam sings of Whitacre’s 1995 a cappella composition, Water Night, available now at musicroom.com.

Following on from his previous two web based mega-choirs, Virtual Choir 3 promises to take the concept further than ever, pushing the envelope for online musical collaboration and the technology behind it.

From an initial 182 voices singing Lux Aurumque in Virtual Choir 1.0, to an incredible 2052 strong rendition of Sleep in its second iteration, Whitacre’s ever-expanding vision for the project, and the fantastic response from the singing public, has seen it grow and progress beyond expectation.

With Water Night, for the first time ever, the online choral phenomenon is expanding into the physical realm too. The finished performance video will be premiered both online and off using video sites and real world installations. In Eric’s own words:

“The final film will exist not only as a beautiful online video but also as a powerful audio-visual art exhibit, placed in cities around the world. Visitors to these installations will get the chance to literally walk through our Virtual Choir, a deeply immersive experience using surround sound and panoramic video, tailored for each venue.

Imagine someone standing in the middle of the Virtual Choir as we sing the line “if you open your eyes”!

The initial inspiration for the Virtual Choir came from one of Eric’s fans, Britlin Losee, who sent the composer a YouTube clip of her singing the soprano line to his choral work, Sleep. Touched by the video, Eric was moved to explore the possibilities of mass musical performance over the web, blazing a trail for online musical innovation and collaboration in choral music.

The Virtual Choir is a modern testament to the awesome power of music and people amplified through the internet; an empowered public coming together to create and share in a beautiful idea that brings people of all backgrounds together to stop, think and enjoy.

Have you taken part in any of Eric’s online Virtual Choirs? Will you be singing for the Virtual Choir 3? Have you ever taken part in your own or similar online musical collaborations? Leave your stories and experiences in the comments box below!

Discover Water Night, Lux Aurumque and Sleep, along with Eric’s other fantastic works at musicroom.com

Wherever You Are, the single by Gareth Malone’s Military Wives and composed by Paul Mealor, has broken a new online record by becoming the most pre-ordered music item on Amazon.

Fans of the song – and the TV show The Choir in which it first featured – are hoping to get it to this year’s Christmas Number One, while the sheet music has also been a bestseller every day at Musicroom.

The single is not released until December 18th and it could beat X Factor winners Little Mix to the top spot. Indeed, according to Ladbrokes, the choir are the current favourites.

Its new record overtakes the previous record-holder, Take That’s Progress, by almost three times.

Roger Greensmith, music and MP3 manager at Amazon.co.uk, said that this is a “tremendous achievement when you consider that Take That’s album marked Robbie’s return and was one of the most highly-anticipated music releases ever”.

As an added bonus, all proceeds from the single will go to the Royal British Legion and SSAFA Forces Help.

Speaking to the Daily Telegraph last week, composer Paul Mealor explained the idea behind the piece, saying that he suggested using letters the wives write to their husbands serving in Afghanistan.

“It was a privilege because normally one wouldn’t see those prayers or letters to a loved one,” he remarked. “I was very moved by the whole thing. I created a poem out of them and wrote this little piece for women’s voices and piano, and then I orchestrated it.”

He added that Malone had approached him with the project after enjoying Mealor’s Ubi caritas, which was performed for the Royal Wedding, and revelled at the thought of writing a piece for women’s voices on their own.

The choir then went on to perform their specially-commissioned piece at the British Legion’s annual Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall in November and have even made an appearance on Strictly Come Dancing.

The undeniable talent of Amy Winehouse has been proved once again after a posthumous album of her unreleased tracks has topped the UK album chart.

Lioness: Hidden Treasures, which has been compiled by producers and long-time partners of the late singer Salaam Remi and Mark Ronson, entered the charts at number one yesterday (December 11th).

Figures from the Official Charts Company show that Winehouse has achieved her best weekly sales of her career, five months after her death.

The album sold over 194,000 copies and also marks one of the biggest first week album sales of the year after Lady Gaga’s Born This Way, Coldplay’s Mylo Xyloto and Adele’s 21.

“It’s such amazing news that Amy’s album has gone to number one, and just goes to show what she still means to people,” said Amy’s mother Janis. “I’m so proud of my daughter and so happy that she is still touching people. She’s forever in my heart.”

Sales of the album will go towards the Amy Winehouse Foundation and features 12 tracks of previously un-released material. They include Amy’s final studio recording, Body & Soul, which was performed with Tony Bennett in March this year, and alternative versions of some of her best-known songs.

Since Amy’s death, her father Mitch has worked to raise money for the Foundation. The polka dot dress worn by the singer on the cover of her seminal album Back to Black was sold at auction recently for £43,200, with proceeds donated to the charity by its designer Disaya.

The singer’s success comes in a week where record sales have reached an impressive figure for 2011. The top four albums in the chart all sold more than 100,000 copies last week owing to the pre-Christmas rush.

Michael Buble’s Christmas is at number two in the chart, sollowed by Rebecca Ferguson’s Heaven.

Olly Murs’ In Case You Didn’t Know and Rihanna’s Talk That Talk complete the top five.

Little Mix have become the first group to win this year’s X Factor.

After an intense weekend final at Wembley Arena, the four girls took the crown, leaving Marcus Collins as runner-up.

The band, made up of Jesy Nelson, Perrie Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jade Thirlwall, all entered the competition as solo acts before the four judges put them into a girl group. They then went on to win 48.3 per cent of the final vote after weeks of working to become a formidable band.

Marcus Collins came second on Sunday (December 11th) with 42.8 per cent of the vote, while Amelia Lily, who came in third, had 8.9 per cent of the vote.

Opening the night to a crowd of 10,000 people on Saturday was Marcus, who sang Hey Ya on a huge set surrounded by dancers. His other song, She’s Always a Woman, was a duet with Gary Barlow.

Little Mix sang dance classic You Got the Love before performing with mentor Tulisa on Empire State of Mind/ If I Ain’t Got You.

Amelia, meanwhile, sang Christina Aguilera’s Ain’t No Other Man and River Deep, Mountain High with Kelly Rowland.

Sunday’s show featured Marcus and Little Mix singing their favourite tracks of the live shows, as well as their rendition of the winner’s single, Damien Rice’s Cannonball.

The past contestants from this year’s show also made a group appearance, as well as performances from JLS and One Direction. Michael Buble and Coldplay also sang at the two-day show.

Today, ITV has released statistics showing which act won in each week of the live shows, revealing that Little Mix only came top in week seven and the semi-final before winning the most important vote.

Marcus never came top, while Amelia won twice after she was voted back into the show. Janet Devlin was an early favourite, winning the first four weeks of public voting.

This year’s X Factor judges are to perform with their acts in the duets section of the final show, it has been confirmed.

Gary Barlow, Kelly Rowland and Tulisa all have one act each, while Louis Walsh will spend the show watching impartially from the sidelines.

They will perform with Marcus Collins, Amelia Lily and Little Mix respectively as the final three acts fight for the crown as X Factor winner live at Wembley Arena tomorrow night (December 10th).

It is the first time in X Factor history that a mentor has performed with their act, as usually the duets are performed by other artists, who in the past have included Beyonce, Rihanna and Michael Buble.

Making the announcement, Gary said: “Thank God Louis didn’t get an act in the Final.”

He and Marcus will perform Billy Joel’s Always A Woman, while Amelia and Kelly will sing River Deep, Mountain High by Tina Turner.

Tulisa will join her girls Little Mix for a musical mash-up of Alicia Keys songs Empire State Of Mind and If I Ain’t Got You.

Performing to fans at the weekend will also be a host of acts, including past X Factor contestants. Coldplay, Michael Buble, Leona Lewis, One Direction and JLS have all been confirmed to be appearing on Sunday’s show.

Kelly told a press conference that the weekend will be a “treat for everybody” as all three remaining mentors gave fighting talk ahead of the big send-off.

“A group’s never won this competition before,” said Tulisa, “especially a girl group even going this far in the competition and I’m the youngest judge, it is my first year and I want to change X Factor history with these little muffins behind me.”

This week the show has come under fire after HMV was found to have advertised the X Factor winner as Amelia.

The retailer apologised for the “technical error” explaining that it had planned to accept pre-orders for all three versions of the X Factor Winner’s single.

Adele has received six nominations at next year’s Grammy Awards.

She is up for Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Music Video for Rolling in the Deep, as well as Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album for 21 and Best Pop Solo Performance for Someone Like You.

Only Foo Fighters and Bruno Mars have the same number of nominations, while Kanye West has seven nods.

The 54th Grammy award nominations were announced at a huge event, which was a musical show in itself. Broadcast live in the US, the one-hour concert featured performances from Lady Gaga and Rihanna.

Also supporting Adele on her year of stardom is Paul Epworth, who has received his own nomination for Producer of the Year. He produced Adele’s tracks I’ll Be Waiting and Rolling in the Deep, as well as No One’s Gonna Love You by Cee-Lo Green and songs by Foster the People.

Adele will go up against Foo Fighters, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars and Rihanna for the highly-coveted Album of the Year category, while Mumford & Sons will be vying for the British vote as their song The Cave is also up for Record of the Year.

Katy Perry’s Firework is also in contention in this category, as well as Holocene by Bon Iver and Bruno Mars’ Grenade.

The Grammys are perhaps the most prestigious recognition in the music industry, so a win for Adele, who is currently recovering from throat surgery, would undoubtedly top off a whirlwind year for the star.

Earlier this month, her album 21 broke the record for the most number of iTunes downloads in Europe in just 11 months since its release. She has sold more than one million digital copies of her second album.

Winners will be announced on February 12th 2012.

Sir Tom Jones has finally been able to have a crest to go with his knighthood after being granted a coat of arms.

According to the Daily Telegraph, the legendary singer applied to the College of Arms to have his own crest and was granted the pleasure in the last year.

And he stays true to his Welsh roots, as David White, Somerset Herald at the College of Arms, told the news providers that the crest “features a demi-red dragon holding an inverted leek”.

“The shield features a key upright, in between two trees, a play on his real surname, Woodward,” he added.

It is a far cry from the working class background in which Sir Tom once lived. From a coal mining family, he worked in construction before working on music in the early 1960s at working men’s clubs. Since then, his distinctive voice has helped him rise to fame and achieve success spanning 50 decades with hits including It’s Not Unusual, Green, Green Grass of Home and Sex Bomb.

He was granted a knighthood in 2006 for services to music.

The news provider states that anyone can apply for a coat of arms if they are willing to pay around £3,500. However, people with honours from the crown or others with qualifications of some kind will be looked upon more favourably.

Another musician to have designed his own coat of arms is Paul McCartney. Sir Paul, who was also granted a knighthood in 1997, has even gone so far as to have a motto, Ecce Cor Meum, meaning Behold My Heart.

The motto is taken from the title of an oratorio written during the illness of the musician’s first wife, Linda.

His crest features the strings of a guitar and the colours of a Liver Bird, to represent his musical career and hometown.

US composer Eric Whitacre’s vocal score Light and Gold has received a nomination at the Music Industries Association (MIA) Awards.

The book, which compiles a new collection of works by the composer for mixed choir, is listed in the Best Classical Publication category. It features pieces such as Lux Aurumque, Sleep and Boy and a Girl.

Light and Gold was released last year and speaking of the collection, the composer said: “I’m often asked which of my compositions is my favourite. I don’t really have one that I love more than the others, but I do feel that the four measures that musically paint the text ‘never kissing’ may be the truest notes I’ve ever written.”

Whitacre has had a successful year so far. His award-winning musical Paradise Lost is currently being adapted for a stage show and soundtrack and he is getting ready for the third Virtual Choir, the project that made him a YouTube hit.

With the aim to bring classical music to a new audience, 185 members of the public from 12 countries lent their voice for Lux Aurumque, edited by Whitacre, which received over one million hits in its first two months.

Virtual Choir 2 was released on April 7th and this time featured the piece Sleep.

Other nominations at this year’s MIA Awards include Absolute Beginners: Ukulele, in the Best Education Publication category.

Meanwhile, Adele’s songbook of the award-winning album 21 is listed in the Best Pop Publication alongside Legendary Guitar Acoustic Songs and Play Guitar with Led Zeppelin.

The awards celebrate the best products and retail initiatives within the UK’s musical instrument industry. It is organised by the MIA, the UK trade association for manufacturers, distributors, publishers, retailers and educators of instruments and associated products.

Winners will be announced on November 30th at London’s Marriott Grosvenor Square Hotel.

America Ferrera, who charmed the world with her bad fashion sense as Betty Suarez in Ugly Betty, is to make her West End debut in the musical Chicago.

Swapping braces, thick glasses and the hideous ponchos that dominated her career for the past four years in the hit sitcom, America will don the iconic lace black number to play the lead role of Roxie Hart for eight weeks from November 7th.

The actress will also be performing as the show celebrates its 15th year in London on November 18th. Her opening night will also be the show’s first night in its new home at the Garrick Theatre.

It has been closed since August 17th after leaving the Cambridge Theatre, where it played to over two million people and became the longest-running American revival ever, beating A Chorus Line.

On its return to the stage in 1997, Chicago won a string of awards, including the Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Musical Production and the Critics Circle Drama Award for Best Musical.

America, who has won an Emmy, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award for her portrayal as Betty, will be making a definite shift of direction in her new role.

She will play a publicity-seeking murderess, who enlists the help of lawyer Billy Flynn to stop her from heading to the gallows. Along the way, she will dance the Bob Fosse jazz moves that make the show so memorable and belt out songs including Roxie and Funny Honey.

Also new to the Garrick will be Amra-Faye Wright in the role of Velma Kelly. She is currently starring in the same role on Broadway.

Roxie is a highly sought-after role among female actresses. Denise Van Outen, Brooke Shields, Ashlee Simpson, Christine Brinkley and Destiny’s Child’s Michelle Williams have all played the role since the 1997 London revival.

A community choir has performed Verdi’s Anvil Chorus at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden to show people unfamiliar with opera what it is all about.

Thurrock Community Chorus sang the piece from Il Trovatore to an audience made up of hundreds of families at a ‘welcome performance’, which aims to bring a new audience to the medium by showing what happens backstage as well as front of house. The event also showcases the talents of the Royal Ballet and the vigorous training they go through in the studios.

The choir was set up by the Royal Opera House when it opened its scenery-making workshop in Purfleet, Essex. To launch the £8 million site, members of the community were brought together to perform a new opera, Ludd and Isis, The Purfleet Opera.

Due to its success, the choir still meets weekly at a local school and performs every two months.

Speaking to the Independent ahead of the Covent Garden gig, community chorus director, Jeremy Haneman, said: “Community choirs have a bad reputation but people come here because they are genuinely really good.

“We make sure we combine the core experience with encouraging people’s individuality”.

The choir is made up of people who are discovering a keen interest in opera, as well as children, and people who are using the group as therapy to recover from an illness.

“This is a wonderful opportunity to do something I love,” one member, electrician Martin French, told the news provider.

Opera House professionals have also been known to pop along for rehearsals and Mr Haneman added that the choir’s membership could soon reach 200, allowing him to take them on tour across the UK as ‘cultural ambassadors’ to bring opera to other communities.

Adele could become the latest artist to record the James Bond theme song.

She is reportedly writing a submission for the theme, which will take the title of the as-yet-unnamed Bond 23 film.

According to The Sun, producer Paul Epworth will be helping her out on song writing duties. He has written heavy orchestrations common with Bond themes for Florence And The Machine and Plan B.

“Adele is the obvious choice to record the next Bond theme,” a source told the newspaper.

“The last few songs for the spy movies have hardly set the charts alight. After her success this year film-makers know the song is almost guaranteed to be a huge hit.”

Getting the theme song for James Bond, which is played in full at the start of the movie with a stylised music video, could be huge for the star, if she hasn’t attracted millions of fans already with her album 21.

Many Bond films are most recognisable by their theme song, such as Shirley Bassey’s Goldfinger, Paul McCartney’s Live and Let Die and Duran Duran’s A View to a Kill.

The Someone Like You singer has taken a hit this week, however, being forced to cancel her ten-city US tour due to a haemorrhage in her vocal cords.

She has been plagued with voice problems recently, cancelling some UK shows as well, but she was due to play in Atlantic City, New Jersey on October 7th.

Posting a blog on her website, she said: “Singing is literally my life, it’s my hobby, my love, my freedom and now my job. I have absolutely no choice but to recuperate properly and fully, or I risk damaging my voice forever.”

Adele added that she will be starting vocal rehabilitation soon and building stamina in her voice before she starts up the tour again.

One of the biggest musical success stories of the past decade, Billy Elliot, is to close on Broadway after three years.

The last show, the 1,304th performance, will be on January 8th 2012, its producers have announced.

Previews were first shown in the US on October 1st 2008 and it has attracted around 1,659,967 theatregoers.

“After three unforgettable years, we are announcing the final performance of Billy Elliot the Musical on Broadway,” announced producer Eric Fellner.

“To see this story of a small boy from a small town in the North East of England achieve such enormous success and receive such an incredible response from the musical theatre capital of the world has been hugely rewarding.

On praising the other producers and the creative team who worked on the project over the three years, he added that “all great things must come to an end”. The success of the musical is evident after winning ten Tony Awards in 2009, including Best Musical.

The US touring production of Billy Elliot is still travelling across the country, while the musical is also going strong on London’s West End, where it began back in 2005.

Elton John, who composed the music from the musical including The Stars Look Down, Solidarity and Electricity, said: “I’ve said it before and it remains true today, Billy Elliot has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my entire life – seeing this show produced on Broadway is a dream fulfilled.

“I’m so proud of the brilliant young performers who have mastered the role of Billy on Broadway-their commitment and sheer talent has been the backbone of this production.”

One major expense of the production, which is based on the BAFTA-winning 2000 film of the same name, is the Billy Elliot dance school, where future boy stars are trained for the role.

The success story that is Adele’s career this year has hit new heights after it was announced that the British singer will be entered into the Guinness Book of Records.

Adele, famed for a string of hits including Hometown Glory, Rolling in the Deep and Someone Like You, will be included in the book on the back of the success of her second album 21.

The singer saw the album break records for most consecutive weeks at number one and most cumulative weeks at number one after 21 hit the top spot on more than one occasion.

Indeed, its first stay at the top of the charts lasted a mammoth 11 weeks, while subsequent stays have seen the star clock up 21 weeks as the country’s best-selling record.

The success does not end their however as the songstress is also the first woman to have two singles and two albums in the UK’s top five at the same time.

This is after the buzz surrounding 21 prompted a number of music lovers to check out Adele’s back catalogue, resulting in more sales of debut album 19.

Craig Glenday, editor-in-chief for Guinness World Records, said: “Adele is a wonderful role model for aspiring singers – and for all young people.

“Her unique vocal talents have rightly propelled her to stardom on both sides of the Atlantic, and her honest attitude to fame is refreshing.”

The news comes shortly after fans were left disappointed after Adele was forced to pull out of a string of shows due to a chest infection.

Bajan pop princess Rihanna has also been entered into the book after becoming the first woman to have a UK number one in five consecutive years.

The Umbrella singer has topped the charts in the UK every year since 2007.

A popular singing event returns at the end of the month to raise as much money as possible for charity.

123sing! will run from September 30th until October 2nd and invites families, choirs and schools to take part in singing events to fund music therapy for sick, disabled and vulnerable children at the Classic FM Foundation.

Organised by Classic FM and Making Music, the event asks singing groups to dedicate a performance to 123sing! and raise money for the charity as well as hear their next concert promoted on the radio station.

Schools, meanwhile, can get involved by dedicating an assembly or lesson to the event and use the dedicated curriculum-linked lesson plans. Children can bring in donations for the cause and by signing up, the school can win Yamaha musical instruments as well as an invitation to the Classic FM Studios in London.

The lesson plan is adapted from the Sing Up primary school education organisation and gets children thinking about their bodies and how some people might not be as able to do certain things because of their disabilities. The plan also gets kids warming up their voices and having a go at singing.

Those not involved in choirs or schools can still get involved in the good cause. Individuals are being encouraged to get in the singing spirit by having a sing-along at home or join 123sing! events that will be held by amateur groups across the UK.

For example, the Chester Bach Singers will be holding an open rehearsal and has invited anyone and everyone to come along and sing-along for the night or even to consider trying out for the choir.

The Oscars Theatre Academy, finalists of Classic FM’s Music for Youth, will be putting on a concert of Les Miserables, while the Norwich Philharmonic Society will put on a concert to local shoppers in the city centre.

Through these events, the charity hopes to raise over £100,000 this year to provide music therapy for thousands of vulnerable children in the UK.

Florence Welch, the lead singer of Florence and the Machine, has promised greater restraint on her vocals on her upcoming second album.

Speaking to BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe, she claims that she is still learning how to sing and so fans might hear a big difference between Welch’s free-flowing and crackly voice on the first album and a controlled voice on the second album.

“I’m still learning how to sing. I’m learning restraint,” she told the DJ.

“When I first started singing, I just used to scream all the time. When I first played in pubs and clubs with just an electric guitar it was the only way to get people to pay attention, but I think I’ve got more control now having performed a lot more.”

However, fans don’t need to despair too much that Welch’s signature style is no longer there, as she added “I’m still screaming at some points though”.

Last week, the band showed a sneak peak at the new material by releasing the first track from the new album, named What the Water Gave Me.

As for the much-anticipated follow-up to 2009′s Lungs, the as-yet-unnamed second album will be out on November 7th.

Back in 2009, Lungs was a slow burner on the UK chart, not reaching the number one spot until it had been on the chart for 28 weeks.

However, it then became one of the best-selling albums of 2009 and 2010 and won a string of awards including every UK artist’s dream of British Album at the BRIT Awards.

Hinting what to expect on the brand new album, producer Paul Epworth said earlier this month: “It’s a weird record that sounds live in ways and like a machine in others, with sensitivity and power from both the music and Flo’s voice.”

The Master of the Queen’s Music, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, has called for a new national anthem to be composed, claiming that God Save the Queen is “very boring”.

What’s more, he has even offered to write the new version.

In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, he suggested that the new anthem should be “a bit more stirring”.

“God Save the Queen has always struck me as having a very flat tune, and, indeed, it normally comes out sounding like one long ‘derrrrrrrrrrrr’,” he said.

Sir Peter compared the British national anthem to those of other nations like France and Germany, which are “a lot more impressive” and have “a more galvanising effect on their peoples”.

“Benjamin Britten’s arrangement of our anthem was probably the best there has ever been, but he didn’t honestly have a lot to work with,” the composer remarked.

“It would be a lovely idea to start from scratch and come up with a whole new anthem. I don’t know if I am the one to write it, but it’s a thought.”

While just one verse of God Save the Queen is usually sung, the Telegraph suggests that there are six verses, with some sources claiming more that have been added over the years to mark certain events.

Not all of the verses would be quite suitable for performing today, though. Verse six speaks of crushing the “rebellious Scots”.

The suitability of the national anthem has been a hot topic recently. While the public berated the length of Jerusalem, the anthem played to celebrate an England win at the Commonwealth Games last year, Formula 1 racer Lewis Hamilton recently claimed God Save the Queen is too short.

He told the BBC: “When I stand up there and Felipe [Massa] has won, [the Brazilian national anthem] is ten minutes long – and when I’m standing there it lasts half a minute. I would urge the UK to make our national anthem longer.”