numama is a non-profit daytime community choir for mums, babies and children.
But beyond that, it is probably best summed up by its strapline: sing : support : escape. It is a forum for women to unite, share, and escape reality for just 60 minutes a week through song. The sisterhood element is borne out in its name: the 'mama' is self-explanatory but the ‘nů’ deserves some explanation. It refers both to the new season of life that motherhood brings but in addition, nů’ means 'woman' in Mandarin Chinese. And the circle above the ‘ů’ represents a baby's head with the ‘ů’ forming the baby's swaddled body.
How did it begin?
nůmama was conceived back in the summer of 2009 by two young and displaced British mums in Singapore who discovered they shared something in common beyond a dislike of dirty nappies and sleepless nights.... A love of singing.
Neither could be said to come close to having any particular talent, but music and singing had woven a thread through both of their lives at school, university and beyond into finding space for song in the world of work. Yet the arrival of children challenged their shared hobby with most choirs involving evening rehearsals (and therefore expensive babysitting), relatively unforgiving attendance rules and challenging music. At the same time, the mother and baby groups that now dominated their weekly schedules seemed expensive, the baby-centric nursery rhymes that appeared again and again were twee and often the only thing in common they shared with the other mothers was the fact that they had children, which sometimes wasn't enough to spark a true friendship.
nůmama was created to fill these gaps: to be an inexpensive mother and baby group where the activity focuses on the needs of the mother but in a safe and nurturing environment for the child, to be a support group for new mums adjusting to their new world, and, the grandest (craziest?) goal of all, to be a daytime community choir for mums (or mums-to-be) where they could do something for themselves and challenge themselves in a way that was different from the wonderful but sometimes tiring existence of raising small children.
The overarching goal is to provide a fun, warm and nurturing environment for beginners to listen, learn and experiment, for novices to build on their experience and to give Beyonce wannabes a platform on which to showcase their under-utilised talent.
Community
As you can see, nůmama is growing in various corners of the world. If you're a nůmama and off on your travels, check out where the nearest singing group is to you, and go join them for a sing. You're always welcome, whatever corner of the world!
Top tips.
1. Your and your child's comfort, safety and happiness are paramount - only join in as much as your body and your baby allow. Singing is very physical so sit down and take time out whenever you want.
2. We will on the whole be using a 'call and respond' format when learning new songs. This should mean that you can join in even if your hands are somewhat busy and therefore unable to hold the music!
3. Accept that some weeks your baby will be good as gold and others he/she may be less so... Enjoy the good weeks, and rise above the less good weeks. Rest assured you will be among friends!
4. An hour is a long time for a young child or baby to sit still / be quiet / concentrate - try and mix it up to keep your baby interested. For example, hold them in your arms, put them in a sling, let them crawl around the floor (there will be rubber mats), stand up, sit down, introduce them to another baby nearby, swap babies with another mum...
5. We will not be providing many toys - bring your baby's favourite if you want an easy distraction! (Polite request from us though... please don't bring any toys which are too noisy!)
6. Bring water - singing can make you very thirsty.
7. And finally, if your baby screams, sing louder!
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