Vocal Improvisation and Circle Singing as a metaphor and tool for community building Deb Hensley wwwimprovoxcom wwwwhendidwestopsingingcom When did you stop singing Your Hopes and ID: 584385
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Slide1
“When Did We Stop Singing?”
Vocal Improvisation and Circle Singing as a metaphor and tool
for community buildingSlide2
Deb Hensley
www.improvox.com
www.whendidwestopsinging.comSlide3
When did you stop singing?Slide4
Your Hopes
and
C
oncerns
for today…
Welcome, Introductions, Hopes and Concerns around the circle
Review: safety, confidentiality, permission to "pass," encouragement to try etc.
Vocal
ensembling
/improvisation as a metaphor and tool for building community:
(brainstorm parallels--
v
short discussion to set intention for
wkshop
)Slide5
How often do you actually sing (individually or with others)?
Do you feel free to sing in public...why or why not?
Do you think singing a natural part of human expression?
How do indigenous cultures use singing to build community?
Why has Western culture largely stopped singing in community?
Do you think singing is important to peace-building, sustainability and communities of all kinds?
Some Questions to ConsiderSlide6
Do we live in a culture bereft of meaningful
“Social Capital?”Slide7
Learned Fear of Singing…
A Western invention
Relentless assault of riff-raff or public “music”
“Expertism” at the expense of accessibility to all
Performance verses community based singing
Over-dependence on recordingsSlide8
A Serious Silencing
…of a basic human needSlide9
Indigenous Cultures
Sing Freely
To establish context
To celebrate the hunt (
songfeasts
)
To connect and reconnect
To promote interdependence
To express place
To express identity
To indicate solidarity
To build social capitalSlide10
Indigenous Cultures incorporate singing seamlessly into community
African “Song of the Child”
Singing as a response to socially aberrant behavior
T
Aborignal
Songlines
Medicine man asking “when did you stop singing?”Slide11
OOHVISI
Original
Open
Honest
Voluntary
Intimate
Spontaneous
Innate
OOHVISI refers to singing that is accessible to anyone—alone or together
It goes beyond the formal constructs of choirs, glee clubs and performance venuesSlide12
What makes a community come alive?
OOHVISI singing models a way for communities to establish interdependence, connection and celebration, stronger rhythmic routines, emergent themes, and a defined identitySlide13
Circle Singing & Vocal Improvisation are about saying…
YESSlide14
Community
Interdependence
Connection
CelebrationSlide15
The NEW Community:
Design, Story, Orchestra, Empathy, Play, Meaning
-
A Whole New Mind
by Daniel PinkSlide16
Big-pictureOut of the box
Connecting patterns
Polyrhythms
The
Undervoice
Design
Big-picture
Out of the box
Connecting patterns
Polyrhythms
Accessing the “
Overvoice
”
Big picture thinking
Out of the box thinking
Connecting patterns
Polyrhythm
Overvoice
Uncervoice
Big-picture
Out of the box
Connecting patterns
Polyrhythms
The
Overvoice
The
UndervoiceSlide17
Story
the voice of another
the voice of the self
the voice of the common experience
the voice of narrative medicineSlide18
Orchestra
steady beat
patterns
dy
nam
ics
melodic themes structure
interlocking parts
counter melodies repetition
variation
tempo meter
rhythm
pitch tone
Slide19
Empathy
Deep listening to the voice of another
Embracing silence
Compassionate and bold response
Slide20
Play
Voluntary
Spontaneous
Self-initiated
Simple or complex
Structured toward freedom
Slide21
MEANING
Intention
Expression
Contextual
Direction
Comprehension
Emotion
Memory
Relational
“The secret of life is to discover your song and the meaning of life is to sing it.”
-
AnnonymousSlide22
Warming up the speaking, singing and body voice
"Dig a Duck”
Speaking: Your Story/Our Story --two word story around circle, get it going until it feels like one story
1/12/1/1232/1/123432/1 etc..
Call and response tones/scale patterns/names
Circle-Song (
voicestra
)
Round:
When You Were Born
Long Tones--unison then harmonics and back to unison
Write your name with a
lazer
beamSlide23
The Overvoice
Rhythm and Polyrhythm
Ah
mah
eee
boo oh
ee
aayeeeSlide24
Hearing the Melodic and Rhythmic "Overvoice
"
Ahm
ah
ee
boo”
rolling round—
from Ysay
Barnwell of Sweet Honey and the Rock)
Whole group sings together, then ask for volunteers to sing as a smaller group.
Listen deeply to the many melodies created within
this one song when many people sing it together.
Debrief discussion around these concepts: What did this teach us about community building--collective endeavor, unforeseen ideas that come forward in community, deep listening, attention, holding individual part vital, hearing the "
overvoice
" etc.
OF MELODY…Slide25
Improvisational Forms
And what they teach us about communitySlide26
VOICESTRA
Emerges in the moment
A Spontaneous Circle Song
Can have words or no words
Simple or very complex
Start by banishing your brain from the circle!
JUST VOICE IT….Slide27
:
Group Home-
-
2 or 3 people choose a rhythmic or melodic riff together, then the next three etc--can be harmonies or interlocking parts. Invite volunteers to improvise (2 at a time)
Individual Home
--(ask for 5-7 volunteers...each person creates and holds their own part. One improviser sings in center of circle and ends piece)
Sound Wave—leader introduces a vocal pattern and passes it on…then starts another pattern once that is established down the line….as in vocal “telephone” game
Debrief: how do these vocal experiences relate to community.
What did you have to do individually and collectively to make them work?
What was difficult/scary/fun/interesting/unifying etc...Slide28
…of rhythm
Clapping and Object Rhythms
One, one two one…
Clapping meters, body rhythms
Cup game
Body Rhythms
Body Body Body
Sylvie with Body Rhythm
Aie
Aye Mo Chi
NoombaSlide29
Quodlibits:
Swing Low/When the Saints/Coming Round the Mt.
When I breathe in I breath in peace…
Deliver me
I will believe the Truth about myself...
The Tarantulas are on the Road
Aie
Aye Mo
Che
NoombaLay Down my Sword and Shield (ask for input)
Can't imagine life without...
Choo
can get to feeling happy,
What to do if you can't get Pizza
...what to do when it rains...
Some Simple
SONGS
that build community…Slide30
Get on Board
Choo
can get to
feelin
’ happy you can get to feeling good,
choo
can do most anything that
choo
thought
choo
could…Get on board, get on track. Get to where you’re goin
’ and don’t look back…
Choo
take a ride,
choo
take a ride,
choo
let it go…step aside…
Get on board….Get on track….Get on board….Get on track…
-Terri
GarthwateSlide31
Breathe in Peace
When I breathe in, I breathe in peace,
when I breathe out, I breath out love
Breathe out….breathe in… breathe out…breathe in….Slide32
Rolling Round
I will believe the Truth about myself…
No matter how beautiful
it isSlide33
When you were born…
When you were born you cried, and the world rejoiced,
Live your life so that when you die
The world cries and you rejoiceSlide34
Spontaneous Circle Singing
Voicestras
…
Invite people who are inclined, to try setting up their own
voicestra
and improvise with it
Closure:
Keep Breathing (As the chorus of this continues invite participants to consider a time in their life when…..and share this aloud when ready)
Long tones and goodbye....Slide35
Voice is inherent in each of us, everyone has a VOICE.
May not ultimately be about physical singing, but YOUR VOICE is vital to the community, both as a support and a melody in itself. Pay attention to it and use it.
Identify where your VOICE lives (what is
your primary means of expression?)
Thank you for considering the primal, ancestral nature of music here today and its implications for community building
THE SPONTANEOUS VOICESlide36
“A bird doesn’t sing
because it has an answer.
It sings because it has a song
.”
--Maya AngelouSlide37
Deb Hensley
www.improvox.com
www.whendidwestopsinging.com