It puts me in mind of what happens at Songtaneous. Different people with different voices, different ideas and different strengths come together and co-create. And I get to conduct — kind of. Most of the time the music takes us where we’re meant to go and unexpected, beautiful moments occur.

Well … it’s different every time because it’s spontaneous. *smile*

(Realizing that might not be the most helpful answer,) here’s what happened at the last Songtaneous session.

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Saturday Aug 8, 2009

We settled in to sing on a warm, but not yet muggy, afternoon. (The humidity rolled in later that afternoon … with a vengeance.) We sat in a circle of chairs in my dining room.

Before we began singing, we read my friend J’s intentions and then I suggested that we “fall in” to some singing.

“Falling in” means we start singing long notes and then slowly add other ideas — harmonies, rhythms, melodies, etc. — as feels comfortable and natural. We’re exploring the sound ideas each of us can add. Even beginners find things to add. (Promise!)

Then we go “where the music takes us.” Some people clap their hands or tap their feet. Others sing with their eyes closed. Some folks like to move. A word or phrase may come up. We were moving into something nice and …

Whoops! I’d inadvertently locked one of our singers out.

Happy to have another singer, we repeated our intentions and briefly discussed them. K suggested inviting people to add intentions and I invited people to create a personal intention for the day which they could share (or not). For example, “Today, my intention is to sing simply” or “I’m going to practice listening with my eyes open.”

That done, we fell in again and created a long (7 to 8 minutes) dreamy “piece.”

…

After a break for beverages, we moved into a word game where two people tell different stories at the same time. J hadn’t done this before and I wanted to try it again. (Everyone was gracious enough to let me practice.)

This game makes your whole brain work. Hard.

The goal is to tell your story while occasionally borrowing words from your partner’s story. This means that you have to talk and listen AT THE SAME TIME! Your partner strives to do the same. The two of you work to keep the stories (kind of) coherent and from being too much the same.

…

Much laughter and hard work later, we moved back to singing with a pattern game. I like working with patterns because they provide structure. It’s the difference between telling someone to draw something and telling someone to draw a picture of a monster in a tree.

We started with everyone singing the same pattern and then we added other patterns as I (or others) came up with them.

(Listen to an example of singing patterns. Oct 2008) [Oops! You\'ll have to visit songtaneous.com/blog to listen.]

As our Songtaneous time together came to end, we chatted and finished up the snacks. (Mmm, snacks.)

…

There you have it. If you hadn’t guessed, I love Songtaneous Saturdays. Sharing songs, stories and treats with singers always energizes and inspires me. I enjoy what each person brings (and sings) and the conversation and insights we share during our time together.

I hope to sing with you soon.

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Reminder: The next Songtaneous session is Saturday, September 12. And, I’ve been invited to present Songtaneous September 19 at the Wild Rice Festival in Roseville MN. Visit the events page for more info on both of these events.
More Bloggity Goodness

• Songtaneous – South Mpls, MN – 09/25/10
• Songtaneous Workshop – Mankato, MN – 10/23/10
• Songtaneous Workshop – Mankato, MN – 10/24/10

I admit I was a teensy bit apprehensive. (She was my teacher! She sings with Bobby McFerrin!). But I needn’t have worried, Judi’s generous and thoughtful (and did I mention a superb vocalist?). She cheerfully held rock-solid grooves and let me explore. Once I got comfortable being front and center, some nice things happened.

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We did a number of things during our brief time together, but I think this blues we created is my favorite. I used my thoughts about how it felt to improvise the piece to make up the text. (Judi brilliantly — and patiently — laid down the bass line for over four minutes!)

“So I’m sitting her with my friend Judi
She’s the one who’s singing those low notes
she’s laying it down
building a floor for me to stand on
so I can riff all over the place
sing the blues
got lots to do’s
while we work out this improv game …”

Listen to the track by clicking the play button (the little orange triangle) below.

Enjoy! (And let me know what you think. *smile*)

[Oops! You\'ll have to visit songtaneous.com/blog to listen.]

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Thanks, Judi, for the musical conversations and the continuing education!