I am deeply touched when singers are brave.

This past Saturday, singers came for Songtaneous and brought their words, their melodies, their ideas and their courage.

In the first half of the session, we worked with a chant melody and moved into vocally percussive patterns. After a break for beverages and snacks, we resumed singing and explored the land of language.

We were working on singing story duets and one woman, we’ll call her Samantha, was struggling with creating melody. When I asked her to sing a story duet with another participant, I knew it would really challenge her. Samantha’s attended several Songtaneous sessions and we both know that generating melody is hard for her. My heart took to its feet when she swallowed, took a deep breath, planted both feet and, with tears in her eyes, DID IT ANYWAY.

That is the power and energy that produces change.

Moving through fear makes us less scared the next time. Reaching over the walls of our everyday boundaries to extend ourselves in new ways makes us more willing to take chances and to take more chances. Its ability to change our way of being in the world is what makes our creativity — and its expression — so powerful and important.