I’ve spent the last few weeks (okay, months) working on my web site redesign. I haven’t linked to it here, cuz it isn’t finished. I keep getting Stuck.

At first I thought the culprits were picking just the right colors and crafting the perfect design and figuring out what to write and making the bells and whistles work. And yes those are parts of the Stuck, but not the root of it.

The root of the Stuck is it’s scary.

It’s scary because I have to figure out (and tell other people!) what I’m doing.

Why have a web site? What’s its purpose? What’s my purpose? What’s my vision?  Just what (insert spinsterish inner critic voice here) am I trying to accomplish? (Thank goodness, I didn’t ask myself these questions before starting this blog!)

Working on my web site forces me to think about my music, my art, my music as art (huh?), my purpose, my goals, my plan. Ugh, I haven’t figured all of that out yet.

Sarah, meet Stuck.

…

Stuck, meet my friend, Improvisation.

So … once I realized I was dealing with Stuck, I asked myself … “When I get stuck in an improv, what do I do?”

• Get quiet and listen
• Remain calm and take the time I need
• Try out different ideas
• Trust my intuition and instincts
• Say the thing I’m thinking (even if it doesn’t connect/make sense)
• Start – sometimes it’s okay to find the destination along the way
• Keep it simple

…

I’m happy to report that I’m less Stuck. I asked my questions and I have an answer.

I’m going to the change the world by singing.

Okay, so I haven’t figured out how I’m going to do it just yet. And, I don’t know how far reaching or to what scale the changes will be. I do know it has a lot to do with vocal improvisation, teaching, sharing what I’m learning, connecting and creating communities. That’s more than enough to start.

If the universe is a bowl that collects the sounds we create, let’s put good things, delicious and decadent, serious and silly, prickly and pungent, interesting, contemplative and heartfelt things in the bowl.

(Martin Luther King Jr Day, 1/19/2009)

I meant to revisit the discussion on listening to music to help your improvising sooner (maybe even monthly … but the best laid plans and all). To sum up: to sing well, you must listen well. Or listen lots … or listen to good music … or listen to lots of good music … (oh, you get the idea.)

Anyway … here’s more music I dig.

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Rachelle Ferrell – funky, jazzy, soulful – I started listening to her album “Individuality (Can I Be Me?)” last October after owning it for several years. (WHAT took me so long?)

The Fairfield Four – I’m ga-ga for this gospel group. I’ve never heard anybody sing lower than their bass Isaac Freeman.

Joni Mitchell – a brilliant, fascinating, quirky songwriter. Everyone covers her stuff.

Aretha Franklin – I like the stuff she did in her early years at Columbia (cuz it’s jazzy).

Sweet Honey in the Rock – love ’em, love ’em, LOVE them! This seven-woman, African American ensemble writes great material – singable, with heart and conscious. My a cappella group can’t stop singing their stuff. (I got to meet Ysaye Barnwell at a workshop she held a few years ago — I was painfully uncool. She was brilliant and majestic.)

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What about you? To whom are you listening? Someone newly discovered? An old favorite? I’d love to know (and listen!). Share your list in the comments section.