Lots of stuff happened in March (as you’ll soon see) and I didn’t have time to blog about all of the cool stuff going on at the time. So … my blog, my prerogative. *smile* (Besides, I just got all these cool pics … what better excuse for a trip down memory lane?)

So let’s see … how about we travel chronologically?

Going to the Chapel … er … Chi-town

My brother (he’s the handsome fella in the pic at left) got married!

And I got to sing at their beautiful (very intimate) ceremony at an art gallery in Chi-town. The weather was even nice enough to hold the ceremony outside. (But, being the Midwest, it snowed the next weekend.)

(I’m so so happy for the two of you! Congratulations!)
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Happy Birthday, Songtaneous!

Songtaneous Turns Three!
Yep, I hosted my first Songtaneous session in March 2006.

At the time, I didn’t know I “embarking on a journey.”  (I was just looking for other people who were willing to sing … well, you know … spontaneously). It’s astonishing how much my life has changed – and how much Songtaneous has grown — in just three years.

I’ve connected with so many wonderful singers and made such wonderful friends through Songtaneous … It’s one of the best ideas I ever had! (If I do say so myself!)

For year four, I’d like to sing more (*smile*) with more people, offer more classes (maybe a weekend workshop?), and collaborate with other artists. I’d also like to do more work with young people, instrumentalists, and spoken word artists — Ooh! and maybe dancers? Or actors! or …

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*If you’re in the Twin Cities area, we’ll celebrate this anniversary at the next Songtaneous event. (I might even bake!)

The Really Big “Shoe” (aka Once On This Island)

The end of March marked the end of my work with Northeast Middle School on their second annual musical.

I hadn’t worked with young folks on a musical before so I didn’t know if I would enjoy working with the kids.

It was totally worth it.

First, I really liked the kids (and they seemed to like me). And second, watching them work so hard to learn the songs, dances and scenes, while building their own “theater community” was at times bemusing and amusing, but always gratifying.

Because in the end, they got it. What being part of a creating community means. The sense of belonging and responsibility for and to the group.

They helped, supported, encouraged and pushed each other. They were proud of themselves and of each other. And many of them took bigger risks than some “adults” I know.

(Pretty heady stuff for middle school.)

AUW Retreat

Last (but not any less fun!) was the closing ceremony I facilitated for the Annual Universalist Women’s retreat. You can read more about it here. (Thanks to Sharon R for the great photos!)

"All Together Now!"

Those are flower hats (in case you were wondering)

I don’t know about you, but I make up rules for myself all the time. Seriously, ALL OF THE TIME. (It’s only my improv practice that lets me know how often I do this.)

For example, I have a list of folks that I email about my upcoming performances and Songtaneous events (click here to join it *smile*). I send a fair amount of email to this list in the form of event notices and reminders, so I thought a monthly email which gathers all that info in one place would be a good idea. You know, keep my Right People in the loop.

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Wait! It just happened! My passing thought turned into a made-up rule!

• Thought: Link to a web page where you could read more about the idea of Right People.
• Made-up Rule: You cannot use the term Right People unless you link somewhere!

So I spend 45 minutes on the web looking for this term when it suddenly (er … finally) occurs to me — you don’t really care. You can (and probably did) get the meaning of Right People from context and are just (patiently?) waiting for me to get on with the rest of this post.

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Right, sorry, back to emailing my list …

I’ve wanted to spruce up the emails I send to my mailing list for a while now. But, because I haven’t designed a newsletter template yet (hello again, Stuck), I haven’t been sending a monthly email to my list.

• Thought: Send a monthly email to my mailing list.
• Thought: Ooh! Design an HTML newsletter that includes photos and links.
• Made-up Rule: You can’t send a monthly email to your mailing list until you design your newsletter.

Yes, I can see reading it here that this doesn’t make any sense.

Who told me I had to finish my newsletter design before I could email my list? For that matter, who told me I had to start my newsletter design before I could email my list?

(Yes, Yes, I know, I did. But I didn’t know I was doing it.)

For me, finding the made-up rules is at least 80% of the battle. I visit this dynamic over and over again in improvising. Who said I couldn’t use words? Who said I can’t sing about what I see around me? Who said I have to fill all the space? Who said I had to stand still? Who said …?

Once I’ve weeded out my made-up rule, I can usually figure out a solution. Most of the time, it involves breaking my made-up rule.

What would that look like?

I could send monthly text emails to my list WHILE I work on my newsletter design. I mean, that would certainly take off some pressure and maybe even encourage Perfectionism and Procrastination to go play somewhere else.

What about you? Are you making up rules that hold you back?

Those of you who know me well know that I’m a thinker.

I’m concrete, direct, thoughtful, deliberate and extremely (sometimes to the point of being  painful) literal.

So … a huge gift for me from “the spontaneous music making” is that I get to (have to?) concentrate on feeling.

Believe it or not, I’m just learning that I get to make decisions based on how I feel. And that, in many instances, this is MORE effective than the considered, practical, thoughtful decision-making I’m used to doing. (And by more effective I mean that I’m happier with the results — See? Feelings.)

Some examples:

Leaving my publishing job of 9 years to return to music school.
Thoughts: This is impractical, frivolous.
Feelings: This is right (and exhilarating and terrifying *smile*).

Coaching the kiddos’ musical.
Thoughts: I don’t have the “right kind” of experience.
Feelings: This could be fun. I’d like to work with young people.

The primary example? Songtaneous itself.

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When I think about Songtaneous, I can get bogged down in judgments and fear. Is this a good idea? Can it really help people? Is this just my thing? Is anyone else interested?

But when I think about how Songtaneous feels (and how it makes me feel), I can quiet my inner critic. Here’s why.

Songtaneous has a texture, a feel and a style all its own. In fact, Songtaneous has its own personality. It feels something like this.

Of course, it incorporates large parts of my personality since I created this version of group vocal improvisation, but Songtaneous is still its own “person.”

So when I think about how to facilitate Songtaneous, or how to write about Songtaneous, or how to dress (design) Songtaneous, Songtaneous has a lot to say about those decisions.

I can feel it.