What is a CircleSong
Imagine a room full of people with the same intention…to come together, express themselves creatively, work together in community, and have fun. This is what it is like during the process of Circle Singing.
The term CircleSong was coined by the innovative, improvisational Grammy Award-Winning singer Bobby McFerrin as a way to explain his process of community singing, a tradition of several indigenous cultures around the world. Singers stand in a circle with one person (aka the “conductor” and “composer”) in the middle who leads the singers in a song, introducing different motifs or musical phrases to each singing section.
The effect is a layering of sound, as I like to call it. Think of a finished piece of music and all the parts to it, including the rhythm, bass, chords, melody, harmony, etc. In CircleSongs, all these parts are accomplished with the voice, no instruments. And introduced one at a time. The composer lets the creativity flow, thinking of new musical parts to add as inspiration strikes. It is not planned. It is all spontaneous and improvised, sparked by the energy in the room.
There is something special that happens when you get people singing and making music together. Musicians call it the “groove” or the “pocket,” when that moment happens when everything seems to synch up and just be an effortless expression. Everyone is on the same page, so to speak, and feeling the music in the same rhythm.
Once this synching happens, when everyone is singing one of the musical phrases, the composer then sings a solo in the middle of the circle and/or invites others into the circle to sing solos. Think of the solo as the melody to the song, with all the other voices are singing the underlying arrangement of the song. The composer is supported by the arrangement and the other singers in this safe space, the middle of the circle, and once again draws on unplanned, spontaneous, improvisation as the inspiration.
I have been leading CircleSongs since days after I returned from New York and my training with CircleSong creator, Bobby McFerrin. I have seen the power of this process change people’s attitudes about themselves and about singing in general. I’ve gotten people from claiming they can’t sing to stepping in the middle of a circle of strangers and singing a solo. I’ve felt the energy shift from anxiety and nervousness to calm and energized. I’ve seen looks of terror on faces turn to smiles.
To say that the CircleSong process is inspiring is an understatement. It is a calling, a part of my soul, and an absolutely necessary part of my creative expression. Which is why I’m so excited to be bringing CircleSongs to my local community on a regular, monthly basis, starting January 9, 2013. I invite you to give CircleSongs a try.
For further information about CircleSongs and to listen to samples of CircleSongs I led while studying in New York, please visit http://www.krylyn.com/circlesongs. To register for an upcoming CircleSong group go to http://circlesongs.eventbrite.com.
