Stick Time: The Basic Circle Song

It’s one of those “Catch-22” moments.  People want to sing, but they don’t want to sing alone, but part of what develops confidence is learning to sing alone, but they are scared to sing alone . . . but . . . but . . . but . . .

 

Developing self-assuredness is one of our many task in the choral environment, and cultivating an ability to improvise within the choral structure is a wonderful confidence-builder.  While improvisation is frequently performed alone and is often a function of the jazz idiom, there are ways for singers to learn this valuable skill without the pressure of a complex solo performance.

 

Consider this excerpt from the interest session “How to Improvise with your Choral Group in 10 Easy Steps” presented by Marc Silverberg during the 2013 ACDA National Conference. Here he demonstrates the Basic Circle Song, a tool that might be useful for your choir.  We will consider more ideas from Marc’s session in later editions of “Stick Time.”