Creating buzz

Gospel choir continues to calm me in my times of flustering failures, in which it feels like there are many of late. We've been doing some 'improvised singing' at the end of each session and it is really eye-opening. Or rather, ear-opening. How it works is that we start on a hum, on whatever note you feel like singing. When you run out of breath, try to fade the note out rather than stopping abruptly (harder than it sounds) and fade back in when you're ready. The trick is to keep your eyes closed and listen to the people around you, feeling where you can match others, harmonise, provide counterpoint, be inspired by a change, swell, create buzz. The hum can become any sound you like - ahhs, doo-doos, la-la, ba-dups - as long as it fits into the soundscape. There will always be moments of dissonance but that is part of the experiment too. I would actually love to record one of these sessions and listen to it back later. The whole piece has a life of its own and sort of just comes to a natural conclusion. It's eerie and wonderful.

We also played a rhythm game today and that was fun. It involved singing a pattern with a couple of claps incorporated in it, and then doing it as a round. At one point the singing faded right down to barely audible and we all just clapped - I'm sure it would have sounded random and uninteresting to a passer-by, but sensing a heavy concentration amongst the sound in the room was wild. There is joy in feeling something like rhythm. I really hope my kids inherit it.