Online Zoom Vocal Improv sessions

Autumn 2024 Dates and Times TBA soon

8x 1h-sessions, 6 spaces per session

The last couple of years have shown that practising vocal improvisation online is possible! It’s even enjoyable. It‘s a great tool for developing our musical skills from our own safe space. It grows our listening capacities, imagination and a sense of connection across virtual space that in turn enriches our experience when returning to singing in person. 

Working online has revealed a treasure trove of possibilities for remote learning and maintaining regular connections with other singers from across the globe. We learned new ways of interacting:  singing simultaneously while muted, singing in small teams, as a larger group, in succession or at the same time. We have found creative ways of including technology such as looping devices and shared recorded files, as well as opportunities to generate collaborative pieces and do ‘homework’ outside of the sessions.

The challenges of singing online have pushed us to the limit of our creativity in order to achieve satisfying musical results. It is possible to navigate the delays and glitches. Working around them changed our singing style, taught us to leave spaces, listen deeply, use our intuition to fill the gaps,  and include the whole body even though we were connecting through the screen.

About Circu-Lab:

A regular space for intermediate and advanced vocal improvisers to build and refine their practice, to connect online and exchange music and ideas. An opportunity to grow alongside a stable and supportive group of singers with a shared focus, similar skills and confidence, and yet wildly different humans.

There will be exercises and games in the sessions, as well as individual and group homework to keep momentum in between the encounters. Each session invites playful self-expression as well as focussed learning.  A chance to grow our worldwide community, practicing with peers across the globe during the sessions, and to organise extra meetings between sessions. All from the safe space of your own home, wherever you are. If you miss joining a session, you can always catch up through the recording.

We’ll focus on the different aspects of Collaborative Vocal Improvisation: 

-Developing rhythmic vocabulary and precision. Learning to sing rhythmically and responding to rhythmic musical propositions.

-Understanding better the musical contexts for melody (harmony-mode) and becoming freer as a melody creator.

-Deepening the use of invented language and words- musical articulation, variety, purpose, texture, meaning.

-Understanding musical form: shapes and structures, the compositional aspect of improv.

-Developing your unique, confident voice as a soloist. Vocal freedom, flexibility, authenticity and exploring all the possibilities.