Sing Together
A thought has been swirling around in my mind: “What if we invite all present, human, other-than-human, and the performing space itself to sing with us?”
I recently participated in an Alexander Technique workshop in which the instructor had all the participants stand in a circle and sing a single tone together. He then asked us to bring awareness to the room and invite that into our singing, finally look at each other and invite our colleagues into our singing. I was amazed at the difference in sensation and overall production of tone. The first time we were all individuals with our own ideas of how to sing this pitch. With each invitation that perception expanded. I felt as if the outer edges of my body were softening and stretching outward to all corners of the room. The final invitation changed our sound completely. We were unified, whole. No one had diminished themselves, but brought the others in. It was beautiful.
I have carried that experience with me into my choral and solo singing. I’m inviting all present to sing with me. In a group setting this has enabled me to listen more to my fellow singers and find the best tone and vowel formation for the moment. I wasn’t taking anything away from my voice, but I was including all the others. I decided to try this when I lead the opening hymn in church a few weeks ago. This is literally what a song leader is supposed to do, invite the congregation to sing. However, something had to change inside for me. I had to say it to myself, “I’m inviting all to sing with me”, and lower my hard-edge presence. It felt like a group of friends sitting around a campfire singing together. I went from presentational to relational. I am inspired to apply this approach to my solo singing as well, especially in an audition situation. Instead of coming in with the attitude, “I’m going to prove myself and hopefully you will hire me,” defensive and hard edged, I could come in with the thought, “I invite you all to sing with me.” The energy of my body and voice are sent out to the listeners ears and their energy is sent back to me, an exchange. We resonate together and are connected. How much more meaningful and joyful the audition process would be.