How We Build a Welcoming Singing Community
Everyone Can Sing
Every traditional culture around the world, modern and ancient, has a musical tradition. In these cultures, everyone, young and old, expert and beginner, had a way of participating, whether by singing, dancing, or playing an instrument. That’s what makes it so powerful. Humans are musical creatures. Music, like language, is an essential part of being human.
Our society, for some reason, has decided to go against human nature. Popular culture (T.V. shows like American Idol and X factor) teaches us that music-making is only for specially talented people. That’s not true! We don’t think it’s a coincidence that we’re experiencing rising levels of social isolation and poor mental health. When you take music-making away from us, we get sick.
So, let’s reclaim music-making for everybody. Everyone can create music in community, and this helps us weave a stronger fabric for our culture.
But what if you’re not skilled enough to play music with others? What if you’re tone-deaf? What if none of the existing music communities (open mics, karaoke, performance choirs, etc.) appeal to you? There’s a community for you, too.
What is our community like?
Many of us aren’t connected to our traditional cultures. Our elders aren’t teaching us the old songs. It will take time to seek out this knowledge, and learn the skills we have forgotten. In the meantime, we need music in our lives, now.
Our Fiercely OK Singing Community meets every week. Here’s how we build a safe, low-pressure music community where everyone is welcome, whether you’re tone-deaf or a musical wizard.
We Sing
If you can talk, you can sing. Learning to talk has made you a virtuoso sound-maker. You are connected to your voice. It takes thousands of hours of practice to replicate this connection with a musical instrument. Singing is a full-body healing practice that virtually everyone can do. This is why we sing.
No Auditions
Everyone is welcome, regardless of singing ability. Many of our participants say they’re tone-deaf, or they have a horrible singing voice. We love seeing joy on their faces when they hear how good we all sound together.
No Performances
Music is not meant to be a spectator sport. No performances means no stressful deadlines, no worrying about perfection, and no getting upset when you make a mistake (mistakes are mandatory!). When we sing, we are fully in the moment, letting the music soothe and support us every single week.
We sit or stand in a circle
The circle feels important. It makes us feel more like equals.
No Sheet Music
Sheet music makes us think too much. It’s challenging to follow the little dots on the page, and not everyone knows how to do it. Without sheet music, we can learn music with our whole body, not just our mind. And, we can connect with others much better when we’re not staring down at a sheet of paper.
Repeat-after-me teaching style
This is how we learn songs without sheet music or lyric sheets. We sing a short phrase, and the group repeats it back. Then we sing the next short phrase, and the group repeats that back. Then we put both phrases together. Voila! You’ve learned a longer phrase you didn’t know before, and it only took a minute or two.
We sing songs written specifically for communities like ours
This is a big one. One of the most common questions we get is “What kind of music do you sing?” Our songs don’t fit into a well-known genre. In some ways, we (and many singing communities like ours around the world) are creating a new genre. We call it Community Songs.
What are Community Songs?
Learnable in 10-20 minutes, without sheet music or lyric sheets
Meaningful to sing
Written specifically for singing communities (not for radio or spotify)
Often written by people who lead singing groups (like us!)
Easy to sing by people of all abilities
Community Songs uplift us, or speak to our pain. They give us hope and make us feel less alone. They bring us into the present moment, or prepare us for action. They connect us to nature. Sometimes, they’re just a lot of fun to sing. Regardless, we choose songs that do something for us on a physical, emotional, and spiritual level.
But words can only describe so much. Click here to listen to some of our favourite Community Songs.
We love getting to know each other
Music isn’t the only thing we care about. We know our participants are full human beings with dreams, skills, experiences, and quirks. Learning about each other helps us pick songs specific to your needs, and helps the community grow outside of the singing circle.
Steph and Paul bring their skills and intuition
We were made for this. Steph grew up in choirs, then studied music, mental health, and global issues at McMaster University, then went on a quest to discover the best way to use singing to change the world. Paul grew up mastering the technical side of music, studied jazz guitar at Humber College, then left elitism behind to use his musical skills for a higher purpose.
Together, we use our knowledge and experience to guide the circle toward magic. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all formula for this. What songs do we pick? How many times do we repeat them? Should we sit or stand? How many parts should we add? What does the group need? What does the music need?
All these questions have many possible answers. We’re not perfect, but over the years we’ve developed skills and intuitions for answering these questions to achieve that feeling we’re all searching for. You’ll recognize this feeling when a song ends and you think, “That was amazing!”, or “That was powerful. I didn’t know I needed that.”
Why?
Sometimes, it’s hard to remember why we sing. In the face of all the struggles in our world, it’s hard to see how singing can make a difference.
But then we remember. The things we practice in our singing community are exactly the things the world needs. It needs more people connected to themselves, their voices, their community, and the natural world. Healing ourselves helps heal the world.
When we create a weekly space for people to bring their full selves, their strength and their struggle, and receive musical nourishment, we make space for healing. All of these elements are simple on their own, but putting them together is powerful.
Different people come for different reasons. Maybe they’re seeking community, or looking for a boost in mental health, or they want a safe space to practice singing.
Either way, when you make community singing a weekly routine, it becomes hard to imagine your life without it.