Enabling Singing Villages: training for vocal leaders

Circlesinging and Collaborative Vocal Improvisation Training for Vocal Leaders, September 2025. Non- residential, in London.

Thursday, September 25 2025, 11:00 AM - Saturday, September 27 2025, 5:00 PM

The core of these courses is based around singing together and reflecting together, as much as receiving information, ideas and tools.

Body, breath and movement are essential partners for an embodied practice of vocal improvisation. Also: silence, the meditative element, introducing humour and depth. These are key ways of bringing people together and into an open state.

We will cultivate flexibility, responsiveness, the facilitator’s presence and being in the flow. Balancing the structured and the intuitive.

Circlesinging: creating effective patterns and develop them, circlesong conduction, form and storytelling. Understanding the structure and evolution of a circlesong, modifying the material in real time, adapting and learning from the participants.

CVI: different models of collaboration, from free form to groove - based improvisation. Cultivating mutual listening and spaciousness - exploring vocal identity and archetypes- developing invented language - utilising body, rhythm, voice as instrument and words.

Personal practice: ways to improve our own creativity and musical skills, develop our vocal resources and flexibility. Ideas for individual practice.

Relational skills essential for a facilitator of creative processes: encouraging release, connection, responsivity, inviting change and deep listening , engaging participants with different needs.

The facilitator’s toolkit: exercises and games in the areas of rhythm, melody construction, use of invented language, harmony and tone quality.

Holding space for others, in each person’s safe, supportive, open-hearted and unique way.

Helping to create strong, supportive, interesting musical structures for participants to connect, gain confidence, explore and develop their improvisational skills.