Online singing to feel better
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It’s been a whole year since I started running the Saturday Soul Sessions which is an online workshop aimed at everyone who loves to sing. I have been reflecting on why I started doing them, the effects of them, the community of participants who have attended them and the overall benefits.
Isolated yet connected
Saturday Soul Sessions were started during Lockdown and they take place on the last Saturday of every month online. I started them during Lockdown because I wanted to offer a service that enabled me to connect with people again even if it was different than before.
The power of singing
There were some challenges - having to deal with the inconsistencies of technology has been an eye-opener but one that hasn’t dampened our spirits or our enthusiasm. Having said that I appreciate that online learning is not for everyone but for those who chose to stick with it there have been some real benefits. It has reinforced the truth that music has an energy, some magic and is powerful. After we have sung together it always makes us feel better than when we arrived.
Most of the repertoire has been uplifting and has featured some classics by Chaka Khan, Young Disciples, Isley Brothers and Desree to name a few. I deliberately chose uplifting material because I wanted to make sure that we all felt more joyful afterwards. Judging by some of the feedback, it worked a treat:
I am so glad that this is available, I have wanted to connect and sing with others for so long!
I am so grateful.
Monthly medicine
Having said that though, even when we did Roberta Flack’s version of First Time Ever I Saw Your Face which is much softer, slower paced and introspective it still left us all feeling inspired and empowered in a very different way. It enabled us to look inwards and to be much more reflective.
A mix of technique and fun
I have incorporated some vocal techniques throughout the sessions. We always start the sessions with some breathing techniques so that we feel calm but also so that we can improve our capacity to sing longer phrases when needed. Breathing helps us to relax and slow down (Check out my other blog on the topic: ‘Don’t forget to breathe’) which has been really necessary during this Pandemic when everyone has been feeling a whole range of things; thoughts and feelings that perhaps we have never experienced before. We also challenged ourselves and our abilities to do with vocal ranges, various rhythms, articulation and dynamics.
It has been really good fun and there is always time and space for conversations after the singing is over so I know first hand from participants that there has been a lot of improvement in people’s singing abilities which is great! It has been an amazing 12 months and we’re going to keep going definitely until the end of this year and then see what the future holds. If we go into another Lockdown, I definitely intend to carry on but hopefully it won’t get to that.
How music can help
One of the things I would recommend to anyone and everyone is this: If ever you feel uncertain or unsettled tune into something, start listening to music, start singing along if you can. It tends to make you feel better and depending on the lyrics of the song, if in fact there are any, it can make you think in a different way.
At this point I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has joined in with the Soul Session so far and to invite people to come and join me in this next phase of 2021. They take place on the last Saturday of every month online from 12pm - 1.15pm UK time. It’s a wonderful thing to take part it. They are open to everyone so please come and join us.