Gaia | Afternoon Circle Sing

WHAT IS THE INTENTION OF THIS GATHERING?

To build community in an intimate vocal music circle.

To explore music with a sense of play and curiosity.

To empower each other to sing from the heart.

To craft beautiful spontaneous songs with new friends.

To tune in to the creative power that lives within us.

To free our voices and connect to our bodies as we express ourselves.

To practice finding collaborative flow.

To grow as singers, musicians, listeners, and humans.

WHAT IS CIRCLE SINGING?

Circle Singing can be described a lot of ways – spontaneous vocal music, group singing games, vocal jamming, spontaneous song-crafting, facilitated vocal improvisation, etc. It’s done all over the world in many different forms, and, while popularized by musical legends such as Bobby McFerrin and Rhiannon of WeBe3, it dates back to the earliest forms of human singing.
 As a facilitator, Matt's personal practice draws from Bobby McFerrin's Circle Singing, Rhiannon's Vocal River, Musica do Circulo, vocal improvisation styles from around the world, and a rich background in a cappella, choral, theater, folk, and pop music.

WHAT DOES A TYPICAL SESSION LOOK LIKE?


These sessions feature 5-20 singers who are looking to dive deeper into the waters of improvised music-making. We begin with some simple singing games and a check-in to get to know everyone a little better. From there, we will follow a series of guided singing games and exercises as the group explores rhythm, movement, melody, and harmony. There will be moments of full group creation, as well as work in pairs, solo exploration, and small group play. Each session is different, depending on who shows up and what we're interested in exploring together, but everything is always thoughtfully and carefully guided by our facilitators. We practice the art of saying YES to what is happening in the moment - expressing ourselves, listening to our voices and bodies, and making stuff up.

DO I HAVE TO BE AN EXPERIENCED SINGER?

Not at all! This playful, intuitive approach to singing meets you wherever you're at in your vocal journey, and allows professional artists, former choir kids, and shower singers alike to bond, collaborate, & create beautiful vocal music as a spontaneous vocal community.


WHAT GENRE OF MUSIC DO WE SING?

That's the magic of improvisation - the music we make is entirely dependent on the ensemble of folx gathered together on that particular day, and whatever musical stylings and instincts pour out of us! We will follow whatever journey the music takes us on.

THIS IS A SAFE SPACE

Singing in front of people can be really vulnerable, and we make sure to honor where everyone is at. While we will encourage you to be brave and try new things, you are also always encouraged to listen to your body and draw your own boundaries, and are always welcome to pass or sit out and watch if a particular game or exercise isn't for you. You will never be made to do anything you don't want to do.

Vocal Flow is a mistake-free, low-pressure, safe space to play and explore. The space we craft is one where we allow ourselves let go of the rules, restrictions, judgments, and fears of other group singing settings and just SING. And when we let ourselves simply sing - magic happens.

CAN I ARRIVE LATE?

We ask that you try and arrive on time, so that we can make the most of our time together. Last entry Is at 2:20PM, after which we close the doors (lovingly) in order to preserve the safe music bubble we've created. Thank you for understanding!

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CANCELLATION POLICY: We want as many people to be able to experience these gatherings as possible, and since capacity is limited, each spot is precious! If you RSVP but are no longer able to come, please let us know at least 48 hours before the event so that we may offer your spot to someone else. Tickets are non-transferable, as we need to be able to gather enough funds to rent the spaces and pay our lovely facilitator.

For more info, contact us at [email protected].

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A little more about who we are: Gaia Music Collective is a creative community based in Brooklyn, NYC. This project was born out of a desire to create more spaces for people to find expression, connection, growth, & release through collaborative music-making - a place where folks feel safe to make music free of judgment or expectation, and to make new friends as our weird, vulnerable, beautiful, authentic selves.

All are welcome in this community, regardless of age, race, gender, class, religion, sexual orientation, ability, national origin, language, or musical ability. All that we ask is that you bring an open mind, a desire to connect, and a willingness to leave judgment of self & others at the door.

Here at Gaia, we believe that music-making - and making that music in community & collaboration with other people - is a fundamental human need, and this project seeks to build space for that in a day and age when it is so often hard to find.

Gaia Music Collective seeks to break down the divisions between performer & audience and craft experiences where we are ALL part of the music-making, while also offering a network & platform for local artists & creatives to connect with other artists, activate their creativity through collaboration, and engage their work with other musical minds.

In short - we're here to sing, to play, to connect, to grow, and to have a good time!

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