LONG TONES

Seated circle breathes together. Eyes are closed and focus is inward.
Exhale on a musical pitch and hold that pitch for the duration of the exhale.
Listen to the chord that you are part of. Sing out your ears, listening to your own sound and the sound of the room. Keep the body loose and gently moving.

The circle ends when it ends.

From the work of Rhiannon http://www.RhiannonMusic.com

WORD CIRCLE

PHASE ONE

Around the circle, one at a time, each person spew forth 3 words. Keep the circle moving, each person beginning immediately after the person before them. No planning, no editing. The words do not need to connect nor make sense.

Go around the circle numerous times, until the words are really flowing.

PHASE TWO

Same as Phase One, except this time you are telling story. Each person tells a story, that flows organically. It does not need to make sense and can travel from one universe to another. Finish in mid-sentence… The next person picks up the story line and takes it somewhere new and unknown, and so on around the circle.

Go around the circle numerous times, until the words are really flowing.

PHASE THREE

Same as Phase Two but this time sing the stories.

Created by the Atlanta Improv Circle

Inspired by Rhiannon’s Word Circle

TUNE TALE

This exercise is fun coming out of Word Circle as a warm up.

Person One improvises a story/song, letting their imagination carry them verbally and musically. The story does not need to be literal or sequential. Within the improvisation, find a Motor and start looping it. Look at Person Two and invite them in.

Person Two improvises over Person One’s Motor, continuing the story and taking it to new places. When ready, find an Interlocking part and start looping it to interface with Person One’s part. Look at Person Three and invite them in.

And so on, around the circle.

The last person can conduct the music out in whatever way they choose.

Created by Karen Porkka, Edmonton Canada

Also known as “Solo In / Solo Out”

PORKKA’S PORTAL

Group stands around the edges of the room in silence.

One person is moved to begin singing and moving toward the center of the circle. Continue improvised singing for as long as you want, and then come to a Motor and begin looping it.

Another person is moved to improvise over that Motor and enters the Circle singing, enjoying the connection with the first person’s part and feeling the freedom of creating a solo over that. When ready, they find an interlocking part and begin looping it.

A third person moves in singing, finds a part to loop, and so on until everyone is in the circle holding a repeated pattern.

When everyone is in, Person One solos over the whole, and slowly makes their way out of the circle and stops singing.

People continue to leave the circle in the order they came in, finally leaving the last person in to sing a solo to finish.

VARIATION

The last person in can take their final solo and turn it into a new Motor, and the Portal begins again in a new order.

by Elise Witt

© Non Si Sa Mai Music ASCAP

Recorded on Elise’s CD “We’re All Born Singing” on EMWorld Records

from the teaching of Rhiannon

http://www.RhiannonMusic.com

MYSTERY BAND

One person thinks of a Song that they know very well. They say, “I have one!” They don’t reveal their song, and then they wait quietly.

The group creates an improvised band either –

•  Going around the circle creating a Motor, Interlocking Part, Counter Melody, Percussion, Bass, etc

OR

•  Creating an Instaband – One person begins a bass line. The group jumps in complementing the bass line, and adjusting parts until it feels like a cohesive band.

THEN

The Song Person sings their song over the music the group has created, trying to stay as close to the original song as possible, while also enjoying the challenge of a new accompaniment that might be radically different in tonality, rhythm, and/or feel.

There is also the option of calling out “Go to the Bridge!” which allows the group to shift the accompaniment, and the soloist to go to a different part of the song eg. Bridge or Chorus.

The soloist can conduct the group ending.

• The song does not need to be complicated or have a million changes. It is super satisfying to do this over a lullaby, nursery rhyme, or children’s song, and you’ll be surprised how much possibility there is in the simplest song!
• This is a wonderful way to get a new take on a song you know really well and have sung a lot.

Created by Brian, Rosi, and Alisa Amador aka Sol y Canto www.SolyCanto.com

KITCHEN TABLE

Done in Trios or Quartets

Person One starts singing an improvised piece. When satisfied, stop singing and pass it on to Person Two. Person Two sings an improvised piece and when satisfied, passes it on to Person Three. If there are four people, Person Four does the same, passing it back to Person One.

Person One begins a new improvisation, and the others begin joining in, creating a piece together.

VARIATION: KITCHEN TABLE WITH NEIGHBOR DROPPING IN

Once all the people are singing together, a new person steps in and solos over the whole.

VARIATION: KITCHEN TABLE WITH COUSIN DROPPING IN

Once all the people are singing together, a new person steps in and sings a known song over the whole, but letting the accompaniment turn the familiar song into something new and exciting. Inspired by Mystery Band.