Elise’s Workshop Notes and Materials
Echo Mirror
Standing in a circle.
One person sings a phrase with exaggerated body movements.
Group gives back the phrase as exactly as possible, echoing the pitch, tone quality, and color, and mirroring the body movement. Group members try to get inside the Caller’s voice and body.
Callers can sing their name, favorite food, or whatever the situation inspires. Sometimes nice for the same Caller to go twice, using the same words but varying the rhythm and melody of their phrase.
Go around the circle and use Frankie Quimby’s “Open Letter Method” – “open your mouth and let’er fly!” Frankie Quimby and her husband Doug led the Sea Island Singers along with their many children and grandchildren, and inspired by the great Bessie Jones.
Circle Song
From the work of Bobby McFerrin and his vocal orchestra – Voicestra http://www.bobbymcferrin.com
and Rhiannon http://www.RhiannonMusic.com
Circle Song
One person gives out repeating parts to the groups.
Find parts by first singing what’s inside, then refining to find a motor part. Harmony is good. Look for spaces in the motor part to interlock new parts.
Find parts by first solo-ing over what is already created.
Play with rhythm – try putting 3 over 4 or try something in an odd rhythm like 5/4, 7/8, 9/8
Play with tonality – use some unusual harmonies, try notes that may not be the “first choices”
Play with language – try using some sounds you don’t always use; experiment with different consonants; imagine you’re speaking a language you don’t know but have a sound in your ear eg. french, russian, italian, etc.
The person giving out the parts can then solo over the foundation they have created.
Solo-ist can then step out and let another person solo and/or create new parts…
Wish Boats
WISH BOATS
Star light, star bright
Tether your wishes on dreams you’ll dream tonight
Break ‘Em On Down
© Harmony Grisman http://www.harmonygrisman.com/index.html
BREAK’EM ON DOWN
Break’em on down, Break’em on down,
Break’em on down these walls between us
“Break’em on Down” sung by Global Village Chorus 2018-2019
Che Cho Cha Chi – Body Percussion
by Keith Terry http://www.crosspulse.com/aboutkt.html
CHE * CHO * CHA * CHI – Body Percussion
Che 3/8 – Clap / RHChest / LHChest
Cho 5/8 – Clap / RHChest / LHChest / RH Thigh / LH Thigh
Cha 7/8 – Clap / RHChest / LHChest / RH Thigh / LH Thigh / RH Butt / LH Butt
Chi 9/8 – Clap / RHChest / LHChest / RH Thigh / LH Thigh / RH Butt / LH Butt
I Do Not Walk This Path Alone
by Deidre McCalla www.DeidreMcCalla.com
I DO NOT WALK THIS PATH ALONE
CHORUS:
I do not walk this path alone
No matter where I’m bound
We all stand on someone’s shoulders
When we reach for higher ground
Open The Window
arranged by Elise Witt
from a Sea Islands Spiritual
© Non Si Sa Mai Music ASCAP
Recorded on the CD 
“Open the Window”
and available as a Choral Arrangement:
SATB, SSAA, TTBB
OPEN THE WINDOW
Open the window, children
Open the window now
Open the window, children
Open the window,
Let the dove fly in
Mama and Papa are fighting like snakes
Baby is crying like her heart will break
Neighbors lock their doors, build fences so high
Don’t see what’s to discover on the other side
Borders ’round countries, borders’ round the skies
The only border close you in is the border ’round your mind
Some people have money, some people have none
What’s the use of money if your heart’s gone numb
This big old world is in a great big mess
Let’s open the window, find peace and rest
ITALIANO
fatte a Zabaldano: 15 giugno 2019
RITORNELLO:
Aprite la finestra bambini,
Aprite la finestra ora
Aprite la finestra bambini
Aprite la finestra que entri la colomba
STROPHE:
1) C’e un bel panorama fuori
Che la gente si voglia piu bene!
2) Che sparisca l’egoismo
Che nasca un’era di armonia!
3) Anche s’e buio, il sole splende
Da una nuvola vedo un mondo colorato!
4) La scuola e finita, evviva le vacanze!
Il mare ci aspetta, e anche la montagna!
Global Village Chorus creates new verses for “Open the Window”
Open the Window (John C. Campbell Folk School 2019)
new verses by An Impromptu Glorious Chorus™
@ John C. Campbell Folk School 2019
OPEN THE WINDOW
Changes are a comin’, but that’s understood
Changes are a comin’ and it’s gonna be good
Too much killing of those in blue
Honor those who protect me and you
We need to save the bees or the flowers won’t come
And if we poison the waters, then we know we’re all done
Hordes of working people living on the street
Richest nation ever but not enough to eat
Too much distraction always online
Stuck again in traffic, no quiet time
Our cell phones are dead but we really don’t care
Just singing with our friends, we’ve got a song to share!
Tartantulas
by Becky Reardon www.BeckyReardonMusic.com
from the CD “Natural Rhythms” Becky Reardon, Terry Garthwaite, Elise Witt
THE TARANTULAS
The tarantulas are on the road
Looking for girlfriends before it snows
Eight fuzzy legs, carry them along
Eight fuzzy legs, they must be strong
Gotta carry them over the desert
‘Cross the desert to Mexico
The Turtle Remembers
by Becky Reardon
www.BeckyReardonMusic.com
THE TURTLE REMEMBERS
The turtle remembers a dream in December
Alone with God
Alone with songs of the whales
Returning, returning
My Salsa Garden
by Elise Witt
w/Sonia Osio, Kate Long, Joanne Hammil,
Sue Ribaudo, Ann Kilkelly, Carol Burch Brown, Inge Witt
© Non Si Sa Mai Music ASCAP
MY SALSA GARDEN
Do you have a recipe for my Salsa Garden?
Cilantro, lime, cumin, coriander
Onion, garlic for my Salsa Garden!
Really red, really ripe, really red, really ripe
Real tomatoes juicy juicy for my Salsa Garden!
Hot jalapeños, ayyyyy! For my Salsa Garden!
Dance with me in my garden, dance with me
Dance with me in my garden, dance with me
Ay que rico bailar contigo
Ay que rico bailar mi amor
Ay que rico bailar mi cielo
Dale sabor
Sabrosura, sabrosura
Picantico de mi amor
Cuando tú bailas conmigo
Se me hace agüita el corazón
I See You With My Heart
by Elise Witt with students from the Global Village Project
© Non Si Sa Mai Music ASCAP
I See You With My Heart
I see you with my eyes, I see you with my heart
Welcome! Welcome!
Ming-a-la-ba *BURMESE (Burma)
Gaw-la-GAY * KAREN (Burma)
Sti-reh-mah-sheh *PASHTO (Afghanistan)
A-ma-ho-ro *KIRUNDI (Burundi)
Hak-kahm *OROMO (Ethiopia)
Na-sa-ding-aa *MATU CHIN (Burma)
Namaste *HINDI (India)
* Things About Singing
PALINDROMIC KEYBOARD
To avoid straining up for high notes, and pushing down into low notes, create a palindromic keyboard.
Imagine all the notes of the universe laid out horizontally in front of you, on one keyboard spread out to your right, and a mirror image keyboard spread out to your left. As you learn a song, play it with both hands mirroring each other on the 2 keyboards. Lower notes are close in. Higher notes are farther out, which corresponds to the arms and rib cage spreading to make more room for the higher notes.
This also helps to get pitch references of how to get from the end of one phrase to the beginning of the next. For example, the palindromic keyboard might help you realize that the note you ended a phrase on, is the same note that the next phrase begins on.
You don’t have to know anything about music theory or reading music to utilize the palindromic keyboard to quickly and easily learn a melody.
POLYCHOTIC LISTENING
from percussionist David Pleasants
Listening to more than one element at a time. Like percussionists in a West African drum ensemble, playing their own rhythm, while being part of the over arching rhythm.
For singers,
1) listening to your own voice’s melody, rhythm, words, timbre…
2) listening to how your voice blends in unison with other singers on your part
3) listening across the circle to singers on other parts
4) listening to the Whole – how it all fits together
Like a Braid – hearing separate voices (hairs), groups (strands), whole (braid).
MAGIC MOMENT * EL MOMENTO MAGICO * LE MOMENT MAGIQUE
Before we begin singing, we can already hear the music in the air. As you breathe in to begin a song, listen for the resonance of the music already vibrating.
When a song is finished, allow it to continue to vibrate and resonate in your body and the air around you, letting it settle, before talking or clapping or moving on to whatever is next.
SLEEP ON IT
During our waking hours, our brains are busy with Beta waves zipping and zinging along. When we sleep, the busy Beta waves take a rest, and the information we take in, has a chance to sink deeper into the Alpha and Gamma waves. Thus when we wake up, information we took in the previous day is more firmly lodged in our memory and knowledge.
It is why we encourage students, instead of cramming for test, study well the night before, and then get a good night’s rest. And it is why we seem to miraculously know a song a million times better the day after we learn it, after a good night’s rest.
THE GOLDEN THREAD ATTACHED TO THE UNIVERSE
from t’ai chi
Imagine a golden thread connected from the crown of your head up into the sky. The thread is connected to the pearls of your spine. Between the pearls there are cushions of air. As the thread connects to the universe, the body elongates and relaxes becoming ever more spacious and fluid.
BUBBLING WELL (K-1 POINT)
from t’ai chi
On the bottom of your feet, just below the ball, is an acupressure point where all the meridians come together. From that point, you can open down into the earth, feeling the energy flowing down the body and into the earth, and coming up from the earth into the body.
LAOGUNG – PALM OF YOUR HAND
from t’ai chi
The palms of the hands have powerful energy, as in “the laying on of hands.”
Rubbing the palms together creates powerful energy, and you can move energy through the body via the laogung (palms).
God Danced the Day You Were Born
by Andrew Lawrence
(a swing jazz round in 3 parts)
GOD DANCED THE DAY YOU WERE BORN
God danced the day you were born
The angels did the bump to Gabriel’s horn
God danced the day you were born
So grateful for the gift of you
I saw God do the Funky Chicken
Steppin’ and kickin’ in blue suede shoes
I saw God do the Boogaloo too
Faced with the gift of you
I have heard some folks say that long ago
God could not dance to save her soul
But people, I”ve seen her shake that jelly roll
Just thinking ’bout the gift of you.
God Danced the Day You Were Born
by Andrew Lawrence
(a swing jazz round in 3 parts)
GOD DANCED THE DAY YOU WERE BORN
God danced the day you were born
The angels did the bump to Gabriel’s horn
God danced the day you were born
So grateful for the gift of you
I saw God do the Funky Chicken
Steppin’ and kickin’ in blue suede shoes
I saw God do the Boogaloo too
Faced with the gift of you
I have heard some folks say that long ago
God could not dance to save her soul
But people, I”ve seen her shake that jelly roll
Just thinking ’bout the gift of you.
Let Me Believe
by Rebekka Goldsmith www.RebekkaGoldsmith.com
LET ME BELIEVE THAT LOVE IS POSSIBLE
Let me believe that love is possible
Let me remember the courage in my soul
I wil raise my voice for justice
Let me remember the courage in my soul
I’ve got two feet to march with
I’ve got one mouth to sing with
I’ve got two ears to listen
I’ve got one heart to love with
Listen, listen, listen, listen
I will never give up, never give up, never give up!
Shine On
By Terry Garthwaite
© nJoy Sounds BMI
SHINE ON
I can feel the heat
Like a ball of fire
Like the heavenly sound
Of a gospel choir
I can see the light
Like a brand new day
Like a bolt of lightning
It takes my breath away.
CHORUS:
Shine on, shine on, shine on
Shine a heavenly light
Shine on, shine on, shine on
I can hear the sound
Like a charmin’ bell
Like a soft reminder
All is well
I can feel the beat
Like the wings of a dove
Like a heart on fire
Full of the light of love
CHORUS
BRIDGE:
Burnin’ bright, making day from night
It’s such a welcome sight, here comes the light
Here comes the light, here comes the sun
Here comes the heat–this is heaven!
CHORUS
A Singer
by Elise Witt
© Non Si Sa Mai Music ASCAP
Recorded on Elise’s CD “We’re All Born Singing” on EMWorld Records
Bring Me a Little Water, Sylvie
by Huddie Ledbetter “Leadbelly”
Body Percussion by Evie Ladin
BRING ME LITTLE WATER, SYLVIE
Bring me little water, Sylvie
Bring me little water now
Bring me little water, Sylvie
Every little once in a while
Bring it in a bucket, Sylvie
Bring it in a bucket now
Bring it in a bucket, Sylvie
Every little once in a while
Sylvie come a’runnin’
Bucket in my hand
I will bring a little water
Fast as I can
Seleyaseyabo
Chinese Proverb
Set to music by Sharon Durant, England
Arranged by Dr. Ysaye Maria Barnwell
Sign Language Coach: Rachel Schlafer Parton
CHINESE PROVERB
When there is light in the soul,
there is beauty in the person
When there is beauty in the person,
there is harmony in the home
When there is harmony in the home,
there is honor in the nation
When there is honor in the nation,
there is peace in the world.
SIGNS
Light Soul
Beauty Person
Harmony Home
Honor Nation
Peace World
Where Will I Go From Here?
by Kate Long www.KateLong.com
WHERE WILL I GO FROM HERE?
Where will I go from here? (2x)
I no longer have all the time in this world
Where will I go from here?
How will I use my years?
How will I face my fears?
What do I hold most dear?
This Healing
Traditional Zipper Song from the African American Tradition (church & Civil Rights Movement)
Zip in your own ideas of gratitude in place of (singing)
This Healing
Thank you for this singing
Thank you for this singing
Thank you for this singing
Thank you for this singing
This healing, this healing
This healing singing
This healing, this healing
This healing singing
Thank you for this ____________