Over the years, I have used this exercise as a way to open up young musicians to creating harmonies and melodies with their singing voices. Even though this is a form that can be played using melody instruments, it really works best when performed with voices. Therefore, since singing is something that can create a good deal of anxiety in young performers, be sure to create a safe, welcoming space, and make sure that the players feel comfortable with exploring new approaches and techniques with each other. I use this exercise when I am working with a group that has a friendly dynamic, or that I know very well, and with whom I can ensure a safe, non-judgmental, welcoming environment. If you can ensure that, this exercise can be very powerful. At times, it has been almost transcendent.
Here’s how it works:
Invite participants to stand in a circle. Ask them to stand as close as they can to each other comfortably. I like to turn down the lights for this exercise, as this can sometimes make it easier for young singers to explore their singing voices. Once you have come to silence, ask the group to close their eyes and identify in their minds the emotion they are feeling at that moment. Perhaps they are tired, or “weirded out,” or maybe they are hungry or stressed about a test. Whatever it is, ask them to name it quietly to themselves. Then, take three deep breaths. On each exhale, ask the group to put the emotion they have identified into their breathing. From here, complete the “One Authentic Sound” exercise from Unit One.
Once we have completed this portion of the exercise, ask them to do it one more time, but this time, I invite them to hold the pitch they land on as long as they can. When they run out of breath, they are to breath in, and do it again, thus collectively creating a drone with their voices. It is important to note that the group will most likely begin to sing in unison once they create a drone. That is ok. Sometimes, it can be very powerful to hear all the different pitches that the group creates, but it is also just as beautiful to hear the group tacitly agree on a pitch that works for everyone. Allow the drone to become whatever it will be.
Once you have created the drone, invite singers, one at a time, to step to the center of the circle, and allow the sound of everyone’s voices singing surround them. I usually step into the circle first, so that I can explain from a point where everyone can see and hear me, and also so that I can provide a model for what comes next: the siren. This is what I tell them:
When standing in the circle, close your eyes, and then sigh into a pitch. You are going to imitate the sound of a siren. Begin with the lowest pitch you can comfortably sing, and then, very slowly, slide that pitch up, making the sound of a slow siren. Go up as high as you can in pitch, and when you reach the top of your range, breathe and slowly come back down. As you slide up or down, allow each individual pitch you make to resonate with the singing voices around you. What you are doing, essentially, is singing a chromatic scale, but rather than attempting to sing each individual pitch as separate from the rest, you are sliding into each one, and as a result, you are singing every pitch available to you. If you feel inspired, this is also a nice way to bring in the concept of whale song and to connect the improvised form back to Serafine’s story.
What is most important about this exercise is not whether or not the individual singers sing pitches that are “good”, but rather that they experience the resonant vibrations of the voices surrounding them intermingling with the various pitches of their own voice. Each pitch of their sliding siren song will resonate differently; will create its own harmony.
“The Siren” is a powerful introduction to harmony. Once we have done the exercise a few times over the course of a few meetings, I invite singers to use the technique of sliding between sounds as a way to find harmonies and melodies. This can be done on any instrument, not only the voice. When playing or improvising with an ensemble, begin by just making one sound – any sound. Then, slide up or down until you land on a pitch that feels right to you. Ultimately, it’s about finding the pitches that feel best, that resonate best for you, and that create the harmonies that work for the music in the moment.