LOOPING COACHING for Circle Singing leading, songwriting & arranging (berkeley)

One of the best ways to become an effective leader, build your confidence, and contribute to your community is by facilitating group singing.   And you can practice those leadership skills in a format called circle singing. Not sure what circle singing is ?  It was popularized by Bobby McFerrin four decades ago as part of his solo concerts when he divided his audience into sections and gave out parts that he spontaneously made up, each layered on top of the last one.  It quickly caught on and built his first vocal ensemble, Voicestra, around that technique. If you’ve already done circle singing, you know how much fun & energizing it can be.  After all, it’s one of the first techniques to come along where people of different skill levels can improvise together as a group.  And if you’ve tried to facilitate circle singing by layering new parts, you know how challenging it can be — like doing a water sport for the first time . . . This is where using a digital looper can be an invaluable tool — it’s a real-time recording device that can play back any idea that you come up when you sing it into a mic & it will ‘loop’ it until you stop it.  You can add, modify, change, or even delete a loop just as you could when leading a circle song group.  But unlike that live scenario, using a looper enables you to listen back to any part you create exactly as you sang it to review it for not only style and execution, but content as well. Here are some of the benefits of learning how to use a looper:     * pre-hearing the fundamental qualities of a piece (tempo, feel, style, etc.)     * creating independent entrances     * developing contrast between parts (& within a part)     * exploring different ranges of your voice     * noticing your habitual tendencies (especially when you set up a piece)     * practicing good mic technique The Good News is that the benefits of working with a looper are not restricted to just facilitating circle singing.  It will also help you generate songs faster and expand your arranging skills, incentivize you to try new approaches (e.g. new styles, densities, opening parts), sharpen your rhythm, and equip you to be in more (and better) ensembles.   What’s more, digital loopers have become more affordable and user-friendly with each passing year . . . Even if you’ve had experience and/or coaching in a group setting for how to facilitate and/or use a looper, private instruction will greatly accelerate your progress by illuminating the How’s and Why’s more powerfully. Michael Smolens has taught individuals and groups for over five decades and has been a vocal consultant for the A Capella Summit, College of Marin, City College of S.F., and award-winning "SoVoSo." As a vocalist and multi- instrumentalist, he leads a number of original projects, including a 12-person vocal improvisation group.  Michael has performed or recorded vocally with Bobby McFerrin collaborators Rhiannon, David Worm & Bryan Dyer, Pollyanna Bush, Katy Stephen & Sam Rogers and accompanied vocalists Masha Campagne, Tiffany Joy, Omega Rae, Claudia Schmidt & Raz Kennedy.