Singing & Sharing - relaxed online harmony singing

Missing your harmony singing? Why not try out online? Sadly the technology can't duplicate being in a group of people creating that amazing wash of harmonies together with just our voices BUT you can still sing together and connect in a different way. I teach songs from the world music and folk traditions primarily plus original acapella songs written by myself or colleagues. I've been aiming to choose uplifting, soothing and connecting songs in these times.

FRIDAYS 22nd & 29th May, 5th & 12th June 10 TIL 11.30AM

Spaces limited to 24 so please book in advance - places allocated on first come first served basis - details of Zoom link & payment process sent once you've booked. Places are limited so I can see everyone and you can see each other and so create that sense of connection - so far I've had people from all over the country and the world which has been great fun.

This is what you get can get in Zoom singing sessions (more details and help on Zoom below)

The chance to connect with other - chat, see other peopel's faces and have the experience of singing together at the same time
The chance to sing with all it's health giving benefits both psychologically and physically
A chance to sing with me - basically you will be able to hear me sing the part and sing along with me
No-one else can hear you (including me) so you can sing as loudly as you like (and make up new harmonies)
A joint warm up - getting your bodies and breath and voice moving all together
If you want to challenge yourself you can try singing a different part against me while I teach
You get to sing with a prerecorded track that I will produce of the whole song - so although you will be singing alone you will have "surround sound"
No travelling - sing in the comfort of your own home with your supply of favourite drink and biscuits
A copy of the tracks - separate parts and the whole song after the session so you can keep singing during the week.

What we'll do

We take the first section of the session to let people arrive, say hello and we ensure that everyone is comfortable with the technology. In this section we get the chance to hear from everyone and build some national and international connections. Then we'll warm up together and sing for about an hour. It's harder to concentrate online so it's been found that shorter sessions are better. Depending on the song we will learn one of two songs. I will teach the part of each song separately and you'll be able to sing with me and then finally we'll sing to a pre-recorded version of the whole song. You will need to mute when we are singing but we can keep our mics on for warm up and for chat. I will explain some useful hand signals we can use to let me know if you need help or want to comment while we're learning. Over the 4 weeks we build a repertoire of songs and we spend the final session singing them all through and celebrating our achievements.

What you need

No singing experience is needed and I will provide words where we need them. You will need a computer or other device with a camera and microphone. It's MUCH better to be on a laptop, tablet or PC than a phone if possible. You will also need to download the Zoom app and once you've booked I will send you a link so you can join the session. More tech info and help below.

Cost

I operate a sliding scale so people can pay what they feel comfortable with. If you can't afford anything that is fine, just let me know. I don't want anyone singing due to lack of money at the moment. If you can afford it the costs are as follows.

All 4 sessions sliding scale of £20 - £40
3 sessions sliding scale of £15 - £30
2 sessions sliding scale of £10 - £20
1 session (or pay as you go) sliding scale of £5 - £10

Please let me know what you are booking - places will be allocated first come first served. If I get too many I will consider running a duplicate session at another time. Where I have spare spaces in a session those people on the waiting list will get first refusal. Please feel free to pay what you can and feel comfortable with. I will send you my bank details to make a transfer and can send address for cheques - this will come once you have booked along with the Zoom link.

Here's the tech info - if you need more help let me know.

What is Zoom?

Zoom is a system for holding meetings over a video link. You can use it on a laptop computer, a smartphone, or a tablet. It's free to use. It works best when someone pre-plans a meeting and then invites people to join them there.This is what I'll be doing.

I want to join Singing and Sharing

You just need the email from me which gives the link to my Zoom meeting.

If you are on a Smartphone or Tablet :
1. Click the link in my email
2. You will be prompted to install the Zoom Cloud app from the app store. Go ahead with the install. Agree to any permissions is asks you to grant (such as access to audio & video).
3. Return to my email and click the link again - this will launch the meeting.

If you are on a Laptop:

1. You probably don't need to install anything extra. Clicking the link in my email should take you directly into the meeting. Agree to any permissions is asks you to grant (such as access to microphone and webcam).

I'm still stuck

There are video tutorials on most topics here: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/206618765-Zoom-Video-Tutorials