Bobby McFerrin's | Circlesongs

Bobby McFerrin's
circlesongs

2024 season:
No CirclesongSchool this season.

There are no current plans for CirclesongSchool 2024. Check back for updates.

Bobby McFerrin’s most profound innovation resides in circlesongs. For McFerrin, singing in a group isn’t merely a creative pursuit. It’s a vehicle for exploring what it means and how it feels to share space with fellow humans. It’s a comfort and a revelation, a celebration and a communion.

McFerrin’s gift for coaxing order out of chaos, and cultivating that skill in others, is at the center of circlesongs. Rather than creating a format that required ever greater virtuosity, he deploys his virtuosity to erase distinctions between artist and audience. It’s a spiritual path more than an aesthetic one, and if the people drawn to him sometimes treat him like a guru, he wears the aura lightly, often deflecting attention with humor.

Joining others to sing again, he was reminded that “the voice doesn’t lead,” McFerrin said. “The spirit leads. I just open up my mouth and go. I never know what’s going to come out. I really enjoy the surprise that improvisation brings.”

– Andy Gilbert / SF Chronicle

Circlesongs is an immersion in sound, creativity, and community. It is a group singing technique that involves creating music through improvisation and collaboration, challenging all participants to play, sing, invent, imagine, and explore.

The improvisational singing technique of Circlesongs was developed by American vocalist, conductor, and composer Bobby McFerrin over a lifetime of groundbreaking vocal exploration. Known for his unique vocal techniques and ability to blend multiple genres of music.

Circlesongs involves creating spontaneous vocal compositions in a group setting, often in a circle or semicircle, with each individual contributing through call and response, their own unique vocalizations, global rhythms, soaring melodies, lush harmonies, funny noises, invented language, silence, prayers, and laughter. In the circle, we make music, build trust, take risks, and embrace life to the fullest. Every song, every voice has a place in the circle.

Circlesongs is often used as a tool for vocal training and improvisation, as well as for team building and community building exercises. The technique has been embraced by musicians and music lovers around the world, who appreciate its ability to encourage creative expression, collaboration, and connection through music.

The technique is based on call-and-response, with one person leading the group by singing a musical phrase, and the other singers responding with their own variations and improvisations. The music created can vary widely in style, from jazz and world music influences to contemporary and experimental sounds. The goal of circlesongs is to create a collective musical experience that is both creative and transcendent, with each singer contributing their own voice and energy to the group.

The joy felt from circlesongs is a unique and uplifting experience that is difficult to put into words, it often refers to the sense of joy, connection, and unity that can be experienced when participating in this musical form.

Circlesongs can be a powerful tool for personal growth and community building, allowing individuals to express themselves creatively while also connecting with others in a meaningful way.

The joy of Circlesongs is often described as a spiritual experience, with participants feeling a sense of oneness and transcendence as they create music together. The process of creating music in a group setting can be empowering and uplifting, and can help to build a sense of community and connection among participants.

Whether used as a tool for vocal training, team building, or simply as a way to experience the joy of making music, Circlesongs can be a transformative and life-affirming experience.