Circle-Singing: Incorporating improvisation into your Own Rehearsal

Grammy-nominated Dr. Jeremy Fox led a high-energy and interactive workshop based around the concept of circle-singing. Circle-singing is basically exactly how it sounds: all voice parts stand in a large circle and use improvisation as a main tool to drive new melodic ideas and compositions. He kept everyone engaged as he created different circle-songs right on the spot, either melodically or rhythmically. Dr. Fox also broke down his process of how to create a circle-song.

1.     Figure out a key/mode to be in
2.     Figure out what style of circle-song you’d like to sing
3.     Create a bass line
4.     Add Alto, Tenor, and Soprano
  a. Utilize counterpoint, call and response, legato versus staccato motives, and question and answer          techniques
5. Either you or a student could improvise over top of the circle-song you just created

Dr. Fox made his creations look so easy and after his breakdown, I felt as if I could come up with one myself! The atmosphere of the room was upbeat and we were all fully engaged. It was definitely a wonderful workshop.

-Caitlin Walton (Junior, Special Events Coordinator)

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