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The voice serves as a powerful cathartic tool by enabling the release of pent-up tension and emotions through various vocalisations, including beat-boxing, singing, & toning. Vocal exercises and techniques provide a safe channel for emotional expression, fostering a deeper connection with the breath and body to reduce stress, and promote emotional well-being. By activating the body's natural mechanisms for releasing tension, the voice can lead to a sense of calm, greater emotional control, and improvements in physiological health.
Give Voice to Your Rhythm
This can be done using either the Heartbeat Rhythms or Full Improvisation (Layer in Your Rhythm).
Part 1. Have people layer in with either individual heartbeat rhythms or full improvisation and when everyone is playing, lower the volume and ask people to start to vocalise the rhythm they are playing - offer examples.
Part 2. Then lower the volume again and ask people to keep their vocal going but stop playing their drum or percussion instrument. You may want to keep a pulse going with your drum. After a while lower the volume again and ask people to play with their rhythm - change it up a little - without losing touch with their rhythm pulse.
Part 3. Lower the volume and ask people to add a little extra emotion to their rhythm by slowing down their rhythm a little and moving towards more tonal input - singing their beat - offer examples. Utilise facilitation techniques to:
Solo different sections of your group
Pass the vocal from one section to another
Solo different individuals
Change dynamics - volume
Finish by fading away slowly
Find your voice.
Ensure people have pen & paper.
Using the universal heartbeat rhythm (B B - -) as a back-beat, participants, working in pairs or groups of three (sitting next to each other), come up with a short RAP Rhyme to punctuate the 2-beat silence in-between each double Bass pulse. The theme can be of anything relevant to the participants circumstances e.g. self-belief/survival /friendship/overcoming adversity etc.
Each pair contribute at least two verses (8 lines or more). The final verse should have a ray of hope in it.
Space out the Heartbeat rhythm (B B) and showcase an example (e.g. B B When I'm low B B I've got no flow B B And all my friends B B Don't wanna’ know).
After about 6-10 minutes check to see each pair has their verses.
Then bring the circle together and each pair, either raps one line each or they can rap their lines together. Start the pulse (B B - -) and layer in each vocal part around the circle, one at a time between the Bass notes – if it sounding good repeat. Note some people find it easier to stop playing while they say their lyrics – offer this as an option.
Part 2. Then see if the group can agree on a group chorus from one contribution (preferably uplifting) and start again, this time adding the chorus between each groups' contribution.
Discuss the way music impacts people’s lives and the way lyrics can inspire the best from people and lead to social change. Has anyone got a favourite lyric to share that has had a big impact on them?
Call & Response exercises are useful for building confidence, developing communication skills, and teaching musicality.
The facilitator plays a brief rhythm phrase on their drum & the individual or participants echo
it back (it is important to keep these rhythm short & simple). As the response becomes more
assured swap roles – again emphasising simplicity.
Take it in turns for different people to lead the exercise, and introduce changes in volume.
Variations of this exercise can be done with voice, movement & body percussion.
Empowerment – it is important that all participants get to lead this process at different times.
The facilitator should avoid too much control.
Exercise 2 - Call and Response to a Rhythm – moving towards improvisation
One person plays a call which is answered by the group and repeats the same sequence
(call & response) two more times - after the third response the whole group keeps playing
the call as a repeated rhythm. Emphasise the simplicity of this exercise in helping people
find their own rhythm and how this starts a longer term, empowering, process of helping
people to connect musically through improvisation, rather than through allocated parts.
Adding Vocals
Certain vocal sounds can be useful in calming the stress response and reducing anxiety.
Adding sounds or words in Call & Response can be useful for this reason – try low guttural
sounds such as Aaaaahhh, Mmmmmmmm, or Ooooohhh. A long Yawn or Sigh can also be
useful.
Using rhythmic affirmations to cement values and create improvised music at the same time.
Draw up a list of values on the white-board, and ask each person to choose one that is important to them. Then demonstrate how to use the syllables of each to make it into a rhythm, for example: Truth – one beat, Love – one beat, Kindness – two beats, Respect – two beats, Forgiveness – three beats, Honesty – three beats, Generosity – five beats.
Each person has to play a rhythm representing a value that is important to them and connect it to the others in the group.
Start the exercise by playing your ‘value rhythm’ and then have each person enter with their ‘value rhythm’ one at a time. (They can be encouraged to say or sing the name of their value to their beat as they enter.)
Finish by starting to name your value once again, stop the drumming and fade away.
Discussion:
How do your values fit with your identity and sense of self?
How hard is it to live up to your values?
How do values connect people? What if your values were very different from someone else? Would it be easy or difficult to get on with someone whose values were different from yours?
There is a lot of evidence on the therapeutic value of singing and using our voice musically - it is cathartic, can reduce stress, is a bonding experience and releases endorphins that lift mood.
But for many people it is very confronting, exposing them to potential ridicule, and the energy fades significantly compared to when we are drumming. Here is one technique we use to get people comfortable with using their voice - make up your own 'call & response' phrases and always have a laugh!
Introducing vocals into Call & response