Where Can I Learn To Sing
The name Harmonic Temple' describes the genre of creating short accessible harmony pieces, based initially on sacred phrases from different spiritual traditions.
Where Can I Learn To Sing
Nickomo coined the name Harmonic Temple' in 1993 to describe the genre he had begun to work in, of creating short accessible harmony pieces, based initially on sacred phrases from different spiritual traditions, and later using non tradition-specific English words to provide the intended focus. The name attempts to describe the musical space created by singing these songs together; Harmonic' because it is produced by vocal harmony, Temple' because of the sense of sacred-space that is created. What I experience when surrounded by acappella harmony is a literal immersion in the sound, as though it were water, or a heavenly realm, - hence also the allusions to angels. As well as being very beautiful, it can be empowering, healing, cathartic, or calming, depending on the nature of the music and the attunement of the words.
Where Can I Learn To Sing
There are certain conventions that have become established as being most conducive to the experience described above. One is that the songs are sung in a circle, with the centre as the focal point of the music. Usually the songs are in four parts, and are learned by gathering in part-groups along four quadrants of the circle. Although they are referred to as soprano, alto, tenor and bass, the vocal range required for each part is much less demanding than in traditional choral music, being designed for ordinary natural' voices rather than for classically-trained singers.
Where Can I Learn To Sing
Having learned the parts, the singers are encouraged to tune-in to the whole sound, rather than get too fixed on their own part, in order to receive the full immersion experience. As the song is repeated, singers are encouraged to roam freely around the space, and especially to take some time in the centre, where the blend of voices is at its strongest. For a quieter, slower song, this could mean most of the group holding the outer circle while taking turns organically to visit the centre in smaller groups. For a more upbeat song a general melee can develop with everyone dancing around.
Where Can I Learn To Sing
Sometimes we arrange things more formally, like a Healing Circle' in which people take turns to lie in the centre (individually or in small groups depending on the size of the circle) while the rest of the group surrounds them with song. Or there may be a simple dance performed in a circle, often involving meeting different partners, or a spiral', in which the circle is led through a labyrinth pattern, meeting each other's eyes as we walk past in time to the music.
Where Can I Learn To Sing
Most of the mantras that inspired the first wave of Harmonic Temple songs were first encountered in sessions of Dances of Universal Peace, about which there is plenty of information elsewhere on this site. For me, the great thing about the dances was an opportunity to engage with the non-dogmatic spiritual wisdom of different traditions through the medium of music and dance. As a harmony addict I always particularly appreciated it when there was spontaneous harmonizing in the circle. From the mid eighties to the early nineties we held a weekly Chanting Group in our house near Bristol, where as well as improvising harmonies to chants and songs from various traditions we also learned some set pieces, such as the chants of Taizé. It was for this group that I first created short four-part acappella compositions of a spiritual nature.
Where Can I Learn To Sing
He began sharing some of these songs at Music and Dance Camps, then in workshops, and in 1995 there was sufficient interest to get a group of singers together for a recording, which went out as a tape called Harmonic Temple Volume 1', as well as a book of the music. In 1998 it was followed by Volume 2', and in 2000 by Beauty All Around Me', the first collection to be released as a CD. Subsequently,the best of the first 2 volumes were squeezed into one CD and book and released under the name Ateh Malkuth'.
Where Can I Learn To Sing
Since the turn of the century interest in the Harmonic Temple has grown, and as well as regular workshops in the U.K., the chants have been shared in New Zealand, Australia, Germany, Eire and the U.S.A. The last three collections have been recorded by an ever-expanding voluntary choir, creating on the CD a sound much more like the sound of a real Harmonic Temple session than on the first recordings. Here Right Now' was recorded in 2002, Singing with the Angels' in 2005, and Deep Peace' in 2007. New pieces are still emerging, and are shared at workshops along with golden oldies.
Free Questionnaires and Mini Courses are available on the 7 Words website (http://www.7words.co.uk/life-management/where_can_I_learn_to_sing), interactive fun with the satisfaction index calculator at http://www.7wordsassociates.org/unicorncamps.php
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