The Society for Spontaneous Singing

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Prompt 35: So Emotional

September 24, 2015 Amado Prompts

so-emotional-whitneyHere we go, folks. Strap in tight, because we’re venturing into potentially dangerous waters. There’s probably not a person in this world who has precisely the same relationship with their emotions as anybody else. And we’re not gonna tell you what yours should be; just take this week’s Prompt in whatever way is emotionally safe for you.

Feelings. (Nothin’ more than…) We’ve all got ’em, and science has yet to agree on how to understand and categorize them. One way is listed here: Simple English Wikipedia – Emotion. But one might suggest (and the present author would be such a one) that it is the purview of music to express that which is beyond words. Therefore…

Your Prompt: Sing to express a particular emotion(s). You may be as specific or general as you wish; you may sing an emotion that you enjoy, or one that you do not; really, it’s wide open. We’ll give you some specific avenues you may optionally use to get into this one:

Options

You always have have options. Here we’ll put some potentially easier ones in Option A, and in Option B perhaps some ways to go a bit further with it.

Option A: I Second That Emotion – The above-linked page says that there are six Basic Emotions. (That point is debatable, and endlessly debated.) They are: Happiness, Sadness, Fear, Anger, Disgust, and Surprise. One option would be to simply pick one of them, and sing us the sound of it. If all of this is a little too close to home, try adopting a different perspective: sing as if you’re addressing a person experiencing one of these emotions, responding to them in any way that seems good for you to explore right now.

Option B: Rare Emotions – I heard the expression long ago, in connection to wedding ceremonies. But certainly our emotional landscape is more complex than can be captured in six words. So think back to a time you felt something notably particular, like a bittersweet with a touch of bravery, or jealosy with a touch of compassion, or… only you know of a time when you’ve experienced such a feeling. Sing it. Or consult the very excellent Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows or any other list you can find of emotional states (this, or that); find one that’s compelling to you, and sing that.

To Contribute

The steps are as follows:

  • Step 0: Sign up for a free SoundCloud account here. Join the SSS group.
  • Step 1: Record yourself singing your song expressing your emotion.
  • Step 2: Upload to SoundCloud and post the track to the SSS group.
  • Step 3: Listen to and comment on tracks uploaded by your fellow singers. (Play nice!)

Deadline: Your tracks should be uploaded by midnight wherever you are on Monday, September 28, 2015.

Length: The length of your finished work should be about 2 to 5 minutes, or however long you need to sing your emotion.

Description: It would be awesome to include a short description of where and when you sang your piece—and how it felt.

Title/Tag: When uploading to SoundCloud, put “[sss-emotion]” in the title of your track. Also include the term “sss-emotion” as a tag. This will help us find it.

Group: Once the track is uploaded, click on the “Add to group” button below the waveform and make sure to select the Society for Spontaneous Singing group. (This option will only appear if you have already joined the group! So do that now.)

Linking: You are welcome to include this info in your description:

This track is a reply to “Prompt 35: So Emotional.” More on the Society for Spontaneous Singing at http://singthis.org. You can join the SSS at https://soundcloud.com/groups/society-for-spontaneous-singing

Thank you, sweet singers!

  • « Prompt 34: Sing to a thing.
  • Prompt 36: Explore your break. »

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