Got a minute? Well then, you can do this prompt.
Last year we tried a series of time-based prompts inspired by Bobby McFerrin’s famous (and deceptively simple) invitation to sing freely for ten minutes every day.
Our assumption was that shorter was easier. So we started gently with a prompt to sing for just two minutes, then gradually worked up to longer and longer challenges.
But what if the goal wasn’t to stretch out but to be concise — to spin off a real piece of music in an unusually short span of time?
Hence your assignment this week: Sing for one minute. Just 60 seconds, no more or less. Melodic or rhythmic, solo or looped, wordy or non-verbal, simple or complex, mild or wild.
Anything you want — as long as it fits in the span of a hot minute.
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 for two minutes.
- 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, February 29, 2016 (LEAP DAY!).
Length: The length of your finished work should be exactly one minute.
Description: It would be awesome to include a short description of where and when you sang your piece.
Title/Tag: When uploading to SoundCloud, put “[sss-minute]” in the title of your track. Also include the term “sss-minute” 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 “SSS Prompt 57: Sing for a minute.” More on the Society for Spontaneous Singing at http://singthis.org .
And remember: “Improvisation is basically movement – the courage to take steps. You play one note. And then you play another note. That’s it. You just keep going.” — Bobby McFerrin
Thank you, sweet singers!
Yours,
Jascha & Amado