From February to June 2024, a group of children gathered weekly to invent singing (Inventar a Cantar).

Through the implementation of this project, which emphasized collective improvisation and composition through voice, the aim was to explore the potential of musical creation as a pedagogical, collaborative, and artistic practice.

Here, we present a summary of each session, divided into five phases.

This project is part of an Internship Report which is available here.
Download it at the bottom of the page.
I would like to thank the association “Madalen’Amar” for embracing this pilot project at their study center “Crescer Juntos.”
A special thanks to the singers who embarked on "Inventar a Cantar”, from whom I learned so much.

Focus on group dynamics

Introduction:
- Imitation and name memorization games.
- Movement games in space and dramatization activities.
- Sequencing games and sound production stimulation.
- Vocal warm-ups through body and voice activation with sound production and diction games.
- Sound exploration using singers' names.
Guided improvisation incorporating loops and a recurring refrain.
Session reflection -getting feedback from the singers.
Re-centering activity with long notes:
- For each breath, singers sustain a long note, exploring a different pitch with every inspiration.
Body and Vocal Warm-Up:
- Sequencing Games: Singers pass a sound around the circle.
- Body Warm-Up: Stretching, chewing, moving—encouraging spontaneous sounds to emerge.
Conversations in made-up languages:
- Singers engage in question-and-answer exchanges using made-up languages.
Conversations between made-up characters:
- Singers take on characters, using made-up languages in question-and-answer exchanges, enhanced by props and distinct movements.
Creating "Human Machines":
- Using loops to build a collective, moving "sculpture" with their bodies.
Session reflection - getting feedback from the singers.
Re-centering activity with long notes:
- For each breath, singers sustain a long note, exploring a different pitch with every inspiration.

Focus on listening and synchronization

Body and Vocal Warm-Up:
- Sequencing Games: Singers pass a sound around the circle.
- Body Warm-Up: Stretching, chewing, moving—encouraging spontaneous sounds to emerge.
Creating "Human Machines":
- Using ostinatos to construct a collective, moving "sculpture" with their bodies.
Conversations in made-up languages:
- Singers engage in question-and-answer exchanges using made-up languages.
Recreating a Soundscape:
- Singers listen to and imitate a soundscape, recording the sounds using unconventional notation.
Recreating a sound journey:
- Singers take an outdoor walk, listening to, collecting, and imitating the sounds they encounter along the way.
Re-centering activity with long notes:
- For each breath, singers sustain a long note, exploring a different pitch with every inspiration.
Body and Vocal Warm-Up:
- Body Warm-Up: Stretching, chewing, moving—encouraging spontaneous sounds to emerge.
Creating an "Exquisite Corpse":
- Singers create a sequence of sung words, each adding a word to the sequence in turn.
Drawing an imaginary line:
- One by one, each singer draws an imaginary line in the air, which the others interpret through sound.
Directing sound through movement:
- One by one, each singer uses their body to demonstrate a sound for the group to produce.
Drawing an imaginary line on the floor:
- Using a piece of yarn, lines are drawn on the floor, which the singers interpret vocally.
Graphical representation of sounds:
- Using unconventional notation to record various sounds created by the singers.
Session reflection - getting feedback from the singers.
Body and Vocal Warm-Up:
- Body Warm-Up: Stretching, chewing, moving—encouraging spontaneous sounds to emerge.
Creating an "Exquisite Corpse":
- Singers create a sequence of sung words, each adding a word to the sequence in turn.
Sound sequence - "Flying Voices”_
- Singers take turns creating a sound sequence, tossing a ball to the next person in the sequence.
"Circle Singing Wall"
- Singers improvise a loop, turning to face the circle while singing and remaining with their backs to the group when silent.
Video viewing and creation:
- Singers watch the video “Turtle Dreams” by M. Monk and create a musical piece inspired by it.
Session reflection - getting feedback from the singers.
Body and Vocal Warm-Up:
- Body Warm-Up: Stretching, chewing, moving—encouraging spontaneous sounds to emerge.
Sung made-up conversations:
- Singers engage in question-and-answer exchanges, singing their responses.
Listening to an improvisation and filling out a questionnaire:
- Singers listen to an improvised duet by Bobby McFerrin and Maria João at the Jazz Festival Burghausen 2002. They respond to questions about what they hear.
Viewing a video and creating a similar product:
- Singers watch the previous video and create a musical piece inspired by it.
Session reflection - getting feedback from the singers.
Body and Vocal Warm-Up:
- Body Warm-Up: Stretching, chewing, moving—encouraging spontaneous sounds to emerge.
Creation of repeated movements associated with sounds:
- Singers take turns choosing a movement performed by their peers and creating the corresponding sound.
“Vocal Rooms”:
- Each singer invents an ostinato linked to a specific movement in space.
Creating an “Exquisite Corpse”:
- Singers create a sequence of sung words, each adding a word to the sequence in turn. This activity evolved into a collective creation, where each singer contributes a part of a story.
Session reflection - getting feedback from the singers.

Focus on the organization of Musical structures

Body and Vocal Warm-Up:
- Imitation games.
Made-up language conversations:
- Singers engage in question-and-answer exchanges using invented languages.
Sound Sequence - “Flying Voices”:
- Singers take turns creating a sequence of sounds, tossing a ball to the next singer in the sequence.
Soundscaping a story created from an image:
- One singer creates a story based on an image, while the other singers provide sound effects as the story progresses. This evolved into creating a song inspired by the image.
Body and Vocal Warm-Up:
- Body Warm-Up: Stretching, chewing, and moving to stimulate spontaneous sounds.
- Improvisation with playalong.
Auditory identification game with unconventional notation:
- In groups, singers listen to each other’s performances and match cards to the corresponding sounds.
Spoken voice composition:
- In small groups, they create a short piece, noting it down, based on words from a book.
Body and Vocal Warm-Up
- Body Warm-Up: Stretching, chewing, and moving to stimulate spontaneous sounds.
- Patterns with Background Music: These evolved into a Sung Conversation.
Sound exploration from unconventional notation:
- Each singer produces a sound that corresponds to the card they hold.
Interpreting a graphic score for spoken voice:
- In small groups, students discuss how to execute the graphic score in front of them.

Creating a musical performance

One leader, one movement:
- Everyone mirrors the movement of a chosen person in the group.
Improvisation with two given notes:
- Singers improvise rhythmically using only two notes.
Sharing small fragments, words, drawings, or phrases about what it means to “Make things up.”
Sound exploration:
- Building sounds from the ideas shared, developing new, spontaneous compositions.
One leader, one movement:
- Everyone mirrors the movement of a chosen person in the group, producing the sound associated with that movement.
Sound of moving objects:
- Singers create the sound of mundane objects in motion.
Writing song proposals:
- Based on the sharing from the previous session, singers collaboratively write suggestions for song lyrics.
Exploration of meter and melody:
- Developing and exploring possible melodies for the written lyrics, focusing on the interplay between rhythm and melody.
Mimicry with sound:
- Each singer tells a story or enacts a small scene without words, using only sound imitation and movements.
Story creation from dice throwing:
- Collectively creating a sung story based on the images from rolled dice.
Interpretation of the song “Quando não tenho ideias”
- Interpreting and performing the song that was developed from the exploration of the previous session.
Creating stories from images of a book:
- Collectively creating a story from ideas inspired by pages from G. Tavares' O Dicionário do Menino Andersen.
Interpretation of the song “Quando não tenho ideias”
- Performing and interpreting the song “Quando não tenho ideias.”
“3 in a row”:
- Three singers create loops, taking turns based on a sound cue given by a leader.
Preparation for individual introduction:
- Viewing a compilation of audiovisual highlights from various activities conducted during sessions. Students individually structure a solo or small group presentation.
Interpretation of the song “Quando não tenho ideias”
- Performing and interpreting the song “Quando não tenho ideias.”
Sound statues in motion:
- In silence, singers create a collective representation in space using their bodies to form a word. They then create the corresponding sound for that statue.
Soundscaping a story from various images:
- One singer invents a story based on multiple images, while the other singers provide the soundscaping for the story as it progresses.
Preparation for individual introduction:
- Structuring an individual presentation where singers perform for their peers.
Interpretation of the song “Quando não tenho ideias”
- Performing and interpreting the song “Quando não tenho ideias.”
General rehearsal for the final presentation:
- Conducting a general rehearsal for the final presentation.
Listening to a composition with extended vocal techniques and filling out a questionnaire:
- Singers listen to a composition by Joan La Barbara and respond to questions about the sounds and techniques used.

The research highlighted:

• The importance of playful and collaborative practices, allowing space for the process of musical creation.

• The need for a broader definition of "singing," acknowledging the meanings children attribute to musical making.

Public Presentation Records of the Project.

From this project, a small book was created and given to the singers as a unique artefact.

The book invites the reader to engage with sound, encouraging them to explore and interact sonically throughout its pages.

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