Sector: Education
Location: Wakefield
Participants: 9
Workshop type: Half day workshop
My third visit to the college was a workshop for members of the team from various sections of the organisation with the aim of learning a challenging song in a short space of time whilst fostering connections within the team and boosting morale. We learnt a song in 3 part harmony and even tried some body percussion.
Having worked with the college staff before, some people already knew me which helped to overcome initial nerves amongst the singers. However, we were short on time and the song has some challenging harmonies and a rather fast section.
The warm ups helped relax everyone and we focussed on ‘connection not perfection’ to ensure no one felt overwhelmed. We only had one male singer so he took the third harmony part alone which was brave and I supported him vocally whenever possible. We took the song section by section, building up from the tune, to one, then two additional parts. We worked at the right pace for the group and made sure everyone was comfortable before moving on. Humour and fun work wonders to keep the sessions lighthearted and build connections between myself and the singers, but also between the singers themselves.
The group worked really well and the result was a great rendition of the song. Everyone felt fantastic after the session, smiles all round and people were pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to pull it together. The additional challenge of the body percussion was attempted with a sense of humour and we had fun having a go at the routine.
“I loved it. I expected to enjoy the songs, which I have, and it feels like we’re in an inclusive area where we can give it a go and have a laugh. Singing makes me feel fantastic!”
