Here’s a lesser played musical improv game that makes the challenge of singing an original song even more difficult!
The Basics
Players form a line or tight cluster and become one “Broadway star” assigned the task of singing an original song based on an audience-inspired premise or title. Each line of lyric, however, is constructed in a “word-at-a-time” fashion moving quickly down the line in quick succession until the song culminates in a rousing ending.
Example
The title “Lifeguard Lessons” serves as the prompt. The improv musician begins to play a lush accompaniment as the players (A though D) form a tight line before the audience and start to croon…
Player A: “The…”
Player B: “Sun…”
Player C: “Shone…”
Player D: “Brightly…”
Player A: “In…”
Player B: “The…”
Player C: “Clear…”
Player D: “Blue…”
Player A: “Sky.”
The Focus
Find the unifying perspective and voice, and strive to incorporate the traditional devices and structural techniques that give an improvised song polish. While this game “appears” easier than other improv singing formats, in reality, the heightened teamwork and listening skills make it markedly more prone to chaos and inelegant fumbling.
Traps and Tips
1.) Start kindly. Perhaps more of a note for the musician collaborator, but it’s generally wise to begin the song with a more legato or leisurely feel. This gives each player a chance to find their own voice on the accompaniment in relation to their teammates and the emerging melodic line. When each word is truly sung with full support and commitment, you’re likely to gain confidence and a musical (and stylistic) template that can then serve the later verses. This doesn’t mean every single word should be needlessly milked – if you’re offering up a multi-syllabic contribution, take your time to find it’s musicality and sense. In terms of lyrics, it can also be helpful to start at least one step away from the provided offer or topic. By creating the feel of the day before introducing the lifeguard appears gives the team an easy place to land if the logic becomes strained or they’re looking for the chorus.
2.) Continue observantly. With the added risk of multiple authors, it can be easy to throw away song structure and just meander aimlessly from one word to the next. The game will become considerably more impressive if you still introduce and echo a rhyme scheme, craft clear verses that have a similar ring, and forge a simple chorus which is memorable and that returns as needed. Now this is all more easily written than accomplished, and the hiccups will undoubtedly provide a great deal of pleasure, but if you set up and land even one targeted rhyme, or reincorporate the essence of a pre-established chorus, your creation will start to feel like an actual song. A helpful interim strategy is to simply look for things to echo or repeat: words or phrases, line structures, melodic finesses, dramatic pauses…
3.) Disrupt strategically. I advise beginning the song with a slower intro section or verse, but as players find their vibe and connection, look for ways to increase the challenge (with an admittedly already challenging game)! If the whole song feels plodding or sluggish, even a masterful construction will land a little anticlimactically. So be on the lookout for opportunities to increase the risk which usually, though not exclusively, will consist of upping the tempo and shortening the space between each individual word. If singers start to bravely clip into each other’s offer – so that there is a small amount of overlap – this will add energy and interest. This increased pace is also a lovely way to construct a bridge if a slower tempo is generally serving, so singers should be vigilant to honor any dynamic adjustments provided by the improvising musician.
4.) End boldly. Similar to Tag-Team Song (described here) a helpful, somewhat standard, button to the piece can consist of the entire company joining together for the last word (or perhaps phrase) so that you can introduce some harmonies and greater vocal stylings if your team is so inclined (and capable of such a feat)! Regardless of whether this becomes an all-play moment, make sure the final singer really savors that last word to bring the piece home. And if you throw in a dynamic pose with the rest of the team, that’s additional icing on the improv cake as well!
In performance
A thought on microphones: I currently play in a venue where we’re fortunate enough to all wear body mics and so we tend to just rely on these for amplification. If that isn’t your setup but you have a microphone on a stand or similar available to you, I would actually advise against using it for this piece (unless the acoustics of your space or strength of your singers’ voices absolutely demands it). It can prove challenging to gather a larger number of players around a single mic without necessitating awkward shuffles or leaning in to sing each word. This small staging choice can actually have a surprisingly large effect on the pacing and rhythm of the song as each word is now preceded by a movement or pause. When players can just stand in a line (albeit a slightly curved one to facilitate hearing each other), there tends to be fewer impediments to quickly passing the focus when inspiration hits.
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Cheers, David Charles.
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Photo Credit: Gontran Durocher
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