weaving Voices 01.04.2025 issuu - Flipbook - Page 61
It seems that in the forest many of us were spending a larger part of
our day in the open mode. Not surprisingly, the day that the group
collectively seemed to be in a sleepier, less positive mood, was the only
day with rain. The impact of nature, of course, affected us workshop
hosts as well as the participants. We also had the benefit of being in
the safe environment we consider our home, with a group that had
become very familiar to us. The forest cleared our minds, calmed us and
inspired us. We found ourselves leading the group in an organic way, less
concerned about sticking to a strict schedule and an exact format and
rather following the natural flow of things.
So how can nature contribute to a positive learning environment?
Our conclusions are, of course, empirical. But our experience is that
rather than the workshop being successful in spite of it taking place in
the woods, it was successful in big part thanks to it taking place there.
The participants were, in large part, separated from their regular lives
and routines. The power of this, in 2023, should not be underestimated:
no screens, no wifi, no traffic. The constant over stimulation of our
modern society had been replaced by the silence of nature. Our neverending urge to get a million things done was replaced by the simplicity
of fulfilling our most basic needs – food, sleep and community. Instead of
grey asphalt and cement, there were lush greens below a blue sky. The
northern summer gifted us, not only with natural light for many hours a
day, but also with a blazing sun that kept us warm and urged us to jump
in the lake. Does it sound idyllic? It was. The forest helped us create the
element of space that Cleese talks about as a necessity for playfulness
and creativity.
Conclusion
The conclusion drawn from our experience is that the existence of
open, non-judgmental space allows people to go further than they
thought they could, while confident that they would be validated for
their courage. It was clear to us that the dynamic of the group played
a big part here, and that the playful activities in combination with the
community living contributed to building support within the group as
well as a safe learning environment. Another conclusion is that nature
can be a significant factor in helping people slow down and get in
contact with themselves and their voices. There is a power in using
the soil beneath our feet as it was intended, as a solid foundation for
our existence.
Exercises
Kulning is a quite specific practice, and there is a cultural value in
passing on this technique and tradition. However, we also believe
that experimenting with kulning is a great way to explore the
possibilities of one’s voice and can therefore be a valuable tool
for anyone working with voice through for example singing or
theatre. Below we have summarised some information about how
we approached the kulning technique, as well as some examples of
exercises.
Practising kulning requires a particular voice technique and can
be quite straining on the vocal chords. We started each day with
voice and body warm-ups provided by our project partners from
the Roy Hart Centre. We found these an important factor in helping
participants relax, get comfortable and allow their voices to come
naturally rather than overworking their vocal chords. The exercises
also contributed to creating a playful and non-judgemental
atmosphere where participants could feel more comfortable in taking
risks with their voices. After the warm-ups we moved on to exercises
more specifically connected to kulning. These had several intentions:
But this wasn’t a vacation, it was a workshop. Our participants were there
to learn a new practice, not just to wind down in the woods. Somehow
we found that this slow pace of nature inspired a presence that aided
the group in their learning. This presence was further heightened by the
conscious choice to observe and interact with nature through games,
meditation and collecting plants for dyeing and printing. We wanted
our participants to draw inspiration from this presence to give life to
the kulning, writing and singing, in the same way the kullor did when
they were wandering the pastures for months on end. All of this in
combination with the community living created an atmosphere that was
safe and non- judgemental, which contributed further to the creative
confidence that Cleese mentions as one of the creative elements.
• to help participants find the right placement in the mouth for the
typical kulning sound
• to help participants get familiar with the typical tone modality of
kulning
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