Free Song

Free song is music that expresses our feelings without worrying about defining them. That is a very freeing art, something that can vent our secrets without revealing exactly what they are. When we were small, first exploring the magic of song before we could even speak clearly, all of us did free song. Then, as we grew up, we felt we should learn other people's tunes, sing oither people's words, that seemed to touch on what we wanted to express about ourselves.

As someone who has sung many people's songs, I have to say that nothing is as satisfying as singing one's own song, and the best song is always the song that comes our of what we feel in any given moment.

Free song uses free language, sometimes properly called glossalalia, sometimes thought of as "speaking in tongues" - unknown language that adds texture to the music without trying to define it. Some people try to find meaning in the words, but that's not this language's job - free language is supposed to leave us free to just feel what is going on in the usic in our own individual ways.

Free song also allows a singer to let go of fears of getting the song "wrong" - a sense of perfection music really doesn't need in order to be beautiful. Freesongs simply flow out of us, to be shared with others without boundaries, and without expectations.

Think of the following as a poem. Give it meaning as you sound out the syllables, in your own way. If you feel comfortable, give it your own tune. You've begun to express yourself with free song.

Di faren solu im cray tim lie

jil malen tu sita lasen gayn

Fahn may fahn seel fahn toren sai

mayt veel faer seel an layden sane.

I have used free song not only to express my self and feelings, but as a way of painting portirats of the energy and feelings I feel from other people. This has been expressed most clearly in freesongs I've made such as "Dikran" and "Freesong for Seegar," which can be heard at my Reverbnation store, through the link at the bottom of this page..  The term I've given for these songs is simply freesong, written as one word. This expresses the unity between freedom and the music.

 You can read more about how to create with free song, or improvisation, by reading Stephen Nachmanovitch's excellent book, Free Play.

Sandra Lynn Sparks on Reverbnation
In addition to the tracks available on my album, Speruoc, I am adding new freesongs as mp3 downloads on a regular basis. Freesong is my form of daily meditation as well as my preferred form of song. The new freesong recordings are all live, and are available, along with other traditional and original music, in my Reverbnation Store.