“Living life as an artist is a practice. You are either engaging in the practice or you're not.” - Rick Rubin
A Year of Song
A Personal Exploration of Voice, Songwriting, and Walking the Creative Path
Thank you for being here!
If you're reading this page, chances are you love to sing, or you long to sing regularly. Perhaps you're curious about songwriting, and have even written a song or two (or many!). Maybe you're fairly new to claiming your singing voice and have never written a line of poetry, let alone a song. No matter where you are in your singing and songwriting journey, you are welcome!
Pulling a song from the ether is profoundly nourishing medicine for the spirit. A song can be so many things-- a celebration of the natural world, a power anthem, a story, a prayer, an expression of love or pain. They can also be like a sticky note for the bathroom mirror, giving us a mantra for whatever reminders we need for self-love or how we want to walk in the world. Songwriting offers catharsis for emotions that need to move through, and gives us an outlet for personal expression and creativity.
Every human walks with creativity every day, and because our personal expression is unique, each of us will have a different relationship with songwriting. I'm passionate about guiding people in discovering and honing their own vocal power and songwriting gifts, through a variety of practices and exercises. That's why I'm here!
This in-person online journey might be just what you're looking for if you:
~ love to sing
~ long to unlock (the fuller power of) your singing voice
~ enjoy being held in supportive community
~ want to carve out more space in your life for personal creativity
~ would like to strengthen your voice, energetically, emotionally and/or physically
~ feel the call to write songs of your own
~ are looking for tools to hone your song-channeling skills
~ are seeking a community circle for support and accountability in your poetic, songwriting and other creative pursuits
~ are open to weaving nature connection practices into your learning experience
~ want singing and songwriting to be a regular part of your life rhythm and creative routine
~ are excited about where the journey will lead your songwriting after a year of focused intention
What to Expect...
Simply put, A Year of Song involves a weekly group video call, accompanying take-home exercises, and access to our community forum on WhatsApp. You'll also receive a recording of our meetings in a re-cap email each week.
Weekly Call
The group will meet one evening every week, for 75-90 minutes. Tentatively, this will be TUESDAYS, 7-8:30pm EST. Briefly, the call will include bringing our hearts and minds together, an opportunity for each person to share about discoveries and creations from last week's focus and take-home, a keynote idea/theme for the current week given by Kate or an occasional special guest (see below for a list of example topics), and self-directed take-home invitations.
The theme of each call will be aligned with seasonal energies, and the emerging thread of our collective song journey evolution. The pace will flow according to the group's needs, which will organically emerge as we spend time together. It will be a co-creative process.
Take-Home Time Commitment
The take-home invitations and exercises offered each week will require 30 minutes to 3 hours (or more) of your time between sessions, depending on the theme, your personal time-commitment availability and creative pace/process.
Community Forum/Group Chat
A group chat on WhatsApp will be created after our first meeting in January, so that we can be in touch throughout the week with any questions or insights or shares we may have in between our weekly sessions. Participating in this chat is an optional opportunity to enrich your learning experience with more conversation around what's up for you, and witnessing others in their process.
Optional: One-on-One mentoring
If you would like to add one-on-one mentoring from Kate to this experience for deeper immersion, please mention that when you register by email at katesutherlandmusic@gmail.com. We can set up weekly or monthly calls to augment your journey.
“True alchemy lies in this formula: your memory and your senses are but the nourishment of your creative impulse. ” - Arthur Rimbaud
Themes We'll Explore & Discover
Over the course of our year together, we'll cover many of the following topics:
~ Finding our True Voice
~ How to Listen for Songs
~ The Gifts of Intuition for Songwriting
~ Creativity as a Way of Being
~ Frameworks for Song Catching
~ Improvisation
~ Tuning into Nature's Rhythms
~ Building Harmonies and Song Layers
~ Courting Your Muse/Inspiration
~ Poetry and Lyrics
~ Befriending Blockages
~ Song Heartbeat & Rhythm
~ Opening the Song Channel
~ Guided Meditations
~ Elemental Wisdom and Teachings
~ And more....
As we journey together in creativity, new topics may emerge, and/or we may linger longer in places that feel charged with vital lessons and growth. I leave room to be guided by the inspirations and needs of our unique group dynamic.