GOALS
- Grow a community of activists who learn a protest repertoire and are ready to become song “leaders” wherever people gather for justice – inspiring everyone to sing along with the power of our collective voices and spirit.
- Compile a contemporary repertoire of protest music, including old favorites and new songs.
- Be a part of reviving a singing tradition in our social justice movements.
MEMBER COMMITMENTS
BVOCAL is for you if you’re ready to:
- Sing for justice!
- Show up for actions when you are able.
- Strive for musical quality but not perfection.
- Rehearse as often as needed to learn your part.
- Have a tough time holding a harmony part? No worries! We need lots of voices on melody. Rehearsals will help us raise our many voices in a mighty unison.
- Able to hold a harmony part on your own? You can learn any of the harmonies or even learn them all, in any octave, to give us the most flexibility for our rapid response teams.
STRUCTURE
Rehearsals
Rehearsals will be structured and disciplined, but also a place to have fun and build community. Join a rehearsal as often as you need to learn and refresh the repertoire. Rehearsal times and locations will vary. Practice recordings will also be available. Occasional longer workshops may also be offered.
THE MUSIC
Part of what will make BVOCAL successful is that, while our goal is to make the songs accessible to ALL, we still have musical standards.
- We are not performers, we are song leaders. Our job is to get everybody singing.
- We’ll sing some of the great old protest songs but will also build a more contemporary repertoire.
- Songs must be in a key such that the melody is accessible for both male and female voices. That requires being in a comfortable range in two octaves.
- We will choose songs that do not rely on instruments to sound interesting, powerful, and fun.
- Zipper songs, where key words or phrases can be easily customized, are especially suited to joining protests.
- Words must scan well: syllables and consonants need to fit into a compelling, singable rhythm.
- Fewer words, more repetition: While we will sometimes bring songsheets, a crowd is more likely to sing if they can quickly learn the words without having to hold a piece of paper (including BVOCAL members!).
- Notwithstanding the above, we may occasionally learn songs that fall outside the above guidelines, especially for flash mob actions that we initiate.
Every BVOCAL member is invited to propose songs to the Music Team. We want your ideas! Our goal is to build a protest repertoire that is cross-generational and cross-cultural.
POLITICAL ALIGNMENT
We are united by our shared commitment to human rights and resistance to the Trump agenda and the threat of fascism. This does not mean that we will agree on every issue, nor will we always agree on strategy. We believe that to succeed, the resistance requires ALL of us: a broad coalition that is building people power. Every person has a contribution to make. We strive to treat each other with love and respect, assume good intentions, and call each other in, not call each other out.
You get to choose which actions to join. If a protest does not align with your values, you are under no obligation to participate.
Every BVOCAL member is encouraged to seek out protests and other actions being organized around the state and propose them to the group. Our participation will depend on whether enough folks can join and whether a song leader and an event liaison are available.
Questions? Feel free to email Music Director Lisa Gallatin at activistartsboston@gmail.com.