I am a ritual singer

It became very clear to me, theoretically, two months ago. It became very clear to me, practically, on Saturday.

I am a ritual singer.

A ritual singer, as I understand it, does two things.

1. Holds group singing in rituals. Eg, Wassail songs in a mid-winter orchard blessing. Congregation singing to welcome the bride at a wedding. And so on. And, in doing so, helps to create a very special atmosphere.

2. Singing, usually improvising, usually with other musicians, to contribute to the atmosphere of a ritual. I did this for the first time, more or less, in a Sufi whirling workshop / ritual on Saturday.

source

People seemed to love it. I loved it. Singing as a gift to people who are active, doing something, going through something - going through something quite magical, even - contributing to the aliveness of a shared experience is for me so On It, in the same way that singing alone to a lot of people just sitting there listening isn't. Also, when you sing for ritual, it's not about you, it's about the experience of the people in the ritual. I'm really comfortable with that, in the way that I'm not at all comfortable with all the attention and fuss that's on you as a regular performing singer.

I hope I'll sing with the Sheikh again. He's a Dude. I'm a ritual singer. Done! Ha! :)

I still haven't figured out what ritual actually means, though, really...