Sing Thing
Community SubscriberSing Thing is an ongoing, family-oriented group for everyone who likes to sing. It is an opportunity to share a musical experience with your children and to meet other families who enjoy making music. We include two-parent families, single-parent families, couples, and single adults (children should be at least five years old). We don’t use song sheets and no musical experience is necessary. We sing for fun and relaxation—period!
Meeting seasonally, from October through May every year, we learn rounds, part-singing, songs in a variety of languages from a variety of cultures, sea shanteys, work songs, and songs that are just plain fun to sing.
Our family members have long participated in Sing Thing with Sandi Morey.
She teaches traditional songs to people of all ages. (Kids should be able to sit still for an hour.)
Material includes sea chanteys, uncomplicated songs in international languages, rounds. I found that my singing voice improved a lot even though i just do it for fun.
Sessions are Thursdays at 7:30 p.m = 8:30 p.m., starting the first week of October, at her house in Oakland, in the Dimond District, on Laguna Avenue near MacArthur Boulevard. (510) 482-1833
If you are looking for a place to sing together with others, feel your spirit lifted, and find hope in the world, I highly recommend Sing Thing! My daughters and I have been attending for almost five years now. Pre-pandemic, we sat around Sandi's living room. Now, we connect on Zoom. You'll learn some wonderful music, from protest songs to beautiful rounds to rousing sea shanties, and you'll meet some good people along the way. Sing Thing is good for the heart and soul.
Our kids are not the only ones who started Sing Thing when they were very small and have continued (enthusiastically!) as adults.
Sandi Morey, the teacher, is a unique and precious jewel. Her mentor was Pete Seeger, a friend of her parents, back in the day. Sandi teaches fun, authentic traditional songs such as sea chanteys ("Santiano", "Shoals of Herring", "Paddy Lay Back"), Gold Rush songs (" Can't Stay In these Diggins', Few Days") and international songs from "Volga Boatman" to the Camaroonian soccer song "Jongo"; and "Rocky Road to Dublin". And the Indian anthem "Ragaputi Raga". And American Indigenous music! Lead Belly and Woody Guthrie songs. Most are in English, but some are in other languages, always fun and accessible.
Whether it is in-person sessions in Oakland and Berkeley or COVID-era Zoom format, Sing Thing provides anopportunity to learn these wonderful songs that might otherwise be forgotten in today's technological, anxiety-ridden world.
A\SaNS
I recommend you give SingThing a try. We meet weekly in either Albany or Oakland (you chose which location is better for you.) Sandi Morrey teaches songs for the first 45 minutes then there are 15 minutes of requests in which any song previously taught can be requested and sung. Sandi brings a variety of music from abound the world and from centuries old to very recent. Your daughter won't learn to read music there as Sandi does not use song sheets. She will learn to attend to pitch and rhythm and to hold her own part. It will teach her that the primary purpose of music is enjoyment, not performance. You will gain a dedicated hour to sing together each week and a great repertoire of songs to sing together anytime the spirit moves you. Here's the link to her website if you'd like to learn more. http://www.sandimorey.com/. First session is free, then a reasonable monthly fee based on family size. Come check us out.
I've been going to a singing group with my family for several years and highly recommend it as a way to learn a family repertoire, enjoy singing, learn about folk songs from around the world and enjoy the company of other adults and kids. Sing Thing (http://sandimorey.com) is held at a home in Albany on Wednesdays from 7:30-8:30, or in Oakland on Thursdays from 7:30-8:30. It's 'fireside singing' with folk songs, rounds, sea shanties. See the Sandi's web site for more info.
Archived Q&A and Reviews
Dec 2013
We have had many years of fun with Sing Thing, Sandi Morey's casual singing group. It meets at her home in the Dimond district on Thursday evening 7:30 - 8:30 p.m. In the summer, a more expanded six-week version called Summer Sing which is limited to adults, features more challenging material, and goes for 1.5 - 2 hours. For the regular Sing Thing sessions (October - May), Sandi's mission is to teach traditional songs to children and adults. She trained with Pete Seeger and was part of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. We sing sea chanteys, regional U.S. folk songs, European songs, rounds, Hawaiian material, and sometimes exotica like Balkan, Brazilian, African, Japanese. Sandi has a beautiful voice and plays guitar, 'ukulele, and percussion. She charges $30 for individual adults, $30-$37 per month for families. Call her at 482-1833 to inquire. Amelia
For 15 years, I've been part of a wonderful casual singing group that sings folk songs, ballads, rounds, shanteys, all kinds of music, from all around the world. It's run by Sandi Morey (it's her business, so there's a fee, but it's very reasonable). She's been doing this for 39 years, and has many, many loyal participants. Adults on their own and families with kids are welcome. There is an Oakland location that meets weekly on Thursdays from October through May that's probably the closest one to you (it meets in Sandi's house), and a North Berkeley location that meets on Wednesdays. It's a wonderful activity--people really love this! You can look at Sandi's website, http://www.sandimorey.com, and also give Sandi a call--she'll give you more information. She invites newcomers to a first session at no charge, so you can check it out. I hope you give it a try--it's really fun! enthusiastic
Oct 2011
RE: Seeking for Mother/daughter things to do
Have fun! Jennifer
Sept 2011
Check out Sandi Morey's SingThing. It's a group that meets Wed nights in Berkeley and Thursday nights in Oakland and just sings, not for performance, but for fun. Sea Shanteys are indeed part of the repertoire, as are rounds and folk songs and ballads and all manner of thing. It's a family sing, so if your daughter is old enough, she can come too. My son and I participated from the time he was in 1st grade until he hit middle school, when he stopped being into it and the scheduling got too hard. One of the nicest things about it though is that your family -- and friends if you bring them -- will know LOTS of songs that you can sing together at campfires, on car rides, etc. http://sandimorey.com/ Dashka
Try SingThing, a family based sing-along, in a private home. Here's the link http://sandimorey.com/ love to sing
August 2005
RE: Music class for 4 year old
I highly, HIGHLY recommend Sandi Morey's group Sing Thing for your child and your family. My family has been attending Sing Thing for almost 2 years, and it has been a wonderful family event for us. My children (now 4 and 6) get in their pajamas early in anticipation of singing, but also of seeing Sandi, her husband Shim, and the many warm people at Sing Thing---some of whom have been singing with Sandi since 1975 when she first started the group!!!
Sing Thing is a weekly family-oriented group for anyone who enjoys singing, and is a great opportunity to meet other families who enjoy making music. No musical experience is necessary. In Sing Thing, we learn rounds, part-singing, songs in a variety of languages from a variety of cultures, sea shanteys, work songs, and songs that are REALLY fun to sing. My family now has a repetoire of rich songs that we can sing together as a family, and my children have taken great leaps in both their musical interests and abilities.
Sing Thing has ended for the school year, but will resume again in October of this year. There are two nights of Sing Thing, one in Oakland on Tuesday 7:30-8:30PM, and one in Albany on Wednesday, 7:30-8:30PM. For more information, see www.sandimorey.com :-)
Parent Reviews
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