A Live More Lightly Workshop can be a community building experience for any group no matter what their level of singing experience. The song is designed to be a participatory affirmation of individual commitment to make a change in one’s personal life that will reduce their use of planetary resources.

Although the song, Live More Lightly, is based on the composer’s experience as a child in the gospel church there is no religious or other partisan content. The important issue is the feeling of group support and endorsement of the positive change and the fact that the other people in the group are making their own pledge.

In the gospel church there is a tradition of testifying in front of the congregation of some lifestyle choice that the individual has been inspired to change. Often, negative choices such as smoking, drinking or gambling are renounced, but many times the person is pledging to make a positive change in their lives. This concept of testimony as a vehicle for positive change can be applied to making lifestyle changes that reduce each individual’s impact on planetary resources. Each individual may feel that their contribution is not significant, but when it is combined with other pledges, then the impact can add up to a major change.

Live More Lightly,

is designed to go beyond the usual group singing of pre-written material to allow each person the opportunity to create their own statement to sing (or say) as part of the music workshop. The facilitator for the group will provide many examples of possible environmental choices and explain the benefits. These are very simple, easy to accomplish ideas such as, “Turn off the water while I brush my teeth”, “Turn off the light when no one’s in the room” or “Take a cloth bag when I go to shop”.

In longer workshops, the facilitator helps to organize the personal statement into rhythmic form that rhymes with one other participant’s statement to make a couplet. Musical education can be integrated into the workshop format to a greater or lesser degree depending on time constraints. Each statement, which may be spoken or sung, is followed by the response from the group “Live more lightly”.

The song can be sung as part of the workshop within the group or it can be arranged and rehearsed for a public performance. The workshop will vary in length and complexity depending on the amount of personalization that the group wants to achieve.

The body of the song can be learned easily and sung by those members of the group who are wish to sing. Choirs, or other groups who are interested in learning a more complex arrangement may use the Second Edition of the book after the workshop to learn professional arrangements prepared by Eric Hominick and other arrangers (estimated publication date April 2009).The usual compositional rules are stretched within this piece as most of the song is composed, but the essential testimonial choruses are developed during the workshop event. The group may learn the piece from music written by Victoria, add their testimonies, rehearse, and then give a performance. Although this song is available as a book and DVD of written musical arrangements and instructions, (estimated publication November 2008) — it is meant to be personalized by each group to support and encourage each person to make a difference in their own lives.