I have been thinking about how ALL music used to be "live" until the technological revolution of recording and broadcasting changed our world. In another thread, I commented on the lives of my homesteading grandparents, and the value of everyone making music for their own entertainment. Songs were song while weaving, spinning, rocking a baby, working in the field, milking the cow, playing a game, dancing... singing was a part of every day activities. I recall being in Veracruz, Mexico, and listening to how easily the people everywhere would sing and whistle as they went about their work. It is hard to imagine cubicles in an office today, with people "prairie dogging" their heads up to say "one more time on the chorus" as everyone sings together at their desks. Life has changed, so music doesn't naturally come to us as a "live" experience. We plug into the same performance done by a professional, usually enhanced by a studio, and have forgotten that as singers, our whole bodies are our instrument. We've gained in perfecting the polished performance, but we have lost the free spirit to sing throughout our own daily lives. I am grateful for the rich store of recordings that exist from all over the world, but I feel the reason people are searching for "song circles" is because we have lost that freedom of expression we used to have in singing at work, home, and play. Alice