Empedocles was a Greek scholar, doctor, and philosopher born around 495 BC. According to Empedocles, there were four basic elements from which all the structures of the world were formed: earth, air, fire, and water.
Although the atomic theory later replaced the concept of elements, earth, air, fire, and water still serve as fundamental components in our everyday understanding. The characteristics of these elements are described by opposites—dry/wet and cold/hot—which reflect our experience of the world.

Earth
Earth is the foundation, stable and solid. In Nature Singing, earth exercises strengthen our interaction with our body and surroundings.

Air
Air is represented by breath, scents, and movement in nature: wind, vibrations, clouds, and birds flying in the sky.

Fire
Fire is energy, an internal and external dialogue between nature and humans or between humans themselves. It is listening, questions and answers, calls, conversations, and singing together.

Water
Water flows and unites. It brings us closer or pushes us away. By the water, we relax by following both the sound and movement of the water. Water carries our calls and strengthens our voices in nature. Water supports us as we float, carrying our thoughts to the ends of the earth.

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Earth Exercise

Find a tree that feels sturdy and safe, with a trunk that has no branches at your height. Lean your back against the tree. Let your knees bend slightly so that you feel the trunk along your entire back and the back of your head. If you like, you can raise one leg and place it on your knee. Lean against the tree and close your eyes. Place your hand on your chest and feel the breath under your hand. Let the tree support your body, mind, and spirit. It can take in the joys and sorrows of the week, and you can safely give yourself permission to rest for a moment and just relax against the tree. On the exhale, let the humming come and vibrate through your body. You can close your lips and hum with the letter “m”: mm… or you can open your lips and use vowels: oo… oh… aa… Over eighty percent of us is water, which vibrates under the influence of sound, and much of wood is water too. Let the vibration be felt both in your own body and through your back on the tree trunk. Higher sounds above, lower sounds below. I vibrate, therefore I am.

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Air Exercise

On a windy day, it’s wonderful to stop for a moment and turn your gaze to the swaying treetops. Feel how your feet root into the ground, and your torso becomes like the trunk of a tree, strong but flexible. Let your upper body sway, and your arms swing with the treetops in the wind. Let your breath whistle with the wind, let the wind come into your body, rocking you from head to toe. Your feet are firmly grounded. Shhhhhhhh… Continue for a moment, and then shift from the whistling to humming, shhhuuuu-uuuu-uuuu… shhhuuuuu-uuuu-uuuu… Let the movement gradually subside, your gaze fall, your body calm. Continue your journey when you feel ready.

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Fire Exercise

The next time you are in the forest, listen to the soundscape and its different sounds. Imagine that there is a musical conversation happening in the forest. The rustling of the wind whispers to the blackbird, the loon sings its protest from the lake, and the bee hums merrily around the cloudberry blooms. The forest is conversing, and your voice is part of that conversation. You can hum your response to the wind, the birds, or the bee, call to the forest echoing from the other side of the lake, or sing a song for yourself or for the whole forest. Your voice belongs to nature as it always has.

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Water Exercise

Stand by the shore and direct your gaze towards the open water. Follow the movement of the waves, letting the motion be felt inside your body as well. Let your body sway with the movement and allow your voice to hum along with the waves.

Korean P’ansori Singing
In the traditional Korean system, the student of song lived in the teacher’s home as a family member, studying and sometimes helping with household chores. When the student had learned as much as possible, or if the teacher could no longer teach for reasons such as illness, the student would move to another teacher to learn more songs or refine their skills. After years of study, the student would then continue intensive training for several months in a secluded location or hermitage – often an expansion of a Buddhist temple – isolating themselves from the outside world. This was called san kongbuksi (studying on the mountain), t’ogul sori kongbua (song study in the cave), or paegil kongbu (studying a hundred days). This intense period of self-training was an important commitment before the student could become a true singer. The singer might train near a waterfall, if there was one, singing along with the sound of the water.
It was believed that if a singer’s voice could carry over the noise of the water, the voice’s volume and dynamics had reached an acceptable standard.

Source: UM, HAEKYUNG (2013). Korean Musical Drama: P’ansori and the Making of Tradition in Modernity (SOAS Musicology Series). Taylor and Francis.