From Noise to Music

Yesterday I had a great time presenting at Old Cabell Hall's Music Library as part of their "Making Noise" series.  I talked about my experience of learning to hear again anew with a cochlear implant (CI). Many people don't understand that it can be hard work to learn to hear again with a bionic device. I showed with powerpoint slides some of the aural rehab I did. Things like listening to NPR radio shows, going to CI forums, ESL (English as second language) websites, audio books.

Then I talked about what I did to regain music perception. I published an article that documents all of the things mentioned in The Hearing Journal.   I worked with a music teacher and friend, Aila Juvonen doing a series of ear training exercises. For someone like me though, ear training was more about creating new neural pathways and engaging other sensory input. We worked with tuning forks to enable me to feel the vibrations of frequencies of pitches. We also did some interval recognition exercises and sight singing. It was a challenge and also a lot of fun!

After my talk, I played some of my own songs. I hope to do more presentations like this. Thanks for coming by and reading! I hope your new year is going well so far.

Guitar Woman

Do you remember that old song by the 70's band Bread called, "Guitar Man?" It was a favorite song that describes a traveling guitar man who is always drifting to find another place to play.  Here are some of the words:

Then you listen to the music
And you like to sing along
You want to get the meaning
Out of each and ev'ry song
Then you find yourself a message
And some words to call your own
And take them home

This week found me playing my guitar in many different places and settings.

At my gym I played in the lobby so that those weary from workouts and errands could take a breath and sit and listen.  At the nursing homes for those with dementia, I played my "sundowning serenade" to help calm them as they got ready for bed. Today at a clubhouse in town, I played some instrumental tunes while others sat around a table making crafts and writing poems.

I watched to see their eyes light up with recognition when hearing the first notes of, "Here Comes the Sun" by the Beatles. For those needing something energetic, I like to play "Classical Gas."  There is a tune for all moods and I like to provide all different shades of color and feelings.  I like to sing too but playing guitar where my instrument is the singer is just as satisfying.

Pictured above is my beloved classical guitar made in 1984 by Richard Brune in Evanston, IL.  My cat Jasper could not resist getting into the picture.

Happy New Year!

Hi everyone! Happy New Year to one and all!  2014 was a pretty good year for my music endeavors and I thank all of you for your continued support. A lot of good things happened for me this past year that I summarize on my webpage at this link.  In the meantime,  I am really jazzed up about this new year ahead. I have some new music programs I will be doing that I'll be reporting here about to let you know how they turned out. In one project, I will be collaborating with an art teacher, bringing music to her room while the kids do expressive drawings to the melodies I play on my instruments.

For now I am enjoying a bit of a holiday before next week's new gigs begin. Something I really have fun doing is making what I call " sonic scrapbooks." I do that by going through some of the music I have of other composers and find motifs I like. I grab that motif and instead of learning the piece as a whole, I go to different musical places than they did in the piece. It is such fun to do but hard to describe. Imagine you have an interactive mystery book and at one point there is an action that is taken that will change the plot significantly. Sometimes you have had hints of this change to come, other times it takes you by surprise. You can wonder what would have happened if another thing _____ (fill in the blank) had happened instead. It would change the story.

This is what i like to do musically. I read a melodic passage on a page and instead of continuing to play it as written on the page, I go off in my own direction, in my imagination. I reinvent the piece and come back to the original motif later.

I find that as a working musician, it's important to continue to "play" and take an experimental approach to grow and continue to learn. 

The picture above was taken at UVA hospital lobby on Christmas day. I was playing holiday music on my guitar when a woman (pictured) approached saying she had planned to play the piano. So I suggested we play together and we did! Then a man came and sang with us and we made a fine, merry band. A nice way to ring out the old year.

I wish you all good health, happiness and success in the coming new year! Thank you for stopping by.

Christmastime is Here

Today is Christmas Day and so Merry Christmas to you, dear reader! I wanted to tell you about my day yesterday, on Christmas Eve. I went to work at the hospital and played for some people in ICU.  On my route, I went to check in on a patient I played for last week. When I arrived at his room, the nurse gave me the news he was going home!   I went in his room and there he was, all dressed with his coat on and his belongings all packed up and ready to go.   His wife stood by his side and I said, "Merry Christmas!"  Then I got out my guitar and started to sing, "Joy to the World" and his wife joined in. As we stood singing, my new friend began to cry tears of joy for going home on the holiday. We only had a few more minutes to visit before the hospital staff came to escort him to the parking lot.  He said, "when this is all over, I am going to call you up and invite you to come over and sing with us!"

Later, I was playing some holiday music on my guitar in the lobby when a man approached and asked if I also sang. He said he wanted to harmonize with me and so we sang a bunch of carols together. I loved how our voices blended and the people going by smiled as they listened. Then he sang a few by himself as I accompanied him on the guitar before he said he had to go to see his family up in the room he was visiting.

Just a couple of glimpses to show why I love to play on Christmas at the hospital. I also want to mention the many staff members who cheerfully looked on as I played and said they were also working today on Christmas Day. I plan to return today in hopes to brighten someone's holiday.
Merry Christmas, everyone!

Winter Solstice and the darkest days

Today is the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year. We are in the darkest time of year and it is a New Moon too. So if you live away from street lights, it's pretty dark out at night. I see it as a metaphor for this time of year too. With Christmas looming ahead, there is the pressure of shopping, family gatherings, parties and the like. So what happens if you are an introvert? Or of you don't like parties?  I have learned it is ok to be quiet amidst the noise and bustle.

I am reminded of something from a guitar class I took many years ago. There was an ensemble of guitarists that performed and with them onstage was someone standing there without a guitar. He did not speak or play a note of music. Later we were told he was "holding the silence."  How cool is that?  I'd like to have that job once in awhile.   To be a holder of silence amid the noise and busyness would be a nice gift to bring to the world, don't you think so?

These last few weeks though I have been bringing music to people in all kinds of places. Nursing homes, hospital, the gym, day care centers, homes. There is something extra special about this time of year too because most people think of it as a joyous time but I see a lot of sadness too. We are thinking of another  year gone by, people we have not seen or who have passed on. We forget that the solstice and Christmas time is also about sadness and not just joy. We can't have one without the other.

I will never forget I once worked for someone who said to me one day when i was sad, "I LOVE to be sad!!!" I thought it was so odd. And yet what a great attitude to have. Embrace life and full spectrum of color and experience.

Now to finish wrapping some presents. Hope you are enjoying the shortest day of the year. :)

The Twelve Daze of Christmas

Singing with groups can be such great fun and some days really stand out over others. Yesterday was such a day when I played at two adult day care centers and later a reception at the new Battle Building Children's Hospital at UVA. 

There is no better feeling than singing with a group who loves to sing. Christmas carols often inspire people who normally do not sing to join in. Everyone knows the words, even elderly or special needs who are non verbal.

Something that has made it challenging for me is that my friend Mary Gordon Hall and I have sung "Mixed Up Carols" for many years.  It's where you take the melody of a one song and sing the words of different carol to it. The problem is, sometimes I can't remember how the songs really go!

Yesterday I got a request to sing, "The Twelve Days of Christmas." This is one carol I haven't really sung regularly and it is a very tricky song to sing!  I was tongue tied many times and it was a good thing the staff was there to help me along!  We did have some good laughs and bringing the holiday cheer is what it is all about!

Pictured is the big Christmas tree at the new Children's hospital at UVA.  I played my solo guitar rendition of "The First Noel" among other holiday favorites. Such a great day and Merry Christmas everyone! 

Beer & Hymns bring festive cheer

 

Last night I attended a most unique and enjoyable event that takes place at Trinity Pub on the 1st Monday nights of the month across from the U.Va campus. "Beer and Hymns"   has been happening for 3 years and enjoys a pretty good attendance. Last night about 30 people gathered to sing Christmas hymns from the St. Mark Lutheran Church hymn books.  There is no better feeling that being in a room full of people who love to sing. Even better--who sing well! The harmonies that wove through the room were heavenly! I absolutely loved it. 

Here's another thing. You don't have to be a church goer to love to sing hymns. A friend of mine who sings in a sacred music ensemble said about the event, "I love to sing hymns, even as an atheist."  Hymns were written with group singing in mind to uplift those who sing and lift them up out of the mundane.  Singing hymns with a group makes you feel bathed in beautiful sounds that wash away daily concerns. It makes you feel, "Everything is right. Everything is going to be ok." 

We live in such time of suffering and conflict and darkness. Now with the holidays approaching, I am aware that many people become more depressed as the pressure to be happy and with family (where some do not have) looms ahead. One way to think about it is that all religious parables are about finding light within the darkest days. If you should find yourself feeling down at this time, then you are aligning yourself with all seekers who looked for the light out of the darkness. 

If you live in town, consider coming! Here is an NPR story about the local Beer & Hymns gatherings. Enjoy and happy singing!