Kindred Spirits and The Wayne Theatre

This morning I am pinching myself--did that really happen last night?  If I could bronze the evening and put it up on my mantel to always have, I'd love that. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to somehow save the evening in a jar like fresh rainwater--or maybe beautiful colored sand or even to wax it into a candle to burn forever?

The evening was a magical one for me playing at the beautiful Wayne Theatre in Waynesboro. The occasion was opening the show up for guitarist & composer extraordinaire, Michael DeLalla.   Perhaps my favorite song of the evening was our last song whereupon I played a Native American flute solo and sang harmony on the old beautiful song "Witchi Tai To".

I have known Michael for many years through my stint as a folk radio DJ at WTJU. We met last night for the first time in person. And yet it felt as though I have always known him. We talked like long lost kindred spirits, sharing stories of guitar classes, teachers, travels, adventures.

It was a rare gem of a night that I will always remember. 

Wishing you all  a night to remember of your own soon! Thanks for stopping by!

A funny night

Last night was a funny night.   Everyone was lined up in their wheelchairs in the hallway at the nursing home when I went to play. I usually serenade them and sing songs they request.  I never quite know what moods I will find them in or what music will be inspired to come out but that is all part of the challenge I like.

When I arrived at the home, Doris wheeled her chair up to me and started laughing.  I laughed along with her, even though I didn't know what we were laughing about. Of course, this got others laughing too but others got mad. "Go and put that chair away right now!" one of them scolded me. "We have to hurry now, he's leaving!" another said as if I were supposed to be going somewhere with her.  Doris just rolled her eyes and made a funny face and laughed again. I said, "you always make me laugh!" and she seemed to like that. She is the clown in the bunch for sure.

Finally we settled into singing some  songs, "Battle Hymn of the Republic", "This Little Light of Mine", "Que Sera, Sera", "Hey Good Lookin'" when suddenly one of the staff members started dancing up and down the hallway. It so stunned the residents, this seemed to encourage her to be even more rowdy. Then she started singing some kind of bluesy rock song and dancing and mimicking playing the guitar. Next she looked at me with a smile and pointed to my guitar, indicating for me to play. So, I started playing some bluesy chords and she sang and danced again. It was kind of crazy and totally unexpected from her and it made us laugh, although though some of the residents didn't quite know what to make of this.

A chaotic but fun evening and as always unpredictable. Something that makes this work fun for me.

Kind of like being back home (Sweet Home Chicago)

I grew up in a great neighborhood in Chicago called Uptown. It was two blocks from Lake Michigan  and near a park district (Margate) recreation center where I went as a child every day after school.  I attended tap and ballet, drama and art classes there. I believe this experience of being so immersed in the arts as a young girl had a major influence on me.

I don't often think of those days but there is a club house where I played today that reminds me somewhat of a place I'd imagine being in Chicago.  It has a real inner city feeling to it with people of all different ethnic and racial backgrounds.

Today was a typical summer afternoon at the clubhouse where folks sat in the cafe playing cards and relaxing. I got out my guitar and started singing songs like, "My Girl", "Lean on Me", "Stand by Me".

This led to a conversation about the old Motown songs and  I sang, "Love Child" by the Supremes and "Bernadette" by the Four Tops. Both songs are the kind that you have to belt out to do it justice and I was having fun imitating the singers I grew up hearing.  I got a lot of laughs as I sang those songs but I could see they were not laughing at me but they were enjoying the moment of reliving those songs with me.

Then I started singing, "House of the Rising Sun" and I made up my own words:

"There is a house in Charlottesville
they call the Blue Ridge Club House
and it's been the ruin of many poor girl
and me, I know I'm one"....

it goes on to tell the tale of the rummy card game and who was winning and losing. Another guy who was watching the game also made up a few verses. Another man gave me two sticks of gum and carried my guitar for me to my car when I was ready to leave.

Sometimes I've wondered,  "what if I stayed in Chicago?" and today the experience I had there made me have a taste of sweet home, Chicago again.

Skill vs Talent

Yesterday I worked at the hospital playing therapeutic guitar  music for patients in ICU. It is work I love to do. Several people commented on how soothing the music was. Then when I was finishing up on an ICU floor, a man approached me and said, "thank you for playing, it is nice to have a skill you can use like that. " 

I liked that he called it a skill. So many people it seems view music as a talent which implies to me a supernatural, God given gift that few have. I don't agree with this view. To me, it is a skill that is developed over years of hard work. At least, that is what it has been for me.

Consider the dictionary's definitions of the terms:

Skill Noun
    1.    The ability to do something well; expertise.
    2.    A particular ability.

Talent

1. A marked innate ability, as for artistic accomplishment.
2. Natural endowment or ability of a superior quality.

 I love that I have found a way to use my skills as a musician in a variety of ways that engage me on mental, physical, emotional and spiritual levels.  I'll close by sharing another favorite thing i've found about music--why teach music:

Amen! :)

Summer and the Goosebump Experience

There is a wonderful book that was made into a movie by Lily Tomlin & Jane Wagner called, "In Search of Intelligent Life in the Universe." In it, Lily plays many characters and my favorite is a bag lady named  Trudy who teaches her "space chums" about life here on Earth.

In the story, Trudy takes her space chums around to teach them about goosebumps. In one experience, Trudy takes them to a play and realizes that the space chums were watching the audience, not the play. This is what gave them the goosebumps. It is a humorous movie but also with a lot of wisdom. Here is an excerpt from the book:

(a letter from the space chums:) "Dear Trudy, thanks for making our stay here so jam-packed and fun-filled. Sorry to abort our mission -- it is not over, just temporarily scrapped. We have ordered to go to a higher bio-vibrational plane. Just wanted you to know, the neurochemical imprints of our cardiocortical experiences here on earth will remain with us always, but what we take with us into space that we cherish the most is 'goose bump' experience."

Yesterday I got the goosebumps more than a few times while singing with a group at a nursing home out in Crozet. We sat outside this time and there were twice the number of people than usual. The staff planned a special summer party and everyone was served fresh strawberry shortcake as we sang.

Many times in singing with a group, it is often just a few who really sing and others mouth the words or don't sing at all. But yesterday--everyone sang!  It was such a wonderful thing to hear and see. Smiling faces and harmonious voices blending together. The songs that gave me the goosebumps were, "Summertime", "As Time Goes By", "Autumn Leaves". Partly because in the group is a former Broadway singer and wow, she still has a great voice.

To me getting the goosebumps means something magical is happening.
Have you had the goosebump experience lately?

PS the photo was taken on the way home, a lovely summer afternoon. Happy 1st day of summer!

Today makes tomorrow

Over the years I have learned to speak Alzheimer's, or at least to be able to have conversations that do not lead to frustration. In my early attempts to talk with someone with this disease, I made the mistake of trying to understand them in a logical way. I since have learned that many times they do not make logical sense but if I listened to the sentiment behind their words, I could have a meaningful exchange with them.

Last night was an example of improvising with this non-linear language at the nursing home where I play each Wednesday evening.  There is Darlene, who always seems to talk in codes as if she and I share a secret that I haven't been told. "It is time now for--you know what I mean. Am I right?" she says while smiling with an air of conspiracy.  "Well, you usually are right about that kind of thing." I say, hoping that is the right answer.  Darlene nods and continues down the hallway in her wheelchair.

When I told Marion I was glad she moved there as I enjoyed seeing her company, she said, "oh I am not really here. I need to tell you that I won't be here tomorrow. Today makes tomorrow."  I said, "Oh ok,  well then if you are still here I will see you next time."

In between these snippets of conversation we sang songs, "Billy Boy", "I'll Fly Away," Battle Hymn of the Republic (practice for 4th of July), "Down by the Riverside", "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot".
It is a moment by moment exchange and when I leave them, they reach for my hand and thank me for coming by.
I sure enjoy them and I never know what each time will bring.

"How you play guitar is how you live your life"

I woke up in the middle of the night with the words in my head, "how you play the guitar is how you live your life." I was so struck by this groggy middle-of-the-night thought that I made a note on my iPhone to blog about it. So here goes.

When I reflected on this idea this morning here are some thoughts that came up.

I can say that each morning I get up by 7:00 and after some coffee and reading, I start my guitar practice. I first warm up with technical exercises, then I review current repertoire. Next I work on my most difficult pieces to clean them up. Sometimes after playing a piece for many years, I am really playing by muscle memory and I'm on auto pilot.  Which sometimes means I have allowed places to slacken. A missed harmonic, a sloppy chord transition, a lackluster performance. Each day I address these ideas. I have to say some pieces have improved recently, which I am happy about!

I work to play with enough strength in my touch to produce a good tone but without tension and rigidity. I prefer to play standing up. I practice often without my hearing aids. I walk around the house playing guitar. I try to play the same pieces over and over again as if I am playing them for the first time.

I continue to learn things about myself through my guitar playing.  I play for a local Taize service and this past winter I recorded us and I heard how much I tend to rush ahead.  In examining this tendency, the rushing was not about "getting it over with"  as one might think of rushing in life. It was about the fact that I was so excited about this beautiful piece that I couldn't wait to show the congregation the surprises it held.  A unique chord, a majestic cadence, a haunting melody.

Upon listening to myself rushing in the music, I became like the child I was who could not keep a secret. When I found a beautiful place in nature to think, I had to find someone to show it to. When I found a great passage in a book, I had to read it to someone. When I learned a secret, I had to tell it.

 I realized upon hearing the recording of my rushing ahead of others that there is a lot to be said about gentle restraint and allowing others to find their own joys in what they hear, see, and feel.

I love learning new music and have several music friends I bounce things off of. I love to expand my horizons.
These are things I learn about how I play guitar and how I live my life.