The Joy of Self-Expression

Self-expression is a wonderful thing. Recently, I had the honor of teaching an expressive art and music lesson to 4th grade classrooms. It was such a joy to watch the kids' creativity come to life in our collaboration.

Part of the lesson was to show that music & art have a lot in common. One element we focused on was line.  I explained that just as when artists draw lines that can go up, down, spiral, wavy, etc--I can do the same with a melody line.  So, while I played my Native American flute, the kids listened to the shape of the melodic line I did and interpreted that in lines on their art piece.

The next connection of music and art we talked about was color. I told the kids that when I play the guitar,  I can produce many different moods and shades of expression based on chords I play. Those of you who know music -consider the difference between a C major chord and C diminished chord. Quite a different color and mood!  How would this be illustrated with color? This is what the kids did as they listened to my guitar playing and chose their colors from what they heard.

Check out their beautiful work in the picture above!  Recently, I wanted to have a group of kids play an improvised song for a recital but I was told it would not be enjoyable for the audience to hear a song that was not recognizable. I thought that was a limiting way to view it and as you can see from above what joy can happen to allow self-expression. It is a good feeling to see their work and we all just made it up in the moment! 

Waltzing through Winter

One, two, three, one, two, three...that's the rhythm of the waltz. The rhythm of my life the last few weeks as I prepare music for some spring weddings.  The waltz dance is one of the most common dance forms but here is something really interesting I read about them waltzes: "The waltz isn't just a dance. It caused a social revolution when it first became popular in Vienna in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. "You must understand that in those days, in the 19th century, it was one of the first dances where dancers were allowed to hold each other close. " Back then it was very provocative!

Maybe that is what is making me feel obsessed with playing these simple but lovely melodies.  I am drawn to the social revolution in music. Growing up in the tumultuous 60s, that makes sense. But not only that, the music is so pretty.  Listen to this haunting Swedish waltz, "Josefin's Dopvals" played on the Nykelharpa.  

Then there is the Irish Waltz, "If Ever You Were Mine."  Can you blame me for playing these tunes over and over again? These tunes stay with me all day. There is something so comforting about simple melodies and music that is intended to be danced to.  I've always loved music that serves some kind of purpose--that is not just ornamental or only for entertainment. It serves to move people --physically, emotionally and socially as in the revolution!

That's where I've been lately.  Have you danced a waltz lately? My cat Jasper likes for me to waltz with him. One, two, three.. here I go again.

Old McLoopy Had a Song

The past few weeks I had a lot of fun teaching a new class at Cville Therapeutic Recreation called, "Sound Journey Meditation." The class comprised of two different ways to be with music. In the beginning I led the class through a deep  music listening meditation. I improvised on my Native American flute and guitar while everyone listened quietly. We all felt more calm and relaxed after that  and then began the next part of the class which was to energize. We did lots of fun things for this!

Last week for instance, I did some looped recordings of us singing a few songs.  We did a funny arrangement of Old McDonald. Before we sang it,  I asked everyone to name their favorite animal. Then I got out my iPad looping recording app (Everyday Looper) and had us record the line, "Old McDonald had a farm" over and over. While this looped, I had us all record on the next track the sounds of our favorite animals all at once. You could hear, "with a roar roar here," "meow meow", "neigh neigh, " "ruff ruff, " and you get the idea. While those two phrases looped, we sang, "eieio, eieio, eieio" over and over. The result was hilarious!

Another time we improvised a happy song. That is, I showed the class what kind of chords on guitar and rhythms would best create a happy mood. Next we selected from index cards one word we could use to express this feeling (it was either, "ah," "ooh," "oo, " etc) Then I hit the recorder button and we sang and improvised for a few minutes. Afterwards, I played our creation back for us to see if we did make a song that made us happy to listen to. Yes indeed! :)

We also played our percussion instruments and played follow the leader, call and response and other games. It was a lot of fun!

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!