The Music Man

I hope everyone had a wonderful summer... I did... and as usual I did not get everything done I planned... with all the changes in the world... the summer flying by is not one of them... I can't believe this is my seventh year writing... Thank you for joining me and sharing your thoughts and insights...

I said in a previous entry that dancing is one of the most important aspects of my life and who I am as person today... but there would be no dancing without music... the arts, theatre, athletics, travel, reading and education have been enormous contributors... but music has always been at the heart of everything I have ever done and central to most of my thoughts, dreams and ambitions...

 I remember listening to music and memorizing words and singing along before I could read and write ... when I was eight I started taking piano lessons once a week from a woman named Mrs. Parks (I forgot her first name)... when I was twelve I started taking guitar lessons from a woman named Mary Lou (I forgot her last name) They each started me in the direction of first learning how to read music. Music is like learning to read and speak a new language so so you start with the basics and grow from there... they both stressed that music is essentially any 12 notes between 12 octaves... the music or the song is how you interpret those 12 notes. ... and doing drills ...I can still hear some of those cords, scales and progression drills in my head... 

 I've had arguments until I'm blue in the face debating people who learn to play a musical instrument by listening and repeating without reading music and understanding music theory... and my stance remains... you can speak a language but if you can't read or write that language... you are essentially illiterate... and I still feel that way... but with time I'm willing to say... as long as you have music in your life...that's the most important thing...  but I digress...Some of the things we started with in my musical education were...

 they each  taught me about pitch and rhythm, but on the guitar learning and really understanding the frets and position markers and picks vs fingering... on the piano learning the keyboard how to use the pedals to enrich the sound... and playing drills for octaves.

And intervals lead to understanding music theory...

 and on the guitar...the relationship of the strings to the frets to the fingerboard and understanding picking and strumming... with each teacher and each instrument I took their advice and practiced every day... it's the only way you will get better at anything...and I did get better at both. By the time I started high school I was intermediate at both (But sight reading for me has been and continues to be an issue)

Here is the basic reason knowing how to read music and understanding music theory are so important...

...it was here that I took a step back and started voice lessons... with my music background I was not starting from scratch but had to learn that my vocal cords were an instrument...Mr. Peterson (I actually do remember his first name) and the piano accompanist (Marcia) worked with me two years and in that time I made remarkable progress vocally... and learned that it helped to go back to the piano and the guitar to cross train for lack of  better words...I stayed in the music department vocally but moved into the theatre department... I found a home in both... but what I really noticed particularly in the music department (and in particular the band people) is that many people who were shy, self conscious and lacking confidence and self-esteem in traditional class rooms became confident and had their voices (sometimes literally ) being heard for the first time (it breaks my heart that the arts and physical education are among the first to be cut from curriculum because they offer so much that is not available in the core program such as building friendships, working as a team and expressing themselves by connecting with themselves and with others)... it was during a short break in a voice lesson one day and the accompanist turned to me and said something I've never forgotten... "your vocal work reveals who you really are... your eyes read the music and your heart sings the song!"... from here I took a little sabbatical from music and devoted most all of my non-academic time to diving and skiing! It's really important to know when you have to step away and not split your focus; and equally important to know when to go back and put the pieces together again... during all of this the music always played in my head while working on those skills and focusing most of my attention on athletic pursuits... but I still sat down at a piano or picked up a guitar  whenever I had a chance and gave daily vocal concerts in the shower... and I still play music in my head on every diving board and ski slope.

When I got to college I found my way back to the music and theatre departments and all my friends were there... new people in another city but it seemed like we had been life long friends  from the first day... it was here that things became much, much more competitive... because there was much more at stake now... in four years I became a more accomplished singer and advanced to become an excellent pianist ...I still picked up my guitar to unwind... truth be told I still do. I spent so much time in practice rooms alone... I think it's the reason I feel comfortable being alone and with music and my thoughts... because it was in those small rooms that the some of the things that were simply noise inside of me turned into music... and many ofthe words I had difficulty expressing became lyrics.

During college I learned the music never gets any easier... I just got better... but even so...

or perhaps this is more accurate..

This is where my knowledge of music started to include...

Here is something that even if you don't read music... if you've seen the movie or heard the song you should be able to read this...

But on a positive note...the things that I struggled with then I sometimes use to warm up now...What most people don't realize is that music is one of the few activities that involve using the whole brain

Something that my voice coach told me relatively recently (I still took weekly voice lessons up until  the pandemic shutting everything down) after a strenuous hour... "Art is the way to decorate empty spaces... but this music and your voice is how you can decorate silence!" I think about these words every time I play or sing (I've continued my vocal work alone since stopping weekly classes... I don't recommend it over having a coach... but it's better than stopping all together... In all these years there have been so many sheets of music and so many songs... I said this in an earlier installment but it bears repeating... sometimes it's not that the song or the music is so emotional... but the images in your mind and the feeling in your heart about people and events when you hear it...whenever I've played or sang in a venue that lets the audience request songs... it's because it means something important to them whether it's bringing back the memory of someone or they way they used to feel... so I never disparage any request...  There are certain special songs when I hear them I see and hear someone who is or was special in my life and what life was like when I first head it... we all have those songs on our internal playlist... I honestly think music imprints itself on our brain unlike anything else! Of the things I've considered recently from the music and vocal teachers and coaches... they all did a few things alike..

• They took the time to get me set up and comfortable and do a warm up.
• They taught me how to navigate music by measures and lines and how to break it down to understand it and replay it...(sometimes several times)
• They watched and listened and gave constructive criticism and notes.
• When I just could not get to something for whatever reasons... they demonstrated it step by step and note by note.
• We took constructive breaks to walk away for a few minutes and come back to a task calm and with a clear head or new insight into the material.

I've tried to bring all of this into my everyday life and to every practice and performance. Bringing music into everything in my every day life is one of the things I am the most proud of accomplishing...

I've never in every practice or performance lost track of knowing that I'm only a half step away from the right note...and away from music we are always just one note or one word away  from making a beautiful impact whether to a song or to someones life. Music is one of the most powerful instruments to the human spirit... it can transcend beyond language and age and go straight to the heart and mind.

Of all the things that have happened on the outside in the world that have sometimes deeply effected me emotionally and/or physically... I've always been able to keep playing or singing my song... and I've enjoyed every note. So if I can give you any advice whether you sing or play an instrument... we all have music inside of us... Don't die with your music still inside of you... let it out and enjoy every note. Music is what feelings sound like! One major bonus is that I'm very popular at parties if there is a piano.

Often during difficult or confusing times I play music or I sing to help me through it to the other side...

In closing... I can't speak highly enough about music therapy...The benefits include but are not limited to... music can help repair brain damage and restore memory loss.

Thanks for reading... see you next month! I'll be talking a little about the elements involved in  writing music and lyrics.