Now that September is here again, not only are we getting ready for another school year and looking forward to the future, we are also taking a moment to look back into the past.

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2011 were horrific acts, a shock to many of us.  Remembrances of 9/11/01 have been on the news and in the media lately; our Jamie also has thoughts he wants to share (below).

-Meg

“Since the incident of 9/11/2001, this month has a lot of people talking about it and remembering it. 10 years ago this month seems like a long time ago. It feels like just yesterday due to the fact that we all remember what we were doing “exactly” when it happened. Whenever something extreme happens in our life we remember it and what we were doing, even if it is a horrible extreme like the attack of 9/11. I remember what I was doing and it started out as a good morning for me. As horrible as it was, everyone came together to help out and it is unfortunate that sometimes it takes an incident of that caliber for us to help each other.

However, music can give people a tingly feeling, just like I had when everyone rushed to help dig through the rubble, and again, another tingle when I heard that the passengers on another plane did what they could to stop whatever the plan was for the hijackers. I am passionate about music because of those tingly feelings that it gives and we all know what I mean: The first recital for a child or even the smile on their face when they play their favorite song for you.  We tie memories to music, a song can have meaning for us individually, to the point that hearing a song can bring us back to the day the memory was created. I found some words by Alan Jackson’s “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)” and yep, you guessed it, it made me tingle.  The lyrics follow:

Where were you when the world stopped turning on that September day?

Were you in the yard with your wife and children

Or working on some stage in L.A.?

Did you stand there in shock at the sight of that black smoke

Risin’ against that blue sky?

Did you shout out in anger, in fear for your neighbor

Or did you just sit down and cry?

Did you weep for the children who lost their dear loved ones

And pray for the ones who don’t know?

Did you rejoice for the people who walked from the rubble

And sob for the ones left below?

Did you burst out in pride for the red, white, and blue

And the heroes who died just doin’ what they do?

Did you look up to heaven for some kind of answer

And look at yourself and what really matters?

I’m just a singer of simple songs

I’m not a real political man

I watch CNN but I’m not sure I can tell you

The difference in Iraq and Iran

But I know Jesus and I talk to God

And I remember this from when I was young

Faith hope and love are some good things he gave us

And the greatest is love”

The article includes quotes from former students which made me think about my own music teachers, as well as the positive feedback we at Along Came Music receive about our teachers.  The comments from students really speak to the impact that teachers have.

Music teachers can play such a vital role in the development of children, that’s no surprise; teachers are mentors, and in my opinion, private music teachers are most likely to work hard to fit themselves into the form needed by their students.  This means they can be strict and regimented for one student while being relaxed and put the student in more of a leader role; it all depends on what is best for the student.  Not only do teachers work to accommodate the personalities and needs of their students, but often they also work very hard to make themselves approachable to family members.  I won’t even get into what it takes to make a teacher’s schedule fit together!

I’ve talked before about the impact previous music teachers have had on my life, on my growing personality and general approach to life.  I would like to continue that “conversation” by branching out to talk about the effort that teachers put into their work with students, what it is that makes such a connection (and impact) possible.  Let me use Ms. Pearce as an example, we can see that throughout her career, she participated in continuing education, being active in her local music community and giving others the opportunity to do the same.  These efforts alone are not what makes Ms. Pearce special and deserving of her award, these are things that music teachers do.  They attend conferences, they join professional groups and work with other teachers to overcome common issues among students.  Many teachers continue to be students of private lessons as well as the providers.

As a recipient of the benefits of those hours of work, the struggles to put together a lesson plan that suits a student’s needs, I would like to thank my music teachers for their hard work, patience and persistence.  As the manager of Along Came Music’s teachers, I would like to thank them for the same.  We all benefit and I hope you can also take some time to thank your teacher!

(http://napervillesun.suntimes.com/lifestyles/7084055-423/piano-teacher-earns-national-honor-for-lifetime-of-lessons.html)

“I was walking around through the internet. Wanted to see what new fun and exciting things are on YouTube as it is always fun to see new things. I came across a really unique ensemble that was done by a family. Check it out, proof that families are still playing music together. Haven’t seen much of that since the Partridge Family. Of course that was a lot of singing also. Anyways, enjoy the video, I thought it was pretty creative…Jamie”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Music is one thing many families use to build a bond, I know my own family had nights where we’d each hop on an instrument and have a little fun.  I’m not going to say we sounded great, but it was fun and I wish we’d had the time to do it more, now that we’re so far from each other.  I also often hear about the influence of families with music when meeting with teachers, I’ve learned that many people follow music as a lifelong hobby or career because they had a family member introduce them to their instrument or a love of music in general.  I know this is also true in my own family.  It’s great to see families continue to bond and grow together with music.

We sat in the grass, listened to some great bands, danced, watched other people dance and in general had a great time.  The weather was great and the music was fantastic!  It was great to see local musicians and to also see the local community support them.  The festival was free to attend, you could purchase bottles of water, homemade ice cream, tacos and other snacks at a variety of vendors.  There were also booths with information on the Minnesota Bluegrass Association, the Loring Park Friends, etc.  The festival was from noon to 8 pm.  We left for a while but ended up coming back for more in the evening, we had such a good time!

Being at the festival made me think of how rich our community is in music performance.  Throughout the summer cities and groups sponsor events that include live music, often for free!

Here are some websites to check out:

The Schubert Club in St Paul
City of St Paul
City of Hopkins
City of Shorewood
City of Rochester
City of Minneapolis Event Calendar for Parks
City of Minneapolis Music and Movies in the Parks

Let us know if you find any other interesting things you’d like us to share!

Wicked is based on a book by Gregory Maguire of the same title.  It tells the story of the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz from a unique perspective.  In this story, the witch (named Elphaba) is not wicked in truth but is the victim of a press campaign of the Wizard.  This is because she chose to stand up for what she believed in and the Wizard decided that she must be the scapegoat for his plan to be successful.  The Wizard’s plan is to give the people of Oz a common enemy in the animals of Oz, which he believes will unite the people and increase their happiness (and his approval rating, I suppose).  We also see familiar characters in Glinda (the Good Witch), The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the Tin Man, the Scarecrow, flying monkeys and are reminded of Dorothy, Toto and the Cowardly Lion.  We meet new characters in Fiyero (love interest of Elphaba and Glinda), Boq, Nessarose (Elphaba’s sister), the parents of Elphaba and Nessarose, as well as Madame Morrible and Doctor Dillamond.

While Elphaba works to free animals from the cages they’ve been forced into and eludes capture by the guards or police of Oz, Glinda happily takes the spotlight and becomes a public figure assuring citizens of Oz that the Wizard is indeed wonderful and that Elphaba is a wicked witch.  Elphaba struggles to be a good person, loses her fight temporarily and in the end, tricks everyone into thinking that she’s dead when she’s really hidden herself until it is safe to escape.

The songs of Wicked, written by Stephen Schwartz are lively, memorable and carry the plot forward.  The actors were well suited to their individual roles.  The enthusiasm of the actors displayed how much they enjoyed their work.   

I strongly suggest that anyone who has not yet had the chance to watch a performance of Wicked take advantage of their next opportunity to do so.

Obviously you don’t have to use just your birthday, you could also use the day you graduated from high school, or earned your driver’s license, or rode a two wheel bike by yourself for the first time.  You decide what milestone you want to track and you can create your own life’s sound track.

Here’s mine:
“The One That You Love” by Air Supply – I am born
“Take My Breath Away” by Berlin – I start school
“Roll With It” by Steve Winwood – I restart piano lessons
“Close to You” by Maxi Priest – I start band
“Emotions” by Mariah Carey  – I audition for local girls’ choir and am offered a spot (No, I didn’t sing this song, it was something by Bette Midler.  That’s right.)
“Maria Maria” by Santana – I graduate from high school
“Lose Yourself” by Eminem – I graduate college
“Whatever You Like” by T.I. – I start working at Along Came Music

I was reading an article online the other day (February of the current year does qualify for “the other day” in my opinion, for those of you that were wondering.) written by BBC science reporter Victoria Gill on the use of melodic intonation therapy.   I was interested in this article because it was about music and science, two of my favorite topics!  Here’s what the article said, in basic, non-medical/non-scientific language:

-We use different parts of our brains to speak and sing
-We use the left side of our brain to speak
-There is a corresponding area of our right brain that we use to sing
-If one has a stroke and cannot speak due to damage from the stroke, often one can still sing
-Doctors are using what they call “melodic intonation therapy” (okay, so a little science-type language, it couldn’t be avoided) to teach people to communicate after damage to the speaking centers of their brains
-Melodic intonation therapy is learning to put words to simple melodies and rhythms

I strongly suggest anyone who is interested in this read the original article (see link above), or visit one of the following articles on melodic intonation therapy.  The article by Helen Fields is one of the most interesting and well written (better than the BBC article by far) I read on the subject, although if you’re looking for a scientific paper to read on the subject you might enjoy reading this paper by Andrea Norton, Lauryn Zipse, Sarah Marchina, and Gottfried Schlaug.

I think this is a very interesting topic and just the tip of the iceberg as far as what science is learning about the impact music can have outside of the “usual” benefits of music. 

You can use your computer keyboard to play drum beats and loops.  You can also use your mouse to click on the different buttons on the screen instead of using your keyboard.

Click on the question mark to the right of the keyboard for instructions on how the player.

I had fun, I hope you do too!

Okay, I agree, this is something most of us can do through basic time management, but think if we could all have magic time scissors!!  It would help many people (or at least it would help me!).  I know this would make a huge difference in the quality of meals I eat, how much I sleep and in general, my “getting-things-done” list would shrink by a mile!   

I started thinking about stealing time after I found the tempo rubato page on Wikipedia.  I understand that getting excited about tempo rubato is nerdy, but I can’t help myself.  I think it’s cool.  

Rubato (this is the modern definition) is essentially when the musician changes the timing of musical phrases in a piece to accentuate its musicality or “feeling”.  They’ll speed up one part because it “feels” like it should be faster, or want to indicate frenzy, anger, etc.  Or they’ll slow a section down to accent its calming or sad qualities.  This could make a song end later or sooner than the original composition. 

Tempo rubato is when the musician “steals” time from one part of the piece and uses it in another place in the same piece, so the song uses the same amount of time as the original composition, just in a different way. Slightly different from the concept of rubato, but totally, totally awesome!  Next time you listen to a song, see if you can identify where the musicians use rubato, tempo rubato, or both!

Watch the video and enjoy some classical music played on crystal drinking glasses.  It’s pretty amazing.  Do you think you could do this?

Click here to view the embedded video.