Dueling “Nessun Dorma”

By Deborah Lee | May 15, 2009

The TV show Britain’s Got Talent has had two very distinct performances of “Nessum Dorma” from Puccini’s opera Turandot. First was Paul Potts who meekly came on stage and then brought down the house with his impassioned traditional version.

Recently, Greg Pritchard, sporting a wild-haired rocker look, wowed everyone by showcasing his counter tenor voice. Counter tenors sing very high and it’s always a little freaky to me when watch them sing.

I enjoyed both performances very much. I love music done well and I love when false perceptions about music are broken.

Even though I can here that Paul lacks training and has room for improvement in that area, I am moved by the passion of his singing. It’s not just a voice that is heard in good singing, it is soul as well.

I was amazed at Greg’s control and skill as a singer as he effortlessly placed those notes in all the right places. Something I’ve always struggled with.

Of course, you’ve got to give kudos to Puccini for writing such a beautiful piece of music.

People often say that getting musical training takes away your ability to enjoy music because you start to analyze it. That hasn’t been true for me. I find increases my love for it even more. I love how one song, written by one person, can live so many different lives through the voices of many. It’s one of the awesome things about music.

Look below for videos of the two “Nessu Dorma” performances. Very different and very beautiful.

Live Musically,

Deborah

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Sadly, Music Is the First To Go

By Deborah Lee | May 13, 2009

The State of California is in a budget crisis. They were refusing to pay tax refunds to people who moved out of state unless they moved back. Now they are laying off teachers. Of course, the arts teachers are the first to go. One county laid off every single music teacher.

Many school leaders make these decisions based on the requirements of testing even though students who have experience in the arts generally do better on standardized tests.

The problem is that these decisions are being made in a black and white, linear fashion without making the connection that learning is a process and not just a regurgitation of facts. Any computer can spout out facts and make calculations. Being human means we can reason, create and grow. It’s what brings innovation and makes for a better world.

One of the sad things about the layoffs is that it takes many years to build a strong music program. It also takes many years to build music in a person. When it goes away, it has to be rebuilt.

It’s not the kind of thing that will spill over into the private arena either. Many parents don’t see the value in giving their child a solid music and arts education, so if the schools stop, the music stops. Even if they see the value, they may not value it enough to put money  behind it.

I think it will be a long time before schools see music and the arts as more of a priority. It is my hope that the community will begin taking up the slack, but that will take time, too.

I grew up in a very small town. We didn’t have strong music education where I went to school, but the difference was made up for it at church. The state of music education in the church has really diminished as well. The days of traveling music teachers are pretty much over and most churches don’t even have children and youth choirs anymore. Many have given up adult choirs, too.

I’m not worried for my son because we homeschool and we will seek out or create our own opportunities. I’m concerned for the increasing number of people who will grow up without understanding the value of music in education and in all of life. It is more than recreation–it’s part of human development.

Live musically,

Deborah

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Make Some Music This Summer

By Deborah Lee | May 7, 2009

Spring is here and our garden is growing quite nicely. I’m enjoying the start of a new season. One of the things I’m spending my time on is deciding what activities to sign my 4 year old up for in the summer months. For my family music is always a priority when making these kinds of plans.

Summer is a good time to work on music. It’s a time when most people are making a shift in their lives due to changes in routines.  Use that change in routine to your musical advantage. Here are a few ideas…

Do a Quick Change
If you or your child are already in lessons you might consider making a shift in the music you are studying. Go with something more light-hearted or choose a theme. You could learn a bunch of camp songs or beach songs. If you’ve been studying more serious classical music, mix it up with some pop, jazz or show tunes for the summer.

Pick up a new instrument
Learn your first (or your 14th) instrument. It’s all for fun and you can leave serious decisions for the end of the summer. Just let yourself explore.

Dust off an old instrument
Where’s that high school band instrument hiding these days? Dig it out, get it worked on if necessary, and find a place to play. Feeling insecure and out of shape? Play a lot at home. Also look for a summer band or orchestra that lets anyone join.  There are plenty of groups that let anyone in.

Create a Your Own Opportunities
If you live in a rural area, you may have to create your own opportunities. You don’t have to start your own music group, but you could have reading party or a jam session. This was very popular in the days before recorded music. You could do it one time or create a club. Just make sure it is a no pressure event. No critiques allowed and lots of good times.

My summer music plans are simple. I have decided to spend more time just playing piano and guitar from my fakebooks and trying to get back into my songwriting groove. I want to build up the number of songs I know and to just have more live music filling our home.

What kind of plans are you pondering?

Live Musically,

Deborah

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Autism and Music

By Deborah Lee | April 28, 2009

In my years of music teaching, I had the opportunity to teach piano to two kids with Asperger’s Syndrome–a high functioning form of Autism. I learned a lot from teaching them as well as from my student with learning disabilities.

I taught in people’s homes back then and observed a lot of what their mom, Phyllis, did to help them. She strongly believes in the importance of music for people on the autism spectrum because she has seen the benefits with her two Asperger’s kids and her autistic brother.

The benefits are many. I recently wrote article about it called “Autism Symptoms & Music - 5 Ways Music Can Make a Difference With Autism”. In it I discuss ways that music can help autistic people have a better quality of live physically, mentally, and socially.

You can read get the full article by clicking the “articles” tab above. You can also get there by clicking
www.ourmusicalhome.com/blog/articles/ or www.articlesbydeborah.com

I hope it helps. I’d love to hear your thoughts. The comment area is open 24/7.

Until next time,
Deborah

P.S. My friend, Phyllis, has written a book titled “Nurturing Your Asperger’s Child”. If you are caring for someone with Asperger’s or even PDD-NOS it’s worth checking out. Just go to www.myautisminfo.com

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Back from my other life

By Deborah Lee | April 28, 2009

It’s been too long since I’ve posted. The reason is that one of the hats I wear in my crazy life is that of a tax professional with H&R Block (www.mytaxhelplady.com). Tax season is a busy time for me and really exercises my brain.

Now my focus is back on wearing my music hat. Right now I’m working on an ebook that I think is going to be helpful for a lot of people. It’s based on some basic lessons I always gave to my guitar students. The whole focus is to provide the tools and knowledge to simplify the music and make it more playable for their skill level. It’s an easy process to learn, but for some reason it’s not being taught anywhere that I know of. I’ll keep you posted on the progress.

I’m starting to get my brain cells back from tax land, so expect more musical posts. In the meantime, I’d like to leave you with a little fun with an instrument called a vibraslap. One video is a serious lesson. The other is tongue in cheek.

Live musically,
Deborah

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A Road Trip, A Harmonica, and Cracker Barrel

By Deborah Lee | March 22, 2009

A few months ago I was in Alabama visiting my family. I was sitting in the house my family has lived in since I was 4 years old. It’s changed a lot over the years. My son, who is 4 now, sat in the same kitchen floor that I played on at his age playing his harmonica. He’s got a pretty good sound.

I bought this one at Cracker Barrel for 6 bucks. It’s a
Hohner and it’s really great quality. Great sound and it holds up well to the explorations of a young child. It’s really important to get good quality instruments for your child and for yourself.

Quality instruments don’t need to be expensive to have a good sound. The problem is that a lot of what’s marketed out there as instruments are really just noisemakers. Even a non musician can hear the difference. Try to listen and ask “Does it thud or does the sound carry through the air? Does it squeak or does it sing?”

Even if you don’t have a lot of musical experience, you can learn to listen for the difference by comparing the sounds different things make. One thing you can start with is to tap on things around the house and compare the differences and similarities. Try tapping in different places and with different items to see how the sound changes.

It doesn’t take much to start developing your ability to listen and to begin to understand music better. Having that understanding opens the door to having richer experiences with music. We’ve got plenty of noise in this culture. Wouldn’t it be great to replace some of it with music.

Deborah

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Free Music Ebook Offer

By Deborah Lee | February 13, 2009

Articles Tab is now active. Check out my first article “Learn Guitar: 6 Struggles Everyone Faces When Learning to Play Guitar” Others are in progress.

Is there anything you’d like to read more about in this blog or as an article? I’d love to hear your ideas.

During the months of February & March 2009, put comment on this post with your ideas and topic suggestions and I’ll send you my ebook 7 Keys to a More Meaningful Musical Life for FREE.

This ebook is about getting past ideas you may have that keep you from making music and provides ideas for small changes you can make to have music as part of your life whether you are a music lover or a music maker. My friends are really on me to start selling this ebook, so this may be the last time I offer it for free.

I look forward to hearing what you would like to learn about.

Deborah


Topics: Encouragement | No Comments »

Hearing is Not the Same as Listening

By Deborah Lee | February 10, 2009

In the iPod world, we are bombarded with music talking to us rather than through us.  I think it only fills us half full.  Music throughout history has been participatory. There is so much to experience when you are physically involved in making music.
That being said, it is also important to understand the involvement we have in listening.   Listening to music is a skill that can be developed and happens in many ways.

Developing our listening ability gives us ways to be more connected to our music. It’s like the difference between fast food and fine dining. Good listening lets you savor the music. You can do little things everyday to develop those listening skills. It doesn’t have to be difficult.

Open your mind to what’s around you. Have your brain start to check-in when you’re listening to the radio in the car or the background music at a place of business.

As you are listening start asking yourself questions, like what style is this, what instruments are used, what is the melody line. Try to get a feel for the beat of the song and see if you can hear how the melody line moves up and down.

Little activities can do a lot for helping you see music in a different way.

Get in touch with your emotions about music. Does it calm you or cause some stress? Do you have any feelings about what the music is communicating? If it is a familiar piece of music, have you had strong emotions about it in the past? Are they different now?

You see, it doesn’t take much to start moving in a musical direction. Start with awareness.

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Want to Get Into Medical School? Major in Music!

By Deborah Lee | February 2, 2009

Right now I’m sitting in Atlanta after a business workshop. I was surprised at the number of intense conversations that came up about the value of music in every part of our lives.

One of the most fascinating discussions was with a scientist by the name of Dr. Gregory Simpson. We spent several hours discussing how both music and science apply to all of life.

He started thinking about this connection when he observed some students he was tutoring in science. He saw that the kids who had studied music were able to understand the scientific process extremely quickly.

It doesn’t surprise me. I’ve known for a long time that majoring in music is one of the best things you can do if you want to go to medical school. Actually, 66% of music majors who apply to medical school are accepted–more than any other group. The second group is biochemistry majors at 44%.

Other countries see the importance, too…

The world’s top academic countries place a high value on music education. Hungary, Netherlands and Japan stand atop worldwide science achievement and have strong commitment to music education. All three countries have required music training at the elementary and middle school levels, both instrumental and vocal, for several decades. The centrality of music education to learning in the top-ranked countries seems to contradict the United States’ focus on math, science, vocabulary, and technology. –http://www.amc-music.com/research_briefs.htm

This is one of the many reasons I know music is not just a pastime, it is an important part of being human. It is essential to who we are physically, emotionally, intellectually and spiritually.

Deborah

P.S. Gregory and I are joining together to write more about the science and music connection–so stay tuned.

Topics: Music, education | No Comments »

A Few Money Saving Christmas Tips and a Contest

By Deborah Lee | December 8, 2008

Listed below are some tips on ways to save money at Christmas. It’s a little off topic, but I thought it might be helpful.  I wrote them for a contest I just found out about on the blog www.tothinkistocreate.com.  It’s a few things I’ve done and a lot of things that are on my ever growing idea list. I hope you find something helpful.

SERVICES: This year I am altering my brother-in-law’s pants and helping my sister get set up to sell stuff on eBay.

REPURPOSING: I do this two ways. I give quality gifts from things I already own and I take things I own and remake them into something unique.

This year I took half-zip pullovers my son has outgrown and made backpacks for the kids.

I also add decorative elements to items to personalize them and make them more interesting. Last year I used pieces of roof flashing to create a unique decorative front on a simple blank journal.

MEMORIES:  I  have my grandmother’s old everyday dishes and want to decoupage her picture and other collage items on it and give it as way to remember her.

I also want to create a scrapbook with the recipes my grandmother cooked most often.

Another idea on my list is to use decorative family tree charts I purchased on Ebay and fill them in with all of the names we’ve found so far from our genealogy research.

GROW IT: We have a small city garden and I enjoy canning. I like to think of things to make that would make good gifts like salsa or jelly. I have also done this by buying produce at the farmer’s market when it’s in season and cheap and canning that into something good.

Fresh herbs are easy and cheap to grow, but expensive to purchase. Put together a small herb garden in a planter and give away the whole thing. You can also grow them yourself in larger quantities and make a small swag or wreath of different herbs to make a nice fresh gift and can be hung in the kitchen and used for cooking even as the herbs dry.

It’s best to buy the seeds and planters during gardening season for the best availability and price.

DOWNLOADS:  If a someone has an interest in a particular subject, you can download free articles, ebooks, podcasts, videos, etc. on that subject and give them as a gift in print or CD/DVD format.

The printed items could be bound in an inexpensive binder or report cover or a coil binding from an office supply store. My library lets me copy 200 pages a month for free and I hear a lot of libraries have a similar service.

I am doing this for someone who is interested in starting a business as a life coach.

Have a Merry Christmas,

Deborah

Deborah

PS: You can still receive “Getting Personal with Your Christmas Music” for free. It’s my chapter from the ebook Saving Christmas. Go to www.ourmusicalhome.com/savingchristmas.

Topics: Family, Mini-Course, Tips, kids | No Comments »


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