Camp Twin Lakes XVI - Twitch and Shout

Reflecting on Camp Twitch and Shout, it was a great experience and I can't wait to help them out next year. I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to get out of the week, and it was good to go in with no expectations. I got to meet Brad Cohen, author of Front of the Class, a book about Tourette Syndrome which has meant a lot to me and others. I also got to meet Jimmy Wolk, the actor that played him in the Hallmark movie based on the book. Both guys were phenomenal at camp, and I got to be particularly close with Jimmy. Here's a (bad) picture of the three of us:

Jimmy Wolk, Me, and Brad Cohen

This summer has really pushed me towards music as a career and possibly music therapy. Brad was the founder of Camp Twitch and Shout, and I (probably) wouldn't have known about Brad had it not been for the movie. I had them both sign a little djembe that I've had for a while - a significant thing, I think!

Camp Twitch and Shout had a Hollywood theme for their dance, red carpet and all that. On each of the six doors, they put up a star with somebody's name on it. Two were the camp directors, one was the nurse, one was Jimmy, one was Tim Howard (Team USA goalkeeper, who has Tourette's), and one was for me. It was a small gesture, but a meaningful one. At the end of the night, Brad found me and asked for a picture with me. Also a small but meaningful gesture. Meeting the Twitch and Shout crew really showed me how much is being done, but also how much is still needed. I want to take this motivation back to UNC, raise some money for next year, start a group - and who knows, maybe even create some awareness ;-)

Brad and I after the Twitch and Shout dance

Camp Twin Lakes III

Early on, I posted a link to a Bobby McFerrin thingy that I really liked. He tells the audience what pitches to sing by jumping different places on stage and then sings over top of that. I did that today with the staff of Twin Lakes and it went pretty well! I'm looking forward to trying it with campers.

Also, I've talked to various members of staff about Tourette's, it's always nice to spread awareness! It turns out that one of the staff here freakin KNOWS Brad Cohen! Like, she works with him! I'm so pumped for Twitch and Shout!

Peace ;)

Poppa K

The Carolina Union Activities Board recently put on the third annual Air Guitar Competition. The object of the competition is to pantomime playing playing guitar and to get into rocker character and go crazy. There were about seven participants, two of which were PMA brothers. They competed under the names "Mystery Meat" and "Prisoner 2013100" (Prisoner 2 for short). In the first round of competition, the contestants performed a 60-second bit they had rehearsed and prepared. For the second round, they were given a clip they had not heard beforehand and had to play along.


In the small group that showed up (it was snowing that day), most people were aware of an older couple in the audience who seemed to be having just as good a time as the students. They were... I'm guessing in their sixties? Anyway. After the last round of the competition, the emcee asked the couple "So... do you guys have a kid here or something?" The man responded no. "You just walked in off the street?" Something like that. "Do you wanna give it a shot?" Of course! "What's your rocker name?" A brief pause... then the man replied:

"My name. Is Poppa K."

He got up on stage, took of his shoes, picked up his invisible guitar and strapped it over his shoulder. He gave the cue to the sound guy and the music began. Where the other air guitar players had gone wild, Poppa K took it slow and worked the guitar soft and smooth. The song was a sort of fountain of youth for him as he got more and more into it. The crowd went wild; college kids always love seeing people their parent's age doing the dumb shit they find fun! The song drew to a close and in a brilliant flash of youthfulness, Poppa K surprised everyone by jumping off the three-foot stage toward the judges. As he landed, the thud echoed through the stunned silence in the room. Once the crowd realized he had not been seriously injured, they cheered and applauded and went crazier than they had for any of the other participants!

"Did you hurt your foot doing that?" asked the emcee.

"Oh hell yes I did!" Poppa K responded as he limped across the audience to his wife.

At the end of the air guitar competition, they played 'Free Bird' and invited everyone to air-guitar along.

Mystery Meat won the competition, the prize for which was a $100 check. I gotta say, Prisoner 2 gets special kudos for staying in a very difficult character for a period of about three hours, much of that time being spent in a straight jacket! Myself and three other PMA guys helped Poppa K get to his car after the competition. He said that if he could have done it again, he would've jumped off the stage again, too. He had a blast - and you know what? I did too. Here's some pics I lifted from Facebook:

Mystery Meat

Prisoner 2

The Emcee, Paul, Me, Stanley, Poppa K, and Mystery Meat rockin out to Free Bird

New Guys

It's that time of year when Phi Mu Alpha is beginning the pledge process for a group of new guys. In fact, official installation of the potentials to probationary members is tonight! I wanted to write about an incredible experience involving both the potentials and the brothers. On Saturday, we delivered bids (which are formal invitations to join PMA as a probationary member aka pledge) and asked them to meet us in the Hill Hall auditorium at 10:00 PM if they wished to accept the offer. As it got close to 10:00, I hitched a ride to Hill Hall in a carfull of brothers and potentials. The energy between everyone was tangible, as everyone was curious to see who was going to be there!

When we got to Hill, the group I rode up with stood in the rotunda outside the auditorium chatting with some brothers. I thought I heard faint singing coming from the auditorium, but I couldn't see anyone in there. When I went to investigate, I found a group of about four or five brothers and a potential or two standing around a brother playing piano backstage. They were singing "Piano Man" which carries significance to my own pledge class. I joined in, and as the song progressed more and more joined in. By the end of the song, there were probably twenty to thirty men all standing with their arms around each other, belting out "SING US A SONG, YOU'RE THE P'ANO MAN!!!" It was a great bonding experience having everyone join in like that!

After a while we all congregated on the stage and began to discuss where we were going to eat for dinner to celebrate. For some reason that's still unknown to me, somebody started clapping a rhythm; it was a rhythm similar to the one in John Fogerty's song, Centerfield. Somebody started clapping the off beats, and I started making sixteenth notes in between the eighth notes. The next thing you know, everyone was clapping and stomping their own rhythm. It was an impromptu drum circle, and everyone had a blast just playing whatever rhythm came to them. It went on for several long energy-filled minutes. When it finally fizzled out, everyone applauded each other and asked "What the hell was that, what just happenened!?"

I'm excited to begin the pledge process with these guys, we have a really impressive group of guys. I think that the two spontaneous musical events that happened up on that stage show just how strong of a music fraternity Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia is, and what it always will be.

Matthew

I was in the Atlanta Airport yesterday, on my way to see family Orlando. I had my laptop open, but wasn't really doing anything on it. A man sat a few seats over brought his laptop over and sat next to me. He was somewhere in his thirties, African-(newly)American, wearing a very nice tan overcoat, and had a wide and endearing smile. He asked if I new how to connect to the internet, and opened his new-looking Mac on his lap. We eventually figured out that the Hartsfield-Jackson charges like five dollars for something for twenty minutes internet, but that's not really the point of the story anyway.

He noticed that my computer's background image was music, something my friend Maressa had helped me choose only a week or so before. He told me he plays keyboard and clarinet and that he directs a choir in Charlotte NC, and that he was on his way to a global choir convention (or something like that) in Orlando.

Ironically we ended up sitting close to each other on the plane, but not close enough to converse.

I ran into him during the ritualistic trek of passengers to the baggage claim, where we struck up conversation again. I found out that's he's from Ghana, in West Africa. I told him I had a friend (Maressa) who studies Ugandan music - he liked to hear that, and said good things about Ugandan musicians.

His story is amazing. He was a musician in Ghana, and had visited America a couple times. On his second visit, he was invited to be the choir director for a Methodist Church in Charlotte. He's now lived here for about six years, his wife and daughter moved to the country four years ago, and He began to talk about how wonderful America is, a professing his love for the country. His big smile grew even wider as he talked about the amazing opportunities available to our citizens, especially for him and his family. He seemed very proud of his English; it was apparent that he was working very hard to learn and improve.

His subject shifted to religion as he talked about what is possible with the power of God. I could see many powerful feelings come over him as he testified to me the power of Jesus Christ. At first I was a little surprised that he didn't ask about my religion, but in retrospect it was nice, really. He was simply telling me the power of his beliefs, not trying to convert me or anything like that.

It was an awesome experience talking to a man actively improving the life his family. It was also great to be reminded of the amazing benefits of living in America, especially with the anti-American sentiments floating in from around the world and even the constant criticisms of our own government coming from the inside. I think we could all benefit from meeting more people like Matthew in our lives.

:)

The Story of Crosasaurus Rex

Hello Hello!! Tonight I performed 'The Story of Crosasaurus Rex' for the Music 143 class. I don't have the video footage from the actual dealio ready yet, but I'll tell ya what happened: I showed videos on the screen while I sorta stood there/acted it out. There was a little story line that went along with it. Here are the three videos I used, one of which you've seen before and two are totally brand new!!

Drum Circle!

Today was the most AMAZING THING HAPPENED EVARRR OMG!!

RAs put on monthly programs to benefit the residents of the building. Typically these programs have an educational or social theme to them. This month, my program was a Drum Circle! With help and funding from Community Government, I got my friend and teacher Matt Savage, the UNC Marching Percussion instructor and nationally known drum guru, to lead a drum circle with residents. We set out about thirty chairs, and Matt brought enough drums and other percussion for upwards of sixty or seventy. He brought everything from djembes to cowbells to paddle drums to tambourines - it was incredible. Everybody had a great time letting loose! We estimated that within an hour of drum circle, between seventy and a hundred people played drums at any point (many people stopped by for a few minutes and left), and just as many or even more enjoyed the music and danced from the building. A lot of people showed up, including a reporter from the Daily Tar Heel.

That's Matt in the center. I'm in the bright yellow shirt and

light blue hat on the bottom part of the circle, on the outer row.

This was super exciting to me because the reaction was so absolutely positive. Many of the Community Government members and other RAs told me this was the best turnout to a program they had seen! I think that what added to the program's success was it's easy-going and loud nature. People walking from Ram's Head to any other south campus dorm passed us, and could join if they wanted to. It was so epic.

After the drum circle was over, I went up to Matt to thank him for putting on such an awesome event. I was so overwhelmed with the success of the event that I could barely even say anything; I think I said "Thank you so much for.... that was.... I just... I'm soo.....ecstatic that I can't... I can't even make good sentences!!!"

What was amazing to me was how everybody knew exactly what to do once they got started. Yeah, people were shy, but once they started playing, the rhythm took over. Everyone was able to find and keep the beat. Even with so many people playing, the music didn't rush or drag. Matt did a great job of communicating with the group what to play, even though he never actually explained what he meant. For example, when Matt jumped, everyone knew to hit the drum really loudly - he never explained, everybody just knew. As a 'grand finale,' Matt had everybody stand up and come into the center while drumming - it was this intense jumble of human connection, because people in the group didn't necessarily know each other, but all were contributing to the same music. It was such an exhilarating experience not only to be a part of but also to be able to put that on. I hope there's a next time!

Where the Wild Thangs At?

Fall break is this weekend, and I've got fun stuff to report!

Thursday was the first full day of break, and it was spent almost entirely with the marching band. I woke up about half an hour late (again) to a distressed call from my section captain and close fraternity brother, Dave. I got there in time for the sound-check in the stadium, which consisted of standing in place while the sound technician got things set up for the band, Liquid Pleasure, that we were backing up at half-time.

Afterwards, my buddy Schmitty came over and helped me loft my bed. We put the mattress just as high as it would go! See, I hope to counter my oversleeping problem by hiding my bed from myself. I rearranged my desk and drums and other stuff in a very space-efficient way. I also discovered how to plug my amp directly into my computer for recording purposes... do you see as much potential as I do?!? Exciting things to come.

After that I went to the football game, which went fine. ESPN was filming the game and I almost (did) missed a step-off watching the spider-like Skycam gizmo zip over my head! The half-time show was pretty cool, we hosted the Chapel-Hill rooted band Liquid Pleasure. They're a party band that's made it pretty big along the East Coast, and have been around for almost thirty years. They did vocals while we played the rest, and it was a pretty good show. They came out in Carolina Blue sequin coats, which was simultaneously awesome and comical! Oh yeah, and there was football there, too. It was a really good game... for the other team. I don't really know first hand what happened because - let's face it - I'm only there for the band! Yeah.

The next day (Friday) my bed proved successful, as I forgot to turn off my 8:00 alarm: I stayed up since getting back in bed would be more effort than it was worth. I had a nice, uneventful day... I went to Ye Olde Waffle Shoppe, a place I'd wanted to go for a long time with another RA, Anish. I went to the gym for like the third time in my life ever with Bruce, after which we met up with Noah and a guy I hadn't met before to eat at [B]Ski's, where I proceeded to make lame jokes to the waitress.

Mom picked me up that night and we checked into a hotel in Raleigh. We were going to go camping, but the weather was just too depressing for that. Today (by which I mean Saturday) we spent the day at the NC Museum of Natural Science, which was AWESOME!! I LOVE going to museums with Mom, we're both as nerdy as a high-school science teacher and her offspring!

Oh wait...

CROSASAURUS REX ATTACK, AAAGGHHHH!!!!!

Before we went to the Museum, we went to this awesome place called Big Ed's, where I drank a bit too much coffee (it was sooo good!) At the museum this made my tics rather strong. I was a little nervous with all the little kids around for two reasons; either a rare coprolalic outburst would create a very awkward situation, or - more likely - I would whack one of them in the face with my audio-tour! No worries though, the angst of the TS was far outweighed by the sheer magnitude of visiting a huge science museum with Mom! Did I mention she's a high-school science teacher?

After the museum, we decided to go relive a bit of my childhood by going to see Where the Wild Things Are (spoilers ahead). It started out fine, by showing a harsh reality that the protagonist (Max) lived in. There was perhaps a bit too much with this reality - a stressed out single mother with a boyfriend who didn't know when to keep out of a tense family moment, an apathetic sister hanging out with like, four dudes... yeah. So whatever, I was waiting for the good part where he hangs out with all the Wild Things. After a terrifying (yet clearly imagined) boat-trip to the island, Max encounters a group of Wild Things who are frustrated with their current situation. They make him his king, everything seems close to the book, and I'm getting excited with this real-life rendition of happy childhood memories. Unfortunately it took a really dark turn and instead of being an imaginative escapist delight, it became a chilling reminder that human faults and imperfections are inescapable, even in one's own imagination. The book ended with things wrapping up in a positive ending, but the movie ended with things in a pile of depressing loose ends. After the movie, Mom and I went to Borders to read the real book again and restore my childhood.

So after our adventures in Raleigh, mom and I took a trip by the Food Lion to get some ice cream (which we devoured at the hotel) and now she's asleep and I'm blogging. Tomorrow we're planning on going to a state park or something along those lines to make some of the camping food that she brought but that we ended up not using. I'm really happy now, things are going well.

Thanks for reading!

Me

Performance Concept

In the traditional performance context, a performer plays a piece of music to a large audience. Because of the nature of the concert venue, part of the meaning of the song could be lost. For example if the song is about love, the audience can appreciate the song that the performer's playing and even sympathize with the feelings expressed. However, it is unlikely that either the performer or the audience is literally experiencing what the song is about as it is being performed. I would like to propose two changes to this model while specifically leaving others the same. This is an idea I've been tinkering with for a while and would like to experiment a little bit.

First, instead of playing to a large, possibly anonymous audience (from the perspective of the performer), I want to reduce the audience size to one, two at the very most. This way the connection between the performer and the listener is exponentially more intimate. There would be a higher pressure on the musician, while the listener would appreciate the music so much more as it is intended only for them.

Second, instead of the audience and performer sitting together simply listening to the set that the performer has planned, the performer plans the set around what they anticipate the audience member doing at the time. The music will serve as a 'live soundtrack' so to speak. Put in context, the music would have a much greater meaning than if taken out of context. An example of this would be playing music while somebody is falling asleep, walking to class, or driving in the car.

This is different than just playing songs for somebody while they happen to be in the car or falling asleep. The songs are planned, practiced, and arranged ahead of time to give a unique performance. Ideally, the audience member would forget the individual who is performing and appreciate the music in that context. In that sense, it is like a traditional concert because the personal elements of the performer are overcome by the persona of the performance.

I think I've jumbled a bunch of confusing ideas together here, so let me explain in a nutshell. I'll use the falling asleep example, because that's the most relevant to me. I would plan out and practice certain songs to play (on guitar) and sing to somebody as they're falling asleep. The room and the person falling asleep would be part of the art in itself. If all goes as planned, the audience member would be asleep before the end of the performance. Then, the performer would pack up and leave without a word. If the two people involved wanted to discuss the performance, it would be the next day and not immediately afterwards.

What do ya think?

iPod frustration

Hello friends! I haven't posted for a while I know, but I found a Graph on Graph Jam I wanted to share:


see more Funny Graphs

Such Great Differences

Hey! This is a paper I just wrote for my Intro to Rock and Roll class. Enjoy!

Such Great Differences

Background sounds and music play a crucial role in the perception of what they are accompanying. The weight this phenomenon can be experienced by muting the television during an epic battle scene, or during the climactic kiss of a romance movie. Without the music that guides our hearts through our ears, the intense potential for powerful emotions dies into uncertain monotony. Another example of how much music affects perception can be found in the original and cover version of the song “Such Great Heights” by The Postal Service and Iron & Wine respectively. Each group applies different music to the same poetic lyrics to create unique performances with different meanings.

The Postal Service’s original version of the song begins with an electronic intro, presumably played on a synthesizer. The timbre of each note is almost a plain sine wave, heavily panned either to the left or right, immediately grabbing the listener’s attention and creating somewhat of a futuristic pop sort of feel. While this synthesizer part reoccurs later in the song, it does not clearly define the chord structure of the song and ends as soon as the vocal part begins. When the singer belts out the opening lyrics (0:41), his strong and confident tone quality seem to reinforce the futuristic and youthful nature of the song.

In contrast to the energetic electronics of The Postal Service’s original introduction, the cover done by Iron & Wine begins with a finger picked guitar playing the same part and chord progression it will play for the duration of the song. When I first heard this song, the soothing guitar instantly reminded me of the soft lullabies my father used to play to me as a child. While my own specific personal experiences are no doubt unique, the cover introduction is unquestionably much more relaxed than the original. This lullaby feel is further enhanced by the singer’s mature voice that sings almost as soft as a whisper, but just loud enough to have a pitch.

There is a special emphasis in both versions of the song on a particular set of measures in each of the verses; the first example of which is heard on the lyrics “mirror images” (TPS-0:46, I&W-0:32). In The Postal Service’s original, the note doesn’t fit into the chord structure of the song and jumps out to the listener like a weed in an otherwise clean-cut yard. In the Iron & Wine cover version, the very same phrase is smoother, yet the singer not only uses a more chordal pitch but also employs melismas and other pleasing musical devices that aren’t heard anywhere else in the song. Both versions produce significance to the very same phrase, but the ways in which they go about doing so create a different kind of importance to each.

As mentioned above, The Postal Service makes much use of electronics and studio technology. In fact, the phrases of the verses overlap by a beat, forcing the singer to sound two pitches at once. For example, in the line “…when we kiss they're perfectly aligned/and I have to speculate…” (0:49) the word “aligned” happens on the same beat as the words “And I.” Therefore, these phrases could not realistically be sung by one person in a live setting. Iron & Wine changes the rhythm of these words slightly so that this is not a problem for a lone singer; however despite the seeming intention to stick to the bare acoustic basics it is clear that overdubbing was used because a breath is audible during the word “aligned” (0:39). A small detail, yet an easy recording studio fix. This inclusion was probably intentional, perhaps a foreshadowing of overdubbed harmonies yet to come.

Both versions of the song have staggered instrumental entrances, but the effect is more prevalent in The Postal Service’s version. The song begins with the synthesized blips, soon underscored by a bass line (0:21). The drums begin to fade in (0:25) – an uncommon entrance for any percussion – while the blips fade out, leading way to the vocal entrance (0:41). In the Iron & Wine cover, the vocal entrance (0:20) is the only obvious entrance of sorts, with the exception of the mandolin solo at the end. Closer listening will reveal vocal harmonies layered into the cover as the song progresses, the first of which enters on the second phrase of the first verse (1:01). It is interesting that Iron & Wine would choose to include these harmonies in their acoustic cover, because they are not present in the original. The harmonies are soft and gentle and seem to give the voice an almost dreamy, angelic quality; as if the listener is drifting off to sleep and the harmonies are part of a dream. This makes the lyrics seem to be about flying to “such great heights” in a dream world rather than a futuristic one. As the dream continues the harmonies become more and more involved until they become a whole new instrument (3:43) is embodied by the dream in the form of a mandolin.

Cues for how to interpret the songs can be found in the music videos that the bands produce. The Postal Service’s music video for “Such Great Heights” depicts moving robotic parts and a male and a female astronaut. Based on initial impressions, one might think that this is a word play on the title and nothing more. On closer inspection, many of the scenes seem to have a strong sexual connotation: various robotic insertions and pulsations (0:43, 1:21, 1:28, 2:17, 2:55), subtle crotch shots (1:02), and machine parts that oddly seem to resemble human breasts (0:45) are only a few of the sexual suggestions within the music video. By contrast, Iron & Wine does not have a music video available. This could be due to a lack of funding, but is not likely as the group Confide has a music video for their cover of the song, even though their version is much less popular than the other two. Perhaps Iron & Wine chose not to produce a music video in order to maintain the dreamy, imaginative quality that makes their version so unique. While the material in these videos cannot be experienced solely by listening to the song, it suggests what the artists might have had in mind when they wrote and recorded the songs.

Although both songs use the very same lyrics and almost the same melody, the musical accompaniment drastically changes the meaning of each song. The Postal Service’s original is a ballad of youthful euphoric love, while the stylistic differences in Iron & Wine’s cover turn the same song into a dreamy lullaby. This was achieved by a variations in methods including instrumentation, melody, and vocal qualities. Each artist took the same poetic lyrics and by changing only the musical qualities, created such great differences.

Severine Neff

I just want to write a little bit about how much I appreciate my music theory professor, Dr. Severine Neff. Dr. Neff is one of the nicest professors I have met at this campus, and her passion for music and teaching it to others is very apparent through her teaching style. She plays piano beautifully, but only plays when necessary to illustrate key points in the lesson. She is very patient, and is open to trying new things to help us learn the concepts - something that cannot be said of many. After spending three semesters with her, Dr. Neff has completely changed the way I write and listen to music.

Props to you, Dr. Neff!

I am now a trumpet player!

Yesterday marked my first performance on trumpet. We had our opening game of the season versus the Citadel, who we demolished 40-6. It was an awesome experience - I went from barely knowing the fingerings of trumpet to standing in front of a stadium full of people! Granted, I still suck at trumpet but I'm getting a lot better and I'm having a lot of fun. It's awesome! Sorry for the short post, but that's really all I got right now...

Mixed Meter

In my Intro to Rock and Roll class, we discussed the idea of mixed meter. A basic explanation for mixed meter is when the count changes throughout the song. Normally, you can count "1 2 3 4, 1 2 3 4" or "1 2 3, 1 2 3," all the way through a song. In mixed meter, this changes and you might find "1 2 3 4, 1 2 3, 1 2 3 4."

Here are some of my favorite songs featuring mixed meter:

• All You Need is Love by The Beatles. This one is a mixed-meter standard. They usually alternate between 3/4 and 4/4 time, but sometimes they fake you out. Listen to it and try to count along!
• Barracuda by Heart. This song is mostly in 4/4 time, but especially in the second half the Heart sisters throw in bars of 3/4 time. Very cool!
• Blue Rondo A La Turk by the Dave Brubeck Quartet. Masters of rhythm and timing, these guys have a real excersice in time signatures on this one. This song has three bars of 9/8 time grouped into four beats (2+2+2+3) followed by one measure of 9/8 grouped into three beats (3+3+3). Cool stuff.
• Zombie Woof by Frank Zappa. I have absolutley no idea what's going on in the intro to this song, but I deffinitely suggest listening to it and appreciating how coordinated the musicians are!
• Africa by Toto. This one is a little harder to catch - subtle, if you will. Each time the reoccuring musical statement is played throughout the song, there's a bar of 2/4. If you're counting, you should count something like this: 1 2 3 4, 1 2 3 4, 1 2, 1 2 3 4, 1 2 3 4

Classes

Today marks the first weekend after classes began of the new semester! I'm really excited about it, because I have a really great lineup of classes. I have Music Theory III, Psych 101, Intro to Rock and Roll (that's right!), Intro to Computer Programming, and Peer Leadership. The last one is a class I have to take because I'm an RA, :P. I forsee a lot of frustration with that class, but the good news is that I have it with my best buddy Bruce. Cool! I'm sure I'll be posting interesting bits here and there throughout the semester. Peace friends!

Leb

Hello again! Today was the first day of classes for UNC's fall '09 semester, an exciting day indeed!

Two nights ago, I was with one of my fraternity brothers who was feeling down. After talking things out, we picked up guitars and made up a song on the spot. He played electric lead while I played rhythm on his steel six string; I was his support while he poured his heart out. It was an intense and deep moment, and we played for at least ten minutes without stopping or changing the music.

This particular brother is very spiritual, and has talked to me about what is called the 'language of the heart. ' I'm sure I'm not able to explain this nearly as well as he can, but it is not a spoken language, but more of a felt one. It is more of an abstract language about love rather than a language to write a shopping list or a play. In Hebrew, the word for this is "Leb." Although it does not specifically have to do with music, in that moment I felt the language of the heart between us. We didn't tell each other what was going on or what the other was going to play, but it worked and it was beautiful. I was so honored that I could be a part of that, and that we have the bond that allowed that to happen. Love - be it romantic or brotherly - is magnificent!

The Scatman

While I do haven't read anything that scientifically proves this, I've always thought of stuttering to be related to nervous tics, and therefore to Tourette's. Last night I actually listened to the lyrics of a favorite song, "Scatman" by Scatman John. I was floored by close to home the song hit, and I wanted to share it on my blog. I can't embed this particular video, so I'll post a link:

LINK!

Here's the lyrics that speak to me:

Everybody stutters one way or the other 

So check out my message to you. 

As a matter of fact don't let nothin' hold you back. 

If the Scatman can do it so can you. 

Everybody's sayin' that the Scatman stutters 

But doesn't ever stutter when he sings.

But what you don't know I'm gonna tell you right now

That the stutter and the scat is the same thing. 

Yo I'm the Scatman.

Music in the Heart

Today as an RA staff, we volunteered as a group at an organization called Club Nova. It's an organization that provides a lifestyle for people in the community with mental disabilities and handicaps. It's called a "Clubhouse Model," where members and staff both participate equally in running the organization. They have three main components of the oragnization: the house, the thrift store, and the apartments. The apartments were recently taken over by the government and are now Section 8 housing, but many of the members still live there. The house has meeting places, offices, a kitchen, and is just in general a place for people to hang out and be social. The thrift shop is pretty self explanatory, that's where I presume they make the majority of their income.

It was an odd experience being around so many people who have disorders and disabilities that are much more extreme that my own, and I think some of my fellow volunteers felt similarly. It was very clear that all of the members had a normal underlying self and personality, but there's was some barrier or difference that changes them in unfortunate ways.

The house had an upright piano wich of course I ended up at during our lunch break! Many of the same RAs from the Pachelbel post were with me at the piano, too. We talked about music theory some, discussing the difference between major, minor, and diminished triads and what exactly a seventh chord is. One of the members came over and talked to us a bit. Because of the barriers, I wasn't sure exactly what he said, but he definitely asked to sit down at the piano. He talked about listening to the radio and how he hasn't had much inspiration for a while. He mumbled something that didn't make a whole lot of sense about tuning and playing in band, so I was slightly skeptical when told me he was going to play me a pop song. He proved my ignorance when he began playing a beautiful chord progression right in front of me, complete with inversions and sharps and flats and everything beautiful. It made me remember that music is a part of all of us, and is a form of communication that bridges lingual and cultural and even disability barriers. I felt that I could experience the person he truly was, despite the differences in the way our minds work.



The video unfortunately doesn't have sound, but perhaps it's still interesting to watch.

Mohawk

So today in RA training, my staff did a skit based on the popular video game Guitar Hero. We dressed up like hard rockers - let's just say I got a little carried away!

Yes, the mohawk is real. No, I do not plan on keeping it for very long!

Half a Pachelbel

Today was the first day of RA training, and it went quite well in my opinion. I got to meet my coworkers for the next year and start building relationships with them. After the training was over, three of the more musically inclined guys made their way to my room, where we proceeded to jam. We had a drumset, two guitars, and a mandolin going (all of which were my instruments except for one of the guitars). The guy playing the mandolin was new to the instrument but picked it up with surprising speed - the man's got good string sense!

We all doodled around a bit with various melodies and chord progressions, but we locked together on one in particular and had a really awesome groove going. The chords were C, G, Am, and F repeated. In the key of C (which it was,) this is reffered to as a I V vi IV progression. The C chord, being built from the first note in the scale, is symbolized by roman numeral I; the G chord is built from scale degree 5 and is symbolized by roman numeral V, and so on. This can be heard in a great deal of songs, like "Don't Stop Believin" by Journey, "Let it Be" by The Beatles, "Sk8er Boi" by Averile Levinge... you get the idea. People refer to this as the "Pachelbel chords," but this is wrong.

Pachelbel's Canon is I V iv ii IV I IV V. In the key of C, that would be C, G, Am, Dm, F, C, F, G. If we compare the first four chords of Pachelbel's canon to the other progression, you see that they're the same except for the last chord. However, this is somewhat forgivable because a Dm and an F chord are the same except for one note (D minor is D,F,A; F is F,A,C). The real issue comes in when you realize that "Don't Stop Believin'" and the other songs have four chords, but pachelbel has - count 'em - eight! That's right, what many musicians think of as the "Pachelbel progression" doesn't even have the right number of chords! For a song that uses legit Pachelbel, listen to "Graduation" by Vitamin C. That doesn't really count though, because she (they?) actually has Pachelbel's original piece playing in the background. It's a very nice tribute, but you can see how that's not quite what we're going for.

Luckily for you, you've read this blog and you know the truth. Therefore, the next time one of your musician friends tries to impress you by saying "You hear that? That's Pachelbel!" You can turn around and say to them "Oh yeah? Then where's the other half?"