The Art of the Spiritual - Part III

Steve and I had great fun planning a presenting a short lecture recital on traditional African-American spirituals a few weeks ago.  Here is a video clip and a little bit of history on the third piece on our program, “Wade in the Water.”  Enjoy!

This familiar piece has two scriptural reference points.  First, it tells the story of Moses parting the Red Sea and leading the Israelites safely through on dry ground.  Second, in the New Testament, we read the story of the healing pool.  John 5:4 says, “For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.”  Again, the text seems to parallel the slaves’ yearning for freedom and for healing.  In fact, it has been suggested that this piece refers to the Underground Railroad.  Wading through rivers meant leaving fewer tracks and not leaving a scent to be traced (Gray, 2012).  The text reads:

Chorus: Wade in the water, Wade in the water, children. Wade in the water, God’s a-goin’ to trouble the water.

Verse: See that band all dress’d in white? God’s a-goin’ to trouble the water. The Leader looks like the Israelite, God’s a-goin’ to trouble the water.

Chorus

Verse: See that band all dress’d in red? God’s a-goin’ to trouble the water. It looks like the band dat Moses led. God’s a-goin’ to trouble the water.

Chorus

-- Resources: Gray, H. T.  Negro spirituals still resonate.  Myrtle Beach Online.  Accessed Wednesday, February 29, 2012.  http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/2012/02/29/2688494/negro-spirituals-still-resonate.html.

The Art of the Spiritual - Part II

Steve and I had great fun planning a presenting a short lecture recital on traditional African-American spirituals a few weeks ago.  Here is a video clip and a little bit of history on the second piece on our program, “Deep River.”  Enjoy!

This lyrical piece symbolizes life after death and freedom for the Israelites in the Promised Land (see above).  A glimpse of a free life, this song may also have symbolized the slaves’ crossing of the Ohio River into the free states (Kimball, 2006).  The text reads:

Chorus: Deep river, my home is over Jordan, Deep river, Lord, I want to cross over into campground.

Bridge: Oh don’t you want to go To that gospel feast, That promis’d land Where all is peace?

Tag: Oh deep river, Lord, I want to cross over into campground.

The use of the word “campground” in the chorus is not a biblical reference; rather, it refers to a place where a religious “camp meeting” was held.  During the 19th century in the south, a campground consisted of a series of “tents” or cabins where people could cook and sleep and a centrally-located meeting house where worship took place.  The inclusion of this term in “Deep River” could signify the desire to worship freely.  In addition, the word “peace” is left unresolved as it leads into the tag ending – a symbol of unrest and a sense of a greater reality.

-- Resources: Kimball, C. (2006). Song: a guide to art song style and literature. Hal Leonard Corporation.

The Art of the Spiritual - Part I

Steve and I had great fun planning a presenting a short lecture recital on traditional African-American spirituals a few weeks ago.  Here is a video clip and a little bit of history on the first piece on our program, “Go Down, Moses.”  Enjoy!

The first spiritual to ever appear in print in 1861 (during the first year of the Civil War), this rhythmic, march-like piece tells the story of Moses petitioning to Pharoah of Egypt to free the Israelites from bondage (Burkholder et al., 2006).  The story, as recounted in the book of Exodus states, “And the Lord spoke unto Moses, go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, thus saith the Lord, Let my people go, that they may serve me” (Exodus 7:16).  As one can imagine, African-American slaves in the American South could identify with this struggle for freedom from bondage and this spiritual likely became a song of hope (Burkholder et al., 2006).  The text reads:

Verse: When Israel was in Egypt’s lan’, Let my people go, Oppress’d so hard they could not stan’, Let my people go.

Chorus: Go down, Moses, ‘Way down in Egypt’s lan’, Tell ole Pharaoh, To let my people go.

Verse: Thus saith the Lord, bold Moses said, Let my people go, If not I’ll smite your first born dead, Let my people go.

Chorus

A typical African musical feature, the element of call and response (Burkholder et al., 2006) is exhibited in the verses with the recurring line, “Let my people go!”

-- Resources: Burkholder, J. P., Grout, D. J., Palisca, C. V. (2006). A History of Western Music, 7^th Edition. W.W. Norton & Company: New York.

Making Concerts Happen

We had a great experience with our webinar, “Presenting Concerts in Your Local Community: Creative Ideas for Making Concerts Happen Anywhere” on Monday night!  Hosted by Polyphonic On-Campus, Steve and I used the WCMW as a case study to explore strategies and ideas for creating community-centered events.  We shared our personal insight in getting to know your community, evaluating your assets, getting funded, and creating opportunities.  Ready to make concerts happen in your local community?  Get started by watching our webinar presentation!

Sail Away from the Safe Harbor

We’ve all heard these words before: Just put yourself out there!” “You’ll never know unless you try.” “Get out there and make things happen!”

Often times, it’s just the kind of push we need to let go of our safety net and well, float or sink.  After all, “A ship in port is safe but that’s not what ships are built for,” Grace Murray Hopper reminds us.  And yet, we waiver.  We hesitate.  We doubt.  Why is it so hard to let go?

The unknown is hard to accept.  Undefined, uncharted change is challenging and just plain uncomfortable for those of us who feel perfectly content in the little box we’ve constructed for ourselves.  But I keep reminding myself that there is so much more out there.  The future holds an indefinite number of possibilities and opportunities if I am open to receiving them.  So often, my fears include failure, not being capable (i.e. not being good enough), and getting stuck.

How do I work past that?  Well, everyone fails.  Perfection is not the goal.   Excellence is the journey, not the destination.  Failure is something I need to accept as part of the learning process – the important part is learning from it and moving on.  Being capable doesn’t mean I will always have all the answers.  It means I will always do my best and again, I am willing to learn from my experiences.  Confession: I learn new things from my students all the time.  I learn how to be a better teacher, what works and what doesn’t, how people learn, how to better communicate my thoughts and ideas, and how to facilitate learning.  This constant growth fights my fear of getting stuck and becoming complacent.  It’s impossible to remain the same if you’re open to learning and growing with the changes in your life.

You were not made to be stationary.  You were made to go places, to do things, to make a difference, to set an example, to learn, to grow, to love, to give, to collaborate, to create, to invent, to explore, to dream, and to discover.  What are you afraid of?  Failure?  Losing?  Making the wrong decision?  Starting over?  Write them down.  All of them.  Fear cripples us if we allow it but to name your fears is to destroy them.  So NAME them.  Take each fear – no matter how great or small – and take action.  What do you need to accept?  What needs to change?  What can you learn?  Is this really something worth holding onto?  How would you feel without this fear in your life?  Fear stretches us, challenges us, and makes us stronger in the end if we choose to take action and eliminate it from our lives, piece by piece.

One of my favorite quotes wisely states, “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.  So throw off the bowlines.  Sail away from the safe harbor.  Catch the trade winds in your sails.  Explore.  Dream.  Discover.” – Mark Twain

You have far more potential within you than lies within the safety net you’ve constructed for yourself.  Free yourself from the confines of the safe harbor and set sail.  Explore, dream, and discover all that is waiting for you.

Shooting Stars

Earlier this week, I had an eight-year-old student bring this into her lesson – her first composition.  At our last lesson, I asked her to try making up a few of her own songs that used some of the same musical elements she had recently learned (quarter notes, half notes, legato playing, and changing registers).

“Shooting Stars” is a piece for right and left hand in 5/4 time (how cool is that?!), spanning four octaves.  There are repeated rhythm patterns as well as tonal patterns and the ascending tetrachord in each pattern combined with the shifts in register really exemplifies the title.  Notice the “key” in the top left hand corner that indicates hand position (modeled from our lesson book, The Music Tree).  Up to this point, the songs in the book have only included black keys; I love the initiative it took to create a new piece on the white keys!

I’m so proud!

Purpose

This week, I want to live with purpose. 

I want to tackle my ever-growing to-do list with purposeful effort, use of time, and decision-making.  I want to make great things happen for the WCMW this week (currently putting together some very exciting [and adorable!] sponsor/donor packages!). 

I want to finish reviewing my 2011 financials and file my taxes this weekend.  I want to update my grade book so I can give back the stack of papers and quizzes that have invaded my workspace.  I want to refuel by exercising and spending more time outside. 

I want to spend my working hours working with purpose so that I can be true to the boundaries I’ve set for my personal life.  I want Friday to be more like this.  I want each day to count for something.

I read a quote yesterday that reminded me how powerful purpose-driven days can be:

“Go forward in life with a twinkle in your eye and a smile on your face, but with great and strong purpose in your heart.” – George B. Hinckley. 

Let’s live this week with purpose, meaning, and intention.  Be intentional about the way you work.  Eliminate distractions.  Make decisions.  Work hard.  Invest yourself in what you do.  Go forward with purpose.  Let’s do this!

This Week

This week:

• We enjoyed several sunny, warm days and afternoons with the windows open.

• I made banana pudding for the first time.

• We got a little carried away and tried to grill out one night. (We gave up and cooked inside once it got cold enough to see our breath.)

• I attended an awesome branding webinar that got me all kinds of fired up for the months to come.

• We gave an informal lecture recital to an audience of almost thirty enthusiastic listeners (recap coming soon!).

• I encountered a few instances of plagiarism in my students’ papers.  Though struggling with how to deal with it, I am determined to turn this into a teaching opportunity.

• We finished our federal tax return.

• I introduced SD to the (southern?) expression, “Land sakes alive.”

• We haven’t driven the car since Saturday!  It is so nice to work from home.

• I celebrated St. Patrick’s Day with my children’s choir by teaching them Irish hymns and two Irish group dances!

• I got the latest Elle Decor in the mail and I plan on carving out some time this weekend to skim through it.

• We had some awesome teaching moments.

• We spent some time preparing for our WCMW webinar next Monday, March 19!  Sign up here – it’s free!

Happy weekend, friends!

Surround Yourself with Those Things

"In order to lead a fascinating life - one brimming with art, music, intrigue and romance - you must surround yourself with precisely those things." - Kate Spade Art.  Music.  Intrigue.  Romance.  Who wouldn’t want to surround themselves with these things?!

We all have days where we feel surrounded by those less-than-pleasant people, places, or tasks.  Take control of the things you choose to surround yourself with and make sure they’re the things that inspire you and fire you up.  For me, that means escaping to the empty conference room on my lunch break (with a wall of windows where I can look out on the world) so I get that necessary 20 minutes of solitude in a busy teaching day.

When working from home, I surround myself with good music that keeps me focused and working hard and a little inspiration board hanging over my desk to refresh my energy and attention span.  Five-minute detours to Pinterest also work to clear my head and inspire my creativity.

The people I choose to surround me are encouraging and inspiring – they work hard and challenge me to constantly reevaluate my priorities.

Lead a fascinating life.  Who’s stopping you?

Dinner Conversations

I love dinner conversations with SD. 

Though our meals might range from gourmet (think étoufée-style shrimp and grits) to KFC (think fried chicken and macaroni and cheese) and more often than not, we eat at the breakfast nook rather than at the dining room table, I love this time of the day we get to share together. 

Sometimes, we talk about the things that happened during the day; other times, we listen to our favorite radio show online (since it’s not syndicated on our NPR station) and play the “name that tune/composer/style period/nationality” game. 

And some nights we get caught up in nerdy intellectual conversations about music teaching and learning.

And I love every minute of it.

Tonight, over plates of apple pancakes, raisin bread toast, and cheese grits, we started talking about our students and the progress they made in their lessons this afternoon. 

“My student is solid.  She can play in E Major now – four sharps!” Steve said. 

“My student said tonight that she sometimes finds it easier to sight-sing her music before sight-playing it – yes!” I said, excitedly. 

We talked about our own experiences with learning to sightread and the effects of singing on the audiation skills (the ability to hear and comprehend music silently) and musical development of instrumentalists.

Our conversation lasted through dinner and our dish-washing/drying time. 

It’s just so interesting to me to reflect on our musical pasts: comparing the ways we were taught, sharing experiences we’ve had, and exploring the ways we’ve developed into the musicians we are today.  It’s amazing to watch part of this process unfold with the students I see each week – to watch them make connections, to let them figure out a new rhythm pattern on their own, to see them light up when they realize the freedom they have in learning to transpose.

This is my everyday. 

Every class, every lesson, every rehearsal is an opportunity for me to be a better teacher and present new information in the clearest way I can. 

I want to inspire, encourage, and challenge my students to work hard, practice hard, set goals for themselves, be curious, try new things, and never stop learning.

Image Credit: Last year’s WCMW.  Find out all that’s in store for this year right here.