Another sobbing-in-public song for Good Friday

This sobbing-in-public story happened at church. It was a Confirmation Sunday, when young people become adult members of the church.

A young woman sang this song and I cried, and gasped and sobbed. It was so beautiful, that even thinking about it makes my eyes fill with tears.

Mary Did You Know is often sung at Christmas time, but I think Easter is more appropriate. And, it was very appropriate at that ceremony that celebrates the beginning of adulthood, the end of childhood.

On that Sunday, I knew all of the Confirmands. I had taught them Sunday School. I cried because they looked so grown-up in their special clothes and in their special roles on their celebration day. Who knows what they will be, what wonderful things they will do?

Of course, I cried for my babies. When I kissed their baby faces, I was kissing the face of God. When I see their beautiful almost-grown-up faces, I still see God. Who knows what they will be, what wonderful things they will do?

Benefits of Tequila: Removes shyness, enhances voice!

Yup! Listen to Tequila.

They always say alcohol is bad for singers, but there are some benefits.
It's certainly not a good idea to get drunk and then try to perform. We've seen a few rock stars try that and it's not pretty. But, one regular drink can be just the thing to reduce your inhibitions, and help you to sing out with feeling.
I used to tell my adult ESL students that a shot of something strong before class would probably help them to  loosen up and speak English better. When I was studying Linguistics at York University, I read about a study that measured the relationship between alcohol consumption and learning a language. They gave people different amounts of alcohol and then measured their performance in a second language, and the optimal amount was 1 1/2 ounces, an average shot.

Here's a link to an article about drinking and learning a new language.
I bet that would work for singing.

15 Studied Effects of Classical Music: It's really good for you!

This illustration is from the article 15 Studied Effects of Classical Music on Your Brain | Online PhD Programs which you can read by clicking on that link. (update: that link died and I can't find that article again! Sorry. And, now I don't have a way to acknowledge the creator of that image.) It's a great visual representation of what goes on when you listen or perform classical music, or any music, really. The article goes on to show how classical music is beneficial to our health and well-being in many ways, and gives scientific support. I wish that there were more studies done with different kinds of music. People don't all respond to music the same way, and different music can have similar benefits.

Happy St. Patrick's Day- Happy Irish Music in a bar

Now, this is music. Love the bar, the band, the dancing, clapping, hooting, everything. It's fun and happy and you just want to join in!

Gregorian Chant: Tranquility

According to Wikipedia, if you want to calm down, "conventional wisdom" prescribes Gregorian Chants:

In 2008, the Cistercian Monks of Austrian Heiligenkreuz Abbey released the CD Chant – Music for Paradise, which became the best-selling album of the Austrian pop charts and peaked #7 of the UK charts. In the US, the album was released under the title Chant – Music for the Soul and peaked at #1 on the Billboard classical charts.

It became conventional wisdom that listening to Gregorian chant increased the production of alpha waves in the brain, reinforcing the popular reputation of Gregorian chant as tranquilizing music.

When you follow the link to Alpha Waves, Wikipedia says this: 

Zen-trained meditation masters produce noticeably more alpha waves during meditation. This fact has led to a popular trend of biofeedback training programs for everyday stress relief.

So, when we listen to Gregorian Chants, we get more alpha waves and when we have more alpha waves we can be as calm as a Zen master meditating.  

Here is a link to a  video of a chant from the Cistercian Abbey Stift Heiligenkreuz in the Vienna Woods and there's a link to the Abby's website if you're interested in learning more.

The Gregorian Chants are not the only chants that are reputed to help us relax. If you search on YouTube, you can find all kinds of other chanting and they're all supposed to help us meditate, relax and become peaceful. 

Here is a video of Tibetan chanting:

Chanting is really just singing together. When people chant at a protest or at a soccer match or hockey game, they're definitely not trying to calm everyone down. Singing together is powerful for the singers and for those listening. I know that from singing in a choir and at church and at sports events.

The Gregorian chants and the Tibetan chants that people listen to when they want to relax are spiritual and have their own special power. 

Word Power: Imagine the power of music

This picture-quote that I saw posted on Facebook expresses the power of words, and advises us to choose our words carefully. 

It makes me think of all the people who are out there texting and posting every word that comes to mind, without thinking of the power of their words. It's cool that we are reading and writing more and more to express ourselves to communicate electronically, but the result is that a lot of stuff that would have gone unrecorded, lost to the wind as soon as it's out of the mouth, now has the potential to be kept and shared forever. The four-letter word that slipped out, the hateful words, angry words, unformed thoughts, careless things are out there reflecting on you and affecting others. That's the messy side of this power of words thing.

The awesome side of this is how it relates to music. Music has special powers. It can create smiles or frowns and generate laughs and tears. A melody can do that. So can the the lyrics. Add them together and include a powerful performance by a bunch of musicians, and the power increases exponentially!

When you are making music, be aware of the power you are wielding.

Think of the power of music when you choose what to listen to. I think it should be like choosing what you eat. Choose the things that will make you healthier most of the time and have some fun or scary or simply awful stuff too in moderation. If you're a parent, consider what you're feeding your children, what they're being exposed to, and how it will affect their health. 

Choose your music carefully.