Hi Everyone,
Sorry it's been a while since my last post. I have to share with you yet another new gadget. A musician friend of mine just sent me the coolest thing...a composition, an album, and an electronic instrument, all rolled into one. But that's not the cool part. It is all inside a CD jewel case, inside a single microchip!
Neurologist and author, Oliver Sacks, writes about disorders of the brain, some of them music-related. The film, "Awakenings," starring Robin Williams, was based on his work with Parkinsonian patients and the experimental drug, L-dopamine in the 1960's, and his subsequent book. Sacks is author of the recent book, Musicophilia (2008). The film, "The Music Has Never Stopped," is based on Sacks' essay, "The Last Hippee," about the healing power of music.
The following movie review is taken from The Hollywood Reporter, January 25, 2011.
SUNDANCE REVIEW: The Music Never Stopped
10:29 PM 1/25/2011 by James Greenberg
The Bottom Line: A sentimental but deeply felt true story about the healing power of music.
Venue : Sundance Film Festival, Premieres (Roadside Attractions)
Cast: J.K. Simmons, Lou Taylor Pucci, Cara Seymour, Julia Ormand, Tammy Blanchard, Mia Maestro, Scott Adsit, Max Antisell
Director: Jim Kohlberg
The sentimental movie, based on a true story, uses the music of Bob Dylan, the Beatles and the Grateful Dead to bridge the generation gap between a father and son.
PARK CITY -- Based on a true story and an essay titled "The Last Hippie" by neurologist Oliver Sacks,The Music Never Stopped is an effectively emotional look at the power of music therapy to trigger memories lost after brain surgery. Using abundant songs from the '60s by Bob Dylan, the Beatles and especially the Grateful Dead to bridge the generation gap between a father and son estranged by time and a severe medical condition, the sentimental pull of the film is hard to resist. It could find an appreciative theatrical audience among boomers and lively business at home. The year is 1986, and Henry Sawyer (J.T. Simmons) and his wife, Helen (Cara Seymour), have not seen their son, Gabriel (Lou Taylor Pucci), for almost 20 years when they get a call that he is comatose in the hospital with a benign brain tumor. The operation is successful but robs Gabriel of his long-term memory, essentially trapping him in 1968, the year when politics and music bitterly separated the once close family. The doctors offer no hope for Gabriel's recovery, and parental visits become more dutiful than satisfying when Henry's research leads him to music therapist Dianne Daly (Julia Ormand). The idea is to stir his memory through a visceral connection to the music. Henry stubbornly insists she begin treatment with tunes from his beloved big band era, something he once shared with his son. It doesn't work. Then Daly has an epiphany: What about music from the '60s? When she plays "All You Need Is Love," it's as if a light bulb goes off and Gabriel comes alive. He can recite chapter and verse of when he first heard the song and what it meant to him. Same for "Mr. Tambourine Man" and many others. But it's the Grateful Dead that really releases the joy Gabriel felt as a young man experiencing this music for the first time. The problem is his father hates that music and initially resists, until he sees the progress his son is making. Desperate to make a connection, he realizes that the only way he can talk to his son is through music. Gabriel is unable to distinguish between the past and the present -- he thinks the Vietnam War is still going on -- but at least through his love for the music, he is able to access a time when he was alive. Depicting the '60s in flashbacks could have been cartoonish, particularly on a low budget. But if the look is not always totally authentic, director Jim Kohlberg and cinematographer Stephen Kazmierski manage to capture the spirit of the era. The film's heart is in the right place, and buoyed by the music, the value of this kind of therapy comes through loud and clear. With thanks on the credits to Dylan, Paul McCartney and members of the Dead for the use of their music, it's obvious they also recognized the importance of the subject. And Kohlberg's smart casting choices and heartfelt performances also help deliver the message. As grumpy as Henry may seem at times, Simmons is far too good-natured an actor to believe he is anything but a good man. Pucci does an admirable job in playing what is essentially two parts -- the catatonic Gabriel, and the hippie Gabriel. And Ormand emanates the kindness her role calls for. The climatic set piece of the film features Henry taking his son to a Grateful Dead concert against doctor's orders. The tie-dye may be a bit over the top and the performance on stage might not be the real thing--actors play band members -- but when the real Dead sing "what a long strange trip it's been," the film honors the ability of music to heal even the most damaged soul.
Here is more feel good stuff for motivation. Obviously, these kids would walk on water for their director. What started out as a simple class blog page, to show parents what their students were doing in chorus, quickly turned into a viral hit on YouTube. Now the PS22 Chorus is famous throughout the U.S., and has received visits and performance invitations by celebrities and government officials. They've even been nominated for an Oscar! Read more about the PS22 Chorus at http://www.ps22chorusblogspot.com/.
PS22Chorus-"Firework"- Katy Perry (Oscars Press Conference)
This is my new favorite video/favorite musicians. They took an awesome tune by the King of Pop & made it even cooler! These are the kinds of projects that truly motivate me & remind me of how much I love music. This is the perfect combination of pop culture combined with classical trained musicians-music education used well. I will be purchasing their albums on iTunes this week! Tell me what you think!
Here is a list of some of my new favorite music education websites:
http://www.musictheory.net/
Ricci Adam's Music Theory.net is an excellent resource for music educators and students, that contains hands-on lessons, and game-like quizzes for elementary to intermediate (approx. grades 3-9) level students.
http://www.musicracer.com/
This is a music learning game that is a fun way for beginner band students to test their skills, speed, and accuracy. Students can do various activities such as note name and symbol identification, fingering quizzes, and other fun activities for their respective instruments.
http://www.musicards.net/
This is a site of music flash cards that students can use for music note & symbol memorization.
http://www.playintimeadvantage.com/
This is the re-designed website for http://www.yamahaadvantage.com/. The teachers pages contain lesson plans, reinforcement exercises, theory worksheets, assignments, and assessments, as well as a complete music learning sequence with full scores.
http://www.musictechteacher.com/
This site provides complete lesson plans, hands-on lessons with audio and visual examples, games, and quizzes for elementary music students.
For your reading/listening enjoyment:
http://www.longplayer.org/ Longplayer is the longest non-repeating piece of music ever composed. It has been playing continuously since the start of the millennium, performed by computers around the world. Longplayer has been playing for 11 years, 50 days, 15 hours, 47 minutes and 15 seconds (& counting).
Hi Everyone. Since I have been in project mode for the past week, I've decided to share some of the things I've been working on, in addition to some of my favorite music education websites. Feel free to share your own.
The first thing on the list is the theremin. I'm doing a research paper on its inventor, Leon Theremin (Lev Sergeyevich Termen-Russian name). This guy was an interesting fellow. Not only was he a musician, engineer, & inventor, but he was also a Russian spy. I'm attempting to pick at some of the espionage theories (& rumors of his death) surrounding him, & his mysterious disappearance from the United States in 1938. Apparently, he left his wife and indebted friends high & dry, & served in a sharashka (Russian prison camp) for many years, making espionage tools such as motion sensor devices and the wireless bug (it's been around since the 1940's!), and eventually remarried and had children. Theremin returned to the United States after a chance acquaintance with a reporter in the late 90's. In a recent documentary by Steve Martin, called, Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey, Theremin discusses his the details of his life and his inventions. It is strange to hear him say that he remembered virtually nothing of the events that happened prior to his abrupt return to Russia. He said it was as if those years never happened.
Since I am a singer, and into science fiction, I am fascinated with the theremin, and the fact that the player makes music out of thin air. It reminds me of all the sci-fi movies with holographic computers, like Minority Report. I also think it would be really neat to sing with a theremin.
Below are a few videos of theremin virtuosos such as Clara Rockmore & a few others. I hope you enjoy them. Feel free to share your latest favorite videos, gadgets, or websites.
Clara Rockmore-Pastorale-Second Movement of Theremin Concerto (Anis Fuliehan)
Lucie Bigelow Rosen-rare recording from her lost album.
Hi Everyone!
I attended the Bon Jovi concert at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh with my husband on Saturday, Feb 12th. We had seats diagnally behind/above the stage-section 224 H. They were much better than we expected, since we bought tickets 4 days before the concert! Our friends, Jimbo & the Soupbones (from New Kensington) opened for Bon Jovi. Jimbo & the Soupbones were awesome! It was like they were walking on air. They appeared excited and confident, and other than the fact that the facility intentionally lessens amplitude and sound quality of opening bands, they sounded as though they've been onstage for 20 years. They rocked! Some highlights of the set list include: Eat a Bug (lyrics go something like: I'd eat a bug for you, lick a dirty rug for you...), That Diamond (story about a cheating woman), Never Knew (can't remember what this one's about), and my favorite, a meaningful song about tolerance (inspired by a guy who goes by "Tiffany"). I think it's called, Somebody Got to Love Him Too. I was so proud of them, I choked back tears when they started playing. Jimbo even gave a shout out to my husband, something about Transformers, and he got all teary-eyed. How honored we were that he remembered us on one of the most important days of his life. Of course Bon Jovi was awesome as always. Jon looks like he's barely aged a day. He's skinny as a rail, & jumps around like he's 25 (but is closer to 50!). Jon still has the pipes of a 20-something, & Richie has equally fit guitar chops. Tico & David rocked, too. So they did 3 encores, one original (This Is Love, This Is Life-I think)-premier performance, Bed of Roses, and of course, ended with Livin' On a Prayer.
I think this was the best concert I have ever seen, both because our friends made us proud, and Bon Jovi is a legend after 27 years!
Please check out the following videos from the concert!
Hello and welcome to my blog! My purpose for this blog is to share with you, my friends, music colleagues, students, and fellow music lovers; my favorite music tidbits, such as new music and performers, great soundtracks, music reviews, the use of music in movies, instruments, videos, websites, teaching materials, resources, and various other musical things. I also would like to give you the opportunity to share your favorite music things with me. I welcome you to share your personal favorites as well as any music, teaching, or technology resources that you find useful.
I'll begin by discussing random musical things that I am working on, or have found, or the topics for the day. I hope that I will be able to narrow my blog to one topic per day, making this a rather comprehensive, yet cool cite where you (my friends) or I can refer, to find all these cool things in one place. When I become an experienced blogger, I will be able to post videos and links to my favorites, but for now, I'll discuss thoughts for upcoming projects.
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