Lift Every Voice

Welcome, readers!

DISCLAIMER: While I'd like to think this post will be musically substantive, you should probably know up front that I'm going to sound kind of like a hippie.  But, since I grew up in Portland and have spent the last decade spending large portions of my time in Boulder, I don't think any of you should really be that surprised.

Last week's Alan Lomax post, in combination with my journey to the OAKE conference a few weeks back, got me thinking about "music of the people" for the past few days.  I tend to get a little shifty about this whole topic, torn between the fairly hard-core opinions of the traditional Kodály camp (the most conservative of whom tend to profess that the only legitimate folk music tradition in North America is that of its indigenous people, and all the English-language stuff is either stolen from Great Britain or composed, and therefore not technically folk music) and a more "progressive" point of view.  I find the former far too restrictive (especially in its more extreme incarnations), but I'm also not entirely comfortable with the inclusion of songs like "Rock around the Clock" on this list assembled by NAofME (formerly MENC) of songs that have a place in the American "canon" of songs everyone should be able to sing.  I think it's a sticky dilemma all around -- on the one hand, we want people to sing, and it stands to reason that they're more likely to sing songs they like.  However, I sort of think of "Rock around the Clock" as the musical equivalent of Cheetos....many will find it appealing, but the song is fundamentally without musical or emotional (nutritional) value.  And, like several other songs they include, it's pretty difficult to sing it well, which means that when people unaccustomed to singing try to sing it, it won't sound good.  Now, one might argue that "it doesn't matter what it sounds like," but I agree with one of my favorite authorities on communal singing, Alice Parker, on this one.  In her book Melodious Accord, Ms. Parker writes:

"...the statement 'I just want the people to enjoy singing; it doesn't matter how they sound' is meaningless. Music is sound, and the better it sounds, the better it is -- and the more people will be caught by it."

So, all of that has me taking a big step back into a more classic Kodály paradigm. But, at the same time, I don't really have a problem with "Edelweiss" or "Over the Rainbow" making the list.  Is that just my personal taste talking?  Maybe.  Can we really consider either one of those pieces folk music?  Nope.  However, I think there's something emotionally honest and compelling about both of them, and I think they have melodies that are made for singing (even though there are some tricky leaps).  I don't believe they're necessarily what we should be teaching kids to sing in kindergarten music classes, but I do think it'd be a great thing if kids grew up singing those songs at home with their families, and I feel that way about maybe 60% of that list, give or take.  And, it should be said that I cut my teeth on the musical equivalent of strychnine in the form of really awful church music from the words-on-the-overhead-I-V-IV-I (no, that's not a typo)-sing-the-chorus-9000-times-Jesus-is-my-boyfriend tradition, and somehow I still came out loving Bach and Josquin, so there you go.  Maybe all those Wee Sing and Simon & Garfunkel tunes (with a little help from the classical station always playing at my grandparents' house) were enough to prevent my permanent descent into the ignoble.

I'm asking all levels to do the same assignment yet again, but as always, I encourage you to regulate your own difficulty level -- if it's too easy, kick it up a notch; if it's too difficult, dial it back.

All Levels:


Read through this article:

http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/03/how-communal-singing-disappeared-from-american-life/255094/

And check out this link (the NAofME list mentioned above):

http://www.nafme.org/resources/view/get-america-singing-again

Follow these steps:

1. Take a quick look through the list of songs on the link above.  Without thinking too much about it, mark which ones you think everyone ought to be able to sing.  If you don't know a song, skip it.  If you're feeling conflicted because you LOVE a song, but you fear it might be trashy, include it -- I promise not to judge you.

2. Make a note of how much of NAofME's collection you actually chose to use.  Sort the pieces into genres: true folk songs, patriotic songs, composed traditional songs (I'd put Stephen Foster in this category, but I'll leave John Denver and Joni Mitchell up to you), pop songs, or any other designation you come up with.

3. Dust off your solfa chops and put syllables to a few songs from each genre.  Try to transcribe one from each genre in a key you think is appropriate for communal singing.

4. Analyze your transcriptions informally, but with an eye towards the elements you look for in your song collection analyses.  What elements are easy to find?  What elements are almost non-existent?  What makes a song difficult or easy?  How did you deal with the rhythms in the more syncopated examples?  Did you find that you really didn't want to have to write down the rhythms the way that you actually sing them?

5. If you were to make your own list from the songs you chose, plus others you know, what songs would you include?  Remember, these are songs you think every grownup in North America should know and be able to sing...not necessarily the songs you'd use in your classroom (so, in a sense, I'm asking you to choose with your heart rather than your head). How do your examples differ from the songs you chose to leave off your list?  Do your own examples come from your Kodály song collection, or from another source?  How personal are these songs to you?

6. Just for fun, as you go about your daily life, sing some of your favorite songs -- with others, or just by yourself.  Who knows?  Maybe you'll inspire other grownups to lift up their voices and sing.

Spring Break with Alan Lomax

Hello all!

Well, my writing obligations are not yet completely fulfilled, so I need to make another brief (and late....sorry!) post.  However, the resource we'll be using is quite the treasure trove, and I hope it provides you with many happy hours of diversion, not only as solfa practitioners, but as people who are listening for the enrichment of your hearts.

All Levels:

First, read this:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/therecord/2012/03/28/148915022/alan-lomaxs-massive-archive-goes-online
(I especially like the part where the blogger describes Alan's analytical system as being "like Pandora for grad students".....yeah, dude, if you only knew.....)

Then, follow the link in the article here:

http://research.culturalequity.org/home-audio.jsp
(the server seems to be pretty busy, so be persistent if it doesn't work the first time)

Break out your tuning forks and manuscript paper (or stick notation), and get ready to party.  You might even be able to add to your song collection!

Listen, transcribe, and enjoy!

Time held me...

My dear readers,

I know this post is late, but it'll also be a bit short -- forgive me, and I promise more and better soon!

All Levels:


First, let Mr. Hopkins read this to you:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpydvqTm0hI

I recommend just closing your eyes and listening the first time.

Then, for the visual learners, read the poem here:
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/175908

John Corigliano's setting of the poem appears several places on YouTube, but this one seems to work well:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tp7yyn1xcY (Part 1)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhEnCb0LJeU (Part 2)

Listen to the whole piece (about 20 minutes total).

Derive the form (I have my own opinion about it....I'd love to know yours!).  How does this reflect the form and/or content of the poem?

Figure out what's going on metrically...find the big beat, and then figure out what's up with the subdivisions.

Sing the opening instrumental theme, and see if you can apply some solfege to it.

Sing the opening vocal theme (soprano part), and see if you can apply some solfege to that.

At the end of the piece, something very interesting happens to the opening vocal theme -- it's sung in unison by the whole choir at "Oh, as I was young and easy in the mercy of his means," but it's altered -- how would you describe this alteration?

Transcribe anything you'd like....it's challenging, so take a small bite and see what you can do.

That's it this time...but please enjoy!  Time has its own hold on me at the moment, which I'm hoping it will loosen soon!

Building Memories

Greetings, dear students!

Here we are, already up to the third Sunday of Advent!  How did 2011 go by so very quickly?

I'm guessing that many of you are headed into a week full of concerts, and almost all of you will be dealing with stir-crazy students hopped up on too much sugar and the promise of the imminent winter break.  This being the case, I'll try to keep things extra short and simple.

So, I was sitting in a church service this morning and we sang a hymn tune I particularly like (I've included it below for the rising level 4's), and I decided to see how much of it I thought I could sing from memory in letter names (and by sing, I mean audiate -- I think the person giving the sermon wouldn't have appreciated my little game very much if it had happened out loud).  It only took a few minutes, and I was able to do it in a moment when I had to be sitting someplace quietly, but where I could divide my aural attention -- this would be a great bus-riding activity, or possibly driving, but be judicious on that one...I don't want to be responsible for anyone getting into an audiation-related car wreck.  It's also nice to have a lovely new tune committed to memory, and that way you can share it with a friend or loved one.

The procedure will be basically the same for all levels.  Take a couple days with each of the steps below:

Step 1: Listen to the tune a few times until you have it memorized (words are optional for my purposes, but you will probably want to learn them for your own use).  Determine the form of the piece and start to think of it in phrases as you memorize, since that will help you with the steps below.

Step 2: Start to solmize the tune phrase-by-phrase.  The rising 2's and 3's will keep the same solfa all the way through, but the 4's may choose to modulate if they wish.  If you opt to modulate (which you could do more than one time, as it turns out...), be sure to keep track of where you've gone by remembering your original "do" -- otherwise, you'll be a little sunk for the next step.

Step 3: Once you can fluently sing the piece by memory in solfa, try singing it in rhythm names.  Then, find a comfortable key for your voice, and start singing the tune in letter names.  If things get muddled in the middle (especially for you 4's!), try for the first and last phrase and work inward.  Once you're pretty sure you've got it right, write it down and check your notation (I'll leave the tracking down of a notational source to you so as to reduce the temptation to give up too soon).

What tripped you up?  What was easy?  Did you find it easier to commit the notes or the words (if you used them) to memory?  Did you find that your memory of the tune was tied to your memory of the text?  My hunch is that they will go together, simply because of the kinds of tunes being used.

Rising Level 2's


Take a listen to this lovely tune from Annie Lennox's new album:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7s_zaF74gc

Rising Level 3's


I'm not crazy about the long pauses at the end of each phrase, but I think the voice on this old LP is quite sweet:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_u07i1YdGY

Rising Level 4's


Again, there are some funny phrase things happening here -- if you find a recording of the tune "Jerusalem" (which is the same tune) that's more straightforward, feel free to bring it to my attention:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lpUk3UTJ14

I apologize for being so churchy...if you'd prefer to substitute something a bit more secular, but of a comparable level of difficulty, please feel free!

Enjoy!

Zion's Walls

Greetings!

I've just arrived home after a weekend of lots of fun with my beloved DGMC in Estes Park (for a record two consecutive weekends at two different YMCA of the Rockies locations...one of many rather odd distinctions that February 2011 holds) for their spring retreat. Despite a hefty blanket of snow, we did good work, and as usual, the guys were impressive in both their focus and their positive attitudes.

Fortunately, the skies (and roads) were beautifully clear this morning as I drove down the mountain -- one of the universe's birthday gifts to me, it seems. And, while I am prone to reflection at many times of the year, birthdays are extra effective at bringing that out in me. So, in these last few minutes of a birthday, these are my thoughts:

Both University Singers and DGMC are singing Copland's "Zion's Walls" for their spring program, and I was struck this weekend by my dear friend Ben's commentary on that piece and the mixed feelings all thoughtful people probably have toward their homeland(s) at times. It's the place we can't wait to get back to, it's the place we can't wait to leave -- it has all the people we love best, all the people who bother us most, and all the things that remind us of who we are....for better and for worse. Home, whether it is the place we come from or a place we later choose, contains all of these things. It's complicated. Copland's own relationship with his homeland obviously was -- not only was he a gay man living through one of the more repressive parts of American history, he also held socialist political views, and for that reason was scrutinized and later blacklisted by the FBI. All this, from the composer who is possibly most often credited with being the main cultivator of a distinctly American sound.

So, now, when I hear the words of Zion's Walls, I begin to hear all of these things:

Come, fathers and mothers! Come, sisters and brothers!

Come, join us in singing the praises of Zion!

Oh fathers, don't you feel determined to meet within the walls of Zion?

We'll shout and go 'round the walls of Zion!

....because sometimes you have to be determined. Sometimes you have to shout to get in. And many times, you have to be willing to make the effort of drawing in the ones you love, to give the invitation.

So, this week, I invite you to listen...

All Levels:

The Promise of Living (essentially a contrafact of Zion's Walls)

The Tender Land (you can watch the whole opera in 12 YouTube segments with Copland conducting -- it's dated, no question, but I think it's pretty magical that we have this available to us at the touch of a button!)

Transcribe the melody of the main tune in "The Promise of Living" and see if you think it's necessary to change meters to preserve the correct text accents.

If you're feeling adventurous, track down a recording of "Zion's Walls" and do the same.

Enjoy!