After volunteering at the asylum center now for nearly two years, the repertoire of songs has grown tremendously. Periodically, I spend about a day going through photos and voice recordings. I try to keep everything organized by putting all of the photos and song files for each song in its own folder. This way, I…
Tag: Life
Migration Collection Day
This morning, Atticus and I headed out early (if not bright) to the center of the EU in downtown Brussels. We live on the very outskirts of this international city. When my husband first arrived and was tasked with deciding which commune we might enjoy living in, he chose Boitsfort (strong forest) because he knew…
E is for Entrepreneurship, not for Easy
Life does not stop when you become an entrepreneur, and I nearly let life keep me from getting to the Sandbox session this past Thursday night. Class was in Lawrence, and I was having a not so great day. I was moody. I had been sick on and off for the past month and hadn’t slept…
Singing the songs of the people.
I grew up in a small town in eastern Massachusetts on the south shore. Throughout my childhood and into college, music was my identity. I played and performed classical piano; I was first chair for the clarinet in the school band; I listened to any and all music I could find. I started plucking around…
How I found Story to Song
The second in a mini series about writing a song from a spoken story.
What’s next?
I am listening to some tunes gifted as a belated birthday present. I am thankful to listen to another musician and to learn from them. I am enjoying the artist’s unique voice. Mostly, I am excited to hear different strumming patterns. Malcolm Brooks, my research partner and friend who taught me the Story-to-Song method these…
A need for sharing our stories
Time banks are on the rise, and a skill I am offering to my community is that of songwriting. I offered a songwriting demonstration at the Merrimack Valley Time Exchange Skills Showcase last night in downtown Lowell at the LTC. It was a work night, but many folks came out to participate. I played a…
The Chorus Should Speak to Everyone
I recently wrote about the challenge of creating a chorus. I explained that the chorus should speak to everyone who hears the song. The more relevant the message and emotion expressed is to each person, the more apt they will be to want to sing. So, how can I create a chorus about a female…
Guiding Song 