ArtShare: MUSIC..."Songs We Love"
This post describes a presentation called "Songs We Love" sponsored by the Baha'i Fellowship of Long Island, NY on Feb. 24, 2024 at the Baha'i Cultural Center 11 W. Jamaica Ave. Valley Stream NY 11580. Participants were asked to bring a song "that inspires you, has touched your heart or brings you joy."
Future monthly themes will rotate among written, visual, performing and musical arts.
See flyer at end for info about the next one. Sat. March 16 from 7-8:30
“Be a part of the most powerful creative force in the universe – the connecting of human hearts”
--on the event flyer made by member Agnes Wolf
WELCOME!
Our time together opened as participants shared their perspectives on questions like these:
What is music?
What does it do for us?
How do we use it?
Please name some musical instruments.
Does anyone here play one – now or previously?
How do you/did you feel while playing it?
What’s another instrument that we don’t have to make, rent or buy?
Name some ways we can use our bodies as instruments…
Sing, clap hands, dance…
Does a baby in it’s mother’s womb hear sounds & music? Mother’s heartbeat
SHARING OUR FAVORITE SONGS
At our gathering, I offered some of my personal journey into music.
Kundalini yoga class awakened my musical soul.
Over 6 years ago, I enrolled in a Kundalini yoga class at Echo Park in West Hempstead, NY. It was sponsored by the Town of Hempstead. During each class, Elena, our teacher, played music by Snatam Kaur, a Sikh musician. I listened to her when I did my home practice. Once Yogi YouTube (a.k.a., Guru Google) learned my listening patterns, I was offered other music to try. This opened the musical parts of my soul to the WHOLE WORLD of musical vibrations...
Let's begin our evening sharing our songs that inspire us...touch our hearts...or bring us joy...
Note: It was decided to include only the shared songs and not the participants' comments.
Some Highlights from our time together:
During our evening, many shared a story about why their song was a favorite.
One memorable part saw one "audience member" take the mic to sing along to a backing track of an Elvis standard "It's Now or Never."
Another fun part was an impromptu conga line forming as "La Cucaracha" was playing.
A mom brought her 2 elementary-aged children who shared their favs.
The person who shared the Miles Davis number in the first playlist provided us with some musical education...wisdom that also applies in other areas of our lives. See "Music as Conversation" below.
Here are two playlists of the songs shared by our enthusiastic participants.
On Feb. 24, music lovers came together to share their favorite songs...Different songs...One heart...
This playlist is a continuation of the first one and contains additional songs a few participants offered in case we had extra time.
MUSIC AS CONVERSATION
Miles Davis said, "It's not the notes you play; it's the notes you don't play."
Rather than merely playing the notes on the page, this practice allowed him to reflect on what he wanted to "say"...Simultaneously, it enabled him to "listen" to the other members of the group and play off what they were "saying"...In essence, instead of just following the script, they were having an unrehearsed conversation.
Now, imagine this practice being applied in our everyday conversations...at work...at home...wherever we are...
AUGUST RUSH FILM: Music connects us...
Listen. Can you hear it? The music. I can hear it everywhere. In the wind... in the air... in the light. It's all around us. All you have to do is open yourself up. All you have to do... is listen...
Wizard (Robin Williams): Do you know what music is?
Wizard: It's God's little reminder there's something else besides us in this universe.
Harmonic connection between all living beings everywhere, even the stars.
MORE MUSICAL Rx: Take as directed...NAW:
PRN (nursing term means "AS NEEDED")
Former Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart (born in Brooklyn, raised on Long Island) has been using music as medicine at both poles of life: Beginning and Ending.
This next Sikh musician was one of the first I listened to after Snatam Kaur. I was fortunate to see both him and her in concert and did a workshop in NYC with Snatam.
There is a thread that runs through GuruGanesha’s music that pulls you towards the raw and beautiful pulse of life. He opens up the warm spaces of his heart, sharing the fragility of life, love and the search for meaning. At 70, he has accessed a new deepness to his voice and a more subtle lyricism to his guitar playing. Influenced by the music of Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton, his life of spiritual exploration adds a depth to his songs that transcends genre. GuruGanesha creates music that carries a profound wisdom that only comes with the experience of facing our shadows with love and acceptance.
As the founder of Spirit Voyage Records, GuruGanesha helped launch the careers of many of sacred world music’s singers including Snatam Kaur, Jai-Jagdeesh, Mirabai Ceiba, Nirinjan Kaur and more. His deep love of music inspired him to create a record label devoted to sharing music that can heal and transform people. His own music carries that heartfelt intention, and this new single is sure to open hearts and create a sense of connection in these unprecedented times.
SOURCE: SpiritVoyage.com
MUSICAL POSTS
There are several other "Music as Medicine - " posts. Additionally, almost EVERY POST in my blog includes #music...
ART HELPS REWIRE OUR BRAINS
"Art, in this definition, is very much like philosophy, and both are preoccupied with 'the ways we are organized and with the possibility of reorganizing ourselves.'”
MARCH ArtShare: POETRY & PROSE (Already occurred)
Our featured artists are partners...parents...and poets...
They each have a Facebook page.
Following their offerings, we'll have an open mic session: Bring your family-friendly poetry or short written piece to share...
Hey! I've recently been hanging out in places where poets gather and they're rubbing off on me...I already have a poem of my own to share...A few days ago, I woke up with it...CAN'T WAIT!
APRIL ArtShare: Meditative LABYRINTH WALK
Please RSVP as shown on the flyer.
