music — Page 13

Music Hath Charms…

November 28, 2012 at 9:07 am by Claudia

As someone who is very musical – I play the piano, I have sung professionally onstage and off – I sometimes find myself missing music. Since I seem to like quiet more and more as I get older, I often work in a fairly silent atmosphere (save for the sound of traffic outside my window and Scout breathing heavily as she sleeps.) The sound on my laptop is muted. I don’t like being greeted by music when I click on a blog because it is usually not my taste and I find the sudden intrusion of someone else’s choice of music jarring. All this is to say I like quiet.

But I love music. And sometimes, in the midst of stress and worry and things to do and errands to run and bills to pay, I realize that I haven’t been listening to my favorite music lately. And that ain’t good. So I get out my earbuds and listen to my playlist, either on my iPhone or laptop.

And I feel better.

Music Hath Charms to Soothe the Savage Breast – William Congreve

It does, indeed. Why do I forget to treat myself to music’s restorative powers? Does that ever happen to you, my friends?

iTunes has a category that lists the “Top 25 Most Played.” I thought I’d share 20 of them with you.

Some of these you may be familiar with, others may be new to you. At the very least, it shows that I like a bit of everything.

A few notes: (1) the version of Both Sides Now I am referencing is the newest version, which you can find on YouTube. It is simply breathtaking. An older, wiser Mitchell who has lived a long life since she first recorded this song, sings from her gut in her now husky, cigarette-smoky voice. I cannot listen to this without crying. (2) Nancy LaMott was a cabaret singer who had one of the most beautiful voices I have ever heard – crystal clear, beautifully nuanced. She died much too young from cancer at the age of 43. This particular version of Out of This World by Harold Arlen and So in Love by Cole Porter is stunningly beautiful. Here is a live version of her singing this at the Algonquin. (3) Yes, that Don Sparks. My husband. This is my favorite of all the wonderful songs he’s written. Here’s his ReverbNation website and if you scroll down the list of songs (all worth listening to) you’ll see I’d Sing You. It makes me swoon. While you’re there, check out Dreams (written about my parents), I’ve Got a Love, Don’t Tell Me Heart and Say It Twice.

What music is on your ‘playlist’ – whether it is online, on your CD player, or your iPod? What changes your mood, what gives you peace or joy? What do you find yourself playing most often?

One other note: Singer Fiona Apple just wrote a letter to her fans explaining her reason for postponing the South American part of her tour. She wants to stay home with her beloved dog, who is dying. This is one beautiful letter.

Happy Wednesday.

Making Music on a Chalkboard

November 16, 2012 at 8:53 am by Claudia

Early morning. I’m in that stage where I’m just beginning to ease out of sleep into wakefulness. And what flashes through my foggy mind? Being in music class as a kid and wishing I could use the cool chalk holder thingy that the teacher employed to draw the musical staff on the chalkboard. Remember those? They were wire contraptions attached to a wooden handle and there were 5 holders for chalk. The teacher would glide the chalk across the board and suddenly there was a musical staff. The next thing to appear would be the treble clef, then notes, measures, sharps and flats.

I wanted one. Or rather, I wanted to be able to walk up to the front of the classroom, take that holder in my hands and make a muscial staff magically appear. (I was that kind of kid – always wanted to write on the chalkboard, be class monitor, that kind of thing,)

I hadn’t thought of them in years and assumed they were no longer in use. Because I now think that anything used in my childhood must be vintage and retro nowadays. (If I see one more item from my childhood labeled “Antique” on Craigslist, I am going to scream.) Surely there must be some new high-tech way of drawing a staff?

So, hoping to find a photo of one, I googled ‘musical staff chalk’ and found lots of them available. New ones. On eBay, on Amazon, everywhere. Teachers are still using them. Sigh of happiness.

This one is made by Quartet. It’s officially called a Wood Music Staff Liner.

I want one. I could use it on my chalkboard.

I could pretend I was the Music Teacher. I could compose a little melody.

But even better? Finding a vintage liner. I could hang it on my wall. Wouldn’t that be cool? I suppose if I can’t find a vintage liner, I could ‘age’ a new one. But I like vintage, as you know.

One sleepy thought = a search and a Friday post.

Thanks for all the wonderful tips on getting back to sleep. It looks like I am in good company. So many of us struggle with this. And I can’t blame it on menopause because that particular pain-in-the-tush is over, thank goodness. In fact, next Wednesday is my birthday and it’s rather a big one.

How can that be? I’m still around 39 in my head and heart.

I’m wearing black that day.

I’ll be back at 8:00 EST with A Favorite Thing.

Happy Friday.

Do You Play an Instrument? Monday’s Question.

July 23, 2012 at 7:46 am by Claudia

This particular Monday is dark and stormy. Riley woke me at 6 am with his barking and thank goodness for it. I managed to get him outside before he peed. A little victory, but a victory nonetheless. Picture me: bleary-eyed, hair a mess, coffee-less, trying to lift Riley and head him on out the door.

You can stop laughing now.

Anyway, lots of thunder, lightning and all-around stormy pleasure. I love sitting in my cozy living room, the crack of thunder and flash of lightning all around me, Scoutie in the ‘tunnel’ and Riley on his bed, a nice mug of Peet’s French Roast in my hands. I hope it storms all day long. (Just as long as the dreaded roof doesn’t leak.) We need the rain and I love the atmosphere.

One of my very favorite things in this sweet cottage is this sign. My friend Lori, of Vignettes, had a post on her blog with several photos of shop displays and I spied this beauty in the background of one of the shots. Fast forward a few days and it found a home here at the cottage.

Oh my goodness, how I love it. Sitting here in the living room, at my laptop, I can gaze upon it all day long. The piano was my grandmother’s, then my mother’s and now it’s mine. I took piano lessons starting at the age of 8 and they continued into my high school years. At that point, drama and the theater had become my passions. After a few too many practice sessions that consisted of me playing only my favorite pieces and neglecting anything new, a decision was made by my mom and me to cease and desist piano lessons. I sort of wish I had continued. But hindsight is always 20/20.

Learning to play the piano taught me to sight-read, sharpen my musical ear, learn all about tempo and key signatures and major and minor and scales and staccato and all sorts of wonderful things that served me well when I sang onstage in musicals, in choirs and, later, professionally. I’m so grateful for all of those lessons and my mother’s relentless reminders that it was time for my daily practice session.

I was a bit jealous of my friends who played in the school band and orchestra. They got to carry instruments in cases. I thought that was the neatest thing.

You can’t carry a piano in a case. We didn’t have electronic keyboards in those days.

Here’s my question on this rainy Monday morning: Do you play an instrument? What instrument do you play? I love learning things about all of you; goodness knows you know a lot about me. Tell me all about your musical background.

Happy Monday.

Music Hath Charms…

Making Music on a Chalkboard

Do You Play an Instrument? Monday’s Question.

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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