BAY AREA VOCAL IMPROVISATION & COMMUNITY MUSIC
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What Shall We Do Without Us?

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May 2017

​I read on the internet to gather some of this info. I love my iphone, I enjoy facebook, and I work on my computer a lot of the time. Now some of my music is scanned into my computer and youtube is a good ol’ friend. Yah, all this technology is super helpful with
my process as a musician fo sho!
 
But I don’t have to tell you that we are crazy knee deep into technology in a way that sometimes keeps us from connections with others. The level of entertainment, curiosity fulfillment, and time wasting available online is beyond measurable. The gift of this for me is that I massively value sitting in front of a friend eating a meal or sharing a cup of tea. I am happy when I am in a dance class and I get to laugh and connect with others. When I am in nature being with the silence and natural sounds, I feel my cup is full. And I am elated when I get to be in a circle singing with others!
 
No mater what has happened that day, that week, I get a massive recharge. My endorphins start to dance and the happy thang comes over me. Because I am getting to look in your eyes, feel the spirit of your song, or dance and laugh with you.
 
So, checking out your connections on facebook is fun, but have you thought about the neural connections you are reinforcing in your brain when you are making music?
 
“It’s really hard to come up with an experience similar to that” as an education intervention, said Gottfried Schlaug, the director of the Music and Neuroimaging Laboratory at Harvard Medical School. Not only does it require attention and coordination of multiple senses, but it often triggers emotions, involves cooperation with other people, and provides immediate feedback to the student on progress, he said. Music, on its own, has also been shown to trigger the reward area of the brain, he noted. [1]
 
So, my dears…it appears that coming together to do activities with other humans is becoming one of the basic needs for nervous system regulation and perhaps the survival of our relationships.
 
Stay with us, we are here…
 
Art by Kenneth Patchen

[1] Published in Print: Education Week
November 25, 2013
Studies Highlight Brain Benefits From Music Training
Vol. 33, Issue 13, Page 6

 

howling!

4/6/2016

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A few years back I frequented visits with 2 Huskies that lived with a friend, and that’s when they first stole my heart.
 
In November, I moved to Richmond, and I now live next to two wonderful neighbors and their amazing Huskie Sascha. Huskies rarely bark, which is why I can live next to one! We became friends very quickly, and on the average of three times a week, I hear Sascha howling next door. I howl back at her, and we go on like that for a while. It always brightens my day. Sometimes we sing outside with one of her caregivers, who she has decided is the alpha of the pack.
 
In the last three weeks, I have encountered no less than four Huskies who have come into my field to connect with me and likely teach me something. I’ve always had a somatic response to hearing them howl. There is a certain heart wrenching, ecstatic release that I hear which often makes me want to open my chest and respond to their call by singing. It sends soul signals throughout my body.
 
Scientists are not really clear about all the reasons why dogs howl, but they do know that wolves are known to howl when a member of the pack is missing, and as a way to mark territory. Well, that’s perfectly appropriate for dogs, but what about you?
 
Can you howl when you feel like it?
 
Are you allowed to feel like it?
 
If so, where?
 
Where are we free to express ourselves with that kind of volume and heart-full-ness?
 
Ani DiFranco once said “If more people were screaming, then I could relax”. It’s a phrase I never forgot because I don’t have enough fingers on my hands to count the times in one day I feel I need to hold back my expressions so that I don’t disturb someone. Having said that, I will be the first to admit that my auditory nerves work at the highest possible volume, which means, I purposely seek very quiet situations in my living environments in order to manage my nervous system responses. Nevertheless, you can always find a big ol’ smile on my face when someone releases frustration, anger, joy, excitement, wildness, and music out loud in everyday life because I am struck by their courage and wildness.
 
One day, I plan to host the first annual Huskie Sing-Off, and I hope you’ll bring yours. In the meantime, I am happy to host a space for humans to let it go!
 
Arrroooooooooooo!
 
See you soon,
Renée

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  • UPCOMING EVENTS
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