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

 

the healing song

1/25/2015

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Greetings friends near and far,

I would like to dedicate this newsletter to my father, Josef Peter Benmeleh.
I am fresh from a bittersweet Miami journey to visit Josef who remains in the I.C.U in pretty bad shape…appreciative for all prayers in service of his well-being!

When I got word about the gravity of his condition, my first thought was, “he needs music now”. I took my native hand drum, a turtle rattle, a kalimba, and the instrument that always travels with me, my vocal chords. Play and sing I did while revolving nurses and doctors appeared daily. Some inquiring, to which I replied “you have your medicine, I have mine”.

Did the music help his brain function improve? Perhaps…Did the music help me get through this difficult time? Hell yes! Not just the singing and playing for him, but in the car, during walks on the beach, upon waking, and resting. It was necessary to offset the enormous amount of talking required with medical professionals and family members, as well as to bring some sense of beauty to the austere hospital environment. Since my Father is currently entubated, I was particularly fond of a song composed by my friend and music therapist Kathy Quain called “Breathing In, Breathing Out”. Thanks for sharing that song with me Kathy!

Read more about Kathy’s work at:

https://musicfortherapy.com

​ Please take impeccable care of yourselves because I am looking forward to singing the song of life with you soon!


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  • UPCOMING EVENTS
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  • About Renée
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