Newscaster Angela Rippon Making the News in 1976 on Morecambe & Wise Show

Hi There, Short post today

If you’re a certain age you might remember BBC 9 Oclock News favourite Angela Rippon surprising everyone on The Morecambe and Wise Show with her dancing – as I remember it she even presented the BBC 9 o’clock news straight afterwards still in dancing clobber.

Well yesterday I saw Angela Rippon, now aged 71 , this time on a BBC documentary called the truth about Dementia.. something that sadly took her Mum, and she also believes it is something that her father now has.

 

But It was when she went into the chinese class and started learning about Chinese Horse and Chinese Mum that got my attention … and here’s why …..

The experts had just mentioned that one of the things that reduces risk is being bilingual – and so the scene cuts to Angela in a Chinese class – and the lady is explaining the intricacies of chinese and how a lot of the pronounciation is down to pitch (errr melody… musicality maybe??) No – it can’t be ? or can it?

The lady explained that a certain word, spoken one way would mean Mum in chinese, and yet the exact same word spoken with a different pitch would actually mean Horse.

So… if You don;t get the musicality of your words right in chinese.. you could accidently end up calling your mum a horse.

And ofcourse the thing that was missed again was any notion or idea that perhaps Meaningfull Music Making could perhaps play a part in prevention.

Though with the chinese reference – perhaps the importance of Music, is once again hidden in plain view.

Here’s the link if you missed the program, and You can decide for yourself : http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b07c6n5b/the-truth-about-7-dementia

Andre

 

Hi There,

Today’s post is dedicated to everyone that is right now in the middle of exams – GCSEs, A Levels.

And everyone else who like the late great guitar player Gary Moore couldn;t wait to get out of school.

Because there is one man, and one school, where the students all want to go, and  that even 3000 teachers attend to learn from.

And at the centre of it all, well Is it possible that could be a little short word that starts with M..

Well That would be telling !

One Man, and One School that has the attention of The White House, CNN and Oprah Winfrey

Hi There – Actually it was yesterday I went into a local Bank, and the young lady serving me shared how she used to play Classical guitar at school but didn;t really enjoy it – but her thing was really Adelle, Playing the Keyboard/ Piano and singing – and how she would love to… except she didn’t seem to have the time.

A way too common story I’ve heard – and yet if we’re honest we can always make time for those things that we find important.

And at the other end, I finished late last night listening to BBC radio Two Jeremy Vine’s interview with David Skinner, and his experiences with Dementia and Alzheimers – not once but twice, first with his Mother, and then also sadly with his sister – and how it was helping them with their love of music that provided some meaningfull connection.

In the program Dennis shares his mad idea of taking his mum to the local Miner’s Welfare park, back kin the late 1980s – at this time his Mum had lost the ability to recognise names – but once in the park as he started to sing along with the band, she responded and she he got her back into singing, no this wasn;t the Mozart Effect, but this was meaningfull music from the soundtrack that had shaped her life – which in her case included Gracie Fields We’ll Meet Again.

This wasn’t such a mad idea – as it was in 2013, during what became known as the Plymouth Experiment, that a Japanese G8 Delegation saw first hand the impact of Meaningfull Music making, this time singing on people affected by Alzheimers – who literally seemed to come back to life, through singing.

Dennis, an MP for 40 years billed as The Beast Of Bolsover, for challenging MPs and especially Prime Ministers for the last 40 years – also shared how he went through a similar experience sadly again with his sister – who developing a different kind of dementia, meaning she lost the ability to swallow, again responded to what was for her meaningfull Music, singing along.

And I couldn’t help but think about the young woman at the bank – saying how she on the one hand how she really wanted to get into Piano/keyboard, and how her meaningfull music included Adele – and yet in the few minutes I was at the counter with her – I couldn’t help but think she had in her mind, that she needed to establish work first.

Now perhaps if she got to the point where she thought about her career, as just a Job, as something that itself was not enough to fulfill her – then perhaps she might get back to following her musical dreams.

I know myself after teaching and training older students on Guitar, up to the age of 72 – one of the things they do share is that they wish they had done this sooner; they wish they hadn;t kept putting it off.

Dennis also shared how he had got back into music, even helping out at Shorevale Old People’s home in his constituency in Derbyshire.

The Jeremy Vine BBC Radio 2 Program : Dennis Skinner Vs Dementia is still available online.

If You’d like to check it out, Here’s a link : BBC Jeremy Vine : Dennis Skinner MP Vs Dementia

Andre

 

     

Hi There – Hope this sunny Tuesday finds You well –  after coming back from breakfast at Ikea and after a stroll in the sun. thought about putting some washing out, and then I got to thinking about what I have come to call the Washing Machine Mistake that sadly too many people unknowingly, unwittingly even make when it comes to Music Making.

Because there is a question You ask when You are getting your Washing Machine installed, maybe the same question you ask when You’re in a rush for your order of four triple chocca wocca mochas, though definitely not the question You ask if you happen to be at work, or maybe stuck in an office on a day like this.

And it’s definitely a question You shouldn’t ask when it comes to Music making – there is a far better question – more about that in a moment.

So what is the Washing Machine, The Triple Chocca Wocca Moccha, but not the Office or work question – Ofcourse it’s

How Long Is This Going To Take ? And perhaps that is a perfectly valid question for when You are getting your washing machine installed – especially if You’ve run out of clothes.. though my suggestion for if You’re ordering your triple chocca wocca is to go easy on the how long is this going to take question – making complicated coffee takes time, know your barista is doing his or her best.

Now when it comes to Guitar Playing, sadly sometimes new folk will ask the question how long does it take – and then when I give my answer they’re surprised – Why ?

Well My answer now is, well You see that depends – because the Music doesn’t change, but you might – Johnny B Goode, or whatever meaningfull music making means for You, sounds the same monday through friday, though You might not.

So a better question would be, instead of how long is it going to take – rather than that, how quickly can You get focussed ? Because without focus, it’s either going to take too long for You to get into Music Making, or You’re just going to play the same old things You already know, or after a few minutes You just put your guitar down.

And this is why I spend a lot of time for example in initial lessons coaching and training people to be able to focus on the Music, the challenges are not always in the hands, they are in how and where You place your focus, your attention – and this is about coaching You to get out of life mode and into Music making mode – to get out of ” How Long is this going to take mode” and get into making music – to be fully present.

So how did I come up with this – well some years ago, before I discovered wht I now call Priming Your Musical Mind  I was…

Teaching a Black Guy The Blues  …. And then I thought Errr Hang On

Because he’d just shared with me in his first lesson, that he had started to work out his family tree, and somehow he was related to legendary Texas BluesMan Lighting Hopkins.

So I did think, for a moment, err hang on – maybe he should be teaching me the Blues – maybe this should be the other way around, instead of me showing him some BB King and some Albert King stuff (wasn’t interested in Lightnin’ Hopkins).

But unfortunately because at the time I wasn’t aware of what I now refer to as Priming Your Musical Mind, a set of tools and techniques to get Your  mind fully focussed on Meaningfull Music Making; now this can be as simple as connecting to the rhythm of the music, by simply tapping along to the beat, or perhaps even tapping along to the rhythm of the guitar playing part, but this meant that this Guy would really be starting to get into playing, towards the end of the hour, towards the end of his lesson – yes he did try to do some practice, but because he could only find 20 or 30 minutes would mean he wasn’t  fully focussed, he hadn’t primed his musical mind, and yes because he had a stressfull Job, he would sometimes get caught up in that how long does it take to get good –

Which is going back full circle to the other how long does it takes in our lives – such as how long does it take to fit a washing machine.

Because okay perhaps with a washing machine, you just want that fixed and fitted so You can forget about it, but You don;t want that with Music.

What students have told me is that, once they have got out of life making mode into that Music Making mode, provided their playing practice is going well – they find that 20 minutes can easily turn into 30 minutes, maybe even 40 minutes or even sometimes 60 minutes.

Now ofcourse sometimes life does get in the way – but if we’re really willing to be honest, once You have gotten Your mind primed, and You’re into Music making mode, a little more patience and a little more persistence will mean You get a lot more enjoyment out of your playing time.

I do believe that Meaningfull Music making is going to become far more important in this 21st century – infact I was reminded yesterday that tonight, on radio 2 Labour MP Dennis Skinner is going to be talking about his battle with Dementia and how he is using Music to help with that – I sincerely hope this is some form of Music Making, even if it is drums/ percussion, or perhaps singing, rather than passive listening.

So if You ever get caught up thinking about How Long is This Going to Take, referring to Music –  remember Music Making is not a thing that gets done, forgotten about, and then next – it’s way more important than that – I believe it is one way to achieve Mindfullness – and after all what would You rather have – a mindfull of Favourite Music, that You are fully engaged in making in someway – whether guitar, drums, or some other way – or would you rather have a mind full of problematic thoughts ?

I know which I would choose – How about You ?

 

 

 

 

What do an Italian Bambino sitting not so quietly in the back of a car, and Guitar Students at the Coventry Ricoh arena world record attempt back in 2012 have in common ?

The Answer, As You’ll see on the video above,

They both prove, using the EXACT same music that it’s not the Mozart Effect – it is more about

• The Meaningfull Music  effect, and even more about
• The Meaningfull Music Making Effect.

Andre

Ps On a More serious note – when The Mozart Effect started to take a hold in the 1990s, one of the original Irvine research team, a Theoretical Physicist Gordon Shaw suggested that complex music facilitates certain complex Neuronal patterns in high brain activities compared to simple music;

My take on that is, that because Mozart’s music is much more complex and rich, the suggestion is that itself will automatically engage everyone’s brain the same way.

I agree with Dr Thaut’s observation, that the Brain engaged with Music will change through it’s engagement.

But as I believe we all know,  ” one Man’s Musical wow, is another’s so What”

And this is the challenge of all Passive Music Listening programs – because it is really easy for someone who is not into Mozart to get distracted, and not really be listening and therefore not be engaged.

However I believe it is Meaningfull Music Making that really engages, when You discover how to take a more mindfull approach, where You are fully focussed on the Music You are making.

This would mean that You would get more out of

• Actually Playing a simple 3 chord song, for example that means more to You, and through focus, and yes practice, to discover how to make increasingly subtle shifts in tone  and your rhythm
• Than You ever would from simply listening to the Music of Mozart – especially if Mozart doesn’t happen to be Your thing.

Ultimately You do get much more from fully focussed actively engaged Music Making, than just listening to Music.  Using Sport as an analogy – We all know that playing a game of football is way better for You than watching a game of football – so really this whole idea of Making Music being better for You than listening shouldn’t be an issue – except it is – partly I think because in the past a lot of Music Therapies for example have focussed on listening – and sadly too many people are held back by limiting beliefs like I’m not musical, I’m too old, and that old chestnut ” I don’t have the time”!

So this is Why I go on about the Meaningfull Music Making Effect, which I believe is way more important than Passive music listening, because You can become distracted, or any one size fits all idea of the Mozart Effect which some people still do remember from the 1990s.

So this video above, if You haven’t watched it yet – is a light hearted way to make this point – though I believe it is a very serious point, and will become more and more important during the 21st Century.

Hi There,

Now Les Paul is well known for the Gibson Guitar bearing his name – the one that Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page plays – and also Guns & Roses Slash.

He was less well known as the pioneer of modern multitrack recording and also sound on sound, his records released before the mid 50s rock n roll era would feature many layered guitar tracks and many layers of his then wife Mary Ford’s vocals.

Now I first discovered Les Paul in the pate 1980s –

• one late night back from the pub,
• made a cup of coffee,
• turned the TV on,
• gulped some coffee… and then spat it out

And this was just the introduction to the playing of Les – The Wizard Of Waukesha.

But it was towards the end of the documentary about Les Paul, where Les said ” If There is such a Thing as Heaven on Earth, then it is when I am playing guitar up on stage ” which stayed with me all these years. This seemed to suggest No thought, just Music – except how could this be?

In 2008 NeuroScientist Charles Limb, stumbled upon the start of the answer from a scientific standpoint., though he didn’t seem 100% convinced by his findings at that time..

Though by 2012, Charles is explaining to a small panel how it is that improvisers seem to be able to shut down ” The inner critic” the social centre of the brain – what he refers to as the pre-frontal cortex.  This is still the early days of a neuroscience behind what is sometimes called the flow state, getting into the groove – and this is something I believe that can be internalised, that can be learned – this is something I have come to call Moving the Mind Dial To Music – and there are specific techniques of what I call Priming Your Musical Mind that can help You get there.

Here’s Charles Limb’s 2012 brief discussion with a panel on his findings from back in 2008, explaining the neuroscience behind not just creativity, I believe but also Flow and connecting to the Music You play at a very deep level – I believe this goes way beyond creative improvisation – whether Jazz, Hip Hop or any other genre..

And here’s the end of the Les Paul documentary – his ” If There is a heaven… ” quote is around 7 minutes and 35

And the start of the documentary, that I first got to see years ago … though it’s only in the last few years I have started to connect the dots between what might seem like Poetic expression and NeuroScience catching up.

 

 

Hi There – Short post today – You probably don;t know the name Carole Kaye – and Yet she was the Studio Player behind a lot of the bass in TV, Film and also hit ecords from the 1960s.

See How Many of these You can get ?

Hi There,

It was in his address to Texas University – Admiral McRaven – head of the Navy Seals – The Elite Force, had started describing the part of the program called Hell Week – 7 days of no sleep and non stop activity.

And on day 3 – what can only be described as The Helliest Day Of Hell Week… was when The Navy seals went up to their necks in mud, not once but twice.

And Admiral McRaven’s first conclusion about what happened in those Mud Flaps, where no one quit, was completely wrong I believe.

Not that I ever want to arm wrestle the guy – but saying

” Never underestimate the power of Hope and the Power of One Man” was in my opinion completely wrong.

However – I believe what he went on to say straight after was absolutely, spot on right.

If You’re curious to find out what, watch Now..

Andre

Hi There,

Alfred Tomaitis MD, developed a number of sound therapies that were considered Alternative Medicine – since there was no scientific proof to back them up. His work on the music of Mozart was also a big influence on Don Campbell who went on to publish The Mozart Effect – which became hugely popular in the 1990s – with many parents buying Mozart Cds and sometimes even playing them to their unborn babies.

Now while many of his therapies were considered alternative, and the Mozart Effect has since been disproven –

One thing He did establish was that an unborn baby can actually hear sound – this is likely why many mothers went on to put headphones around their wombs and play Mozart.

But this has wider implications, because since then the experts have established that a baby’s very first ever Musical memory, at an unconcious level – happens around 4 months before they are born.

This first memory, is the sound of the Mothers heart beat – which to a baby actually sounds as loud as drums.

This suggests it is no accident, that all cultures around the world, whether its modern Rock, Pop music – or ethnic music have 4/4 that is 4 beats to the bar, a count of 1,2,3,4 as the underlying pulse to their music.

Some might say this means that everyone is hardwired for Music – I would say everyone is likely hardwired for the potential of music – though actual music making, any music making does take focus, and does take effort.

But then I got to thinking about that old Don Maclean Song – Bye Bye Miss American Pie.. if you know it, then maybe I’ve just reminded you about the song that Don wrote with the Lyric ” The Day The Music Died” – with reference to 1950s rock n roll star Buddy Holly who died in a plane crash.

Except, in reality this song isn’t just about when Buddy died, the Music died.

Because in a very real sense.. what happens when anyone dies – well the last thing ofcourse is that the heartbeat stops.
And if the heartbeat sounds like a drum – then in a real sense when anyone dies it is like their Music dies.

Why do I bring this up – well anecdotaly You hear things life “Music Is Life”… Don’t Die with Your Music Still In You.

Perhaps in a real sense there is a lot more truth to this then You might have thought before.

Food For Thought and Music For Life ?

Here’s a reminder of American Pie Don Maclean

Hi There,

Ofcourse the Music can change. That’s part of the fun of going to watch live bands, not just to hear it exactly like the record, the CD, or the mp3 (unless it’s a tribute act – then that whole nostalgia of looking and sounding the part is the point).

If I think back to some of my favourite concerts – The Who for example back in 2003, when John Entwhistle was still on Bass, then what really made that for me was the energy, the attitude – right from the get go of I Can’t Explain which kind of exploded out of the speakers.

But then there’s a different kind of music that doesn’t change, or maybe isn’t supposed to change, but sadly all too often can and does change.

And sometimes that can be the Music that You are trying to make; when You have got in from one of ” Those Days!!”

Because yes it is possible that on a tuesday back in from work, Your playing might not sound like it did over the weekend when it was really flowing – and in that case the one thing that has changed is not the Music itself; but rather it’s You – or likely the kind of day You have had; because sometimes it can feel like life has got in the way, and You are still carrying over things from earlier on that day in your mind when it is time to pick up and play.

Whether it’s that email, that meeting, phone call, proposal, the meeting or whatever it happens to be.

Taking a few moments, or even a few minutes even to get fully present, fully focussed can be all it takes to get you out of what I call life mode into Music Making Mode – which is something I refer to as Priming Your Musical Mind.

Because when You are all primed first, Your playing is all ready to go. And without that it can be really easy to just repeat and play the things You perhaps already do know and can play.