How I Listen

iTunes: To hold and search through the vast amount of music I have acquired as a music therapist. (By the way, Apple, I loved iTunes 10 and would very much prefer it if you reverted to that style).

Noisetrade: Some of my favorite artists I have found and sampled (for free!) from this site. They even have ebooks now.

Spotify: I am a Premium user now, thanks to the half-price student rate. Yipee. This app is especially valuable for music therapy (no more relying on youtube!) and because I am often without reliable internet. It’s worth it.

Grooveshark: Occasionally, and mind you it is seldom, but occasionally Spotify does not have what I want. Namely, the Peter Pan soundtrack by James Newton Howard. Or, say, the most recent Sherlock score. That’s when Grooveshark proves quite handy.

Are there other (legal) ways I should know?

Homeward Bound

I recently rediscovered this as an instrumental track. With only the title and melody in my head it grew to be one of my favorites, reminding me that I will not be away from home forever. When I looked up the lyrics it held ever more meaning. The first stanza is especially appropriate for my current adventure interning in the Midwest.

 http://youtu.be/Oen6UAyn3qk

In the quiet misty morning
When the moon has gone to bed,
When the sparrows stop their singing
And the sky is clear and red,
When the summer's ceased its gleaming
When the corn is past its prime,
When adventure's lost its meaning -
I'll be homeward bound in time

Bind me not to the pasture
Chain me not to the plow
Set me free to find my calling
And I'll return to you somehow
If you find it's me you're missing
If you're hoping I'll return,
To your thoughts I'll soon be listening,
And in the road I'll stop and turn

Then the wind will set me racing
As my journey nears its end
And the path I'll be retracing
When I'm homeward bound again
Bind me not to the pasture
Chain me not to the plow
Set me free to find my calling
And I'll return to you somehow

(softly)

In the quiet misty morning
When the moon has gone to bed,
When the sparrows stop their singing
I'll be homeward bound again.

Hearing Voices

This sudden return to the blogosphere brought to you by my desire to write something other than book reports, research assignments, and job applications.

Today: musings on the power of the human voice.

Unlike the majority of millenials, I grew up listening to radio. Until I was about 14, FM was where I tuned. Television, movies, and even music were very low on my list. Some of my favorite and oldest memories have the voices of John Avery Whittaker, Ranger Bill, Carl Kasell, Chris Anthony, Tom and Ray Magliozzi, Terry Gross, John MacArthur, and Alistair Begg in the background (and sometimes foreground). That is probably part of the reason why a person’s vocal quality matters so much to me now.

One class in college started me thinking about this. Originally when I registered for [cringe] Post-tonal Sight Singing I was, surprisingly, looking forward to the experience. The professor was listed as one I had previously. Considering he taught “normal” music theory chords as members of the Mafia and I had retained that well enough, I was confident in his ability to have me correctly sightsinging seemingly-random notes off a staff by finals. And with a smile on my face, too.

Imagine my disappointment when I walked into the first day of class and found instead the IT guy sitting at the piano with textbook and dry-erase marker in hand. Later I came to find that the IT guy was actually a graduate composition student who worked for the tech center on the side, but what I noticed first was his voice: deep and strong, with a certain warmth. It reminded me of someone else I couldn’t quite place until about the 5^th week in when a classmate leaned toward me and whispered “Don’t you think he sounds like Shere Khan?” Liiiightbuuulb.

http://youtu.be/sw2Qjm6whlM

Yes, it’s like that, minus the sinester quality. It did keep our attention in class, which is quite the feat considering it was an early morning class for music students. So there’s that: “Sightsinging with Shere Khan”.

I don’t have stories for the rest of these, but they deserve a mention.

John Avery Whittaker’s quality is a chicken and egg situation. Which is more important? Would I attach a feeling of comfort to his voice if his character was not marked by integrity, kindness, and loyalty? I would say yes considering other similar figures whose voices I do not enjoy as well.

Tom and Ray Magliozzi (a.k.a. Click and Clack) gave the laughter that put the added shine in Saturday mornings. MANY a housecleaning task was and is lightened by their humor.

Alistair Begg is my favorite Scotsman and one of my favorite storytellers. Even if he hadn’t retained that lovely accent I would still listen. I can take a hard truth more easily when it is handled with such care.

Carl Kasell. I think the news lost a great sense of clout and substance when not announced with your vocal chords, although Wait Wait, Don’t Tell Me has suffered the most.

Chris Anthony, many may underestimate the value behind your openings of Odyssey, but you could convince me that even a cloudy Monday held excitement if it began with “Hi! This is Chris! Welcome to Adventures with Pilgrim!”

Now I wonder how people perceive my own voice.