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Dear Friends,
I hope you enjoyed
July's edition of HearMePlay.com's online music magazine Middle
C written by musicians for musicians.
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The Musical
Art of Story
Musical Guest: Beth Horner, Storyteller and Performance Musician
(http://www.bethhorner.com)
The 1950s were a magical time. Known as the "golden age" to many
baby boomers, the 50s encouraged a unique blend of old and new forms
of music. In Beth Horner's family, the 50s were filled with music
and stories surrounding St. Louis during the 30s.
States Horner, "We didn't have access to television, so our entertainment
was singing and telling stories. Music has always been an important
part of my life. My extended family, sometimes 20 or more of us,
used to sit outside on a summer evening, looking at the stars and
singing old songs."
Horner's grandmother was a storyteller. And, Horner's father used
to share stories of our various ancestors, of both good and questionable
repute. "They both influenced me. I heard these great stories about
my family, and other legends, that were often told in the form in
music. I learned so much about my family, which promoted love and
compassion for each other. I hold these times as cherished memories."
Today, Horner is a professional storyteller and musical performer.
She travels throughout the country, sharing her stories through
the creative channeling of music. Says Horner, "I started my career
working as children's librarian, specifically to keep both music
and stories alive."
After high school, Horner attended college, where she created her
own unique bachelor's program, incorporating both early childhood
development and library science. Later, she completed a master's
degree in Library Science. "When I began looking at career choices,
I knew that music and stories had to be part of it," she recalls.
Working largely with children of all ages, Horner was able to tap
into her own stories and music to bring them to the children in
her community. "Kids have limited attention spans. By bringing in
music, I was able to help them learn to comprehend my stories, and
emphasize the feeling behind the characters in each adventure."
"What I found," she continues, "was that music cuts through to the
heart. No matter what language you speak, music is a universal language."
After working for a number of years with children, Horner soon had
the itch to take her stories and music out to bigger audiences.
Now, nearly 20 years later, she has performed for audiences from
California to New York.
"I look at my work as a performer - whether in music or story -
as an opportunity to present quality and authentic stories filled
with emotion." Horner elaborated, "Stories need to be viewed as
much more that cultural history. They should be viewed cross culturally,
and then each culture is given 'life' through the use of music."
She explains, "Stories are an important part of history. And, music
brings those stories to life. Through music, I can express the feelings
of sadness, joy, frustration and anger in a story. And, no matter
what verbal language is spoken by the audience, music helps audiences
understand the story's concept and importance."
Horner is a firm believer in music as a form of artistic expression.
"Music has three primary purposes in storytelling. The first is
to act as an artistic or structural device. The second is to provide
a mood or express an emotion. And finally, music gives 'audio' to
a specific culture."
Through music, Horner has been able to help both adults and children
explore new cultures and fight stereotypes. For example, she says
that in developing a performance based upon an Chinese folktale,
she wanted to incorporate some traditional music from the Chinese
culture.
"My initial concept was to use the 'gong' sound as part of the musical
sound. I called several universities and found a professor of Asian
culture. I gave him my concept and asked for cultural advice. The
first thing he told me was to avoid using the stereotyped 'gong'
sound, and suggested using alternate instruments."
"The end result," recalls Horner, "was that my Chinese story was
made more real and the music demonstrated the realities of the Chinese
culture. And the audience, even through they were from the Midwest,
could travel into Chinese society and experience life through the
use of actual Chinese music and story."
"Music plays an important role in society," she states. "It provides
reality and emotion for the stories of our past, present and future.
Music is the key to helping future generations understand our history
and mistakes, and celebrate our victories. It's critical to leave
the legacy of music."
Dear Music
Wizard,
Dear Music Wizard,
I work with preschool children daily. I try to provide educational
skills through music and song. But, sometimes I feel limited to
just the simple nursery rhyme songs, such as "London Bridge is Falling
Down" or "Mary Had a Little Lamb." I'm stumped. Can you help me
uncover some great ways to bring music into the classroom?
-- Musically Dumbfounded
Dear Musically Dumbfounded,
Music is about much more than just words. Music tells stories, teaches
emotions, and has been proven to exercise the brain in ways that
it ordinarily would not be challenged.
Instead of focusing on the words within the music, think about how
you can incorporate music into everyday routines. Is there a song
for being happy, sad or mad? Is there a song that your preschoolers
can sing before eating, or saying "thank you" to a visitor? How
can you incorporate music into story time?
One of the best examples of using music without words is Disney's
1946 edition of Peter and the Wolf. It's a masterful weave of story
and music that even young children can appreciate. Think about creating
your own Peter and the Wolf by adding music to illustrations, or
even to the drawings of children in your class.
Best Wishes,
The Music Wizard
--------
Do you have a question you'd like to ask a Music Wizard? Send your
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becoming a music wizard? Get great exposure, unique recognition
and a personal discount code for unlimited orders! Take pride in
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this creative outlet for your expertise. Send inquiries to wizard@hearmeplay.com.
If you're looking
for a creative method to brainstorm composition, here are some tips
to spur your creativity:
1) Create musical "characters" through the use of similar melody
lines, particular instrumental groups or rhythm structures. Will
there be villains, heroes or heroines? Children? Magical characters?
2) Develop a storyline, including a climax and finale. (For example,
will the story be sad, happy, playful, bittersweet or scary?)
3) Establish "chapter" breaks using instrumental patterns. The popular
television show, Law and Order, uses a series of clangs to set aside
each "chapter" in its plot line.
4) Visualize a setting. Will the story take place on a train, or
on a mountain top? In the country or in the city? Use instrumental
groups to simulate the sounds of wind, rain, street cars, traffic
lights, or even the chug of a locomotive.
The following
are links which feature stories disguised as music. Enjoy!
Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker
http://www.kidsdomain.com/holiday/xmas/music1/nutcracker.html
Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf
http://www.philtulga.com/Peter.html
Walt Disney's Fantasia
http://www.justdisney.com/Features/Fantasia/
Orpheus, A Musical for Children
http://www.musicnow.co.uk/orpheus/html/tnotes.html
Musical Stories from Far Away Lands
http://www.dsokids.com/2001/dso.asp?PageID=112
Stories in Opera
http://www.fact-index.com/l/li/list_of_famous_operas.html
At HearMePlay.com,
we're dedicated to readers like you who are looking to make a living
in the music world - even if it's not through performance or music
instruction. Below are some fundraising ideas, grants and scholarship
opportunities to keep music alive in your world and ours!
http://www.amc.net/
American Music Center is a resource for musicians producers that
offers grant information, music directories, artist information
and publications.
http://arts.endow.gov/grants/index.html
The National Endowment for the Arts offers a variety of grant programs
for artists. Currently, they offer a grant for those artists who
seek to preserve our nation's diverse cultural heritage by strengthening
the state and regional infrastructure of support for the folk &
traditional arts.
http://www.bmifoundation.org/home.asp
From jazz to musical theater to film scores, from music education
for gifted youngsters to support for the work of accomplished concert
music composers, the BMI Foundation seeks out the best and most
promising of today's and tomorrow's musical creators and offers
a platform of support through annual scholarships, internships,
grants and student composer awards.
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2004 HearMePlay.com - All Rights Reserved.
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