Music By Deb

Today’s the day!!! Come join us for a great time at the Hunterdon County Library!! Recital starts promptly at 2!

Part of my job is not to teach notes but to help my students grow wings. One of my students not only grew wings, but is using them to fly.

MBD would like to congratulate Alexandra on her travels to London to study theater this semester! This past summer, she worked with the NJ Shakespeare Company in Madison, NJ, as part of their junior company. The sky's the limit for her, and I am very, very proud!

Just be careful of the meat pies... 😜🎭

https://youtu.be/_gF51IQiLbQ

Sweeney Todd OBC - The Worst Pies in London Angela Lansbury (badly) lipsincs The Worst Pies in London at the original Tony award telecast. Sweeney Todd is a musical written by Stephen Sondheim. This cl...

For the past year, I had the honor of being a music therapy intern at Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women. I facilitated 5 groups a week and helped set up 2 concerts for the ladies during my internship.

The ladies shared more than just music- they shared parts of themselves, for better or for worse, and helped create an incredible backdrop for my learning experience. I am so grateful for all of them.

Here is an article written by WHYY about the last concert we did. While I'm not mentioned by name, I'm featured in the video.

http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/local/arts-culture/94539-sharing-music-helps-imprisoned-women-experience-freedom-of-expression-video

Sharing music helps imprisoned women experience freedom of expression [video] Inside Cottage C at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women in Clinton, New Jersey, a group of inmates are singing The Beatles' 'Here Comes the Sun,' in preparation for their upcoming...

I just received word that a wonderful company, Zither Heaven, has stopped production and is going out of business. I have purchased a banjulele and a lap harp from them and can tell you that their quality of work is unparalleled. I use both instruments regularly in my music therapy sessions. I am heartbroken by the news.

If you're looking for quality instruments at a very good price, please seek Zither Heaven out soon. They will certainly be missed.

www.zitherheaven.com

Zither Heaven: Great Sounding Musical Instruments Made in the USA www.zitherheaven.com

Here at Music By Deb, I try to stay away from politics. This is a little corner of the internet that I use to talk about music and teaching.

In light of the proceedings in Tennessee and North Carolina, I'm inclined to share a message that arrived from the North American Drama Therapy Association. The following is their statement in whole as it arrived in my inbox:

"Opposition to Homophobic & Transphobic Laws

The North American Drama Therapy Association (NADTA) has a significant history of championing the dignity, visibility, and accessibility of its members. We seek to promote cultural competency, humility, and sensitivity towards the responsible practice of drama therapy and we promote dialogue around diversity and social justice in all aspects of the organization and profession of drama therapy.



It is with this mission for inclusion in mind that the North American Drama Therapy Association denounces the following:

The Protecting Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination Act (HB 1523), Mississippi
The Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act (HB2), North Carolina
House Bill 1840, Tennessee
Although these legal measures claim to protect the rights of people to practice their religion, they decrease the civil and human rights of le***an, gay, bis*xual, trans, two-spirited, inters*x, and q***r people (LGBT2SIQ). As such, these two laws and house bill contradict the values upheld by our Professional Code of Ethics, as well as our Guidelines on Cultural Responsibility which call on drama therapists to demonstrate commitment to the treatment of all persons with dignity and respect.

In Mississippi, the Protecting Freedom of Conscience Act would allow people to regulate employee and student dress, deny foster care and adoption services, refuse psychological services and allow them to discipline, fire or refrain from hiring individuals whose “conduct or religious beliefs are inconsistent with those of the religious organization”.

In North Carolina, the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act requires that transgender people only use bathrooms that correspond with the s*x assigned on their birth certificate. As such, this act legalizes the policing of people’s bodies, gender expression, and gender identity. It leaves gender nonconforming individuals and communities vulnerable to violence. This law further threatens LGBT2SIQ people’s access to services, accommodation and employment protection against discrimination. Even with Governor McCrory’s latest amendment, Executive Order 93, the law continues to leave LGBT2SIQ people without legal protection from discrimination and gender nonconforming individuals with the threat of being harassed, fined and arrested for their choice of washroom.

Tennessee House Bill 1840 will threaten equal access to mental health services. This bill allows counselors and therapists to refuse to see clients whose goals, desired outcomes, or behaviors conflict with the religious beliefs of the counselor. This leaves clients vulnerable to homophobia, transphobia, and other forms of cultural oppression.

Similar laws protecting discrimination against LGBT2SIQ people have been proposed in Tennessee, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky and West Virginia as well as other states, with each one being a threat to the human rights of millions of Americans and others living and visiting the United States.

As mental health practitioners we are aware of the negative impacts of discrimination on mental health. The cumulative effects of homophobia and transphobia place LGBT2SIQ people at higher risk for severe mental health problems. These laws are bad for people’s health, they do not promote inclusion and belonging, they threaten people’s livelihood, access to services, and sense of belonging and security in the world.

The NADTA adds its name to the hundreds of mental health practitioners, organizations, businesses, artists, and activists who continue to condemn these laws and proposed bills.

The NADTA asks that:

Governor Bill Haslam veto the Tennessee House Bill 1840 (as of April 18th it has been pulled from consideration this year for further study).
The state government of North Carolina repeal The North Carolina’s Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act; and that
The state government of Mississippi repeal the Mississippi’s Protecting Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination Act.
You can take action on these legal measures by contacting your elected officials here. We will also be providing opportunities for members of our community to dialogue and share how these and similar laws have impacted us, our clients and our communities. As drama therapists we have a unique opportunity to use our imagination and creativity to engage in visionary forms of advocacy and change-making, please look for upcoming invitations to participate.

In solidarity with people whose identities, livelihood, access to services and sense of security have been threatened and impacted by transphobia and homophobia.

Written By: NADTA Diversity Committee (Jessica Bleuer, Carmen White, Diane Elizabeth Jordan, Idalid Diaz, Shyam Anandampillai)
Approved By: NADTA Board of Directors, Jason D Butler, Laura Wood, Josiah Stickels, Karen Knappenberger, Whitney Sullivan, Doug Ronning, Adam Reynolds, Patrick Hughes, Karimah Dillard, Susan Ward, Jessica Bleuer, Calli Armstrong, Mimi Savage, Alissa Duncan, Angela Wiley, Csilla Przibislawsky.
Reviewed & Feedback Given By: Nisha Sajnani, Nadya Tryton, Mark Beauregard, Ross Stone"

Hello fellow musicians and music lovers.

It's been a while since I've posted, and for that I apologize. Grad school has taken up much more time than originally anticipated and my time is either spent at school, interning, in transit, teaching, or catching up on school work.

That said, I will try to update more often.

In the meantime, if you have questions, please leave them in the comments and I'll make sure you get an answer.

I've turned a very important corner and have started working with professional children. These are kids that have professional representation in either New York or Los Angeles or sometimes even both.

Today's adventure involved preparing a little girl for a BIG audition for Thursday. Should she get the part, it would be life changing and give her a gigantic coup for her resume.

We started her song. She did a pretty good job teaching herself the piece, but the mom enlisted my help to smooth out the edges.

The song has range. It goes from the A below middle C to the F at the top of the staff. That's a large amount of notes to cover, especially for a 7 year old. She just doesn't have the high notes and that's fine. As a little one, she shouldn't be asked to sing like that. It's dangerous and can cause some serious problems later down the line.

I did the best I could to protect her and help her simultaneously. The child will go to the audition regardless of my aid, so I chose the lesser of two evils and helped her sing correctly. The song cleaned up quickly and she's in much better shape than she had been.

The lesson is this- range in songs is generally a good thing. Range in songs for a 7 year old is not. Be careful when you choose a path for your children.

You're Such A Show-Pan!

I teach a wide range of students, though most are children.

One of my little piano boys was playing a very modified piece by Chopin. It was a duet. He got the easy part and I got the rest.

He also had different homework. When one of my student plays a big name (think Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, etc), they get research homework. If you're going to play a piece by someone famous, you should know a little bit about them. All my students need to do is write down 3 fun facts about their composer.

My little guy came FLYING into the lesson room wildly waving a piece of paper. He couldn't wait to share his fun facts about Chopin! In fact, he didn't even need the paper. One fact he was very proud of was that Chopin could out-play his teacher.

I had to leave the room to speak to my student's mother, so I set him at the keyboard to warm up before the lesson started.

Upon my return, I was bombarded with, "Miss Deb! Miss Deb! I played the whole song and didn't make a mistake!" He puffed out his chest much like a proud bulldog before making his next declaration. "I'm Chopin!"

I have very funny students. This one made my day. :)

I haven't posted in a while, but I thought I'd share this story with you.

I have a 15 year old student. She's extraordinarily talented and a joy to work with. Her lessons are the rare combination of extremely productive and super fun.

She told me about her friend today. He had told her he wanted to end his life and told her how he wanted to do it.

She told him that she couldn't help him any more and told her guidance councilors and called his parents. She got him the help he needed and saved his life.

Her heart is huge and I'd be hard pressed to find another time I was more proud of a student. She had her head screwed on straight enough to know when to break her friend's trust. What she did took an incredible amount of courage.

If you feel like something is wrong, say something. You never know who will save your life.

Due to the expected snow storm, lessons are up in the air for tomorrow, Thursday, January 2. If you have questions about your lessons, do not hesitate to call, text, or email your favorite piano teacher!

Music By Deb would like to wish everybody a Happy, Healthy, and MUSICAL New Year!! Happy 2014!!!

Baroque? Why Don't You Get A Job?!

Get your passports ready! MBD is about to take you to the Baroque period!

Once again, as defined by SparkNotes:

"Baroque (c. 1600–1750)

The 1600s saw the rise of instrumental music as composers explored techniques and new instrumental forms. The sonata and concerto were born during this period, and growing virtuosity of performance emerged to accompany these forms. Keyboard music flourished, specifically for harpsichord. The Baroque era also saw the dawning of new vocal forms, including the cantata, opera, and oratorio. Music became a central part of daily life, and composers found new ways to express themselves dramatically, sometimes in extreme fashion. In addition, patrons unaffiliated with the church began to support composers in large numbers.

Common practice period: The period in music from the early Baroque to the end of the Romantic in which composers used a well-defined common harmonic language. Composers from this period wrote in a style we usually associate with traditional concert music."

As you can see, there was a lot happening in this 150 year time span.

Famous Baroque composers include Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel, Henry Purcell, and Anthonio Vivaldi.

A very famous piece composed during this time was Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor. It was written for the keyboard and is a gigantic leap forward for music.

I find this piece always makes me think of cartoon music. After a quick search, I found a Tom and Jerry illustration that is sure to make you giggle. Enjoy!

http://youtu.be/TX9zAlSXSOo

Droopy and Butch Performer the Toccata and Fugue from bach Droopy and Butch Performer the Toccata and Fugue from bach (from Tom And Jerry Meet Sherlock Holmes)