The Whole Music Experience

Louie Gonnie Pathway to Destiny Songs of Healing and Contemplation Canyon Records Native American traditional singer Louie Gonnie’s latest CD Pathway to Destiny begs to be listened to outdoors and near a body of water.   My intuition told met to take my portable player to the park and listen to Gonnie’s harmonized songs near the bay.   While I have not done this yet, I recommend this practice for anyone listening to this recording.   I tried to listen to the recording on my computer and it just didn’t make sense, given the titles and intent of the 14 prayer songs.  No, this recording begs for an outdoor listening experience. Gonnie pays homage to the natural world and the spirits that reside in this world.   He sings in a voice that ranges from bass to high baritone, while harmonizing with his own vocals.   If you listen to the recording through headphones, the reverb behind the vocals might conjure someone singing in a deep cave. ...

Others have brought to their stressful life situations to my attention recently. Since I’m going through my own transitional period, I feel more sensitive than usual to other people’s emotional needs, especially the need for comfort. I recommend listening to music in whatever way possible. At the moment I’m limited to 10 CDs while the others (another 588 CDs) are safely stored at a friend’s house along with my guitar. But I keep thinking of the desert island scenario and what CDs I would take along with me knowing full-well that the island would not provide electricity for me to play these CDs and the battery on my computer only lasts 2-hours. Then there are other scenarios that could play out such as complete blackouts of electricity in areas where disasters have struck. Expect the unexpected is my motto these days, but what about adding music preparedness to the kit? Obviously there are situations where we won’t have access to our CDs, but we might still have access to music...

This image is of an 18th century engraving found on the Wikipedia site. WM Why Birds & Saami Sing: Conversation with David Rothenberg In this blog conversation with David Rothenberg, a connection between birds, the natural world, the Karelian and Saami people are explored. Recently during a radio interview for KSVR-Mount Vernon, Finnish and Saami magical yoiks, and music came into the conversation. While this topic did not fit into the actual radio interview, I thought that the conversation could continue on this music consciousness blog. If you enjoy this conversation, please tell your friends. Also the Saami music article on this site has attracted some traffic, so those readers will enjoy this article as well. Life is magic and music can lead us all on that path of enchantment if we choose the right songs, and the right fork in the road. In other words, learn to think outside of the musical box. WME: When I first listened to your CD Why Birds Sing, I thought of exp...

David Rothenberg Why Birds Sing Terra Nova Birds have inspired musicians, poets and artists of various discipline for centuries. Birds and their joyful songs have enlightened saints, prophets and mystics, not to mention bird watchers and ecologists. Birds have been the subjects of songs, entire music compositions and Alfred Hitchcock's film, but obviously, old Alfred did not quite understand the bird kingdom--he was a product of a paranoid society. (And I don't care much for that film). However, David Rothenberg, musician, author, professor and philosopher has chosen to befriend the bird kingdom through its musical language. Not only did he write the book, Why Birds Sing (reviewed on this blog), but he also co-produced a remarkable CD of the same title that combines nature with modern technology. While I am not into electronic music myself, (I do not find it healing due to the electromagnetic fields), the music on Why Birds Sing recalls sacred yoiks of the Saami...