The Whole Music Experience

Silvia Nakkach and Valerie Carpenter Free Your Voice Awaken to Life Through Singing Sounds True Cross-cultural sound healer and vocalist Silvia Nakkach provides a handbook for healing yourself and others through voice with Free Your Voice .   Only the first 64 pages of the book give an overview of the physiology of voice, a description of vocal techniques from around the globe, as well as a list of benefits that come from working with your voice. The second half of the book acts as a virtual workshop with exercises with online music samples.   The exercises range from simple mind-body meditations to singing raga scales.   (Note: I wasn’t able to do the exercises because I did not have access to the online music). However, I’m impressed with the breadth and scope of Nakkach’s vocal wisdom, her musical expertise, and her engaging writing style.   Personally, I would enjoy going deeper with this book and the exercises in it.   The powe...

Picoso (Mad Latin Flavor) Mas Picao Independent release (Seattle) Any band that gets a park full of picnickers and music fans dancing during the opening of their first song deserves a shout out.   Seattle-based Afro-Latin band Picoso, which translates to “mad Latin flavor”, brought their punchy horns, Afro-poly rhythms, and rousing vocals to Boulevard Park in Bellingham, Washington, and the dancers went mad with their own Latin flavor.   Described as “urban” and “very street,” ( Seattle Sound Magazine ) Picoso mixes salsa, son, reggaeton and other Caribbean genres on their CD Mas Picao .   This recording features Samantha Boshnack on trumpet, but live, a woman trombone player joined her, filling out the band’s horn section.   I only mention this because I’ve never seen women horn players in an Afro-Cuban band prior to this event.   Puerto Rican bandleader/percussionist/vocalist Alfonso Gonzalez sings with gusto so I could see why...

Christine Stevens Music Medicine The Science and Spirit of Healing Yourself with Sound Sounds True (publishing date: August 1, 2012) I joined my first drum circle at a Northwest Folklife Festival in Seattle during the 1990s.   A master Brazilian percussionist handed out exotic percussion and drums, gave us a quick lesson, then off we went.   The drum circle took place in a large tent that vibrated with polyrhythms of the 20+ drummers and percussionist that gathered. While I felt self-conscious, I still enjoyed myself and all the drummers participating in the circle.   You didn’t even need to know the others’ names and still feel bonded to them. Flash forward to 2009, when I interviewed master percussionist Will Clipman, mainly known for his musical contributions to Canyon Records artists, especially R. Carlos Nakai.   Will opened up the world of drumming to me with his masterful global percussion practice and his debut solo album, Pathfinder....

Photo by Patricia Herlevi Music resonating within you Psychoacoustic researcher Joshua Leeds introduced me to resonance and rhythmic entrainment in 2008 when I interviewed him for my radio show.   At the time, we were discussing how a sonic environment affects our canine companions, but we also spoke about how a sonic environment affects humans through rhythmic entrainment and resonance. I will give you a non-musical example of resonance.   Imagine a time when you walked into a party or a gathering of some kind.   How were you feeling before you walked into this gathering? And did your feelings change as you spent time in the room with the other people? Did someone walk in with dark cloud emotions and change the vibration or feeling in the space? How did this person resonate with you? Did this person resonate with your subconscious in such a way that he or she brought up your matching core issues? My focus in this essay revolves around musical resonan...

Samite Mulondo, Charles Evans, Jr., & Tony Cedras Trust Independent  I admit that I have sat on the recording Trust by Samite, Charles Evans, Jr. and Tony Cedras for over a month because I didn’t know how to frame the music on the CD.   First, and most important, Trust acts as a fundraising album for Samite’s nonprofit Musicians for World Harmony which brings music and music therapy to at-risk groups in Africa, mainly East Africa.   Second, the CD comes with a warning that the music that appears on the recording is from the movie Addiction Incorporated in which Samite composed the soundtrack.   And with all that gravity, you probably expect sad ballads with social messages, none of which you will find on this CD. The musicians mention in the press notes that they wanted to create a danceable African recording without drums.   And darn if you don’t want to get up and dance listening to these polyrhythmic songs that feature acoustic ...

Exploring Music from Childhood and Beyond (Healing Potential) music of my teen years In the realm of healing with music, two theories predominate.   First, music therapists employ music to remove blocked emotions, relieve overtaxed brains and nervous system, help with brain diseases and malfunctions, motivate depressed or lethargic clients, etc... Second, sound healers raise the frequency or vibration of their client’s body.   So this leads to two views of what to do with harder-to-digest music such as heavy metal or hard-edged hip hop.   While I understand both points of view, and practitioners and researchers from both camps have evidence to back up their work with music, if someone’s goal is to lift their vibration, heavy metal and hip hop with hateful lyrics won’t accomplish this mission. However, for the purpose of this article, I’m gazing at music therapy in the form of a psychological tool.   After acquiring a higher speed internet service a...

Maurice Ravel 1. Prokofiev, Piano Concerto 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKJm3Wre1iU 2. Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto 3 (Olga Kern) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAoQoZBTqLs 3. Debussy's Prelude to the Afternoon of the Faun http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7b1FkZYarU 4. Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nT7_IZPHHb0 5. Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake (Dance of the Swans) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sd4VsbM4fOo&feature=related 6. Mozart's Clarinet Concerto http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOxX0xGTOyE 7. Mozart's Magic Flute (Queen of the Night Aria) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJJW0dE5GF0 8. Bach's Goldberg Variations (Glenn Gould) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64Xb3qiXR9Y 9. Rodrigo Concierto de Aranjuez (Yepes) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxwceLlaODM 10. Ravel Piano Concerto in G (Grimaud performing 2nd movement) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRTWLQ4nI6Q This list of pieces runs...

photo by Patricia Herlevi, "Summer Fun" Experiment with water and music Let the Journey Begin I have already shared information about keeping a music journal on WME.   We have also explored music of other cultures and sacred traditions.   We know about musical and sound effects on the brain and nervous system.   We know that frequency + intention = healing as Jonathan Goldman describes in his work with sacred sounds. Many of you have already come across the work with water, intent, and music of Dr. Masaru Emoto of Japan.   I actually came across this work around 9 or 10 years ago.   I did expose water and food to high-frequency music for a while, but then I grew distracted and forgot about this practice until recent days.   I have received visions of morphogenetic fields and clearing these fields with sound.   Our bodies also contain these fields and we can lift our vibration with the right music.   Obviously, from Dr. Em...

Os Cempés Tentemozo FolMusica Powered by drums and bagpipes--sounds like a marriage of Arabic modes and Celtic marches, Galician Os Cempés Tentemozo offers an uplifting listening experience.   If you are a regular visitor to Whole Music Experience, then you already know about Galician traditional music.   Similar to another Galician musician Uxia, Os Cempés creates a big sound on this recording with 50 traditional musicians bringing their talent to the project. Led by Oscar Fernández, hurdy-gurdies, violins, Galician bagpipes, tambourines, guitars, and the large Galician drum join forces and ignite into popular dances from this region of Spain.   This beautiful album was funded through the generous support of the band’s 740 friends and followers.   And you’ll want to thank these people after giving this CD a listen. The album opens with the rousing Mirandosa and then launches into Pasodoble De Illa which carries some musical reminders of Spai...

Randall Paskemin Emotions Cree Round Dance Songs Canyon Records Tony Duncan Earth Warrior (Native American Flute) Canyon Records I first encountered Cree singer Randall Paskemin when he released a children’s album, Goodnight, Sweet Dreams, I Love You (Canyon Records).   His newest CD, Emotions features love songs for adults, sung in the same passionate and witty voice as the previous album.   You listen to this set of round dance songs, with the gentle thump of the frame drum accompanied by soaring vocals and you might just want to hang out with Randall. Certainly, he seems articulate and reflective with his songs telling slice-of-life stories. The love song Tattoo tells us about a man who doesn’t need to get a tattoo to prove his love to his partner.   She’s My Girl revolves around a dual by two men who love the same woman.   Marlon Deschamps plays the role of the other man.   All I Have to Do is Close My Eyes ...

The Mountain Music Project A Musical Odyssey from Appalachia to Himalaya The Mountain Music Project When you start actually listening to music from around the globe, you come across surprising similarities.   This isn’t news to seasoned ethnomusicologists and it’s not news to fans of traditional music who keep their ears plugged into specialty music radio shows.   However, who thought there was a connection between bluegrass music of the Blue Mountains and Nepalese folk tunes? Got me and got me again. The musician caste of Nepal referred to as Gandharba who passed down oral tradition songs sound well, a bit twang.   And if twang is your thing, you’ll love this double dose of American bluegrass and traditional Nepalese songs.   These musicians not only give some outstanding performances on exotic and familiar instruments, they also engage in the art of storytelling on The Mountain Music Project’s A Musical Odyssey from Appalachia to Himalaya . ...

Duke Ellington Legacy With Houston Person Single Petal of a Rose Renma Recordings Virginia Mayhew Quartet With Wycliffe Gordon Mary Lou Williams--The Next 100 Years Renma Recordings I didn’t grow up listening to Duke Ellington, but I heard it playing in the background of my childhood.   In 2008, I had the honor and privilege of interviewing Edward Ellington, Jr. for a regional arts publication.   And I also witnessed the legacy band in concert--an enjoyable evening.   While Billy Strayhorn’s A-Train doesn’t appear on Duke Ellington Legacy’s Single Petal of a Rose , Lush Life (Strayhorn), Squeeze Me (Ellington), and In My Solitude (Ellington) float off this recording, bringing both nostalgic sheen and revitalized interpretations. While no musician, not even family, could ever recreate Duke Ellington, the composer-bandleader’s elegance shines in these modern interpretations.   The ballads Lush Life and In My Solit...

Since 2012 marks a special year, in celebration of global music, I'm hosting a top 5 CDs thus far.  I am posting YouTube videos for 4 of the top albums. Support these artist. 1. The Toure-Raichel Collective, The Tel Aviv Session, Cumbancha http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5A0VXjKwYHs&feature=related 2. Mahsa & Marjan Vahdat, Twinklings of hope, Kirkelig Kulturverksted http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-TlFCIoRUI 3. Ahmad Jamal, Blue Moon, Jazz Village (Harmonia Mundi) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcUvkO4A5Vo 4. Gregory Porter, Be Good, Motema http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HvpIgHBSdo 5. Alexander Melnikov, Shostakovich Piano Concertos & Sonata for Violin and Piano, Harmonia Mundi

I'm posting the following book review here because people with accute sensitivities respond well to music therapy and sound healing.  In addition, musicians are also sensitive and can benefit from the wisdom presented in this book. Dr. Judith Blackstone Belonging Here A Guide for the Spiritually Sensitive Person Sounds True Where was Dr. Judith Blackstone and Dr. Judith Orloff (who also writes about sensitivities), back in the 1990s when I began experiencing acute sensitivities? Back in the 1990s the concept of sensitivities, especially environmental sensitivities were seen as a neurosis of hysterical housewives.   This did not help me in employment where my employers saw me more as a troublemaker than a sensitive person with talents and useful skills.   I did not enjoy living in my body due to the abuse I suffered daily because of my sensitivities and it wasn’t until I took a workshop at the Women of Wisdom conference in Seattle that I learned about...

Cheevers Toppah True Melodies Harmonized Songs from the Heart of Native America Canyon Records Native American traditional singer Cheevers Toppah (Kiowa/Navajo), captured my attention several years ago with his solo and collaborative efforts with Alex E. White and Nitanis Landry ( Harmony Nights , Canyon Records).   Similar to other Native American men vocalists, Toppah’s voice glides effortlessly between bass and baritone, while bringing soothing timbre to his harmonized songs.   As any singer will tell you singing a cappella and harmonizing with their self provides challenges, especially in the area of intonation.   Toppah’s training as a choral singer along with his years of honing Native American vocal traditions brings us a confident singer with a powerfully healing voice.   There are no shortages of healing voices on Canyon Records or among Native American musicians in general, Toppah joins the cream of the crop while also bringing his int...