The Whole Music Experience

Try this experiment. Next time you hear music coming from a passing car while you're out walking, pay attention to your body's reaction. Pay attention to how your body rearranges itself to match the rhythm and tempo of the song coming from the passing car. I've noticed this with myself. I'm walking on a city street at my own pace and cadence. Then a car passes by with rap music pouring out of the speakers. I notice that my step picks up, my heart races, and I end up walking to the rap rhythms against my will. Alternately, if I'm walking into a shop and a Bach prelude pours from a speaker, I pay attention to my body's rhythms as they slow down and my mind travels from worries of the day to contemplation. Or I stop thinking obsessive thoughts and I remember music history lessons about the Baroque Era--Bach's music. Right now, I'm listening to Marvin Gaye's greatest hits on YouTube as I type this post. I'm feeling my heart swelling with compas...

By Patricia Herlevi Every song we've ever heard has a memory or memories attached to it.  Some songs remind us of first loves, choosing a partner to dance with at a middle school sock hop, or college graduation.  Some songs remind us of weddings we attended or scenes from favorite movies, while other songs cause our hearts to ache with the memories that surface. As to be expected, we gravitate towards songs with happier memories or that relax us some way or lull us into daydreams.  But, the songs with painful memories attached claim treasures too.  In fact, they act as a treasure map to our wounded places where we shed new light if we choose.  When we head over to these wounds, we give ourselves the opportunity to clear away old beliefs, patterns and the root of grief and depression.  Perhaps, these songs lead us to the releasing of repressed anger or sadness. I recommend working with a music therapist when dealing with deep wounds or deeply repress...

World Hector Del Curto   Eternal Piazzolla Green Parrot Records Since the moment a music librarian in Seattle introduced me to the tangos of bandoneonist Astor Piazzolla, I have admired and loved this music.   I have delved into several of Piazzolla’s recordings with his quintet and other ensembles, and I have heard tribute recordings from other musicians, both inside and outside of Argentina.   Similar to Franz Liszt and the American blues legend Robert Johnson, we wonder if Piazzolla also sold his soul to the devil in exchange for mastership of his instrument and genre.   Of course, I don’t mean this literally and I’m referring to the bursts of passion found in Piazzolla’s compositions. When I saw a listing for Argentine Hector Del Curto’s Eternal Piazzolla I decided to review the recording.   As usual, I was concerned at first about the musicians’ interpretation of Piazzolla’s repertoire, but in this case, there was no need for conce...