We had a great evening at our local art center last night. We met our friends to enjoy an open air concert performed by a regional group – Queen Bee and the Honeylovers.
Their music is an eclectic mix of swing, blues, Latin and jazz. They performed two hours of both original and classic music. It was really a lovely night with perfect weather.
I loved their original songs born out of the rich history of Asheville. This song “Beecham’s Curve” was based on the story her grandfather told about riding the streetcar in Asheville. There is a lovely clip of her grandfather’s story at the end of the video.
Here’s a short clip of a Bessie Smith song “Need a Little Sugar in My Bowl”.
It was a lovely evening with friends enjoying the first day of June.
You can find out more of their music on their website, streaming on Spotify, or available for download here.
Do you ever stumble on a concept or idea and find yourself tumbling down the research rabbit hole? Curiosity piqued, I tend to cling to a subject until I either exhaust myself or reach the point of being satisfied with what I have learned.
This week I stumbled on a less than familiar word – entrainment, but more specifically neural entrainment. Sounds all sciencey (new word alert) doesn’t it? It is, but on a more human level, it is something perhaps we all experience on a very basic level. So what is the biology definition of entrainment?
Entrainment means synchronization of the beats of music with natural body function or processes.
And what is neural entrainment? Good question with a difficult answer. It has to do with the synchronization of auditory and motor functions. (This is my very simplified definition as I understand it.) Is this the reason we tap our feet or snap our fingers to a rhythm we hear?
“Wow, Maggie. This does not feel like a very tranquil discussion!”
Okay. I give you that, but this subject is fascinating. It is used to help stroke victims recover motor functions using music to retrain the brain. But enough science for now. Let’s talk music and how it affects you.
Do you choose to play music that matches your mood?
Do you ever use music to change your mood?
Do you use music to relax or to fall asleep?
When do you like music with lyrics versus instrumental music?
Does music distract you if you are trying to concentrate?
Do you like percussion arrangements with no other instrumentation?
Do you listen to classical music?
Do upbeat rhythms make you want to get up and dance?
What music grates on your nerves?
Neuroscientists from the UK deemed this song the most relaxing song tested to date. It is said to reduce anxiety by 65%. What do you think?
You can leave your comments below or write a post of your own and link back here. [Not sure how to link to another post? Check out these instructions.]
My responses follow.
I love most genres of music, but not every genre of music fits every mood or occasion. There have been times of my life in which I experienced periods of sadness and I confess I played a lot of sad songs. Sometimes I did it to make myself cry as a release.
I do select music to change my mood. If I am feeling sluggish, I find upbeat music gets my body moving. If I am down in the dumps, I find inspiring upbeat music helps improve my outlook.
If I struggle to fall asleep, I will sometimes play my favorite YouTube music video. There are no distracting words or odd instrument changes. Check it out.
If I need to relax, I usually play instrumental or classical music. I find lyrics engage a different part of the brain which keeps me from relaxing.
I generally like quiet if I am focusing on some creative task. I cannot listen to podcasts or music with lyrics – especially if I know the words. I often listened to Hayley Westenr’s Odyssey CD. She has an angelic voice.
No strictly percussion instruments for me. I find consistent drumming agitating. I would never go see STOMP. While I appreciate how talented they are and enjoy how they compose their work, my saturation point would be about 10 minutes.
I enjoy classical music, especially piano and violin. I find my heart entrains to match the tempo of classical music.
I love music that makes me want to get up and dance. Cue the Pointer Sisters. I saw them in concert eons ago and no one stayed in their seat.
I am not a huge fan of heavy metal or really hard rock music. Everything else has it’s time and place in my mental jukebox.
I donned my headphones and listened to Weightless. After 4 minutes I turned it off. I felt like I was in a planetarium with the lights out floating through space. I can’t say I found it overly relaxing because of the rise and fall of the music. It was tranquil, though.
A to Z is complete, so it is time to get back to our normal routine. This week we delve into the music of our lives. This should be one that everyone relates to in one way or another.
If you care to join us, it’s easy.
Write your own post sharing your memories and leave a pingback to this post in the comments.
You can use the photo above in your post to make it easier to find.
Tag it with #TBTMemory or #IRememberWhen.
If you do not wish to write your own post, feel free to tell your story in the comments below.
This week’s prompt is: Discovering Your Musical Taste
Let’s explore the music you were exposed to as a child and how you moved from those early experiences into developing a taste of your own.
You can respond to the following questions as they are, or you can use them to spark your own memories and write your own post.
What music were you exposed to in your family home – genre, artist, or style.
Did you enjoy that type of music or did you rebel against it?
How did you listen to music in your childhood home? Radio? Record player? Television?
Did you buy records, tapes, cassettes, 8-tracks or CDs?
What performers were you drawn to most as an adolescent?
Who did you go to see for your first concert? Who did you go with?
What concert has been your favorite concert to date?
When do you listen to music? In the car? At work? While studying or doing projects?
Did the music you listened to affect your attitudes, way of dress, or view of the world?
How has your choice of music changed over the years? What is your genre of choice at this phase of your life?
Bonus Question: What band or group posters did you have hanging in your room? Extra extra bonus points if you can share a copy of it or a link to it.
EXTRA EXTRA BONUS: Care to share a playlist from Spotify?
My post follows.
I don’t usually answer the questions, but I think I will break from tradition and do just that this week.
What music were you exposed to in your family home – genre, artist, or style.
I grew up with my grandmother singing hymns while she worked. There was also Lawrence Welk, Sing Along with Mitch, and some bluegrass radio stations. My grandmother had a Victrola and had several 38 rpm records from the 30s and 40s.
Did you enjoy that type of music or did you rebel against it?
I enjoyed the music. I was not a big fan of Lawrence Welk but I loved Sing Along with Mitch. Later, my parents had albums of Readers Digest records which I loved listening to. I was too young to rebel.
How did you listen to music in your childhood home? Radio? Record player? Television?
As my older siblings aged, we eventually had record players. Radio music was limited because of our location. There were only one or two television stations, so that was limited too.
Did you buy records, tapes, cassettes, 8-tracks or CDs?
As I got older, I bought 45s occasionally. Albums did not come until high school. My Dad bought 8-tracks and eventually I bought cassettes and cassette singles – remember those?
What performers were you drawn to most as an adolescent?
I listened to a lot of my sisters’ music from the 50s. I grew up with Booby Vee, Bobby Vinton, Bobby Rydell, The Everly Brothers and others from that era. We had all their 45s. I loved early Sonny and Cher. I even wrote Cher a letter once. High school brought the music from the 70s.
Who did you go to see for your first concert? Who did you go with?
When I lived in Ohio, we often went to Blossom Music Center to we some alternative bands. I cannot remember any of the band names, however. My first real concert was The Guess Who. The concert was at Kent State, and I went with a guy I knew from Civil Air Patrol named Steve. His Dad was a cop on campus and he drove us to the concert. This would have been the year before the shootings at Kent State.
What concert has been your favorite concert to date?
I loved the Pointer Sisters. It was a small venue in Anchorage, Alaska. We all stood and danced and it was high energy and great fun. But my favorite concert by far was when I saw The Highwaymen in Augusta, Maine. I cried when Johnny Cash sang “I Still Miss Someone”. I saw some legends that night.
When do you listen to music? In the car? At work? While studying or doing projects?
I listen to music when I am cooking, doing housework or in the car mostly. In the car it is standard FM radio. At home, I usually stream Sirius XM or Pandora or Spotify. At night I stream some YouTube relaxation music to help me fall asleep. I cannot listen to music while writing or doing art unless it is classical. I love words and find them distracting if I am trying to concentrate on something else.
Did the music you listened to affect your attitudes, way of dress, or view of the world?
I always cared about lyrics and in that way, the music helped me understand the broader world. I was a bit of a hippie child in the 70s and dressed accordingly. I was all about bell bottoms, paisley, peasant blouses, and long straight hair parted in the center.
How has your choice of music changed over the years? What is your genre of choice at this phase of your life?
I have a deep appreciation for most music. I still love country, “oldies” from my generation, classical, jazz, Yacht Rock, standards, Beatles, Doobie Brothers, Indigo Girls, big band and bluegrass. Some bluegrass grates on my nerves, but I appreciate the classics. I prefer a mix of music instead of all one genre when I listen. I love making playlists for that reason.
Bonus Question: What band posters did you have hanging in your room? Extra extra bonus points if you can share a copy of it or a link to it.
Cher, The Monkees, the Association. In the Air Force I had one Chicago poster (from Live at Carnegie Hall) you can see here.
EXTRA EXTRA BONUS: Care to share a playlist from Spotify? Sure. How about my “Gotta Move” playlist?
We had a great evening at our local art center last night. We met our friends to enjoy an open air concert performed by a regional group – Queen Bee and the Honeylovers.
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