Jacks Be Nimble, Jacks Be Quick!

A musical game of jacks enhances learning through play.

Have you ever played jacks? It’s that game of agility and speed played with a small rubber ball and a set of 10 six-pointed jacks.

The rules are simple enough, but the achievement of “threes-ies” can take many hours. Scatter the jacks on a flat, hard surface. Toss the ball into the air, pick up one jack and catch the ball after only one bounce. A game of Ones-ies is completed by picking up all 10 jacks, one at a time in the process described above.

Twos-ies, as you might guess, is played by tossing the ball into the air, picking up two jacks and catching the ball after only one bounce. Continue tossing the ball and picking up two more jacks until all are picked up.

Oh, and use the same hand to toss the ball, pick up the jacks, and catch the ball.

Using Multiple Senses

I was mulling over how we musicians use our senses – in particular, sight, sound, and touch – in learning and playing music. When a student is struggling with reading music and recognizing notes, I instruct them to do a multi-sensory exercise that goes like this:

• Look at and point at each individual note.
• Say aloud the name of the note as you point to it.
• Notate the music on a separate piece of staff paper, and say the name of each note as you notate it.
• Finger the note on your instrument while saying aloud the note name and looking at the note in the music.
• Play each note while looking at it on the staff and say the note name in your head.
• Sing each note while pointing to it or fingering it.
•    

This method of learning is very effective. Students often see results right away as their confidence in note-naming and note-reproduction increases. Because they are using multiple senses in the exercise, the learning attaches in a number of places in the brain. Recalling the material later is quicker and easier.

Sing, Say, Play

Suppose that each learning variation above might be a different jack from the game of jacks. Saying the name of the note as you point to it could be your Ones-ies. Threes-ies might be something like saying the name of the note as you point to it and then singing the pitch. I’ve prepared some suggested guidelines, and created some audio files and written music for you to use to get going. Read through my suggestions below, download the files, and play some Musical Jacks!

Gather your gaming materials

1. Download and print the music (PDF) for your particular instrument.    
   • Musical Jacks Treble Clef C Instruments
   • Musical Jacks Bb Instruments
   • Musical Jacks Eb Instruments
   • Musical Jacks F Instruments
   • Musical Jacks G Instruments
   • Musical Jacks Bass Clef C Instruments
2. Download the audio file (MP3). The files are provided in both bass and treble range. Choose whichever range is more comfortable for your voice. I also created slow and medium tempo files; 60 BPM and 100 BPM.        
   • Treble 60 BPM (7.7 MB)
   • Bass 60 BPM (7.7 MB)
   • Treble 100 BPM (4.6 MB)
   • Bass 100 BPM (4.6 MB)

Ones-ies, Twos-ies, Threes-ies…

I came up with eight different ‘jacks to pick up.’

1. Sing La: sing the pitch sounded on a syllable of “la” or “ma.”   
2. Speak: speak the pitch name.   
3. Point: point to the note on the music.       
4. Sing Pitch: sing the note name on pitch, i.e. “cee-sharp.”   
5. Notate Treble: on a treble clef staff, draw an empty oval (whole note) on the appropriate space or line.           
6. Notate Bass: on a bass clef staff, draw an empty oval (whole note) on the appropriate space or line.          
7. Finger: position your fingers as you would to play the pitch on your instrument. Pianists should touch the appropriate key with alternating left and right index finger. String players should position left hand on the fingerboard and right hand or bow on appropriate string.        
8. Play: play the tone on your instrument. Pianists, play the indicated key with all five digits of alternating left and right hands, in rapid succession.

Suggested Game Play

Set the printed music on the stand, sit with your instrument on your lap or otherwise handy, and have your MP3 player within easy reach to start and stop the audio file.

Decide which ‘jack’ or how many ‘jacks’ you want to do for each pitch and start the audio file. I just played a few rounds of the game and completed fours-ies comfortably. My fours-ies were Sing La, Point, Speak, and Sing Pitch Name.

It will quickly become obvious to you once you start playing that not all jacks are created equal. For example, you can Point and Speak simultaneously and then Sing La and Finger simultaneously. But you wouldn’t necessarily be able to Notate and Play at the same time.

I can see the strategists among you are already planning how to do all eight jacks in 4 seconds. Go for it! And let the rest of us know about your Musical Jacks successes.

Comment now

Which jacks are easiest to do? Which are the most fun? How many jacks did you complete in one round? What other variations of the game have you come up with? I invite you to share your stories with me and the readers of Musician’s Motivator. Make a comment on my blog or drop me an email: meg@meggrace.com.

Thanks for reading! The next edition of Musician’s Motivator will be out on Wednesday, March 10, 2010.

If you liked this, you may also want to read:

• Brain Benefits from Noteworthy Music Practice
• Dive Into The Unknown
• 4 Ways To Get More Fun Out Of Practice

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Look to your past and find your musical genealogy

Knowing and understanding our past helps us in the present. Making sense of moments in world history, we learn from humanity’s past mistakes and strive to do better or, just differently, in the future. We can also learn from the successes and continue that which was beneficial.

Genealogy, the study of family history, is a more personal way to understand the past and thereby know ourselves more completely. This knowledge of the past helps us be more fully present in our daily lives.

Visiting in the parlor room

I enjoy a phone visit with my parents each week. We live 3,000 miles apart and the phone line has become our parlor room. Our weekly calls enable us to maintain a rich, loving relationship. Our conversations often lead to stories of the past, whether it is a story about mom’s grandmother or dad’s great uncle or some other ancestor.

Singing and playing musical instruments was quite common among my forebears. One hundred years ago, music was an integral part of family life. Children sang in educational and sacred settings, and took piano lessons. Adults played in community orchestras and bands or sang in casual groups. I suspect when you ask your parents and extended family about their musical experiences, you will hear some great stories. Today, I learned a little more about my musical genealogy.

On my mother’s side…

My great grandmother had five children and encouraged, well, made them each take up an instrument. That’s them in the photo above. The eldest, my grandfather, played violin and sang soprano in a boys choir. The youngest, my great uncle Hans, played the saxophone. Great uncle Tony played the trombone.

My grandfather then passed that love of music on to my mother and all her siblings. Uncles Bob, Fred, and Allen all sang in community variety shows and in college glee clubs. As a matter of fact, it was in college glee club where my uncle Allen became friends with a young tenor named Jim.

Allen and Jim became friends and went out on double dates together. On one of those double dates, Allen invited his sister, Loretta, to be Jim’s date. Loretta and Jim hit it off pretty well; well enough to continue dating and eventually marry.

And that’s how my parents met; brought together through music. Not only do I have many ancestors with musical backgrounds, you might say music gave me life! If not for glee club, … well, I don’t want to think about it.

And on my father’s side…

There is a fair amount of music experience on my dad’s side too. Not only did Dad sing tenor in glee club, he also played violin as a boy. His aunt Alice was a music teacher and a Catholic nun. When Sister Rose Madeline visited my family, she would pass out sheet music to us kids and conduct us in song. Since my sister, Mary Beth, and I both played instruments and had some musical experience, Sister Rose expected us to be able to sight-read the harmony part. But we couldn’t. At least not yet.

Let’s Have A Singalong!

Family gatherings of all the grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins always had some singing. After a meal, song lyrics were handed out, sometimes some sheet music too, and we’d sing. As Mary Beth and I got older, we accompanied the singers on flute and saxophone.

Mission Possible

Alright, readers, your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to explore your musical genealogy. Ask your parents, grandparents, cousins – any living relatives:

1. What musical experiences did you have growing up?   
2. Which instrument (or voice) did you play?
3. Tell me a story about music when you were in grade school.
4. What’s your most intense musical memory from your twenties?
5. What is your favorite song or piece of music?
6. What song did you dance to at your wedding?

For my parents, it was Wonderful One by Paul Whiteman. At their 50th anniversary party, Mary Beth and I performed a vocal and sax arrangement of this song for them.

Comment now

What’s your musical genealogy? I invite you to share your stories with me and the readers of Musician’s Motivator. Make a comment on my blog or drop me an email: meg@meggrace.com.

Thanks for reading! The next edition of Musician’s Motivator will be out on Wednesday, February 24, 2010.

If you liked this, you may also want to read:

• The Amateur Of Music And Beginner’s Mind
• Blueprint to Brilliance
• Who, Me? Creative?

Bookmark:

The idea of improvisation scares the beejeezus out of many musicians, especially those who learned to play their instrument side by side with learning how to read music. Knowing how to read music is a valuable skill. But when you stop and think about how you learned to speak your native language, you will realize that you learned to read well after you learned to speak the language.

This philosophy of learning is appropriate to learning the language of music as well. Today’s edition of Musician’s Motivator addresses how you can develop your musical speaking skills. For today, you can give your music reading skills a rest!

Benefits of Improvisation

It’s not just for jazz musicians. Bringing improvisation into your regular practice will enhance your ability to listen. And not just to music. I have found that as a result of practicing improvisation, I bring another level of awareness to conversations I have with people.

Regular musical improvisation naturally increases your attention in musical settings as well; whether you are in a musical group as one of the players or in the audience listening. In symphonic band rehearsals, I hear more of the other instruments playing. I have been pleasantly surprised by the sound of the tuba and bass clarinet playing softly in unison while I was counting measures to my next entrance; or noticing the oboe trilling above a clarinet choir. As an audience member, listening to the recent Washington Wind Symphony performance of Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor was a treat, enriched by my own regular improvisation practice.

But Wait, There’s More!

Another benefit to regular improvisation is enhanced creativity. You will find that a little bit of creativity, no matter how small, begets more creativity. It’s like smiling at strangers on your morning walk. They usually smile back!

After establishing a regular improv practice, you may find yourself drawing more, re-arranging items on your dresser aesthetically, wearing more colorful clothing, climbing a tree, writing a short story for your children, or planning the planting of your front garden area. All this as a result of improvisation!

A habit of improvisation practice also leads to composing and arranging music. After all, improvising is just that – composing music. It just needs to be written down.

How To Practice Improvisation

Here are two exercises that anyone can do to develop the improvisation muscle. They are from my forthcoming book, Truly FUNdamentals – The Most FUN Musical Warmups Ever!

1. Take Three
2. On The Air!

Take Three

Choose any three tones that you can play on your instrument. Play those tones using any rhythm and note values. Play only those three pitches. You may include the upper and lower octaves of those three tones. Remember to use rests in your rhythms! Long note values, short note values, various articulations – all are welcome. Give yourself plenty of time to explore these three notes.

On The Air!

Turn on your radio and play along. Many radio stations specialize in one genre of recorded music. You can chose from jazz, pop, oldies, classical, folk, rock, opera, and many others. I recommend that you start with a style of music you like and with which you are familiar.

1. Pick your channel.
2. Raise the volume sufficiently so you can hear the radio music over your own instrument.
3. Listen!
4. Match the predominant tones first. This will help you establish the key center.
5. Play the melody (if it’s a song you know) or play a blending melodic line.

If radio is too old-school for you, try these online music resources: Pandora, and Musicovery.

Speak Up

Share your improv fun on my blog or drop me an email: meg@meggrace.com.

If you liked this, you may also want to read: Fueling Up At The Inspiration Station. A few months back I wrote about this exercise designed to get you playing and making music on a regular basis. Fifteen minutes of blowing into your horn, an experiment to make practice happen.

• Other recommended articles: Who, Me? Creative?
• Is There Music in The City Skyline?
• Drawing Down The Music

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What if each pixel in an image corresponded to a specific pitch? What if the brightness level of a pixel determined the length of the note? What if the RGB value of each pixel created three-part harmony?

Seeing Music In Color

Music has many mathematical elements contained therein. The idea to apply pitch to pixels is the concept behind the free software, RGB Music Lab, by Kenji Kojima.

I downloaded RGB Music Lab to try my hand at composing with a picture. During my travels in Turkey last April, one of my traveling companions took this photo of me. Hmmm… I wonder what music I look like, er uh…can I see how I sound?

In this image, I am boating on the Bosphorus Strait, the waterway separating Europe and Asia.

Pixelated Composing

To get started composing, open RGB Music Lab and drag an image onto the right panel, on top of the Mona Lisa image. The program reads the pixels row by row, from the top left to the bottom right pixel, and generates your music.

The settings can be fine-tuned on many levels. For my first piece, I kept most of the default settings and only changed instruments to 3 saxes (Sopr, Alto, Tenor) and increased tempo to 160 BPM. The result is a one minute and 24 second piece. It’s very twitchy, not at all what I imagined this image would sound like! Listen, if you are into twitchy music.

Reduce The Input

I wondered if I took just a snippet of the image; in this case the part of my face centered on my eyes; how would the song change? It turns out, I can’t just change one thing! In addition to changing the image, I adjusted the tempo, the intervals, the tonality, and the instrumentation. Now, this is getting interesting! The result is a 16-second piece, Eyes!

Now to really speed it up! Ooh, I like this two seconds of music.

A Monochromatic Soundscape

In much the same way that a composer works on her project by tweaking and massaging a beginning musical idea or phrase, I continued modifying the image source. After all, it’s the pixels and their RGB values that are providing the foundation for the sound of these compositions.

When listening to Eyes!, I found the last few rows of pixels were more interesting to me than the rest of the music. These rows were very monochromatic in their palette. For that reason, I cut a piece of the monochromatic water from the image and brought that into RGB Music Lab.

This time, I set the instrumentation to voices by choosing #54 Ooh Choir. There are 142 different instruments with everything from clarinet and trumpet and tuba to Rain and Gunshot and Dog. There are nine different types of drum kits, and about that many types of guitars, pianos, and basses.

I also changed the tonality to F harmonic minor. You can choose from major and minor scales, pentatonics, blues, and Gypsy scales. Or you can create your own scale! For a free program, Kenji Kojima has included many features.

In-Depth Free Program

You can have some serious fun exploring all the different settings. I wanted to continue playing with this application and enjoy the sound combinations produced. But if I did that, this edition of Musician’s Motivator wouldn’t get written!

Here is the final (for now) version of Bosphorus Strait by RBG Music and Meg Grace. Enjoy!

If you choose to download this program and compose with your own images, I’d enjoy hearing the music you create. Please send me a link to your composition or send the file itself. Also, let me know whether I can share it with my readers or keep it to myself.

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What Makes A Memory?

Once Upon A Time…

Once upon a time there lived an instrumental music teacher who had recently joined and sung in a choral group for the first time in her musical life. It was an exciting time for her! She enjoyed learning a new instrument (voice) and the experience of making music with one’s own body. Also new was the memorization of all the concert music. That part was not so exciting and caused some small distress.

Memorize, Too?

Oh, sure, I’ve sung before – just not in an organized group setting. I sing along with songs on the radio or my iPod. I’ve even memorized songs not realizing I was doing so. I memorize songs easily enough. Like many of you, I know all the lyrics to Don McLean’s American Pie and Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody – without the karaoke screen prompts!

Singing with Aurora Chorus this term, I am required to memorize 16 songs that we will perform in the Dec. 20 concert. Yes, that is a lot of music, but some of the songs have simple repeated parts. Thank goodness!

On the other hand, this being a choral group, the songs all have words, something I’ve never had to contend with when playing band and orchestra music. What’s more, of these 16 songs, four of them are in a language other than English. I am also singing in Yorùbá, the language of Candomblé (Brazil); in Mbuti, from the rain forests of New Guinea; in Spanish; and in Georgian, (Republic of Georgia).

That’s What I’m Talking About!

You might expect that the songs in these foreign languages would be more challenging to memorize. Not true! One of my favorite songs and the one that has been the most fun to learn, is A jí kí ire ni Èsù, the song in Yorùbá. The melody is engaging. The 4-part voices weave among one another in an intricate rhythmic dance. The harmonies, too, are exciting with minor 7ths and 9ths over major triads, voiced in a such a way that the tonic of the chord sounds like a color tone! It’s a great song and our concert opener.

On the other hand, one of the hardest songs for me to memorize is in English, Song of Stars. It employs ever-changing time signatures, moving from 6/8 to 7/8 to 3/8 and back to 7/8. The tessitura, or vocal range of the song, for the second soprano part is a bit high for me. Yes, I can sing those notes when I am properly warmed up. It’s just not the most comfortable range for me – so far. The text is a prayer of the Algonquin people.

No Meaning

Perhaps the reason I had difficulty learning this song is that it had no meaning for me. In the beginning, I was just singing words, working on getting the rhythm correct and my entrances down. What if I read the words without the music and tried to understand what I was singing?

That helped a little bit. But the truth was, I just didn’t like the song very much. Do you remember what I reported in the previous edition of Musician’s Motivator? You retain new information better and remember it more strongly when you attach strong emotions to the subject matter, in essence, when you care about what you are studying. Well, I decided to find something to like about this song. And quickly, since the concert was just two weeks away!

I found it! I sat and listened to the song, as if for the first time, without any judgments about the lyric or the time signatures or tessitura.

I am an amateur astronomer, a devotee and enthusiastic pursuer of all things astronomical. I have relished the night sky since I was a young child. Then, I wanted to grow up to be an astronaut and explore outer space.

This song is about STARS! It even sounds like stars, with open voicings and an arpeggiated piano playing octaves and fifths. The opening piano arpeggios are tight clusters of root, fourth, fifth, and major seventh. Try that in any key on your piano. Doesn’t it sound like the stars twinkling overhead?

…And She Lived Happily Ever After.

The instrumental music teacher loved singing as much as playing her wind instruments. She sang in the concert, enjoying all the songs, and lived happily ever after.

Now the song has meaning for me and is easy to memorize. Lesson? Remember to bring Beginner’s Mind to my learning.

Are you learning something new? Struggling with a difficult subject in school? Finding something to like about the subject will make the learning more solid and you will retain more. And bringing your Beginner’s Mind to the table will help you be open to the learning along the way.

Share your learning discoveries on my blog or send me an email: meg@meggrace.com.

Some Quotes About Memory

What we learn with pleasure we never forget. – Alfred Mercier
The heart that truly loves never forgets. – Proverb
The true art of memory is the art of attention. – Samuel Johnson

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