Toccata and Fugue in D Minor

This is me having fun with the great Toccata and Fugue in D Minor at a Halloween Organ Recital.  Historically this piece is recognized as being composed by J. S. Bach but musicologists, organists and Bach scholars have long questioned whether Bach actually wrote this piece. Technically, here is nothing specific about Bach in it.  It is actually believed that the original piece was not in D minor, not a toccata and fugue, not for the organ, but for the violin and written in A minor. 

http://youtu.be/TkjF2Vtzwjs

A few of the many reasons that Bach scholars question its authorship is 1) Bach would not have ended the piece with a minor plagal cadence (take a peek at his Little Fugue in G Minor as an example of how he would have ended it).  2) Bach would not have started the piece in octaves.  3) The original manuscript was written in D minor but without a flat.  4) It is not in the intellectual style of Bach.  Certainly the piece was written to dazzle and show off but it does not have the contrapuntal sophistication of Bach and, the fugue is not at all complicated or brilliantly worked out as much of Bach's other fugues are.  5) The diminished seventh is used throughout the piece repetitiously and rather naively. 

The original manuscript was in the handwriting of Johann Rinck (Johannes Ringk) who was a student of Johann Peter Kellner.  Kellner knew Bach and was a student of Johann Christian Kittel and Kittel was Bach's last student.  Many music scholars beleive that the piece was actually a composition of Kellner's which Rinck copied since it is in Kellner's style.

The greater question is: Does anyone care?  Not in the least.  It is still a great piece of music hitting the bulls-eye for generations of listeners.

http://youtu.be/TkjF2Vtzwjs

The Arrest of Shelly

Back in the late seventies my friend Shelly was a third year college student. While celebrating with some of her friends after some school event, all the kids went to a local tavern where somebody gave my friend Shelly a rolled joint. A few minutes later a man approached her and asked if he could buy it from her but Shelly didn't want it to begin with so she gave it to him. The man offered her $5.00 but she refused it. He insisted that she take the five bucks and he placed it in her hand. Later as she left the tavern, two men approached her and arrested for for dealing drugs.

$30,000 in lawyer fees later, she was sentenced to 10 years probation which was better than the 25 years the state was looking to send her to prison for. At the time of her arrest, she had a bright future as a
teacher. Over the next 30 years she struggled to find employment. The only jobs that she could get were under the table jobs as a waitress and offering tutoring sessions. Over time she has made many contacts, proved herself to several high end restaurants and built a comfortable private tutoring business.  Those efforts combined with social services and living off the largess of the taxpayer Shelly was able to survive, meagerly. She also had an unerring eye for free food!

Due to the recent proliferation of sex offender laws and other forms of mass hysteria perpetuated by ratings hungry media and voter hungry politicians, more and more businesses are doing background checks.  After 30 years Shelly's name is beginning to resurface as a convicted drug dealer and now her private business and good name which she had struggled so long and so hard to rebuild are suffering. There are more and more private websites now adding to the mix of outing people with records. It used to be only the government who had or posted this information on the internet but more sites and background check companies are beginning to share and propagate this information.  A multitude of data harvesters are playing this profitable game with this old information as well. Even restaurants who used to hire anyone, even under the table, are now weeding out people with long past felony convictions. Even if it were sealed or expunged, they are still finding records from various sources. 

A friend who worked for ten years at a dead end call center at minimum wage recently lost his job because the company was forced to institute a background check policy to protect society.  I would think that the last thing we would want are unemployed former criminals with no money, nowhere to turn and no support, struggling and desperate to survive and provide for a family. 

We give our dogs bones so they won't chew on the furniture and keep them out of mischief.  We need to keep desperate people employed so they don't do anything desperate.

This country is inching closer to the legalization of marijuana.  What will happen to people like Shelly who have old records for possession and innocuous sales?

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-december-5-2012/old-tokes-home

Saving Lives: One of Seven, Mary.

Mary was a 67 year old woman who was significantly overweight and just a few inches over six feet tall. Several years earlier Mary suffered a stroke which left the right side of her body paralyzed. She was left without the ability to speak and consequently it was difficult for her to swallow. She was also unable to take care herself, at least that is what her family thought, so they sent her to live with my mother who ran a private rest home for the elderly. Mary was capable and proud enough to be able to keep herself clean, dressed and active and she loved to go for long walks, watch TV, and pick flowers. She would spend hours bent over a patch of clover in pursuit of the elusive four leaf variety. She could find them, too. Since Mary was ambulatory, responsible, and had her wits about her, my mother gave her free reign. Mary could come and go as she pleased and often took the dog for long walks around the neighborhood. Reggie, a black spaniel, loved Mary.

Because Mary’s stroke made it difficult for her to swallow her food, my mother had to grind most of Mary’s meals into a mush. Meat was always a problem for her to swallow. Anything that required chewing had to be rendered into small bits. How Mary loved to eat. There was not a food she did not like, she always cleaned her plate and often asked for seconds, hence, her large girth. Mary would often help clear the table and sneak-eat the leftover food the plates of the other residents. My mother had to watch her closely but it wasn’t always easy.

One warm and sunny weekday afternoon I was visiting my mother. Usually, whenever I visit somebody’s house, I park out on the road, but on this day for some unknown reason I pulled all the way in to my mom's driveway right up to her back door. Her minivan was parked in the garage which was also not common. She usually occupied the spot outside the back door because there was limited space inside the garage for the ladies to climb inside.

On this day, the phone company was working on the lines and the entire community was without telephone service for the afternoon. This was in the days before cell phones. My mother had just given the ladies their lunch: Hot dog’s, everyone’s favorite. Mary’s, as usual, had been put through the grinder and was like a mound of brown mashed potatoes. Mary quickly shoveled hers home and and proceeded to clean up the dishes from the table. One of the ladies did not finish her dog and Mary picked it up. She quickly stuffed it into her mouth and tried to swallow it whole. She immediately began to choke then dropped everything and ran to my mother who was in the kitchen. My mother screamed for me. I was in another room and came running. I immediately recognized that Mary was choking and got behind her in an effort to perform the Heimlich maneuver. Since Mary was so large I could not get my arms around her. I told my mother to call the ambulance and she said the phones were out. At the time we did not know that the entire community was out of service. I thought it was just my mom’s phones. So I ran out the door to the neighbor's house and pounded on the door. There was no immediate answer and there were no cars in the driveway. I turned and made a four foot jump off of their porch and running for the next home I jumped over a four foot picket fence. There was no answer there either. I ran through that backyard and leap to the top of a 6 ft. high stone retaining wall to the next neighbor. Before I got to the door I heard my mother scream my name. I turned and ran back to her house.

She and Mary had made it outside where my mom was standing by the back door. Mary was laying on the ground and her skin was purple. My mother was screaming “Do something!” In one of those apocryphal moments, and I would never believe if you told me this happened to someone else, I picked Mary up in my arms as if I had super human strength. My mother opened my car door and I set Mary in the passenger seat. Lucky for both Mary and me, I broke tradition that day and parked in the driveway.

My mother lived on a small quiet country road. In three tenths of a mile it joined a busy 55 mph highway. Half of a mile further it led to the center of town were the speed limit drops to 30 mph. A mile further from there, was the office of the town doctor. I got in my car and drove 70 mph all the way to the doctor’s office. There was not a single vehicle coming or going the entire way. I had the whole road to myself in the middle of the day.

I arrived at the doctor’s office and pulled up to the front door, parking on the lawn. I left my car door open as I charged into his office. I screamed at the receptionist “Where is the doctor?” and the receptionist said that the doctor was not in that day. I told her to call an ambulance, there was a choking woman in my car. She told me that her phone was not working and to drive up to the fire department and volunteer ambulance building which was about a quarter of a mile away. There, I could break the glass alarm on the outside of the building and help would quickly arrive.

Across the street from the doctors office lived a volunteer fire department EMT. She wasn’t feeling well that day and called in sick for work. She happened to look out her front window as I drove up, recognizing that something was wrong and seeing somebody slumped back in the passenger seat she ran out to my car to assist in any way she could. By the time I got back outside, she already had Mary lying on the ground and she managed to extricate part of the hot dog and performing mouth to mouth. She had a hand held radio and called for an ambulance. Only when the retinue of rescuers arrived at the hospital were the able to get all of the hot dog dislodged from Mary’s throat.

I knew that my mother would be worried so I went back to her house to tell her everything that had happened and she asked me to stay and watch the other ladies while she went to the hospital to tend to Mary. When she came home later that evening she told me that Mary was going to be okay. Since Mary had a history of strokes they decided to keep her overnight for observation.

The next day Mary was back home and doing well. I walked into my mother’s house later that evening and Mary was standing in the doorway, watching and waiting for me to arrive. We looked at each other with tears in our eyes and we hugged. Long. Though Mary couldn’t speak there were no words that needed to be said.

Mary continued to sneak food. My mother tried to watch her as best she could and warned Mary time and again not to eat food that was not prepared exclusively for her but Mary was stubborn and hated to eat ground up “baby food.” I can’t say I blame her.

One day, Mary was heading for the bathroom when she was struck by another stroke. She fell to the floor and was unconscious. My mother called an ambulance while two visiting social service employees tended to her but there was nothing anyone could do. Mary fell into a coma and never regained consciousness. After about two weeks in the hospital, Mary died quietly in her sleep. Only my mother was by her side.

http://www.ehow.com/how_14949_heimlich-maneuver.html

Prayer of St. Francis

Here is my simple arrangement on the song PRAYER OF ST. FRANCIS (aka Make Me A Channel Of Your Peace).  This started out as an organ arrangement but I fill it out a little more when I play it on the piano.  It also has a light jazz feel.  World Library Publications published a simpler arrangment in a collection called "Blessed Assurance, by Malcolm Kogut." That setting is closer to how I would play it on the organ.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWquZq8-Cmk

Avalanche Lake's Hitch Up Matilda

Avalanche Lake is approximately one mile long and is wedged between Avalanche Mountain and Colden Mountain.  There is a trail nestled at the edge of the lake where the hiker will experience numerous scrambles that must be made over, under and around various boulders. The trail follows along the west edge of the lake, sometimes requiring the use of catwalks bolted to the rock face of Avalanche Mt. These catwalks are known as "Hitch-up Matildas" because prior to the existence of the walkways, a guide was carrying a young woman named Matilda through the Pass. As the water became deeper, her sister repeatedly urged Matilda to "hitch-up" in order to remain dry.  Thanks to the Adirondack Mountain Club, we all get to remain dry. 

Hobos From The Train

I started off with a variety of six different Rose of Sharon shrubs in my back yard.  My yard with its southern exposure receives full sun and sports a moist sandy soil; yes, I live on 130 million year old beach front property.  Unfortunately, the ocean has since receded 300 miles east.  My Sharons go to seed each year and all summer long I mow down thousands of baby shoots.  In some areas of the lawn they resemble inch high bonsai-like trees since as hardy as they are, my mower stunts their growth and so they create a smooth carpet of tiny green leaves.  There are also many more Sharon shrubs which have taken root in the woods near my house which were either carried there by shoe, fowl, fauna or a waft of wind. 

One day I offered my choir the opportunity to come dig some up (more like a gentle pull) for their own yards and Walter asked if I could spare about thirty.
"Absolutely," I said. 
I told him I would even transport the shooted shrubs to his house and help him plant them, as he was long in the tooth.

As we traversed to his back yard which had been in his family for three generations, it opened up to a large and capacious temple of green.  He had flower beds, several fountains flowing in braided and songfull peace, benches and threading walkways meandering circuitously to flower laden dead ends.  At the back end of his yard, glimmering through the green distance was a ten foot opening amidst the overgrowth which exposed an asphalt bike path.  Walter said that peripatetic people passing by would often stop and admire his yard and some of them would occasionally tramp on in.  It was his hope that if he could plant two lines of thick shrubs, it would still give something for people to admire but also keep their prying eyes and their trampling trespassing off his grass.  It was a good plan.

While we were working on this rank of roses relocation project, Walter told me that the bike path was not always a promenade for pedestrians.  It was originally a railroad which started out in the city of Fonda, passed through the city of Johnstown, stopped in the glove city of Gloversville, then made its way further up into the Adirondacks making stops at small towns and lakes of various fame and import such as Mayfield, Northville and the Great Sacandaga Lake.  Walt remembered as a child, witnessing the rumble, roar and rattle with precision timing of each train, maintaining the strictest and most reliable of schedules. 

Walter also keenly remembered the multitude of hobos who would be walking the rails and almost daily, one or several of them would cut through his back yard and politely knock on the door asking if there was any food or water to be spared.  Although Walter's family was poor, his mom never turned anyone away empty handed.  Walter said that she could stretch one can of tuna fish into several sandwiches if she had to, and it was always good.  She was a magician in the kitchen.

One day when Walter was about ten years of age, the police knocked on their door and showed his mom a picture of a man whom they had an arrest warrant for.  Walt's mom said that she didn't recognize the man but, she gets a lot of wayfarers knocking on her door looking for water or scraps.  The police told her it was because her house was marked.  She never heard of such a thing.  The officer went on to tell her that the hobos who follow the railways will mark a house or establishment where they may receive assistance or a handout.  The officer then asked,
"Would you like for us to remove the mark for you?"
Walter's mom paused for a good fifteen seconds, looked down at him, then replied,
"No.  Leave it."

The following weekend, Walt, his brother and their dad embarked on a project running an underground pipe from the house leading to the edge of the yard near the tracks where they installed a faucet and placed a basin beneath.  They also placed nearby a small box with tin cups inside.  Walter's mom ramped up her baking and kept a hearty stock of peanut butter and tuna in the pantry for unexpected visitors.  The following summer, they moved their barbeque to the center of the yard and if a transient trekker traipsed by, he would be greeted with a hearty wave.  If he happened to turn into the yard, that was his lucky day.

The Act of Breathing

All living things require oxygen in order to sustain their lives.  Besides simply maintaining life, breathing and breathing properly is also essential to the body’s natural growth and healing process.  Singers, athletes and actors all depend on proper breathing for clarity, control, projection, purity and functionality.  Any professional who requires maximum breathing efficiency may never achieve all his or her potential dreams because time was not spent on the most important of all skills.  Likewise, the average person who takes breathing for granted may not live their full life to its maximum comfort, health or standard of living because a lifetime of optimum maintenance had not been observed. 

Healing, prevention from disease and efficiency of the human body is maintained by a lifetime of  richly oxygenated blood supplied to the organs, structures and systems.  Many symptoms of poor health have their root cause in the fact that oxygenation and circulation of the blood is poor.  It is then that the internal organs, muscles, nerves and glands are not sufficiently nourished, digestion and circulatory systems are stressed, the excretory system does not function properly and the whole body is affected.

Proper breathing is instrumental in maintaining mental and intellectual health, too.  While aiding digestion and energy levels, we will be able to work longer hours and be more calm and relaxed while dealing with the daily stresses of life.  Unfortunately, most people employ shallow, upper chest breathing which is not as effective and beneficial as diaphragmatic breathing.  Breathing from the upper chest and shoulders is inadequate, lazy and very seldom is the blood sufficiently oxygenated.

We are always compressing our diaphragms which diminishes our lung capacity.  Poor posture, no training, lack of dedication or understanding of that training, too much sitting and slumping at our desks, tight fitting clothing, or, the fear of looking fat causes this lack of efficiency.  Likewise, people with an inferiority complex may draw their shoulders forward, pressing their chest together, further perpetuating the habit of inefficient oxygenation.

During breathing, air is drawn into the lungs where it fills tiny air sacs called alveoli which then  feed the air to a sinuous network of blood vessels.  The blood absorbs the oxygen and transports it to every cell in our bodies.  As the air is absorbed, carbon dioxide and other waste products are released from the cells back the lungs, then into the air.   Exhalation is just as important as inhalation.  There needs to be a balance between the level of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood for both health and control purposes. 

The Diaphragm.  The diaphragm is a muscle system.  It is fastened to the lowest ribs on the sides, the bottom of the sternum, and to the back at the top of the lumbar region.  Its primary function is as an inhalation muscle.   The diaphragm is not weak.  It cannot be.  It is used every minute of every day.   There is no exercise that can be done that isn’t already being done, to strengthen it.   No matter your body size and condition, your diaphragm is strong.  In order to breath more efficiently, what is needed is to learn to control the diaphragm and the secondary muscles that aid in moving the ribs and lungs.

Upper Chest Breathing

Quite often, when someone is out of breath, they are not actually out of air.  They have merely lost control of the air they already possess because of a collapsed diaphragm.  When the ribs or shoulders raise during inhalation, this is called upper chest breathing and is insufficient because only a small amount of air reaches or enters the lungs.  The full capacity of the lungs is not realized.  The person who engages in this type of breathing tends not to be able to sustain long breaths because they don’t have enough air in the lungs to begin with, and, when they expel that air, they collapse their chest and lower their shoulders causing the air in the lower lungs to become trapped.  Breathing this way can actually cause you to gasp and run out of breath even though you are trying to breath more.  More air will begin to be trapped in the upper chest, too.   Increasingly, the mechanics of breathing are thrown off and accessory muscles of respiration such as shoulders and neck are called into play.  These muscles are only meant to be used in emergencies.  Alone, they are inefficient.

The lungs are meant to be filled lengthwise, not widthwise.  By breathing from the upper chest, only the widened sections of the upper lungs are accommodated with air.

Abdominal Breathing or Belly Breathing.  The diaphragm is one of the largest muscles in the body and is designed to perform maximum work with minimal effort.  When the diaphragm is lowered, the base of the lungs are filled with air to their capacity.  As the shape of the diaphragm changes, it stretches the lungs lengthwise and distributes air evenly throughout the lungs.  When the diaphragm muscle contracts, it creates a vacuum which effortlessly draws air into the lungs.  When you stop contracting, the lungs deflate passively.  If you are gasping for air, you are doing something wrong.

Breathing Exercises (best not done after a large meal)

Lie down on the floor, facing up.  Relax.  That is very important.  It allows you to conserve energy by slowing your body’s metabolism and in turn, reduces the amount of oxygen your body requires.  Inhale normally through your nose.  Remember that the nose helps to warm, filter impurities from, and moisten the air you inhale.  Notice that your shoulders and neck are not needed for breathing.  The trick is to maintain that form while standing.  You may experiment by putting a Kleenex box or book on your chest and seeing if it goes up and down.  Place another one on your stomach.  The one on your stomach should achieve the most elevation as you push it upward with your stomach muscles and draw air into your lungs.  Don’t be alarmed if your chest expands a little, too.  The ribs have small muscles between them called intercostals.  They aid in contracting the chest to aid in moving the air out of the lungs.

Stand up.  Place one hand over your chest and the other hand over your abdomen.  As you breath, push from your abdomen.  Notice that your abdomen hand moves outward.  If your chest hand moves out, you are still chest breathing.

Picture a dresser with three or four drawers.  You don’t want to open the top two or three.  Imagine that you are opening only the lower one.  That is what your breathing should look like.

Now, ideally, your chest doesn’t collapse, but stays slightly expanded.  By having an expanded chest, you are creating more space for oxygen to effortlessly fill.  By collapsing your chest with each exhalation, you have to use valuable energy and time to re-expand.  That is one of the reasons why some singers drag or are late on entrances.  By the time they force their chest back open, a fraction of a beat has already gone by.  But for now, until you know how to breath from the diaphragm, try not to move the chest.

Learning to breath from the abdomen is the key to breathing easier.  It may take time and effort to master, but once you do, you will discover that you can breath easier, more efficiently and you will have more energy.

Other Ways to Aid In Breathing

General Body Condition.  The key to breathing more efficiently is conditioning.  More specifically, endurance.  Not in the lungs or lung function but in the body’s general musculature.  Muscles are in charge of oxygen utilization and carbon dioxide production.  If they are inefficient, unconditioned, or have not had endurance training, they can slow down the amount of oxygen the lungs can filter into the bloodstream.  This too can lead to a shortness of breath.  Flexibility and increased mobility of your muscles and joints are necessary components to overall health.  Muscle toning, strength building, and endurance building exercises are a key component to any breathing program just as proper breathing is a key component to muscle maintenance. 

Posture.  Whether standing or sitting, you must be in a position that helps your breathing muscles work most efficiently.  Essentially standing or sitting with proper posture will be taking the load off of you other muscles that are not designed to be involved in the breathing process.  

Experiment with posture while you sing or breath.  Start by standing up straight and tall with your feet spaced at your shoulder width.  Take a few preparatory breaths.   Now hang your head forward with your chin touching your chest.  Try singing or breathing while paying close attention to how your throat and chest feels.

Perform the same exercise, beginning with good form, but try it with your shoulders raised.  Then with your shoulders forward.  Try it bent over.  Try it looking sideways.  Try it while slouching in a chair.  Try it slumped over a table. 

Doing it the wrong way is often a good method in discovering the right way.  Try each position slowly and be sure to alternate between good posture and poor posture each time so that your body gets used to feeling good and right.  Then, always do it right.

Making your own lungs.

To further your understanding of how the lungs work, you may wish to build your own lungs, chest and diaphragm.  Here are the materials you will need:

-A clear plastic bottle.  Preferably made with thick or stiff plastic.
-One large balloon.
-Two small balloons.
-A two way or “Y” copper pipe.  These can be found in the plumbing section of any hardware store.
-Molding putty.
-Two rubber bands.

Cut the bottom of the bottle off.

Attach your two small balloons to the “Y” pipe.  You may wish to wrap the rubber bands around them to ensure that they stay on.

Insert the “Y” pipe into the bottle with the “Y” pointing down.  Use the putty to seal and stabalize the top of the “Y” pipe which should stick out the top of the bottle.

Cut the bottom off of the large balloon.

Tie a knot in the neck of the balloon.

Stretch the cut end of the balloon over the open bottom end of the bottle.

Gently pull on the base balloon (your diaphragm lowering).   Notice how the internal balloons (lungs) fill with air.

You can find these instructions on YouTube.   Here is one example of one model in action:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAsGCbvFJ8I