Where are Our Artists Borne Today?

Having had the opportunity to work with young musicians for a few decades, or more, I have noticed that they are becoming more technical and less artistic.  Although many vocalists do a noble job at emulating their favorite pop singers complete with scoops and runs, they lack the passion, life experience and awareness of the emotive qualities which created those artistic expressions in the first place.   If someone has never experienced pain and loss, how could they effectively sing about, and with those emotions thereby touching their audience who have experienced those feelings?

I accompanied a singer who sang the song "Here I am, Lord."  I asked the singer if he knew who and what the song was about and what the circumstances of the song were and he said that he didn't.  Again, although he performed a nice rendition, it lacked meaning and substance.  When we came to the refrain, I tried to force a ritard and a change in timbre but he wasn't even listening to me and emotionlessly crashed through the transition.  Though, he had nicely placed runs and scoops.

That particular song is about Isaiah, being whisked up to heaven in a dream and witnessing a massive choir of angels singing praise and adoration to God.  Isaiah knows he is a lowly sinner and not worthy to be there but  the overwhelming glory and majesty of the scene causes Isaiah to have a metanoia moment.  God was seeking a helper and it just so happens that He made His plea right there in front of Isaiah immediately after Isaiah was offered forgiveness for his sins.  While God’s righteousness and forgiveness were still fresh on Isaiah’s mind, God says, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” Isaiah then bravely musters the courage and says "Here I am, I will go."

How many parents who give birth to their newborn child have had that same moment where they were holding this tiny new miracle in their arms, having a metanoia moment and made the decision to dedicate their life to that child and give them everything?  How many children have lost a parent to a disease and then dedicate their life to promoting awareness and fighting that disease?  How many children lost a basketball game and immediately go home and begin practicing to improve for the next one?  And, how many singers sing this song, devoid of understanding and and its attendant emotion, and how many of their listeners tune them out because they know the singer is not trying to impart a message but is merely a carbon copy performer? 

There are several reasons why our youth are uninspired and are simply copycat technicians.  One of the reasons I'd like to address is that they don't have the performance outlets we used to.  The Beatles claim their success was due to being able to perform from 1960 to 1962, seven nights a week while in Germany.  It was the opportunity to perform night after night where they honed their performance skills, song writing skills and musicianship. 

Many a jazz musician such as Art Tatum and Fats Waller used to play a gig from seven to midnight, then go to another club to play for a few hours more, then hit yet another club around three a.m. and sit in with other musicians until five a.m.  Their life was consumed by music and other musicians and nothing stood in their way to live a life abundant with music and people and experiences.   They sought to live a life of music and not to seek what music could give to them.  They didn't make music because they were happy, they were happy because they made music.

When I was a teen, I was lucky to live near four bars and restaurants whose owners gave me the opportunity to go in and play whenever I wanted.  I was usually paid in free food and wine.  Nobody enforced the alcohol laws in those days.  I wasn't a drinker as my childhood friends could attest for when they stole liquor from their parents liquor cabinets, I rarely partook.  In the bars however, I did drink whatever the customers bought me out of gratitude and respect. 

Being able to play out in a club in front of a live audience was important.  For an improvisatory musician, if you can get a lick out during a live performance, it was yours forever.  One performance was worth ten rehearsals.  Performing coupled with real people in the audience and the interaction between other musicians make a huge difference, too.  While in the bar, if I played "Tiny Bubbles" when Walt entered the establishment, that would yield free pizza or ten bucks in my tip cup.  If I played "If He Walked Into My Life," the bartender would get weepy as it was his mother's favorite song and I'd get a glass of wine or a Mudslide out of that number.  More importantly, when these people two died, those songs held a greater meaning for me and today I play them with great reverence and a sense of loss.  It is those nascent connections which define where artists come from.  It is those emotions coupled with technique and the struggle to overcome emotional roadblocks during performance which give meaning, struggle and purpose to those scoops and runs.  Others copy them from CD's and sing them devoid of root or purpose.  They become mere ornamentation for young copycat singers.

Kids today don't have performance outlets anymore.  Because of DWI laws, smoking laws and a poor economy,  they no longer have these places to cut their teeth and woodshed.  Instead, young musicians imitate those before them who did have those outlets but, the struggle and pain of growth, and paying their dues is gone and they remain mere imitators rather than originators. 

There still are a few coffee houses and cafe's where young musicians can go to sit in or perform but they are far and few between.  If the public were to frequent and support these small clubs, it would give young musicians an opportunity for growth and experimentation.  It is also better for the listener.  Sure you can buy a CD and listen to its perfection in the comfort of your own home but if you attend a live performance, you will be present in the current moment while resonating with the excitement of the performance, you will be fully alive in an aesthetic experience where your senses are operating at their peak, there will be surprises, there are less distractions than at home, you are supporting art and a business, you will be surrounded by other people feeding off the performers kinetic reaction and energy of the performance, the performer will feed off of and respond to your approval and presence.  It will be a win/win/win.   Or, like many of our children, you can be home taking your Ritalin.

Let Them Eat Cake

Chuck Schumer recently brokered a deal with Chobani Yogurt of NY to ship 5,000 containers of "nutritious and delicious" yogurt to the U.S. Olympic athletes - without first making sure he could ship the "nutritious and delicious breakfast" into Russia.  The Russian government already has a ban on U.S. dairy products entering their country and Schumer knew this.  Since the Russians rejected the shipment, the yogurt was distributed to food banks so it didn't go to waste.  One hopes.  When I worked for a Roman Catholic Church, a bakery donated five Black Forest Cakes to our food pantry.  Fr. said that there wasn't enough to give to all the poor so he offered me one (which I didn't take), gave one to his sister, put one out for the volunteer money counters, and took the rest to his camp for future parties and picnics which he regularly held there. 

Back to yogurt, Schumer said, “The Russian Authorities should get past ‘nyet,’ and let this prime sponsor of the U.S. Olympic Team deliver their protein-packed food to our athletes.”

I think it is good that Schumer is willing to adopt the Chobani company and seek to get their product distributed around the world.  I'm sure there are no kickbacks or anything illegal going on here.  Schumer is already working on the expansion of a federal school-lunch contract on behalf of Chobani under the banner of “for the children!”  I have to invoke Godwin's Law here and mention that Hitler said you can accomplish anything, even the curtailment of liberty, if you say "it is for the children."  But I'm sure there are no kickbacks or nothing illegal going on here.

Good for Schumer for thinking of the children but he also voted for the $8 billion reduction in food stamp aid and, in New York alone, over 350,000 families would lose about $90 a month in benefits.  This would certainly benefit Schumer's federal school lunch contract since the School Breakfast Program provides cash assistance to states to operate nonprofit breakfast programs in schools and residential childcare institutions.  Thanks to Schumer, by cutting the food stamp program, there are more hungry children for Chobani to feed.  The children from poor families, who just lost $8 billion in food stamp aid will at least get yogurt for breakfast.  See, it all works out when you get politics involved.

Our Olympic athletes, though not paid, do receive sponsorship money to compete so they are not entirely starving themselves.  Gold, silver, and bronze medal winners get paid by the US Olympic Committee. Gold gets $25,000, Silver, $15,000, and Bronze, $10,000. Other than that, they get paid by sponsors who support their Olympic training and travel expenses. 

Then, of course, there's endorsement money, which can be huge for the big stars. For example, Shaun White takes home over $9 million each year from sponsorship deal money.   Sadly, no free yogurt for him.  How will he survive?  As for the poor children who lost $90 per month in food stamps, let them eat yogurt. 

Reform Government Surveillance

Everyone with a Gmail account has received this letter.  I thought I would repost it here.  If you would like to write your representatives and don't know who they are or how to contact them, visit the following pages. 

http://whoismyrepresentative.com
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/submit-questions-and-comments

The Letter:

You've heard the revelations about government surveillance practices, both in the U.S. and around the world. They've sparked a long-overdue debate about the true scale of government surveillance programs, and the laws that govern them. It's time to demand a change.

Today, Google is standing up with the web to call for urgent reform.

Call your members of Congress right now, and tell them you demand a change.
http://www.reformgovernmentsurveillance.com/

Google recognizes the very real threats that the U.S. and other countries face today, but we strongly believe that government surveillance programs should operate under a legal framework that has very specific rules, is transparent and accountable to oversight, and keeps users like you safe.

In Congress, the USA Freedom Act would enact many of the principles that Google and other Internet companies, organizations, and users have been demanding. The bill's sponsors, Representative Sensenbrenner and Senator Leahy, said government surveillance programs "have come at a high cost to Americans' privacy rights, business interests and standing in the international community." We couldn't agree more, and trust you do, too.

Urge your members of Congress to support the USA Freedom Act and reform government surveillance today:

http://www.reformgovernmentsurveillance.com

More soon,

Derek Slater
Google Inc.

"Why Should I Care?"

Someone asked me what I thought about the NSA and their spy policies.  The woman I was speaking to said she didn't mind the spying because she doesn't break the law (though she torrents movies online).   All I could quote was Martin Niemöller's famous quote which he wrote in a Nazi prison camp:

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out-- Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out-- Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out-- Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me--and there was no one left to speak for me.

The NSA "has secretly broken into the main communications links that connect Yahoo and Google data centers around the world."
— The New York Times

The NSA collected "almost 3 billion pieces of intelligence from US computer networks" in one month in 2013.
— The Guardian

The NSA is collecting the content and metadata of emails, web activity, chats, social networks, and everything else as part of what it calls "upstream" collection.
— The Washington Post

The NSA "is harvesting hundreds of millions of contact lists from personal e-mail and instant messaging accounts around the world, many of them belonging to Americans."
 — The Washington Post

The NSA "is gathering nearly 5 billion records a day on the whereabouts of cellphones around the world."
 — The Washington Post

The NSA "is searching the contents of vast amounts of Americans’ e-mail and text communications into and out of the country." — The New York Times

WHAT CAN YOU DO?  Email your legislators:

https://thedaywefightback.org

Barter Ministry

Here is a barter ministry idea for churches.  Your church would create its own barter system based upon a service provided by a member with no value placed on the service or the time spent, just a credit.  Here some examples:

I give you a piano lesson.
You dog sit for someone.
That person bakes cookies for a shut in.
A person drives someone to a doctor's appointment.
Someone else baby sits for a few hours.
Someone repairs a leaky faucet.
A woman offers a dance class twice a week.
A glazier replaces a window.
Someone changes oil.
Someone donates an hour of house cleaning.
A farmer offers a day of horseback riding.

All those services, regardless of time or skill, are worth a single point and don't cost the recipient anything unless there are materials needed such as plumbing or carpentry.  Each church would have to tweak or limit time intensive events like building a deck.

Everyone banks their points and is able to redeem them from anyone who enrolls in the program.  This may or may not be applicable to regular liturgical, church or service to the church activities such as coffee hour, ushering, cleaning, donating flowers, etcetera.  It would work best between people rather than "the church" unless you want to include service to the church as a service to the community.   YMMV.

A program such as this would greatly serve the poor but could tax the handyman (who would gain mega points, though) and  everyone could list what they are willing to offer in services and limitations.  There are two ways to promote service.  A church can have its members make a list of services they are willing to offer and someone with a need can check the list and contact that person.  The other way is to allow people to list their wants and a provider can contact them to offer that service.  Both lists would work very well simultaneously.

Each individual church would need to tweak their own by-laws and perform a few months of dry runs followed by circadian by-law updates to fix bugs, disadvantages and services offered.  It could be maintained online, in a book or by an individual.  The organizer could create a formal receipt which will be turned in to them who then updates the points.  This is not a barter from person to person but to the community.

If I only offer piano lessons and nobody takes me up on that, I will bank no points so it would behoove me to offer other services such as house sitting, shoveling snow or dog walking.  And of course, I can't offer plumbing services if there is no proof that I know anything about plumbing (although I do do my own).

So If I give you a piano lesson and earn a credit, I don't have to barter specifically with you in return for a service.  I can use that credit to take a dance lesson or have someone clean my house and they in return don't have to barter with me.  The bylaws can be tweaked in a myriad of ways such as, one is able to give their credits to another person or a certain service is worth two credits.  Maybe there would be a limit on how many credits you may give or receive each week.

Ultimately this program would work best if nobody puts a value on their service and looks simply to serve.  It would be a great opportunity for a congregation to build community, serve one another and be Christ for one another.

Silly Kids, Tricks are for Professionals

Taizé 101

The Taizé Community is an ecumenical monastic order founded in 1940 by Brother Roger Schutz in Taizé, France. It is composed of more than one hundred brothers who originate from about thirty countries around the world.

The community has become a popular site of Christian pilgrimage. Over 100,000 young people from around the world make pilgrimages to Taizé each year for prayer, Bible study, sharing, and communal work. Through the community's ecumenical outlook, they are encouraged to live in the spirit of kindness, simplicity and reconciliation.

A Taizé service is a simple prayer service centered around music from the Taizé community.  Most of the music has a short refrain which could be four, eight or sixteen bars long.  Some of the songs have verses which are generally sung by a soloist or schola and the refrains are simple and easy to memorize after a few repetitions.  The reason for the music in being easy and repetitious is so that the average person attending the service may more readily engage in sung prayer rather than reading words, notes or trying to learn the melody.

Musicians love this format for it gives them the opportunity to drop in or out and lightly improvise after the fifth, tenth or twentieth repetition.  Some music directors may stifle creativity and organize and plan arrangements regardless how the spirit is moving everyone else.  When I organize a Taizé service, I tell the musicians to go with the flow, try things, experiment, come in or out when you want, listen to the people and respond to them. I give them ownership.  Using this method, a song may have several climaxes as opposed to one  - that is arranged.

When putting together a Taizé or Taizé-like prayer service, one doesn't have to choose music from the Taizé tradition.  I like to use psalm refrains.  If you belong to a liturgical church, you probably already sing psalms every Sunday with a cantor. Psalm refrains are good to use because they are simple, short, the assembly already knows many of them.  They are scriptural, they may be comforting and as I said, psalms may already be in the musical vocabulary of most liturgical churches.

If I was in an airplane and we hit turbulence, I might pray to myself, "Be with me Lord, when I am in trouble, be with me, Lord, I pray," or "The Lord is my light and my salvation, of whom should I be afraid?" because I would have sung them during the regular liturgical year or thirty times during a Taizé service so I would know those refrains as Psalms 91 and 27 and by heart.

Churches often mistakenly offer Taizé services because they think it will attract people, especially young people.  In the turbulent 1960s, young people began to visit the Taizé community in search of spiritual answers. The first international young adults meeting was organized in Taizé with 1400 participants from 30 countries.  In 1970, in response to student protests taking place all over Europe and the world, as well as the Second Vatican Council, Brother Roger announced a "Council of Youth", whose main meeting took place in 1974.  At the end of the 1970s, the meetings and surrounding activities began to be referred to as a "Pilgrimage of Trust on Earth".  The monastic community decided to focus on youth.  Many churches, especially in Europe, send their youth and young adults to Taizé for spiritual retreats.

Faith can not be reverse engineered.  When I was a teen, my niece came to live with us because her family was moving, it was her senior year and she wanted to graduate with her class. She loved grunge rock and one day I heard her singing a Bach melody.  I asked her where she heard it and she didn't know but she said she liked it.  It was something she subconsciously heard me regularly practicing and it struck a chord with her.  If youth are exposed to the music of Taizé, they will certainly grow to like it but offering it will not attract them if they don't know what it is in the first place.  This is a conundrum that organized religion hasn't figured out yet, but, the answer is so simple.

When putting together a Taizé service, the musicians must focus on what is needed in order to encourage an hour of singing.  A successful music ministry is not one that plays for or to the people, it is one that revels in the sound of a participating and singing congregation.  The most beautiful sound a music director can hear is the sound of a singing assembly. 

Consider our services in the model of the theater;  Many church musicians mistakenly think that the congregation is the audience, the musicians are the actors and God is the prompter.   This model will surely fail in rapid entropy.  It should be that the congregation are the actors, the musicians are the prompters and God is the audience.  This is a simple mistake that many churches make and is why church is perceived as boring, because it is done -to- us as in the first model.  They reap what they sow.

Within the Taizé service there may be a couple readings and of course a healthy period of silence.  Silence can be awkward and uncomfortable for many people because our brains are often sozzled with distractions and noise.  Speech must die to serve that which is spoken.  Alternatively, I've been to restaurants where I have seen couples sit through their entire meal and barely speak to one another.  Sadly it is probably because she married for security and comfort while he married a trophy and they realized that they have nothing in common.  Taizé doesn't have to be that way as long as you don't go in looking to be entertained.  You have to enter into it empty, open and willing to be filled.  Energy begets energy and in order to get something out of it you have to put something in.

The space should be lit well enough to read.  A lot of churches turn their lights down low and light a lot of candles for atmosphere.  This is nice but one of my churches did this and a woman tripped over something because she couldn't see, she broke her hip and sued the church.  The pastor tried lying to her lawyers and encourage the staff to lie but someone who was was socially conscious told the truth.  Some churches encourage people to bring their own pillows or provide them with cushions so they can sit on the floor.  One church I knew provided tiny little water bottles for dry throats. 

The selection of music and text is important too.  Consider what is going on in the world, in the country, in the community or in the church.  What text can you sing which will break open these issues to create greater awareness or action?  Music is an expression of faith not merely entertainment.  We don't sing because we're happy, we're happy because we sing.  People don't have faith because they love music, they love music because they have faith.

Taizé may not be for everyone.  It is like Grappa, you either love it or hate it.  It may take work to feel comfortable at a Taizé service because sitting for an hour singing songs over and over can be boring for people without the patience, will or strength.  To sit and meditate on a single sentence and contemplate its veracity in their life takes conscious effort.  I can promise though, if you do sing, you will be oxygenating your blood, your heart will pump faster, your brain cells will be getting fresh oxygenated blood, your circulation will improve and you will become more alert. In essence you will leave a different person than when you came in.  Singing for an hour about thanksgiving, adoration, supplication and contrition will teach us that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact.  Out of what we live and believe, our lives will become that.  Energy begets energy.  Metanoia doesn't happen to those who don't try.

Why should we think upon things that are beautiful? Because thinking determines life.  It is a common habit to blame life upon the environment.  Environment modifies life but does not govern life.  The soul is stronger than its surroundings.