tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-160731629459950531.post1066002354416388390..comments2023-11-05T02:14:23.474-08:00Comments on Confessions of a Traveling Music Teacher: The Vault of the ImaginationDoug Goodkinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07092282268914985541noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-160731629459950531.post-50916252429571061512014-02-15T10:02:01.200-08:002014-02-15T10:02:01.200-08:00Suesjoy got it!!! : ) Thank you so much for shar...Suesjoy got it!!! : ) Thank you so much for sharing.<br />- LisaLisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08354828545053415097noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-160731629459950531.post-44214073772375585582014-02-14T03:15:42.814-08:002014-02-14T03:15:42.814-08:00Dear Doug~
Thank you for helping unlock the door t...Dear Doug~<br />Thank you for helping unlock the door to my creativity. Today was the second day that I ever played the xylophone. I have no idea where that solo came from...well, I have a general idea...it surely is from a mystical source! It was a golden moment for me. (Looking back, it sounded a bit like the beginning of the Doors' Riders on the Storm- the tinkling keys that sounded like rain. Maybe I have rain on the brain!<br /><br />My husband and I are partners in a small bar near the school called Bund 18. I am the "booking agent" (I prefer the term music coordinator!). Anyway, a few weeks back I had some friends who have been playing there fairly regularly play a gig for us. One of my friends had never heard me sing, so she requested that I sing one.<br />So, I chose Summertime, and I sang it with this amazing 70 year old guitarist from the UK named Tony Alton. He and one band actually opened for the Stones and the Beatles back in the day, but he refuses to talk about it! It's cool. He's not a nostalgic type whatsoever. <br />I saw that you practice Zen meditation. I too, am a student of Zen here in Tien Mou. They call it Chan Meditation here. It has been life changing for me, and has also been a key in helping unlock my creative self.<br />So, getting back to that night, I sang to Tony, as he asked me...and I just WENT somewhere...I don't know where. Time stood still the moment I started singing. I sang like I never had before, because I was completely in the moment (in the zone/flowing, I guess you could say). I closed my eyes and imagined I was a slave in the south, but, not a miserable one- I could feel a warm soft summer breeze on my cheek...I saw the fish jumping, and because I have never really seen a cotton field, I imagined corn, because corn grows HIGH! I felt the sheer joy in the line "one of these mornings, you're gonna RISE UP singin' and your FEET will take wing, and touch the sky..." I sang slowly and deliberately the first time, then Tony said, "ok, now SWING!" and I tried... but he coached me and told me not to sing too fast! I need to practice the swing singing!<br />I didn't try to copy anyone. It was 100% Sue. Thanks to Buddhism, I have stopped judging- myself and others. I just AM. It was AMAZING to be completely immersed in the moment whilst singing that song.<br />You could have heard a pin drop.<br />There was a hush when I finished.<br />My husband, who has NEVER EVER complimented by voice, EVER, was just beside himself. He got teary afterward. He used to make FUN of my folky voice- I guess I listened to too much Joni Mitchell growing up.<br />:)<br /><br />It was an absolute joy to be a part of your workshop. It inspired my teaching this morning. We did some easy crossing the midline and body percussion with our rhythm sticks.<br />I have the best job on the planet. I don't do it for the money, I just want to share my joy of music with children, and if I can be a good influence on them, as you are, that is all I need.<br />xSuesjoyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04942282818148142438noreply@blogger.com