About this time of year many of us begin to think of Spring Cleaning. The weather is getting warm, doors and windows are staying open more and there is a strong desire to sweep away the accumulated dust, dirt, and pet hair that gathered over the winter. But have you thought about doing that for your body? Thanks to the powerful technique of vocal toning, we can get the “cobwebs” out of many of our body systems.Think of your Respiratory system: over the last six months you might have had two or three common colds. You might have even had the “flu.” Sitting or standing with your legs about shoulder’s width apart, take a deep breath from the bottom of your lungs and exhale it very slowly on the syllable “ah” using a tone that is comfortable for your voice. Probably 4 or 5 deep breaths and exhalations on “ah” each morning and evening will begin to clear the lungs and also the mind. Now lets take the Circulatory system: many of us like to hibernate during the winter and not even stick our noses out if the temperature is below freezing. Therefore, our bodies and our circulation find it hard to get going when Spring first appears. Try some toning on a slightly higher pitch and the syllable “ehhhhhhhhhhhh.” At first just try it sitting in a chair or on the side of your bed. Then as you begin to move around in the morning, continue the toning on that syllable. You’ll find yourself beginning to feel strangely invigorated and more motivated to begin your day happily. Finally let’s look at the Musculatory-Skeletal systems. Again, winter has done a bit of a number on us and we’re feeling (I’m feeling!) a bit creaky. Every time before you get up from sitting or lying down, take a deep breath and as you lift your body from its resting position, take a deep breath and let it out slowly on the “ouuuuuu”(rhymes with shoe) vowel. When you’re ready to sit again, tone on “ooooooo” (rhymes with toe). You’ll find the soreness disappearing faster and the joints feeling more limber. I do this most every day lately and am beginning to feel the benefits of my “Sonic Spring Cleaning.” To learn more about vocal toning, go to my Toning and Chanting blog.
Do a sonic “Spring Cleaning” with vocal toning
April 10th, 2008 · Toning and Chanting
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Have you heard about the musical pacifier for preemies?
April 9th, 2008 · Music with Newborns and Preemies
Hospitalization can stress out anyone, but especially severely premature babies, who are born neurologically immature. Florida State University music therapist Jayne Standley and her colleagues are reducing the trauma and speeding the pace of the infants’ progression with a simple tool: a customized pacifier and a round of lullabies. [paragraph] Babies born before the 34th week have not yet developed the crucial “suck-swallow-breathe” response required in feeding. To help preemies along, Standley and her colleagues invented a pressure-sensitive pacifier wired to a tape player that rewards hearty suckling with a lullaby. Researchers had previously found that playing lullabies noticeably reduces premature infants’ hospital stays. Songs helped here too. Babies trained with the musical pacifier suckled 2.4 times as fast as those denied such reinforcement. Some drained an entire bottle of milk after just 15 minutes of conditioning. “We thought it was our imagination-the response seemed too dramatic,” Standley recalls. [paragraph] Ohmeda Medical in Columbia, Maryland, will begin selling a wireless version of the musical pacifier to neonatal intensive care units later this year. by Rebecca Hirschfield
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Do you play the piano?
April 8th, 2008 · Affiliate Promos
I started playing the piano when was about three years old. I wasn’t a prodigy but I did love the sound of the piano and would be mesmerized by anyone who could play. We didn’t even have a piano but I would go next-door to my father’s church and find an availabe piano and pick out tunes. I didn’t actually begin lessons until I was eight years old but I loved it and played quite a few “difficult numbers” on my first recital. When I was about thirteen, I got my first “serious” piano teacher and she was adamant about not teaching or playing “simplified” pieces. She thought that either one should play the original or wait until you’re ready for it and play original music at your own level.
Fast-forward to 2008. Now that I’ve stepped into the world of healing with music I believe that anytime a person can play their own music of choice on whatever instrument they love. For that reason, I’m introducing you tonight to —————————————————————
The name Dan Coates is synonymous with fun for our students. His decade
series combines the best songs from each ten-year period beginning
with the 1950s with Dan’s own carefully-arranged, student-tested, and
pedagogically sound teaching arrangements for students of all ages. These
144-page collections offer an incredible selection of pieces that will
keep you playing all year long.
Use the link below to order and receive 20% off all DAN COATES DECADE
BY DECADE titles, plus get additional 8% cash back through Easy Rebates!
http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/a/decade.html?id=145130
Enjoy!
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The Power of Music with Alzheimer’s Patients
April 7th, 2008 · Music with Alzheimer's patients
You’ve probably heard of how powerful familiar music is with Alzheimer’s patients. When I first stepped into the field of music medicine, one of the first research studies that I did dealt with “The Therapeutic Use of Music with Alzheimer’s Patients.” In a nutshell, it seems that the music that you listen to during your “courting years” is the music that remains most powerful in your brain and your body for the rest of your life. As Dr. Joel Elkes put it to me, when people are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, it is as though the “doors” to knowledge, awareness and memories close. For some reason, the “door” to music remains open, therefore people who are in the late stages of Alzheimer’s disease can still hear the music of their “courting years” and respond by tapping their feet, their fingers or nodding their heads. Occasionally people will even begin singing along even though they never or rarely talk anymore.
For this reason, I recorded at CD of many of the old songs from the turn of the 19th century though the 40’s. It contains songs such as “Tip-toe through the Tulips,” “In the Good Old Summertime,” “Ain’t She Sweet” and many, many more. If you’re interested in getting this CD, click HERE. You can also listen to some samples of the songs at the same place.
If you have a friend or loved one with Alzheimer’s please play their favorite, old familiar music for them. Live music is always best, if possible. I do travel around the country speaking about this and other healing music topics. If your organization, church, school or association would be interested in having one of these programs, click HERE. Hope to visit your town soon!
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Have you seen this 5 y.o. Korean piano prodigy?
April 6th, 2008 · Music Healing
I am blessed to have friends from all over the planet! One of these dear friends sent me a video clip last night of a little Korean prodigy and her appearance on Korea’s version of American Idol. They are calling her the “Korean Mozart” but the difference (besides the fact that she’s a little girl!) is that this child is blind from birth and has had no formal training yet. The parents are of limited means and were hoping that if won this contest that they could finally get her a professional teacher for a gifted child. Please watch this entire video if you possibly can. It’s between 5-7 minutes but well worth it!
Click HERE to watch the video!
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Surgery with Music: Now happening in N.J.
April 4th, 2008 · Surgery with Music
For much of his life — indeed, for all of this and much of the past century — Victor Parsonnet has stood at the center of Newark history, especially in the fields of medicine and music. As a cardiac surgeon, he has been closely involved with such pioneering developments as the pacemaker, the transplant, and the artificial heart. As a pianist and patron of the arts, he has until recently served as chair of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and contributed much to its attaining world-class status. more
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One last post about “Celtic Woman”
April 3rd, 2008 · Music and the Mind-Body
I know that there must be people who don’t care for Celtic music, but since this is my blog and my opinions I’m going to wrie one last post on “Celtic Woman.” I am basking in the beauty of the concert I went to over 48 hours ago and I still cannot get enough of their music. Have you seen “Celtic Woman?” They are a fantastic group of beautiful Irish women that sing from th heart in a way I have never heard before. I’ve been told that we humans tend to respond to the music of the country from which our ancestors came. That ancient music is literally remembered in our DNA. If that’s true, I must have lots of ancestors from Ireland because this music moves me in a way that I cannot ever remember feeling. I want to laugh, cry, dance and sing and I noticed that everyone around me at the Palace Theater in Louisville seem to be feeling the same! If you have a chance to hear “Celtic Woman” do NOT miss it!! If you go to my blog “Music and the Mind-Body Connection” you can see a video of one their most lively and memorable songs that they sang on Tuesday night.
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Still basking in the afterglow of “Celtic Woman”
April 2nd, 2008 · Music Healing
I’m still singing and humming the lilting melodies from last night’s Celtic Woman concert. As a matter of fact, the concert was so fantastic and uplifting that I seriously considered going again tonight! I had almost decided that I would do it, but then I decided that it somehow might not live up to last night’s peak experience and so I would continue to savor the memories of last night’s concert. Of course there are people who don’t care for this kind of music or concert experience. Personally, I don’t like to hear miked singers and instrumentalists in an auditorium that really doesn’t require it, but it’s just tradition to use microphones in a “concert/show” setting. I think it would have been just as good and possibly more enjoyable for me without the amplification.
One thing I know for sure, everytime that Celtic Woman comes to Louisville in the future, I’ll be there at least once each visit!
