Laurel Black Music

One of my most inspiring teachers, actress Carol Mayo Jenkins, would be pleasantly [un]surprised to learn that one of her adages has been confirmed time and time again by science.  I'll never forget the class when she said to us (and I paraphrase):  Feel this. Do you know a body of joy cannot hold despair, and a body of despair cannot hold joy.  She told us to stand tall, arms outstretched, face towards the ceiling; from there, we were to find the emotion of despair. One by one we each collapsed and closed slowly, unable to maintain such an upright, celebratory, and open position. That day was important; it was the day I realized that my kinesthetic awareness could affect how I experience my life. ---    Those of us that identify as artistic, creative types often deal with levels of anxiety and depression, sometimes very mild, sometimes more severe.  We Millennials, Gen X-ers, Baby Boomers, and Boomlets aren't the first to deal with t...

The weather this week in our part of VA has done nothing but create headache, both literally and figuratively.  If you're one of the unlucky millions of people who suffer from chronic migraines, the constant shifts from hot/somewhat dry to blustery, stormy humidity and cooler temps would have you reaching for either Excedrin or exceptional amounts of ibuprofen, as I've been doing these last few days. The world doesn't stop for a migraine, though sometimes our schedules allow us to sneak in a nap that helps dull the pain.  For those of us that make a living playing music, an ill-timed migraine can mean a bad performance or thwarted practice schedule. What Makes a Headache a Migraine? Migraines tend to not be acute, and rather progress through four stages over one to several days: Prodrome, Aura, Headache, and Post-drome.   Mayo Clinic has an entry that explains symptoms, but here's a synopsis. Prodrome - food and stomach weirdness, in what you want...

If you attended my class last year at PASIC, you may recall beginning with a simple exercise.  I asked everyone to find something to grasp - in most cases it was mallets or sticks, but some used a water bottle or wallet. Then, we all grasped those items tightly.  While gripping, I asked everyone to "check in" with their jaw.  Laughs and chortles filled the room as we all realized that they were tight as well. Further examination showed that the neck, shoulders, elbows, and wrists were tightening as a result. It's tempting to investigate why this tandem tightness occurs, but what's more important is simply that it does , regardless of the reason. A loose jaw is a shortcut to relaxation.  Free it and you will automatically feel relief along the arm. Temporal-mandibular Joint It's easier to free the jaw if we know exactly what area should receive focus.  To that end, here's a little info about the skeletal and muscular structures of the jaw. sourc...

It's been a busy first half of the month so far. Though summer isn't technically upon us, there's something about the month of June that makes it a month for personal projects. Perhaps it's because my entire life has been attached to an academic calendar, or perhaps it's because it's a month where there's typically more nice than dreary weather - either way, the first half of this selfish month has been a total joy. New Article It's been out for a little while, but you can read "Developing Kinesthetic Awareness: A Guide to Mindset, Explorations, and Wrists - Part 2" in this month's Rhythm! Scene .  Find it on page 14! TAPS East Coast By now there's evidence on social media that TAPS East Coast was a blast, both as a human and as a musician.  Held at the New England Music Camp (NEMC) at Snow Pond, the setting was nothing short of breathtaking.  The faculty were housed in cabins, the students in the new dorm, and our acti...

There aren't many other calming moments than the tranquil, blank mental space that accompanies those first few days at the end of the school year.  Suddenly there is so much time , assuming we can stop feeling exhausted. Time can be our friend or our enemy in terms of our practice.  In preparations for TAPS East Coast, which starts this weekend, I find myself examining my thoughts about practice.  Since many of us are now in a limbo stage, somewhere between relaxed and feeling guilty about it, I'm hoping we can bond over these ideas. Playing Cold – Some people warm up, some don’t.  Though some rep doesn’t require it, if we’re coming in from cold weather, just woken up, playing after a multi-week break, or about to run a complicated recital program, we have to warm up.  Cold muscles don’t move as well, which means the work goes elsewhere, like the tendons. Cram Practicing – Sometimes life only gives us 2 weeks to prep a half recital, but if there...

If there's anything more frustrating than moving a marimba, it's moving a marimba and realizing you've lost a felt or two.  Disappeared - like socks in the dryer.  Though I've been known to use a hair tie in a last-minute situation, I took 20 minutes this morning to make my own felts - 55, to be exact! That's what - less than 30 seconds each?!  Here's how I did it. Supplies - one piece of black felt ($0.40 at Michael's) - ruler - sewing machine (needle and thread works, too, but will take longer)  The brand of felt I found is called Creatology. Here's the label: Instructions 1. Remove a felt from the marimba to take some measurements.  I've found that most are really similar in size, but measure to be sure.   This one is one inch long on the folded edge, 7/8" wide. You'll also want to measure from the fold to the first row of stitching, if there is some visible.  This one is 5/8". You'll want ...

TAPS, ya'll. TAPS made me not hate excerpts. For those that know me, this is a huge deal. Let me explain. My undergraduate education began with assignments of only snare drum, and almost exclusively excerpts.  If you're looking for a way to get rid of a student, I suggest this route.  Not only was I not yet mature enough to have the focus and discipline to learn these, but they were killing my motivation to practice. I wanted  to practice; I was desperate to learn.  Sure, my buzz rolls got pretty good, but I hated the rest of it. I dreaded practice, which as we all know, really sucks. Luckily, my ornery side kicked in and I just started learning marimba pieces in my own time, so the music student was saved!  But that first semester of school has never left me.  Since then, any time a person mentions excerpts, I cringe.  With less self control I'd act like Michael from The Office. In grad school, the quickest way to get me to leave a room wa...