Note Upon Note Blog

A new wave of music is washing over the world – choirs making tightly orchestrated sound effects.

Here’s a neat video making the rounds. As the story goes, a man nearly 90 and his wife of 62 years come across a grand piano in the atrium of the Mayo Clinic. They rock.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RI-l0tK8Ok0

What do a group of young, black males and a frumpy, middle-aged woman have in common? They are members of perennially disadvantaged social groups, and they burst their bounds with guts, drive and talent. 

Oliver Wendell Holmes opined that “most of us die with the music still in us.” Not these folks. Their two amazing acts provide ten minutes of full-on inspiration. 

Flawless – Dance Group

Performer quote: “Chase the dream, not the competition.” (Britain’s Got Talent)

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEoIC_hRfUM

Susan Boyle – Singer

Performer quote: “I saw people laughing and I knew they were laughing at me. But I thought, well, they’ll soon shut up when they hear me sing. And they did.” (Times Online)

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxPZh4AnWyk

“Anyone can learn to play piano with their fingers …”

When Mozart was small, he didn’t like to get out of bed. Mozart’s mother had an effective method for rousing the boy musician. She played seven notes of an eight-note scale, thus:

Little Wolfgang was so tortured by the missing eighth note that he had to get out of bed and play it.

There’s a lot that goes into being a good drummer. The jokes about drummers aren’t fair. For example,

What do you call a drummer with half a brain?
Gifted.

What do you call someone who hangs around with musicians?
A drummer.

Despite the complexity of the task, 3-year-old Levi Eshleman is showing the world how its done.

At 4 years old, Igor Falecki is on the old side of child drum meisters. He’s used his extra year to get some mean chops.

My pick for most amazing child drummer is Abdoulaye, age 2. He rocks.

Mountains of research has been done, and heaps of things have been said, about the advantages of music study on brain function. The benefits pop up everywhere.

A benefit that I didn’t suspect turned up in my email inbox today. Try the following.

Subject: HOW SMART IS YOUR RIGHT FOOT?

This is hysterical. You have to try this. It is absolutely true. I
guess there are some things that the brain cannot handle.

You have to try this please it takes 2 seconds. I could not believe
this!!! It is from an orthopaedic surgeon………… This will
boggle your mind and you will keep you trying over and over again to see if you can outsmart your foot, but you can ‘ t. It’s pre-programmed in your brain!

1.
Without anyone watching you (they will think you are GOOFY!!) and
while sitting at your desk in front of your computer, lift your
right foot off the floor and make clockwise circles with it.

2.
Now, while doing this, draw the number ‘ 6 ‘ in the air with your
right hand. Your foot will change direction. I told you so!!! And there’s nothing you can do about it! You and I both know how stupid it is, but before the day is done you are going to try it again, if you’ve not already done so.

Send it to your friends to frustrate them too. I just did!!

I tried this while reading this instructions and sure enough, my foot automatically started going the same direction as my hand. The difference is that as soon as I tried again, I was easily able to keep my foot going the right way.

Most people have little occasion to ask their two hands to carry out simultaneous and distinct tasks. Piano players are good at this, as are musicians on most other instruments. Piano players also use both of their feet on the pedals.

The complex tasks required to make music stimulate the brain and increase its ability. This increase in brain function shows up everywhere, everyday.

Eighty years ago this month, Mickey Mouse appeared in Steamboat Willie. The groundbreaking, seven-minute cartoon was Mickey’s first big break. It made him a star.

Steamboat Willie was the first cartoon to use a synchronized soundtrack throughout. It’s a marvel of musical imagination. It’s delightful and funny.

To treat yourself to a re-viewing of Mickey making merry with music a mere eighty years ago, click here.