Fun Times with the Little Guy

So my two year old cousin--whom I'll call Little Guy--was crying big fat tears when his dad dropped him off at our house to spend the night. To make him stop, I took him to the piano, one of his favorite toys when he visits us. He sat on my lap while I played some songs, trying to see the notes over his head of big curly hair. He did stop crying, but he just watched me wide-eyed and didn't play along as usual. So we tried an assortment of other little toys he likes--a tambourine, a little drum, a lap harp, a little thing that walks across the floor when you wind it up--but nothing was making him too excited. Then I went over to the computer and checked my Facebook page. I brought him on my lap, thinking he might want to write an incomprehensible status update for his favorite cousin ever, when he said, "Boom boom pow." It hit me. His parents like to play him the song "Boom Boom Pow" by the hip hop group the Black Eyed Peas, and apparently it makes Little Guy very happy. So I went on to YouTube, and as I found the video, he pointed to it and said happily "I like dat boom boom pow." Okay, then. When I started the video his face immediately lit up, he started bouncing and and waving his arms. Then I let him down and he ran around in circles for about five minutes, while we all were laughing and laughing. I decided to see what other music he'd like, and I YouTubed "Gold Digger" by Kanye West, sung by the cast of "Glee," and "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It") by Beyonce. The Little Guy looked at me pleadingly and said, "Boom boom pow!" So we watched that two or three more times. The joy of little children is infectious. I don't know about you, but when I was his age I listened to Raffi, Peter, Paul and Mary, and songs of French Canadian voyageurs. Times are changing!

Silent Noon

My favorite song ever as of late is "Silent Noon" by Ralph Vaughan Williams. As an amateur vocalist with a mezzo-ish voice and somewhat unreliable range, I got tired of finding all these lovely songs that required me to hit a high A flat or hold a note for twenty measures then add a fermata to it. A song is not worth it if it makes you feel like you're gonna pass out.* SO, one day I was flippin' through all our song books and was lucky enough to find "Silent Noon." After hearing the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra perform "Lark Ascending" last whenever ago, I spent a week listening to our Vaughan Williams cd over and over again. I loved it all, and was of course ecstatic to find out he wrote singable music as well. Thus, whenever I got a chance I practiced "Silent Noon." Thing is, I don't know what's funner--playing it or singing it? I love the opening piano riff (yeah, I know that's not pianological terminology), the rich sound of an E flat chord...sigh. I was surprised to find out how simple the notes were to sing, but of course when the notes are simple, that means you have to work harder to make the piece exciting, expressive and engaging. You have to work on phrasing and breathing. For the record, my breathing sucks. That's why you need a teacher, a voice in my head tells me. Someday, I guess. It's strange, but lately I've been feeling like it's my song, and with my sister home for break I've been afraid to practice it, because you know, she might steal it from me. I know, it's stupid. A week or two ago I accidentally nearly blew it by playing the beginnging of it on the piano. She popped her head in the door and asked, "What's that?" Thinking fast, I replied nervously, "Um, ah, it's nothin', just somethin' I made up, that's all." And she bought it! For the rest of the day I felt guilty for claiming creative ownership of it, and was waiting for Ol' Ralph to strike me down from heaven. But anyways, I believe this song is a face-melter (that's a good thing), so I found the best-possible YouTube video I could find and thought I'd share. Geek out over.







*or maybe my technique is just really bad!