Marian's Songbook

I really don't know how I ended up with three copies of the muse from last week.  I cannot find the delete button, so I will change this message tonight and the third one next week.  All the music from the past week or so is still ringing in my heart.  It is amazing just how much it has affected my mood and outlook.  I have tried to share some of this with the children this week.  They have shared my excitement and are looking for me to write a few new songs inspired by my experience.  We'll just wait and see what happens....

Last update : 30-05-2010 14:39

I have just spent almost a week immersed in music being created by children.  They have sung, alone and with choirs.  They have played instruments, sometimes with others, but mostly solo pieces.  They have smiled and opened their hearts to feel what the music was telling them.  I was asked to adjudicate at an Eisteddfod in one of the regional centres near my home.  I was honoured to be asked and jumped at the chance.  Music to me is a vital part of being human.  Consider...the first rhythms we hear are the beating of our mother's heart and the flow of her body working.  This is the beginning of our experience of music.  We pick up the sounds and melodies of everyday, the call of the birds, the rustle of the leaves as the wind gently stirs the branches, the scream of automobile brakes, the buzz of insects, and the creaking of a rusty wheel.  We catch the pitch of the stream as it burbles and flows.  Music is everywhere.  It is all around us, but we need to take the time to listen.  What melodies can you discover today?

Last update : 24-05-2010 09:19

When we were traveling in the USA last year, we spent some time with my neice in New York State.  She has three very talented children who love dressing up and performing.  I had written a song, inspired by the youngest, after an earlier visit and I finally had the opportunity to sing it for them.  They immediately owned the song and added their own touches.  Their dad video taped it and now it is on YouTube.  I invite you to have a look.  My voice is scratchy, but the song is lots of fun.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02qA3lMhbIg

Last update : 13-04-2010 13:24

It has been far too long since I have been here and shared with you.  It seems that every day marches by more quickly than the one before.  The days that have passed have been filled with many things.  The cycle of joy and fear and love and hope turns and turns; each day bringing with it a new aspect of what it means to be human, what it means to live life to the full and to live with no regrets.  To love and live every day remembering that our lives can make a difference to someone.  Our lives can be the example that guides someone else to live and love as a fully human person.

Last update : 28-03-2010 14:15

This beautiful tree frog joined us for dinner on Boxing Day.  He looks very comfortable on the drying rack!

Last update : 12-01-2010 14:25

 I have not been here for a while and I must apologise.  Time has been taken up with other things...many of which really are not that important, but I guess one needs distractions as well as meaningful work to do.  I wish all of you a wonderful and happy new year.  I wish you a year of dreams and the imagination to find a path to fulfill those dreams.  I wish you a year of friendship, of mateship, of companionship all those relationships that give our lives meaning.  May the new year bring you joy and hope, but most of all, may the new year bring you to the place where you know you are loved and can love in return.

Last update : 03-01-2010 13:59

This next week, the children whose voices are featured on my first CD, "Season of Song", graduate from high school.  It seems only a few days ago that we gathered in a small studio and sang.  The children who were chosen to sing were not auditioned.  They were the children who sang with their hearts and not just their voices.  I have one musician friend who had trouble listening to "Season of Song" because not all the voices were in tune.  In fact, there were a couple of children who had trouble even changing pitch, but my motivation was not, and never will be, perfection.  It is the joy of singing.  The joy of making music that is important to me and to see that joy reflected on the children's faces gladdens my heart.

Last update : 12-01-2010 14:29