This week my Saturday 9 will again be a bit different. Since my husband Bob, previously known on this blog as Happy King, is passionate about music and I can barely remember the names of songs that I like, I asked him to take a crack at this week’s questions. On the other hand, since my husband is so passionate about music, his answers are quite detailed. Hope you enjoy!
Saturday 9: Just Our Choices in Music
1. What was your first favorite song?
I’ve loved music for as long as I can remember, so I was thrilled when Trish asked me to sit in on her blog. Though I don’t recall exactly which was my first favorite song, I remember “Hey Betty Martin, Tippy Toe Tippy Toe” from my kindergarten class, which would have been in the fall of 1970. I recall everyone walking around on tip-toes when it was played.
I was one of the inaugural viewers of Sesame Street, and the first record I ever bought was from around this same time period. It was the 45 of “Rubber Ducky” with the flipside of “The Sesame Street Theme (‘Can You Tell Me How To Get to Sesame Street?…’).”
My parents sent me into the store to ask if they had a copy; I was four years old and it was the first time I remember doing something like that. The last record I bought at that store was John William’s score to Superman in 1978.
I have never stopped collecting music–it became a passion over the next 38 years. An early favorite song of mine was Simon and Garfunkel’s Bridge Over Troubled Water. It was one of the few contemporary pop albums my parents had, and I still love the solo gospel piano that builds to that huge wall-of-sound and Art Garfunkel’s amazing vocal and those cannon-fire drums by Hal Blaine (who has played drums on many of my favorite records over the years).
2. Who was your first favorite female singer?
The other pop album my parents had at that time was The Carpenters self-titled third album by brother and sister Richard and Karen Carpenter. Karen’s voice was one of the most distinctive and beautiful I’ve ever heard and few people had the arranging skills of her brother.
Another early favorite was Patty Andrews of the Andrews sisters. I used to see them in some of the early Abbott and Costello films that aired every weekend on one of the New York City stations that our local cable company lined in to State College because the mountainous terrain made broadcasting impractical. Patty could sing anything and make it her own and when sisters Maxine and Laverne added their harmonies, they created a vocal sound that remains one of my favorites in all of pop music history.
3. Who was your first favorite male singer?
It would probably be Art Garfunkel‘s angelic tenor (see the answer to question number one).
4. Who was your first favorite band?
That would be the Beatles. I loved the animated film Yellow Submarine, which I first saw on the Penn State campus in the early 70′s. I remember seeing the film broadcast a few years later on our black and white TV set and the hair standing up on the back of my neck when I heard the harmonies on the chorus of “Yellow Submarine.”
I also recall racing home from school on my bike the day I knew their film “Help” was going to be on the Channel 16 Dialing for Dollars Movie out of Scranton. Keep in mind this was many years before the advent of music videos, so the chances to actually see footage of a favorite band performing were few and far between.
5. Who is your all time favorite band?
I don’t have a single favorite; I have many that I try to switch between because I tend to suffer from “overplay syndrome,” so I will only listen for a season and then come back to them after a time. I’ll give my dozen favorite bands but don’t hold me to them as some get edged-out over time and all of them have some songs I hate. I usually don’t like a band’s big hits – I generally will go for more obscure album tracks, but anyway here are 12 that I have returned to most often:
- The Beach Boys
- The Beatles
- The Byrds
- The Lost Dogs
- The Roches
- The Everly Brothers
- The Ramones
- Fleetwood Mac
- Buddy Holly and the Crickets
- Guster
- Steely Dan
- The Andrews Sisters
6. Who is your all time favorite male singer?
In his prime, I would say it was Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys.
7. Who is your all time favorite female singer?
On pure vocal talent alone I like Linda Ronstadt, but I also love:
- Natalie Cole
- Emmylou Harris
- k.d. lang
- Ella Fitzgerald
- Mindy Smith
- Cass Elliot
- Enya
- Shawn Colvin, and
- Marie Armenia
I should probably add that I think the quality of someone’s voice generally has very little to do with what I like about a song or why I would buy a disc. The emphasis on “singers” is why American Idol had contributed to an astounding decline in the quality of popular music and the toxically high levels of crap that make it difficult for me to listen to the radio. For me, it comes down more to the quality of songwriting or catchiness of the music. So I’m adding a sub-column that lists some of my favorite songwriters, many of whom also perform their own works:
- Brian Wilson
- Julie Miller
- Jimmy Webb
- Keith and Melody Green
- Terry Taylor
- Michael Roe
- Phil and Marie Armenia
- Bob Dylan
- Chris Tomlin
- Joni Mitchell
- Steve Fry
- David Crowder
- Twila Paris
- Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan
- John Lennon and Paul McCartney
- John Linnell (They Might Be Giants)
- John Flansburgh (They Might Be Giants)
- Phil and Marie Armenia
- Lindsey Buckingham
- Victoria Williams
8. What is your all time favorite LP/CD album?
I don’t have a single favorite so I’ll give you 12 that are near the top of the list:
- The Beach Boys Today!
- The Beatles The Beatles (aka The White Album)
- Julie Miller Orphans and Angels
- Keith Green For Him Who Has Ears To Hear
- The Lost Dogs Real Men Cry
- Jane Siberry The Walking
- The Ramones End of The Century
- Brian Wil
son SMiLE
- Fleetwood Mac Tusk
- Lindsey Buckingham Out of the Cradle
- The Roches Speak
- Joni Mitchell Hejira
9. What was your first favorite radio station?
WMAJ in State College, an AM radio station that played the top 40 in the 70′s and put out little pamphlets that listed the top 40 singles and had pictures of the DJ’s on the front.
Thanks for indulging my husband on his stroll down memory lane! Visit Saturday 9 to find more participants and join in on the fun!
In my first post on Music Therapy and Autism, I talked about this therapy in general. Today I want to share about our own experience.
The Little Guy has been going once a week since last August for a 45 minute session with a short consultation at the end of each session. Each child’s treatment plan will be different, depending on their needs, but here are his main goals (each one has more specific objectives as well):
- M. will improve his adjustment to change and transition.
- M. will improve feeling management and emotional empathy.
- M. will improve his fine motor skills.
- M. will improve direction following.
Even though he enjoys many aspects of music and the various activities they do, this is therapy and has definitely highlighted some of his areas of difficulty. We have experienced refusals leaving the house for music and transitioning from the waiting room to the treatment room. There has also been a significant amount of struggle and argument during the sessions when he wanted to be in charge of not only what he was doing, but what the therapist was doing as well. Thankfully, we have been able to identify some good strategies for each of these challenges:
Refusals and Transition Difficulties
One of the things we have done to minimize the difficult transition is to leave the house early and go to the playground (this also provided some good physical activity). For a time, we also came a few minutes late and went directly to the treatment room; once he was handling himself better, he was given the opportunity to play in the waiting room for a few minutes before each session. He has only had one difficult transition to the treatment room in the last 8 weeks.
Arguing and Power Struggle
To decrease the arguing, the therapist decreased her verbal directions and relied more on the visual schedule and written directions for activities. We also began having the TSS (behavioral support person) come with him to the sessions. This has been helpful because she has very good strategies that work with him and because having a third person has changed the dynamic, making it less of a power struggle. He has shown a positive attitude and good direction following 4 of the last 6 weeks.
At this point, we have four more sessions before we take a break due to his summer schedule. I am definitely ready for a break – even though we have made progress, I must admit to being a little more anxious on music day and having to take a deep breath before I remind him of the schedule on that morning.
After re-reading this, I realize it doesn’t say much about what actually happens IN music therapy. I am not in the actual sessions, so I do not know all the specific activities they do, but I know they are individualized to the child. For the fall, in fact, the therapist has recommended a group session with one other therapist and child, if a good match can be arranged and schedules matched up. I imagine some of his goals will shift to be more focused on relating with a peer, which would also be a good thing to work on.
One interesting thing I have learned is that children with disabilities (or even younger typical children) often respond more easily to directions and questions that are sung. You can try this out by singing your child’s name to get his or her attention rather than just saying/calling it, and seeing if they respond more quickly.
My personal experience with music therapy has been limited to my child with autism, but before telling you about that specifically, I wanted to share a little bit about music therapy in general.
First of all, you may be wondering, what is music therapy? Here is a description from the American Music Therapy Association:
Music Therapy is an established healthcare profession that uses music to address physical, emotional, cognitive, and social needs of individuals of all ages. Music therapy improves the quality of life for persons who are well and meets the needs of children and adults with disabilities or illnesses.
They go on to list several possible uses for music therapy, and they address some common myths and misconceptions on their FAQ page. Some students from Utah State University have also created a series of videos about music therapy, and the first one talks about what it is and what it is not.
There is an interesting article titled Music Therapy and Autism that is worth reading if you are wondering whether this therapy could be beneficial for your child (or adult – it is for any age person). They are careful to stress that you need to use a trained and knowledgeable provider who can assess the positive or negative impact of the treatment for a particular individual. Potential outcomes include:
- Interrupt patterns of isolation and social withdrawal and enhance socio-emotional development
- Facilitate communication, both verbal and nonverbal
- Decrease behaviours characteristic of disturbed perceptual and motor functioning, and enhance appropriate and integrated perceptual and motor development
- Facilitate creative self-expression and promote emotional satisfaction
In the state of Pennsylvania, children with autism or other disabilities who have Medical Assistance can often obtain this service through their mental health coverage. There are several other types of therapy that can also be used to work toward similar goals; it is just a matter of finding out what works for your child and your family situation.
In my next post, I will talk about our personal experience with music therapy.
Note: Thank you to all who have voted for topics in my new Skribit widget – sorry it took me so long to write about this subject. I welcome any topic suggestions or votes for topics already listed, so please stop by and add your ideas!
Okay, not that I need something else to become addicted to, but a friend at work just clued me into Pandora and I am completely hooked!
You just type in the name of a musical artist, album or song that you like and it plays that music plus similar songs from what is called the Music Genome Project. You can create different “stations” for different types of music. Also, for each song it plays, you can find out why it chose that song and give it a thumbs up or down to fine tune the selections.
It is the coolest thing, and since I am at the computer anyway . . .
So the biggest question I have gotten from people who have read my blog (but not posted!) is, “Why Happy King?”
Well, as some of you may know, my DH is very creative and expresses this in a variety of ways, including through music. “Happy King” is actually the name of one of his songs, and it comes from a poem that he was writing at the time we first started dating–in fact, he showed it to me the first night we were talking and getting to know each other. (So I guess I can’t say I didn’t know what I was in for!)
I can’t say that I have always appreciated his right-brain thinking, being a firm left-brainer myself, but as time goes on and the Lord continues working in me, I am finding it easier to let him be himself and even be thankful for his creative influence. Just in case you are reading this, Happy King, that doesn’t mean I don’t still want you to hang up your clothes and put your stuff away when you are done with it!!
I have (I think) linked the song here so you can listen to it if you wish. Enjoy!
Happy King
