LEAF Schools and Streets- Casa Samba Experience

Partaking in this project of learning and teaching about Casa Samba has been an incredibly soul enriching experience. When my group and I presented in front of students aged from 9 to around 14 I was pretty nervous. It is sometimes hard to appeal to younger audiences while still maintaining a level of maturity and keeping structure. But these students were engaged and eager to learn about the group Casa Samba. What I was really impressed with and taken aback by was the students intelligent questions as well as their answers to our questions. 

I was really impressed with one of the students who seemed to know a lot about instrumentation and the sounds that certain instruments make. She even was able to pick out an instrument by its sound in one of the videos we showed during out presentation.

More than anything I loved to see Casa Samba working with the kids. There was a beautiful light in these kids eyes when they were either working with instruments or dancing. The music was loud and full and the dance was energetic and entertaining. I loved to see how wonderful this group was with kids. It seemed so effortless the way they got these kids to not only listen to them but to understand what they were explaining. 

There is a beauty in this style of music that is hard to describe. It moves you. Quite literally. You hear the music and your body sways or bops to the beat. It is music that sends chills down your spine and makes your heart pump with excitedness. 

When speaking to one of the children he looked up and me and said "this has been the most fun I've ever had in school." I think that is so important because it shows that when music is involved kids learn a lot and not only that but they enjoy that learning experience. There were students who were nervous about their performance at LEAF and other students who were too excited for nerves. But everyone was happy. Everyone felt included and felt pride in what they were doing. That was evident in the smiles on those kids faces as they played the drums or danced away. 

One thing in particular that I thought was incredible was how happy the instructors were to be doing this. You could see the enjoyment they get out of teaching about something they are extremely passionate about and that in itself is inspiring. Seeing these people so moved by their work that they never think of it as work. They were having as much fun as the kids and us onlookers were. I think that is what all people are looking for in life. A job that isn't just a job but a passion. Something that is giving back to the community and is enriching to be apart of. That is a lesson to those kids as well. That they can acquire jobs that make them happy. They can pursue whatever they want. I am sure this experience made many of those kids hope that one day they will have a job in music and performance.  

Blog Post Five: Fieldwork Proposal

I plan to do my Field work project on something I have a great passion for.

I am going to examine the music community of Music and Memory. My grandmother had Alzheimer's disease which is a form of dementia. They say that the last thing to leave you is music. And in my grandmothers case this was extremely true. Music helped soothe my grandmother in her last days and helped her to remember things because the music was linked to her memories of my Poppy. 

I will need to speak to nurses and social workers from the Black Mountain Neurological Medical Center. I have worked with them in the past and they have extensive knowledge on Music and Memory and are currently working to use music in place of some medications. I will need to ask about personal experiences they have had. I will need to ask what they would like to see in the future of Music and Memory. Ask them how it all really works how the memory of music triggers the memories of people that they have otherwise forgotten. 

I believe I would have to get permission to go to Black Mountain Neurological Medical Center and work with one of the social workers and hands on with patients. I could help develop playlists for patients and play music for them.

I would definitely be writing field notes and I would like to take photos but would need permission to do so. I would take photos of the patients engaging with the music and the playlists made for them. See how it soothes them and maybe remind them of things. My main hope is to get permission to take videos. Videos of group music sessions with the patients. Videos of patients engaging with music on their playlists. Videos of maybe some patients playing music on things like drums or shakers. 

I would love to submit video and photo along with my final report if I am indeed permitted to do so. At the end of my project I would like to come to the conclusion that we can minimize our use of pharmaceuticals for Alzheimer and dementia patients with music. As well as make things more enjoyable and easy for the remainder of their lives.