Support Lotze kid art education- commission a song for February Album Writing Month!
I am trying to find creative solutions to financial problems. We spend almost 1/5 of our household budget on music lessons, dance class or tae kwon do lessons for our kids, even tho it means cutting back hugely on other things. This spring we have found ourselves lacking the $2000 it would take to get them through the spring semester. We're working on long term solutions, but meanwhile, I have a challenge.
Some of you know that I participate in February Album Writing Month every year as a creative challenge and a chance to try to stay sane through cabin fever season. My recording ability is still questionable, but my song writing skill really has improved after 7 years! If you think, as we do, that educating our kids in the arts benefits the whole community, would you consider spending $50 to commission one of the 14 songs I plan on writing for FAWM this year? A small contribution in exchange for being my muse for a month. You are welcome to make various requests like topic, keywords, rhythm & other ideas.
Caveats: I will not write a song I would not be willing to sing in front of my kids. I will not write a song which is contrary to my core beliefs or which I deem generally offensive. This is not try to get Lara in hot water month. I maintain all rights to the music I write, and share those rights if it is co-written with a collaborator. Specific rights & licenses may be negotiated separately.
I will commit to actually getting the song polished up, recorded & sent to you during the year, tho I cannot guarantee you will like the individual song (hey, if I knew how to write a hit every time, I wouldn't need to do fundraising, now, would I?) If the song ever makes it to an actual official recording status, I promise to acknowledge you in the liner notes and thoroughly embarrass you if you come listen to your song live. In addition to all this, you get bragging rights of having a song written for you, and in years to come you can tell the world you were instrumental in fostering the talent of the principal violinist (or dancer or trumpet) of which ever orchestra (or dance company) these kids end up performing in... as well as the benefit of that warm fuzzy feeling, knowing you helped a budding artist pursue their dreams. Come on, ain't that worth $50?
Monday, January 23, 2012
Monday, December 20, 2010
Politics of Motherhood, part I
Dear world, I am running for the office of Good Mom.
I can't do it alone, I need your support. Our campaign is in need of volunteers to help in our headquarters, for day to day operations, community outreach and fundraising.
If you can't make it down to headquarters, please consider raising awareness of our campaign by displaying an encouraging sign or bumper sticker, or spreading the news of our campaign via social media.
I know we face a lot of tough issues right now, like education, health care, law enforcement, foreign relations and a balanced budget, but I believe that together, we can make a difference in this family.
Campaign contributions are also gladly accepted, and I promise to be fully accountable for how all funds are spent.
So what inspired this?
This article popped up in my email the other day, and I have been hot & bothered ever since.
I do not argue with the need for accountability, I do not question the need for parents and teachers to take responsibility for how they treat students. I do question the need of society as a whole to find a scape goat, rather than focusing on looking for solutions that will actually benefit our kids!
Let's face it, parents and teachers really need a better publicity campaign, but we're not set up for it. Politicians, the media, people who make a living studying education and taking polls are set up for publicity, but not the day to day workers in the field.
We juggle work and family obligations, correct homework and strange concepts, bandage hurt knees and crushed ideals, protect, house, and try to encourage, goad, and push our kids on to greater things. In return, we are told we are worthless; undeserving of compensation, resources or respect. We are the demons corrupting society, and we certainly don't have the time or resources to convince the public otherwise. Read that description again, and tell me if I am talking about the teachers or the parents, here. Kind of hard to distinguish, huh?
So, if the two guilty camps are more or less running on the same motives and resources and problems, to which side should we push the blame?
What if, instead of demonizing people who care about our youth, we spend our political energy and finances on encouraging, training and supporting these people. Parents and teachers (whether in a school district or volunteer organization or arts program or other less formal teaching situation) are the BEDROCK of our society. How we treat them, even in the headlines, is ultimately both a reflection and predictor of the health and well being of our society. No wonder we aren't doing so well right now!
I will not take that same route. I am going to do something about it and I encourage you to do the same. Lets help raise awareness about the worth and necessity of encouraging parents and teachers. You might want to start like I did & write to NPR about that headline up there...
I can't do it alone, I need your support. Our campaign is in need of volunteers to help in our headquarters, for day to day operations, community outreach and fundraising.
If you can't make it down to headquarters, please consider raising awareness of our campaign by displaying an encouraging sign or bumper sticker, or spreading the news of our campaign via social media.
I know we face a lot of tough issues right now, like education, health care, law enforcement, foreign relations and a balanced budget, but I believe that together, we can make a difference in this family.
Campaign contributions are also gladly accepted, and I promise to be fully accountable for how all funds are spent.
So what inspired this?
This article popped up in my email the other day, and I have been hot & bothered ever since.
Adults Blame Parents For Education Problems!
My first thought, as a mother, was pure outrage! Most parents are quite aware of our own inadequacies and failings. We don't need to know that there are people out there, voting on how horrible we are! Why are we so focused, as a society on finding someone to BLAME for the failings in our education system? Why must we demonize parents and teachers? We seem to be focused on crushing the spirits of the very people we expect to inspire our youth.I do not argue with the need for accountability, I do not question the need for parents and teachers to take responsibility for how they treat students. I do question the need of society as a whole to find a scape goat, rather than focusing on looking for solutions that will actually benefit our kids!
Let's face it, parents and teachers really need a better publicity campaign, but we're not set up for it. Politicians, the media, people who make a living studying education and taking polls are set up for publicity, but not the day to day workers in the field.
We juggle work and family obligations, correct homework and strange concepts, bandage hurt knees and crushed ideals, protect, house, and try to encourage, goad, and push our kids on to greater things. In return, we are told we are worthless; undeserving of compensation, resources or respect. We are the demons corrupting society, and we certainly don't have the time or resources to convince the public otherwise. Read that description again, and tell me if I am talking about the teachers or the parents, here. Kind of hard to distinguish, huh?
So, if the two guilty camps are more or less running on the same motives and resources and problems, to which side should we push the blame?
What if, instead of demonizing people who care about our youth, we spend our political energy and finances on encouraging, training and supporting these people. Parents and teachers (whether in a school district or volunteer organization or arts program or other less formal teaching situation) are the BEDROCK of our society. How we treat them, even in the headlines, is ultimately both a reflection and predictor of the health and well being of our society. No wonder we aren't doing so well right now!
I will not take that same route. I am going to do something about it and I encourage you to do the same. Lets help raise awareness about the worth and necessity of encouraging parents and teachers. You might want to start like I did & write to NPR about that headline up there...
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Musings on music- part 1
I've been doing a lot of reading on music in general lately. The Story of Christian Music by Andrew Wilson-Dickson, Music in Egypt by Scott Marcus, articles on the art of tarab. Some things I read long ago float back to mind, and I need to hunt down the sources.
As a dancer, I move through, around, inside music. As an amateur songwriter and avid singer, I express myself through music. My children study music, and my 11 month old daughter starts singing scales whenever her brother brings out his trumpet. She used to follow along, but now she sings the next note for him. If I want the day to go well as we homeschool, I put music practice at the beginning of the day. The day is started with joy and a sense of accomplishment and confidence for my son.
Music, in our family, is more than background noise. It is an expression of joy and community. It is the soothing sound that calms us and lulls the baby to sleep. It is celebration and sadness, filling of empty hours and pacing the maddening rush. It is something shared. Sometimes I crave silence, but even that, to me, is part of the music of this life. I value the 'rests' and quiet moments as I value the crescendos.
I know this is not the typical experience for every family or every person. Yet, I believe that music has the power to help everyone shape our lives. Plato went so far as to suggest certain types of music should be outlawed, banned as inciting the public to community-destroying fervor, and recommending other forms as contributing to the public good.
I listened to a recording of a call to prayer in Scott Marcus's book, Music in Egypt this morning. It made me think of how we structure our own lives here, in our house. We have no call to prayer. Instead, we have a spoken call to dinner, and everyone fills their own bellies in time worn tradition, making sure no one gets more than their 'fair share' (whether it be something desirable or not!) Is it possible to shift this selfish, carnal, and purely functional part of our day into something that can show our appreciation and joy for the life a shared meal can give?
Devotional time is difficult to structure in our home. I have tried many different formats to keep us on schedule and to keep us aware of our purpose as Christians. I miss hearing mass sung in the Russian Orthodox church of the village we used to live in. I miss the planned liturgy of my grandmother's church, where we knew each week what scripture and songs we would use based on the liturgical calendar. Music already shapes our lives, why have we, as a family, not used it more conscientiously to shape our attitudes?
This is not a new concept for me. I recommend to pregnant women in my prenatal classes that they choose one CD of restful music and practice relaxation techniques to that particular CD. When they go into labor, simply putting that familiar music on reminds their bodies to relax, as they have trained it to do. Yet today, I realize that I need to be more conscious of how my own musical habits are structuring my own life. My head is buzzing with music theory, social aspects of music, benefits and stigmas and purpose. I hope to get some of this down in the coming days.
I started this reading project in order to be more present in my dance, and to share with other dancers the importance of understanding our music. What a blessing to be stirred to greater understanding and a greater conscious expression of our lives through something so transient and ephemeral as dance. It puts me in awe of the journey we travel in this life.
As a dancer, I move through, around, inside music. As an amateur songwriter and avid singer, I express myself through music. My children study music, and my 11 month old daughter starts singing scales whenever her brother brings out his trumpet. She used to follow along, but now she sings the next note for him. If I want the day to go well as we homeschool, I put music practice at the beginning of the day. The day is started with joy and a sense of accomplishment and confidence for my son.
Music, in our family, is more than background noise. It is an expression of joy and community. It is the soothing sound that calms us and lulls the baby to sleep. It is celebration and sadness, filling of empty hours and pacing the maddening rush. It is something shared. Sometimes I crave silence, but even that, to me, is part of the music of this life. I value the 'rests' and quiet moments as I value the crescendos.
I know this is not the typical experience for every family or every person. Yet, I believe that music has the power to help everyone shape our lives. Plato went so far as to suggest certain types of music should be outlawed, banned as inciting the public to community-destroying fervor, and recommending other forms as contributing to the public good.
I listened to a recording of a call to prayer in Scott Marcus's book, Music in Egypt this morning. It made me think of how we structure our own lives here, in our house. We have no call to prayer. Instead, we have a spoken call to dinner, and everyone fills their own bellies in time worn tradition, making sure no one gets more than their 'fair share' (whether it be something desirable or not!) Is it possible to shift this selfish, carnal, and purely functional part of our day into something that can show our appreciation and joy for the life a shared meal can give?
Devotional time is difficult to structure in our home. I have tried many different formats to keep us on schedule and to keep us aware of our purpose as Christians. I miss hearing mass sung in the Russian Orthodox church of the village we used to live in. I miss the planned liturgy of my grandmother's church, where we knew each week what scripture and songs we would use based on the liturgical calendar. Music already shapes our lives, why have we, as a family, not used it more conscientiously to shape our attitudes?
This is not a new concept for me. I recommend to pregnant women in my prenatal classes that they choose one CD of restful music and practice relaxation techniques to that particular CD. When they go into labor, simply putting that familiar music on reminds their bodies to relax, as they have trained it to do. Yet today, I realize that I need to be more conscious of how my own musical habits are structuring my own life. My head is buzzing with music theory, social aspects of music, benefits and stigmas and purpose. I hope to get some of this down in the coming days.
I started this reading project in order to be more present in my dance, and to share with other dancers the importance of understanding our music. What a blessing to be stirred to greater understanding and a greater conscious expression of our lives through something so transient and ephemeral as dance. It puts me in awe of the journey we travel in this life.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Take One Piece Off
Sound advice on jewelry accessorizing through the ages- we always start off with more than we really need, and it takes practice and restraint to get down to what is really best.
The more things I think about and dabble in, the more I realize this concept could (perhaps should?) be applied to many other parts of life.
When I started writing songs, I tried to squeeze in one more verse. After all, it was always such an amazingly brilliant verse, the song couldn't possibly do without it. As I watched volunteer audience members shift uncomfortably in their seats, or became frustrated when friends would interrupt with comments before I even got close to the last verse I began to start trimming.
When I started singing, I relished adding extra trills, taking the final note soaring and adding all kinds embelishments. I knew what dynamics were on paper, but when improvising, things just got bigger and louder as I went along. One day I listened to a song. I can't remember what song it was or who sang it, but I remember the simple, heart rending delivery, especially the final 3 notes. When I expected the singer to soar and really wow me with an impressive high note, she took it down and quiet instead and I was blown away.
When I started dancing, I was full of unbounded energy, hit every note and beat of the music, did at least two amazing spins, drops or backbends in every song, and all at lightning speed. I have learned to appreciate the silences between the notes and the beauty of contrast and stillness. I have learned to listen with my whole body and carry the contrasts,which the musicians already know all about, through my dance.
When I started advertising, I put lots of flashy pictures all over the place and included every detail of an event in bold. I still do this on my first drafts, but at least 75% of what I put in an ad or poster generally gets trimmed.
I am a big fan of word limits in social media. It makes me go back and trim what I am saying to the really vital information. Limits force me to be creative and use words with real meaning and power. If I really need to say more, there are ways around it, but how often do we really have 1,000 words that are really relevant and necessary to communicate our thoughts?
I am still learning this in other areas. My emails are often too long. My explanations to clients are wordy when a simple "yes" or "no" would be more effective. Don't even get me started on packing for a trip!
As I look at my plans for the week, I see at least two things I could do without, now that I have paused to look at things... and take one piece off.
The more things I think about and dabble in, the more I realize this concept could (perhaps should?) be applied to many other parts of life.
When I started writing songs, I tried to squeeze in one more verse. After all, it was always such an amazingly brilliant verse, the song couldn't possibly do without it. As I watched volunteer audience members shift uncomfortably in their seats, or became frustrated when friends would interrupt with comments before I even got close to the last verse I began to start trimming.
When I started singing, I relished adding extra trills, taking the final note soaring and adding all kinds embelishments. I knew what dynamics were on paper, but when improvising, things just got bigger and louder as I went along. One day I listened to a song. I can't remember what song it was or who sang it, but I remember the simple, heart rending delivery, especially the final 3 notes. When I expected the singer to soar and really wow me with an impressive high note, she took it down and quiet instead and I was blown away.
When I started dancing, I was full of unbounded energy, hit every note and beat of the music, did at least two amazing spins, drops or backbends in every song, and all at lightning speed. I have learned to appreciate the silences between the notes and the beauty of contrast and stillness. I have learned to listen with my whole body and carry the contrasts,which the musicians already know all about, through my dance.
When I started advertising, I put lots of flashy pictures all over the place and included every detail of an event in bold. I still do this on my first drafts, but at least 75% of what I put in an ad or poster generally gets trimmed.
I am a big fan of word limits in social media. It makes me go back and trim what I am saying to the really vital information. Limits force me to be creative and use words with real meaning and power. If I really need to say more, there are ways around it, but how often do we really have 1,000 words that are really relevant and necessary to communicate our thoughts?
I am still learning this in other areas. My emails are often too long. My explanations to clients are wordy when a simple "yes" or "no" would be more effective. Don't even get me started on packing for a trip!
As I look at my plans for the week, I see at least two things I could do without, now that I have paused to look at things... and take one piece off.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Getting started
Yes, I have finally decided to share my thought processes with the world!
I need a repository for all the random thoughts that run through my head as a dancer, mother, business owner, audience member, etc. I do not promise to be thoroughly organized! I do intend to be thoughtful in sharing my inspirations, questions and ponderings about dance, life & professionalism. Thanks for coming along for the ride!
Some of these posts will most likely meander over to the "articles" page on my website as they become more developed- if you contribute, I promise to properly site you in the article (with permission, of course!)
I need a repository for all the random thoughts that run through my head as a dancer, mother, business owner, audience member, etc. I do not promise to be thoroughly organized! I do intend to be thoughtful in sharing my inspirations, questions and ponderings about dance, life & professionalism. Thanks for coming along for the ride!
Some of these posts will most likely meander over to the "articles" page on my website as they become more developed- if you contribute, I promise to properly site you in the article (with permission, of course!)
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