Transforming Our Worlds Through Music - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Transforming Our Worlds Through Music

Delivered by Rachel Dempsey

for Lourdes Youth & Community Servicers Development Education

&

Global Harmonies

14

th

June 2016Slide2

Our World: Hopes & Fears

Write a list of the things you see happening in the world (local & global) that give you

HOPE

Write a list of the things that

WORRY

you.

Share in small groups Slide3

Can Music Save the World?

What are your thoughts on the role of music in transforming the world (individual lives, communities and the globe in general) for the better?

What can it do? What can’t it do?

Watch: Simon

Broughton TED talk: https

://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfQF6fF4kRISlide4

Quote about power of Music

"We believe music has the ability to heal the community, the partnership, and the individual. It is a multi-tiered cultural experience that brings people together by forging a common tongue and common experience. New and ancient, it is a language of unity and deep recognition to all the corners of the globe. It creates dance space, listening space, and harmonic space for the listeners and the creators. It forges relationships between the people in our lives and between the cells in our bodies... strengthening what is already there and supplementing what is perhaps missing. Music leans into people's daily existence and opens us all up to the poetry of life." ~

Chloe, singer from Raising AppalachiaSlide5

Transformative Uses & Functions

Community/Youth Music e.g.

Olodum

in Brazil

Community Music Therapy

Music Therapy (Western/Medical)

Music in healing (traditional practices e.g. shamanism)

Sound healing

’ (Western/Alternative)

Protest Song

Music

in public awareness

campaigns e.g. health campaigns in Africa

Music in religious/spiritual practicesSlide6

Vocal Practices - Toning

Group hums or makes vowel sound together

Toning

is defined as - 'to make sound with an elongated vowel for an extended period'. Toning vowel sounds is an easily learnt skill. Toning oxygenates the body, deepens breathing, relaxes muscles and stimulates the whole body. Regular toning helps to restore health to the mind, body and spirit. Toning together with other people will give us a feeling of connection; it can also help us to release stress and repressed emotions. Toning strengthens the vocal muscles. It assists in improving our breathing and posture. The muscles of the digestive system are massaged and stimulated by regular toning. Toning can relax and energise us at the same time. The human voice has a vast potential for healing. All of us have the ability to create pure tone and vocal harmonics. When we first learn to speak we have a wide vocal range, as we grow older our voice begins to become more restricted and closed. Research suggests that toning has a neurochemical effect on the body, boosting the immune system and causing the release of endorphins in the brain. Toning can release psychological stress before surgery, lower the blood pressure and respiratory rate of cardiac patients, it can also reduce tension in those undergoing MRI and CAT scans.

Read more http://www.simonheather.co.uk/pages/chapters/thehealingoowerofsound_sample.pdfSlide7

What do they have in common?

Singing and chocolate

Singing and the gym

Singing and breastfeeding

Singing and morphineSlide8

Sound as a tangible force

Sound

in water

https://

www.youtube.com/watch?v=uENITui5_jU

Chlandi

https://

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMIvAsZvBiw

https://

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYoxOJDrZzw

Break class

with sound

https://

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRZT7xO5KN4Slide9
Slide10

Singing –Physical Health Benefits

Music & singing affect hormones, heart rate, pulse rate, blood pressure, brain waves, immune function, mood, memory, learning, performance,

behaviour

improves

posture & confidence

is a form of aerobic exercise, especially for heart, lungs and core (abs)

alleviates or lessens pain

lowers heart rate

variability (HRV),

linked to reduced risk of heart disease.

can train lungs to breathe better

boosts our immune system, may kill cancer cells

can increase life expectancy

Of all types of singing, choral/group singing is proven to be the most beneficial

Our

heartbeats synchronise when we sing together (entrainment)Slide11

Singing –Emotional/Mental Health Benefits

reduces stress levels

(cortisol)

increases endorphin (feel good hormone) levels

can help reduce

anger,

depression and anxiety

helps access memories (e.g. dementia sufferers)

Increased sense of community, belonging and shared

purpose

Builds motivation, confidence, energy levels

Oxytocin - a bonding hormone produced by the brain that contributes to feelings of trust, generosity, compassion, kindness, caring and empathy for the people around you - is released during singingSlide12

Singing – Spiritual Benefits

Form of meditation

Can be used to alter state of consciousness

Many religions use chant (and song, music) to access the spiritual

realm e.g. encourage possession (Yoruba religion) or travel to spirit world (shamans).

Brings resonance and vibration to the whole body (and energy body too

)

Clears Slide13

Examples of Music being used around the world to bring about change:Slide14

Singing Revolution Estonia

The 

Singing Revolution

 is a commonly used name for events between 1987 and 1991 that led to the restoration of the independence of 

Estonia

, 

Latvia

 and 

Lithuania

.

Includes ¼ of Estonians gathering on June

10–11, 1988, spontaneous mass night-singing demonstrations at

the

Tallinn

Song Festival Grounds

.

https

://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DA9PmZo-2joSlide15

Music as Propoganda

In 1930s in Brazil, populist dictator

Getulio

Vargas promoted samba as Brazil’s true national rhythm

Before this was persecuted due to its lowly African, lascivious nature

Was chosen as was seen as a perfect blend of European (Portuguese) and African, the same as the people. Slide16

Music as Protest - Latin America

Music as a form of social critique, resistance, and information has a long and wealthy tradition in Latin America.

The 1960s saw a flourishing of music that questioned the established order. This was called ‘Nueva

Cancion

’

Victor

Jara

, prominent Chilean protest singer was killed in 1973 after Pinochet’s coup. Many others from all over LA were exiled. Slide17

Lyrics of ‘MANIFIESTO’ by Víctor Jara

I don't sing for love of singing, 

or because I have a good voice. 

I sing because my guitar 

has both feeling and reason. 

It has a heart of earth 

and the wings of a dove, 

it is like holy water, 

blessing joy and grief.

My song has found a purpose

as Violeta would say. 

Hardworking guitar, 

with a smell of spring.

My guitar is not for the rich no, 

nothing like that. 

My song is of the ladder 

we are building to reach the stars. 

For a song has meaning 

when it beats in the veins 

of a man who will die singing, 

truthfully singing his song.

My song is not for fleeting praise 

nor to gain foreign fame, 

it is for this narrow country 

to the very depths of the earth. 

There, where everything comes to rest 

and where everything begins, 

the song which has been brave 

will be forever new.Slide18

Vimbuza Healing, Malawi

Vimbuza

is a healing dance popular among the

Tumbuka

people living in northern Malawi. It is an important manifestation of the

ng’oma

, a healing tradition found throughout Bantu-speaking Africa.

Ng’oma

, meaning “drums of affliction”, carries considerable historical depth and, despite various attempts over the years to suppress it, remains a fundamental part of indigenous healthcare systems. Most patients are women who suffer from various forms of mental illness. They are treated for some weeks or months by renowned healers who run a

temphiri

, a village house where patients are accommodated. After being diagnosed, patients undergo a healing ritual. For this purpose, women and children of the village form a circle around the patient, who slowly enters into a trance, and sing songs to call helping spirits. The only men taking part are those who beat spirit-specific drum rhythms and, in some cases, a male healer. Singing and drumming combine to create a powerful experience, providing a space for patients to “dance their disease”. Its continually expanding repertoire of songs and complex drumming, and the virtuosity of the dancing are all part of the rich cultural heritage of the

Tumbuka

people. The

Vimbuza

healing ritual goes back to the mid-nineteenth century, when it developed as a means of overcoming traumatic experiences of oppression, and it further developed as a healing dance under British occupation, although it was forbidden by Christian missionaries. By becoming possessed by

Vimbuza

spirits, people could express these mental problems in a way that was accepted and understood by the surrounding society. For the

Tumbuka,Vimbuza

has artistic value and a therapeutic function that complements other forms of medical treatment.

Vimbuza

is still practised in rural areas where the

Tumbuku

live, but it continues to face oppression by Christian churches and modern medicine.Slide19

Video Playlist on YouTube

On YouTube you can find my playlist of videos Transforming Our Worlds through Music’. You’ll find Syrian protest song, videos of the Baka people in the Central African rainforest, Latin America hip hop, Aboriginal Australian music, Sing for the Climate, Playing for Change film featuring

Omagh

Community Youth Choir, Malian

Tiken

Jay

Fakoly’s

song No to Female Genital Mutilation and more.

https

://

www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE_rL4MpEOofMlhRVcT9yaLZiAjS1QhY3