Song On The Wind

They were pie-eyed and completely open to anything that came across their path. In this case what came to them was a song on the wind with their names in it.

It was 9 am on a Thursday morning and the children at the child development center were just finishing their good morning activities. I watched and listened to their voices as the teachers led them through their routines.

When they finished, it was my turn. The director introduced me and I began to play a call and response name game with them to see what they would best respond to. We started by extending vowels and calling out "hello" to one another. The older children, ages 3-5, caught on quickly. But the younger ones, 18 mos. - 2 yrs. seemed puzzled by what we were doing and didn't join in. So I worked with the older ones for about 20-30 minutes. They sat in a circle on the floor with me, two teachers, the director and one mom as I continued the game using their names. Everyone joined in.

The song was in these precious little ones and traveled on the wind of their musical inflections as I showed them how to follow the tones of their names. Their eyes sparkled as they discovered that they could match musical pitches.

If someone was listening close enough, that is.

And that's where I came in. I heard what was already in them and how they were trying to communicate, then turned their sounds into a spontaneous and natural singing game.

Later, I asked for notes from Michael about how the session went.

"You have to start with the younger ones because their language skills aren't as advanced."

"And so the older ones overwhelm them?"

"Yes. The little ones need to be the leaders."

"Ah, that makes perfect sense to me."

Each child had a rhythm, a melodic curve, an expression of who they were.

All I had to do was guide them into what they already knew about making music, about singing.

Without informed guidance, most of them will lose this God-given ability before they turn seven.

But maybe if I keep working more than 14 hours a day for SingBabySing, I'll reach a few to sing the song before I die and leave it all behind me.

A grateful Joybug

New Website Look

SingBabySing^TM will have a fresh new look with many many more voice resources soon. So be sure to check back frequently to see what's going on!

Joybug

Magic

Guess who I met today?

Magic Johnson. No kiddin'.

I was working out at one of the gyms he owns and he walked in, sat down three machines away from me and began to work out.

I didn't know it was him at first, but I thought he looked like himself and I didn't want to do a "star" intrusion thing, so I just kept crunching my thighs.

Two buff guys walked by, spouting lousy language, talking about how Madonna does at least an hour per day on a treadmill. What she does for an hour on a treadmill is her business. I had done 20 minutes and figured that was pretty good for someone who wasn't famous.

But I didn't like their language and thought they might benefit from working harder on their mouths than their biceps.

I didn't say a word. I just kept crunching my thighs.

When I was finished, I got up and walked past the two buff, lousy-mouthed guys who were talking to Magic.

Then I decided to turn around and go back.

What the heck, I'll talk to him.

When the two guys saw me coming, they walked away and I walked over to Magic Johnson and introduced myself, putting out my hand.

He shook it firmly as he flashed those incredibly bright teeth of his in a grin as big as he is. But he didn't stand up.

Boldly, I asked him, "What was the biggest challenge you encountered in life?" My idea was to see what he might be able to tell me that would help me SingBabySing's singing lessons out to the world in a bigger way, but I didn't mention my business. I figured that whatever he said would give me some wisdom.

I could tell it wasn't necessarily a question he got asked a lot (or at least not so quickly), because he had to think about it a bit. I didn't mean to throw him off guard, I just didn't want to waste time. I figured I might never get another chance in life to ask Magic Johnson how he overcame obstacles to achieve what I consider real success, which is being able to help others in a big way.

This is what he said:

• "You have to have the right information"
• "Get the right team around you - those who care about you and believe in your vision"
• "Be disciplined"
• "Work extremely hard"

"By right information you mean not what the world tells you you can't do, right?

"Yeah, and you have to have a team around you that can get the right information to you. People who have succeeded in what you want to do."

I asked him where he was raised and we chatted about other things, then he said, "You also have to work really hard," to which I replied, "I never understood that 8 hours a day work thing. I always want to ask people if they mean the first 8 hours of my work day or the second 8 hours of my work day."

He laughed out loud, "Exactly. You got it!"

Then I asked him if he ever mentored people and he enthused, "Oh yeah. I have 200 kids I helped to get into college. Kids who don't have enough money to go."

"For sports?"

He stood up as he corrected me, "Oh, no. Academics!"

Then I saw how big he really is. And not just in height.

"Cool."

"Yeah." There was that big smile again.

He put out his hand to shake mine and we beamed at each other as I thanked him for his time and for how his sayings, posted around the gym, have encouraged me.

He was truly humble about that and as I walked away, I put my hand over my heart and thanked God for the opportunity to meet such a great guy.

YouTube and Me

Quickly this morning I write. I've been fooling around with
YouTube to see what's happening there and decided last night to start a few groups about children's voices as I continue to make my Alaskan dream come true, which in part is to:

• Pass on my knowledge about music and the voice
• Reach people in locations outside (or inside too) of major metropolis areas where voice teachers are rare
• Make help affordable
• Bring awareness to parents and educators about the importance of voice training from birth onward
• Help others get over the fear of using their own voices
• Bring hope
• Pass on my knowledge about health and how it affects the voice
• And oh, so much more

That's all I want to write because there is so much work to do today.

Joybug out

Perseverance

Sometimes it's really hard to keep keepin' on, but if I quit where will my knowledge go when I die?

And since goosebumps, chills, tears and laughter are now a regular part of every presentation I give, why would I want to give up those things? They're what make my struggle worthwhile. They don't happen when I seek only my own pleasure. They happen when I'm giving to others what I'm supposed to give.

When young mothers ask for my advice as they hold their precious little children near them, everything seems right in the world.

And today Trish Therrien, the director at the Van Nuys Civic Child Development Center told me that what happened with the children at the recent parents' presentation night was "magical."

So I keep moving forward, passing along the knowledge I have in hopes that I'll leave something worthwhile behind me when I leave this weary old world.

Perhaps it'll be the voices of my SingBabySing family that I'll hear in heaven when I enter into that rest.

Joybug

I'm Singing Through the Spoof

I've had to spend untold hours trying to solve a spoofing problem with my SingBabySing^TM email.

A number of unscrupulous people have been using my domain to send out emails that are not from me. Nasty business. Nasty people. Shame on the nasty people.

May all the time I've had to take in the past 2 days trying to resolve this problem (it gives my business a bad name) be multiplied a 100-fold back to me in increased contact with the people I love to work with, namely, moms, babies and early childhood educators!

And may the nasty people who can't find anything better to do in their lives than to cheat others find a way to a better life....

May they learn to sing a better tune....

I'll keep singing in spite of their nasty spoofs.

Joybug

Prioritize!

I'm attempting to work from a priority list for daily tasks.
Today the list tells me I'm supposed to post a blog, so here it is:

Last night I had a most wonderful experience with the parents and staff at the Van Nuys Civic Child Development Center. The great people there really understood what I taught and demonstrated and were very open to learning and utilizing the tools I'm offering so that their children can learn to sing on pitch and develop excellent language skills.

Monique, one of the teachers that attended my teacher workshop at the facility on Saturday (9/30/06), was very excited about how the SBS CD is changing the atmosphere, making things calmer and happier for the children and the teachers. She was also very proud of her daughter, age 3, who had learned the SBS song in just a couple of days time. Way to go, Monique!

If I could work with people like you everyday, I'd be happy all my life!

Thanks to all the parents and staff (children too) at Van Nuys CCDC! Welcome to my SingBabySing^TM family!

I'm looking forward to when we see one another again.

Joybug

Voice Update

It seems ridiculous that it's so hard for me to maintain a daily routine for blogging. I suppose I need to give a bit more thought as to why I actually have a blog to begin with. But I don't feel like being analytical today.

I just want to voice my opinion, like anybody else.

So much of today's world swirls at a techie-imposed tempo that I often wonder how I ever managed to survive in the wilderness of Alaska without RSS feeds, Vlogs, XHTML, CSS or Google's Adsense and SEO tips.

That being said, I admit that it also feels great to pick up my pace now and then.

Today is such a day.

Afterall, this is all about the human voice, how the vocal cords work, why people are shy when asked to speak or sing in front of an audience, why it's important to build credibility with VOIP, why early childhood is the best time to begin voice training for singing and speech.

That's why you can hear me letting out a high sigh right now....if you're listening, that is.

Joybug

More Excuses

Months jangle past me like a skeleton on a hook in front of a snow blower.

I've been writing my Alaskan story, various articles for SingBabySing™, presenting at conferences, taking an online accounting course and developing 8 new voice games.

Yet, I am not undone. Rather I am taking to the wind like a kite set free, which is to say that I am also working on a kite story for a new musical and a screenplay concept.

Which is to say I need to get back to my other work now.


Joybug out

Excuses

It's been awhile since I last wrote anything for this blog, but hey, I have excuses like anyone else!

Here are a few of them:

• I'm writing other articles, complete with affiliate links, that are getting published online, not to mention that I finally found the story structure for my Alaskan book. Whew! That was not an easy thing to do. But it also means that I will probably need to make a trip up north to get some detailed writing work done. Which means I'll probably have speaking and workshop engagements there, as well as a radio interview or two.
  
  
• Then there's the pre-school conference coming up in May. I'm happy to report that I will be doing 3 workshops in 1 day for the BEST Arts (Building Educational Success through the Arts) VII Conference that will be attended by 700-800 pre-school educators in the Southern California area. It originated through the Arts in Education wing of the Los Angeles Music Center and dear Joan Boyett put me in contact with Ilean Rabens, its co-founder and director.
  
  
• Speaking of the Music Center, its Founders' Hall is an inspiring place and I was happy to make new friends with the Symphonians when I recently performed for them there. The life-sized portrait of Dorothy Chandler made me stand tall and proud as I remembered back to a time when I sang for coins tossed near me as I sang by the fountain. I wonder if young artists are allowed to do that anymore?


• Or how about the new holiday song Michael and I wrote together, called Carry Me Away, which I also created a webpage for and sold online?
  

NOTE: The podcast is on the back burner for the moment until I can shake myself a bit more free from this computer chair and also find some tech people to help me out.

That's all for now,
Joybug