Team Wasson Music: The Heart Song Project

Steve Makofka

The Heart Song Project is the best name I have at the moment to describe the research I am doing in the area of music preferences.  The purpose of the  study is to determine why we like the music that we like.

There are two aspects of my research that set it apart from the other research that I have read.  Most of the research on music preferences attempt to match or correlate music styles to personality styles.  The problem with this approach is that while we may have preferences for certain styles of music, the real emotional connection is not with styles of music, but with individual songs or works of music.  You may prefer to listen to classical music, but the thing that gives you chills or goosebumps is Handel's Messiah.  You may prefer to listen to melancholy 70s music, but the song that reaches deep into your heart is Karen Carpenter singing "Bless the Beasts and the Children.  These selections that have the most emotional impact are what I call "heart songs."

The second distinctive aspect of my work is that while most studies on music preferences use young people as test subjects, I have done my research with senior adults.  The problem is that music preferences as still in formation during adolescence.  Heart songs are still being developed.  Young people may like one style of music now and then outgrow it, replacing with another style as they reach maturity.  If you have dealt with older people you know that their music preferences are not in flux.  They are stable.  They haven't changed in years and are not likely to change in the near future.  I believe this stability of preferences gives a better indication of how these preferences were formed.

The main point of my work so far has been in the areas of memory recovery and legacy creation.  I have had senior adults tell me that they don't remember much about their childhood and certainly don't remember the music.  However, once I start asking questions from the "Life Soundtrack Worksheet" they start to remember people, places, events, and the songs associated with them.  These songs, learned in childhood and buried deep in the memory, have excellent potential for being heart songs.

The desire to assist with legacy creation has come out of my own life experiences.  When I was growing up, my father played his accordion almost every night.  A few years ago I had the opportunity to take him into a studio and just let him play.  In music performer lingo, he "tore it up."  He delivered an ifuneral incredible performance, one that he would be unable to duplicate today.  In my pastoral work, I have held discussions with the relatives of the deceased while we did planned the funeral. Family members did their best to remember what songs the person enjoyed that could be played at the memorial.  In legacy creation, I help senior adults identify the songs and performers that are most significant to them.  I have them write down the stories associated with the songs, and then I encourage them to share both the song and the story with family members.  When they tell the story and play the song for younger generations they create a legacy.  And when they are gone, the younger generation can play that song, remember the story and feel close to their departed loved one again.

Team Wasson Music: Everyone Should Sing Somewhere

Steve Makofka

Several of the comments I heard about singing in public included the phrase "Yes, there was alcohol involved." If people are more likely to sing in public when they've been drinking, it suggests that the thing that prevents people from singing in public is...well...inhibitions. And nothing takes care of inhibitions better than alcohol. Is it true that most people don't sing in public because they"re too inhibited? Are people who do sing in public just less inhibited? What fear do people have that keeps them from singing in public? Do they fear being embarrassed? What is embarrassing about singing in public? Is it the fear of not singing well?




Have you ever been asked not to sing? Did you stop singing as a result? I've been asked not to sing, usually by family members. If someone asks you not to sing, you should probably sing anyway, unless there is a sleeping baby in the room. If you wake the baby, you have to take care of it. What about concerts? It's true that the person in front of you did not pay good money to hear YOU sing, so you should probably be respectful of the performer and the other members of the audience. But if the person on the stage says, "Sing!" then sing! The people in front of you should be singing, too. If they were singing then your singing wouldn't bother them as much. Have you ever asked someone not to sing? It's alright to ask someone not to sing right here, or right now. But I've had students who have had someone tell them they shouldn't sing at all. How unfortunate.



One of the most amazing vocal performances I ever heard was in a small church in Philadelphia. I was the pastor. There was a girl in the congregation who wanted to sing. She was the sweetest person you would ever want to meet, but she had a mental disability. And from congregational singing the whole church knew that her ability to match pitch was not well developed. (to say the least) But it was a small church and she wanted to sing. I told her the same thing I told everyone who wanted to sing a solo. Before you can sing you have to practice your song ten times in a row and then come sing it for me. I figured this would put her off and save the congregation from five minutes of awkwardness during a service.



The next week she came back smiling. She said, "My sister helped me and we went through the song ten times and I know every word." She sang it for me and she did indeed know every word. A deal's a deal so I told her she could sing it. I don't remember which song she sang, but I remember the performance. From a musical perspective it was not good. Some of the notes were close to being on pitch. Some were not. But when she was done there was not a dry eye in the house. She sang the words with such sincerity and conviction that every heart was moved.



Yesterday during my interview with Charlie, he mentioned singing to his children. He said, "I don't know if they like it because, you know me and pitch." (Charlie is also harmonically challenged.) My thought was, "But you sang to them." What more tender expression of love can their be then for a father to sing to his children? I can't say for certain, but I'm pretty sure they remember it fondly.



Everybody should sing somewhere. Some should sing on stage. Others should sing in the living room, in the kitchen, or in the car. Some should limit their endeavors to the shower. Every parent should sing to their children. Every grandparent should sing to their grandkids. Sing when no one is listening. If you are spiritual, sing as if someone is always listening. Just sing.

Music Therapy and Stroke Recovery Part 2

Steve Makofka

Quick notes on the session this morning. I took Charlie through the Heart Song Workshop in order to help with memory recovery and heart song identification. The best moment of the workshop was when he said, "Oh yeah, I did take piano lessons as a child. I'd forgotten about that." He was then able to remember the name of his piano teacher and describe, in detail, the piano he practiced on. He also remembered using the JW Thompson piano course.

As we went through the Life Soundtrack Worksheet we identified three areas of musical interest. The first was that the music of his youth was the folk music of Pete Seeger, The Kingston Trio, Peter Paul and Mary, and Bob Dylan. An interesting side note. He would rather listen to the original recordings or videos of a song than watch the PBS specials with people in their 70s singing the same songs they were singing in their 20s. We decided this was because Charlie is very much of a life-long learner. He still enjoys the music, but his life has moved on. The "rockasaurus" singers give the impression that they haven't. For test purposes, we played the orginal radio version of "Puff, the Magic Dragon."

The second area of musical interest is Boogie Woogie music. The exposure to this music goes back to his youth and listening to Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis and some Pat Boone. The song he chose to listen to for the test was the Glenn Miller version of Chattanooga Choo-Choo. In this song, like the last, he sang along.

The third area of interest is in Classical music, which Charlie identified as music of the 16th, 17th, and 18th century. It should be noted that Charlie has a college degree in Psychology and went back to school in the 70s and got an MBA. Classical music is the music he listens to while driving. Charlie couldn't really identify a particular song that he was attached to, so for test purposes we played first Brandenburg Concerto no. 3. That didn't elicit much of a response, so I went for the reliable Beethoven's 5th Symphony. first movement. This was more exciting for Charlie. I played the Beethoven's 5th Symphony graphical score. (click on link to view)

Summary: I believe that Charlie's experience reflects all 6 of the music preference principles. His favorite music is music that he was exposed to in childhood and youth. The seeds for his current love of classical music were planted by his parents, who loved opera and classical music, and by his early exposure to piano studies. Charlie participates in the music he likes. (boogie-woogie more than classical and folk) And the classical music is music that resonates with him. He said he likes the order and the structure of it. He likes listening to the interaction between the parts.

Perhaps the most significant observation is that he is a life-long learner and actively seeks out opportunities to learn new skills and areas of knowledge. The accordion playing, for which he is famous, started as almost a fluke. He saw an accordion at the music store while he was taking his daughter for her flute lesson. He bought it and started taking lessons on it, first from Darlene Terry and then from Ricky Nye.

http://www.makofka.blogspot.com/2012/06/music-therapy-and-stroke-recovery-part_14.html

Wellness Advisory Team Update: Music Therapy and Stroke Recovery Part 1

Steve Makofka

Tomorrow I will have the opportunity to run EEG tests on a subject who is engaged in the Heart Song Workshop.


Activity 1 Teach and discuss the 6 principles of music memory formation. (Learning)

Activity 2 Work through the Life Soundtrack Worksheet to identify Heart Songs (Memory Recovery)

Activity 3 Bring up the Heart Songs on Youtube and play them for the subject. (Heart Song Music Therapy)

My desire is to monitor the brain activity during three distinctively different activities and compare them. The first activity is focused on learning new material.

The second activity is focused activity on memory recovery. What does the brain do when it is trying to remember? What does the brain do when it achieves that goal?

The third activity is to use the recovered heart songs as music memory and let the subject enjoy listening to them. The goal is for this activity to be restorative, peaceful and calming.

http://www.makofka.blogspot.com/