Travel
Music Calms the Restless Soul
26-Mar-10 15:57
Child Air. This is the name of the airline that I will establish soon. As you might guess, this airline is only for traveling children. No longer will children be allowed to fly with the adult population; their parents must purchase the little sweeties a ticket on Child Air. I'm still working out the logistics in my head, but where there's a will, there's a way!
I was thinking of this while boarding a flight from Hong Kong to Manila for an education conference. Across the aisle from me was a restless two year old boy. He was pulling the typical moves a child of his age would pull on an airplane--crying, trying to escape from his mother, drooling, etc. It was a two hour flight that I knew was going to seem much longer. I really don't blame the kid. Even adults don't like sitting still in a crammed airplane for two hours. He just wanted to walk around and explore the airplane.
About an hour into the flight, just as this boy's mother had no more tricks up her sleeve to quiet the child, and just as I was thinking about producing a makeshift parachute to escape, something wonderful happened........the mother started quietly singing the alphabet song. The boy quickly got quiet and and remained still. It was a great moment, that is, until the song ended. Oh NO!!!!!!! What next? Isn't it obvious? The wheels on the bus go round and round............ I felt like joining in on the song!
This came as I was flying to Manila to present a workshop on integrating music into the school community. It was a nice example of how music impacts all of us in different ways. Music can tame even the wildest two year old beasts.
I was thinking of this while boarding a flight from Hong Kong to Manila for an education conference. Across the aisle from me was a restless two year old boy. He was pulling the typical moves a child of his age would pull on an airplane--crying, trying to escape from his mother, drooling, etc. It was a two hour flight that I knew was going to seem much longer. I really don't blame the kid. Even adults don't like sitting still in a crammed airplane for two hours. He just wanted to walk around and explore the airplane.
About an hour into the flight, just as this boy's mother had no more tricks up her sleeve to quiet the child, and just as I was thinking about producing a makeshift parachute to escape, something wonderful happened........the mother started quietly singing the alphabet song. The boy quickly got quiet and and remained still. It was a great moment, that is, until the song ended. Oh NO!!!!!!! What next? Isn't it obvious? The wheels on the bus go round and round............ I felt like joining in on the song!
This came as I was flying to Manila to present a workshop on integrating music into the school community. It was a nice example of how music impacts all of us in different ways. Music can tame even the wildest two year old beasts.
Music is Always the Answer....Unfortunately.
07-Oct-09 22:20
How can a music teacher use this title for a blog entry? I know I'm supposed to love music unconditionally and tolerate all genres in the world, BUT, the use of music in cell phone ringtones is driving me crazy. What happened to a simple ringing sound for every call received? Traveling around Hong Kong, the number of ringtones you hear on a daily basis can really add up.
I guess what really drives me nuts is the fact that I tend to get the ringtone stuck in my head. On my way home today, I stopped by a 7-11 to get some water and out bursts a cell phone version of Disney's "It's A Small World." The moment I heard it I knew that I was in for a few hours of this happy tune running through my head......and I was right! Ahhhhhhhh!
BAM! It's time to start an anti-ringtone campaign......"It's A Small World; get your phone vibrating." OK, you come up with a better slogan
I guess what really drives me nuts is the fact that I tend to get the ringtone stuck in my head. On my way home today, I stopped by a 7-11 to get some water and out bursts a cell phone version of Disney's "It's A Small World." The moment I heard it I knew that I was in for a few hours of this happy tune running through my head......and I was right! Ahhhhhhhh!
BAM! It's time to start an anti-ringtone campaign......"It's A Small World; get your phone vibrating." OK, you come up with a better slogan
Beethoven and Bach ride the MTR
16-Sep-09 21:09
It takes me about 30 minutes to get to work. I leave my building and hop on a mini-bus, ride it to the MTR (mass transit railway) station, board a train to Kowloon Tong, and walk about 10 minutes to school. There are some mornings when everything seems to run smoothly and then there are those mornings when the timing of buses and trains seem to be off and people conspire against me to walk right in my path. As I impatiently stumbled through the Kowloon Tong MTR station this morning, I recognized a familiar piece of music playing over the public speakers. It was Beethoven's Fur Elise. I've heard this tune before in the MTR along with some of Bach's Cello Suites. I finally asked myself why these classical pieces are being played in the MTR. BAM! I wonder if there is a conscious effort to play this music because it can have a calming effect, therefore calming the people's emotions as they struggle to navigate their way through the busy station. Instead of a dose of high art, could it all be a mind game to help control the masses? What do you think?