BY BRIANNA SKELTON
ISSUE NO. 36 | FEBRUARY 2022
Several times a year , Modern Day Music is bustling with multiple group programs that help further the growing minds of the musicians that spend their time here at the school. As many will come to agree, ‘Music is a language’ and it very much is its own language that often many people don’t take the
THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF MODERN DAY MUSIC SCHOOL
time to sit down and learn. To continue to inspire fellow musicians, our Songwriting Workshop is a group program that has been welcomed and embraced with growing interest. It is currently run by vocal coach, Maria. For this month's newsletter, we are exploring that long standing quote of ‘music is a language’ and how we let our students learn a whole new way to communicate. It’s about the sounds, the rhythms, the cadences that come with learning this new form of language that is songwriting, -- that’s the beauty of language itself. There was a time when songwriting was a heated debate. Was it poetry?
Subtle Forms of Song writing
At a point in time, poetry was an art embraced by the masses, but now you find those delicate poetic stances weaved into a creative grouping of lyrics with added rhythms unfolding to pain a wonderful narrative to the music we come to appreciate. For some, poetry and songwriting were two separate things. The great Patti Smith herself wrote thoughtful poetry before branching out into songs, and she herself found songwriting and poetry two different creatures. For her, “Poetry is a very solitary process, and when I’m writing unless it’s an oral poem, I’m not really thinking of it in terms of communicating it to anyone; I’m just writing my poetry and sometimes it’s obscure and complicated.” For her, it took years of working through hiding her poetry from the masses , but then realizing it was an intertwining of the two subjects to find the beauty in a whole new art. This art is now able to be focused on in different songwriting classes around the world.
Subtle Forms of Songwriting
CONT...
For so many people, songwriters and developing songwriters alike, they share a horizon between that of a lyrical composer and poet. There’s a long tradition found with classical composers of setting poetry to music, finding its own word “sonnet” breaking down to mean “little song”. Going further, the word “lyric” often would be found referring to very short, personal poems dating back nearly five centuries ago. So while some, like the talented Patti Smith, separated the difference between poetry and songwriting, today, you find that a songwriter has the innate craft to weave subtle forms of poetry into an advantage for their lyric writing. If you ever find yourself wanting to broaden your horizons or have always had a love for writing and poetry, taking a songwriting class is something that can continually grow and shape you and your musical abilities! Join our next Songwriting Workshop to learn the language of music and songwriting for yourself.
This month we take the time to introduce another member of the MDM family, Rebecca Gabriel! Rebecca grew up not far outside of Syracuse, New York where at the age of seven she began taking piano lessons. By the time Rebecca was entering middle school, she found herself starting to accompany the school chorus. With more time, hard work, and dedication, Rebecca found herself growing to accompany multiple school choirs and naturally transitioning to be a member of the marching & field band, jazz band, vocal jazz ensemble, and school musicals. Music was something that she found was engrained into her and when it came time to go off to college, she found herself heading to The College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York. There she’d study her way through a music program until she obtained her Bachelor of Science in the Music Industry with a concentration/certification in Piano Pedagogy. Now, Rebecca is married with two daughters, ages 12 and 9, that often keep her incredibly busy, but her love for music hasn’t waned. Though Rebecca did point out that she does make free time for the things she’s come to love like “playing board games, making crafts — that often take the shape in home decor and party decorations — reading, and cooking or baking.' When breaking down where her love for music came from, Rebecca opened up that while she was growing up she was surrounded by a lot of music.
she was growing up she was surrounded by a lot of music. Her father was incredibly active in the local church choirs, her grandmother played the piano and organ, and her first piano teacher was actually her aunt who gave piano lessons to others. Essentially she came from a large music-loving family that being surrounded by music became a way of life for her. It was then during her high school career that she found herself studying under Dr. Jerry Exline and the conclusion was clear, music wasn’t just a hobby for Rebecca, it was something that she had the passion and talent for and something she wanted to expand to give others that love and teaching of. For her, coaching wasn’t an instant click, it was “a natural progression” that came over time. With now 16 years experience in coaching piano, she has always had a love for teaching kids and those interested in learning and growing their own love for music. Giving students the “one-on-one aspect of private lessons so that she could really tailor lessons and give a personalized experience for each student” was something that really drew her to MDM. While she may have been teaching different forms of lessons since graduating high school, Modern Day Music is a place that became well known to Rebecca when her daughter started taking voice lessons here. Finding “such a positive, welcoming, and encouraging place” was exactly the environment that she wanted to strive to be in, one where she knew she’d be a great fit with the students and kids, but with the the fellow team around her. Something we couldn’t agree with more, as Rebecca has been proving her dedication and passion for piano in the days since she started here. When finishing up, I always like to ask our coaches , "If you could give students of MDM one tip what would it be?" Rebecca answered with, “Always try your best and remember that some days your best will look very different from your best yesterday and your best tomorrow. You don’t have to be the best as long as your trying your best!”
Michaela's Corner
FEBRUARY CALENDAR
Black History Month 1 - Storytelling Open Mic, Caffe Lena, 7-9pm 2 - Groundhog Day, National Ukulele Day, National Singing Day Poetry Night and Poetry Open Mic, Caffe Lena, 7-9pm 4 - Ampevene (Gabe), The Hollow (18+), 9pm-2am 6 - Schenectady Symphony Orchestra Concert, Proctor's Theater, 3-6pm 7- Open Mic Night, Caffe Lena, 7-9pm The Beatles set foot in America for the first time (1964) 8 - Opera Day 11 - Get Out Your Guitar Day 13 - Super Bowl Sunday, Galantine’s Day 14 - Valentine's Day Open Mic Night, Caffe Lena, 7-9pm 17 - Random Act of Kindness Day 18 - The Trilogy Tribute (Tony) in Atlantic City 21- Presidents’ Day (MDM will be open!) Open Mic Night, Caffe Lena, 7-9pm 23- Acoustic Blues Open Mic Night and Jam, Caffe Lena, 7-9pm 28 - Open Mic Night, Caffe Lena, 7-9pm
We still have spots left in our next Songwriting Workshop with Maria! Please reach out to the office to enroll for the session or for more information. We are excited to hear everyone's original creations!
A ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR OUR NEW STUDENTS in JANUARY!
Olivia J Julia D Ian F Braiden P Giovanna O Ryan W Benjamin L Anthony M Max S Benjamin M Luca M Mia C Deb H Chris L Elena G Jenn T Annie B Branko R Cami S Davionugh C Owen C Amie B Santino S DONYE G Richard P Meagan P Eliza N Melina W Jillian T Kendall S Reagan S Jackson W Hunter P Sasha D Klara K Grace B Colin S Keegan S Madison B Robert G Kay-Leigh H Baylee M Molly H Jacob C Cintia D Barbara T Michael D Annabelle M Isabelle M
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA!