Where Do We Go from Here? The new normal is a painful reminder of yesterday By Natalie Jean

 

Where Do We Go from Here?

The new normal is a painful reminder of yesterday

By Natalie Jean

 

As I lay awake at night, something that has become the new normal, I pinch myself to see if this is all real. Staring at the ceiling, I ponder whether we will ever be normal again. How did we get here, a pandemic, no real leadership, systemic racism, police brutality, rioting, looting, lynching, marching, protesting, masks, and no human touch? Am I to never walk alone, because someone will attack me, because of the color of my skin? I wish it were all a bad dream, but apparently it is not. These thoughts plague my mind. At one point, I was told to see a therapist, that I shouldn’t internalize these atrocities. This is true, but how can I not internalize things? I am black and living in America. What effects one, affects me as well. But I am OK with me. I love me. A therapist cannot answer the question, “Why do people hate me, because of the color of my skin?” What have I done to people that have never met me? How do I deal with someone wanting me dead? I do know that it is deeper than the skin, but I would like that question answered. I do believe in the notion that everything happens for a reason. Are we supposed to learn something from all of this? If you believe in God, how do you keep your faith? How do we keep a loving heart, and not wander down the road of darkness? I look at music and think this is the one place where we can’t and should not be divided. It should be a place where we can come together as one, enjoying a moment. Unfortunately for some music genres this is not the case. Country and Americana say they except all people, but is this truly the case? It’s interesting that it is alright for Country/Americana artists to cross-over into other genres. But when a person of color decides to create Country/Americana music, there is outrage. It seems as though the doors are shut. You have to be extra special to be seen and heard. I remember when Beyonce performed with the Dixie Chicks (now The Chicks) at the CMA’s one year. There was such an uproar for one little performance. How dare someone black try to crossover! But Beyonce wasn’t even trying to crossover. It was merely a collaboration. Could you imagine what would happen, if she wanted to become a Country Artist? Race has no place in music, in my opinion. If you like what you hear, why should it matter? It always seems as though, black people always have to fight for something. We always have to prove our worth. Well, I Am Americana. I am here to break down barriers. I am making my mark in the Americana genre.

 

I am an award winning multi-nominated independent artist. The music world can be very tough. Always trying to compete with mainstream artists. Always trying to be heard and be seen. Last year, I decided how I really wanted to be perceived as an artist. I want to be an effective player in life. So, I decided to create a social message impact album. But what would I call it? What would it be about? I often attend music seminars. They say the same thing over and over. Artists are not writing or singing about the times, like they did a long time ago. So, I decided to create a 15 song Americana Social Impact album. I must have had a premonition, because all of the songs, deal with everything that we are all dealing with today. Rape, racism, homelessness, gun violence, police brutality, female empowerment, the environment, self-love, and immigration, etc.. I decided to call it, “Where Do We Go from Here? It was released on February 14, 2020. I don’t know if I had a premonition of what was to come, but after all of this, I believe that it was meant to be. So, the question is “Where Do We Go from Here? How do we (all of America) rise from the ashes and create a better world for today and tomorrow? Can someone tell me? “I refuse to give into your fears, nor will I give you any of my tears” – I Am

New Habits for Success by Rosie Hamilton McGinty

 

New Habits for Success

Sometimes the only difference between being successful and being average is having successful habits. Some examples of successful habits could be getting up earlier, doing things when they need to be done, being prepared, or good effective time management.

So how do you start to build these success habits in your life? Here are some A Winning Attitude tips on creating successful habits.

1. Identify - Find the areas in your life that need changing, and be honest. Write down these new habits that need to be formed. Don’t become overwhelmed at trying to figure out how you are going to form all of these habits at once. One step at a time is my motto.

2. Pick 2 - Most people sabotage themselves by trying to change everything at once. Instead, pick one major and one minor habit that you want to form. For the next 30-90 days these will be the success habits that you will create.

3. Start small - Now that you have your two new success habits, create a daily or weekly routine that is easy to follow. For instance, let’s say that you want to wake up an hour earlier so that you can get more successful things done. Instead of setting your alarm an hour earlier right at the beginning, only set it 5 to 10 minutes earlier every morning until you reach your goal. This way it would take you 30 days or 12 days respectively to create your success habit.

4. Repeat - Once you have created your new habits move on to the next two success habits that you want to create. Before you know it you will have created a whole new life full of success filled habits.

Note: Take a look at a successful person in your life and look at their habits; they will have a strict routine of when they go to bed, when they awake, and a planned day ahead of what they wish to achieve before the end of the day. Anything that isn’t accomplished would be carried over to the next day as a priority.

Just imagine where you will be in one year if you follow these A Winning Attitude keys to creating successful habits. If it takes you up to 30 days to create 2 habits, you will have created 12 success habits in just one year.

With a positive attitude to create new successful habits into your life you will find both your energy levels and well-being will improve enormously. A definite win-win situation for everyone who steps out of their comfort zone and into a new life and new way of thinking.

Until next time.

Rosie

www.awinningattitude.com

Kerry's Corner #9 The Rise of New Age Music

Kerrys Corner – The Rise of New Age

Hello Music Lovers it’s “Kerry’s Corner” time again, this is my 9^th article, where I delve into the lives and works of the GREAT COMPOSERS!

Claude Debussy

The Rise Of  A New Age

The harmonic tonal framework of the Baroque and Classical eras remained common currency until the turn of the 20^th century, when the magic of impressionism came to the fore. Of course we all know of Debussy, and how he loosened the hold of tonality.

And…….at the same time in Germany, the Expressionist Arnold Schoenberg was working on a completely new harmonic system, based on the principle of the ‘equality’ of the 12 notes of the Western scale.

Arnold Schoenberg

Schoenberg’s 12-note system destroyed common harmony as we know it, and a lot of people didn’t like it, even to this day he is considered a ‘difficult’ composer, however he had a lot of influence on future composers such as Berg, Webern and Messiaen.

The innovations of Debussy and Schoenberg, coupled with raw and exotic harmonies and rhythms of Russian folk music, went on to massively influence Stravinsky, and especially his works entitled The Firebird and The Rite Of Spring.

Stravinsky

Stravinsky always tried to keep in fashion with his music, and near the end of his life produced a string of original masterpieces and constantly reinventing his style, to accommodate changing tastes.

Prokofiev

His compatriots Prokofiev and Shostakovich made great strides and offerings to music of the 20^th century…..Prokofiev-ballets, operas and concertos, and Shostakovich-symphonies and string quartets.

Shostakovich

Moving into Central Europe now with two others, namely Bela Bartok and Janacek, Bartok was a maniacal collector of Folk Songs, and Mr. J’s operas are now very famous masterpieces.

Bartok

Janacek

The political scene in Europe in the mid-20^th century, drove many fine composers into exile to America, including Schoenberg and Bartok, (must interject here with a little memory I have of Mr B ……as part of my studies many years ago now, I had to study the score of Bartok’s “Concerto for Orchestra’, on the face of it that doesn’t seem so bad, but unfortunately Bartok never used ‘key-signatures’ in his work, one of the first to do so, consequently then virtually every other note had a sharp or flat sign in front of it which meant the score looked like a million baby spiders crawling all over it!  Certainly concentrated my mind), but the USA had its own home-grown composers such as Aaron Copeland, Leonard Bernstein, Charles Ives and John Cage. The latter experimented with new composing techniques like the ‘Prepared-Piano’ where he attached many bizarre objects like laundry pegs to the piano strings to see what that sounded like … and of course his ‘silent’ composition’ where nobody plays anything for over 4 minutes!

John Cage above, ‘preparing’ a piano!

And then there was Aleatory music (music by chance) and Polytonality (music played in different keys at the same time), blimey what a cacophony!

Well, I hope you’ve enjoyed my rather ‘alternative’ article, and I’m off to compose some silence at the piano … brilliant, just finished it.

Enjoy this marvellous video below of part of Stravinsky’s “Rite Of Spring”