Affordances : Aesthetics

 "It is through our activities that we…practice skills, express our feelings, experience pleasure…” (Hopkins & Smith, 1983, pp. 191). 

Singing and playing guitar is an affordance that definitely lends itself to the expression of feelings and beauty. When I was last at Church singing within a group of hundreds of others, I was reminded of the beauty that harmony and expression of spirituality can bring. After this, I was extremely motivated to go home and practise my singing as a way of emotional expression. Reciprocal motivators – go to Church to sing and sing by going to Church! 

Over my years of playing and singing, my tastes for the type of music I most enjoy playing have only marginally changed. I tend to classify my music as easy listening/folky and continue to find this type of sound the most soothing and enjoyable to practise and perform. Traditionally, folk music has been passed down by oral tradition and has evolved over thousands of years to what it is today ("The History of Folk Music”, 2007). I find it amazing that the true essence of folk music - the expression of life or stories of struggles and happiness, are expressed through song that is still evident in the music that I play today. My ability to mould songs and give them my own flavour enriches my playing pleasure and is the opportunity to work on enhancing the sound of the song - however this is totally subjective!

Hopkins, H.L., & Smith, H.D. (1983). Analyzing occupation and activity: A way of thinking about occupational performance. In E. Crepeau, E. Cohn, & B. Schell (Eds.), Willard and Spackman’s occupational therapy (10th ed., pp.189-198). Philadelphia: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins.

Singing at a wedding

The History of Folk Music (2007). Retrieved 26^th September, 2011 from www.music-folk.com/

How dost thou communicate?

Last Saturday I communicated my love for music in an hour and a half long solo performance.  When performing, my task doesn’t require a responsive audience as people have the option of wandering around the building or sitting and listening to me whilst the PA amplifies my performance around the entire 5 floors of the building. However, responsiveness from the audience aids my internal drive to put on a polished performance and never fails to be a confidence booster. 

The body language of a receptive audience is clear as day.  “(Music) provides a means by which people can share emotions, intentions, and meanings even though their spoken languages may be mutually incomprehensible” (Hargreaves, Macdonald & Miell, 2005). Last Saturday I watched two Argentinian foreigners closing their eyes for some songs (I took this as positive reinforcement!), clapping and verbally thanking me for the music. The relationship between me as performer and the audience members is built by a mutual respect – me respecting their participation as an audience member, and them respecting my music and performance. However, miscommunication can occur just as readily – an unresponsive or impassive audience blurs the lines of communication and makes my task extremely challenging.

In sharing my interest with the audience, I am creatively expressing myself and showing a part of my individuality that is special to me. Therefore, preventing a ‘bad’ performance is imperative and the leg work leading up to the performance is very important. The expectations of the audience i.e. tuneful, easy listening singing, good guitar playing, clear sound and familiar songs, means I have to work my body to ensure I can perform for an hour and a half without breaks. The muscle memory of my fingers on the fret board and toughening of my finger-tips when playing the steel strings is all part of the hardening up process to ensure that by the time I perform it looks as though I do it with ease.  This may or may not be a cultural expectation – the necessity of occupationally inflicted damage for the greater good. As the old adage says, ‘no pain, no gain’.

Sometimes I struggle with singing in front of people I know (possibly because I respect their opinion more); however positive reinforcement by these people and other audience members is one reason that I continue to perform. Signs with the score '10' on them were held up by family and friends on Saturday’s performance - reinforcing the positive communication that was occurring between us!

Hargreaves, D.J., Macdonald, R. & Miell, D. (2005). Musical communication. Oxford University Press: UK.

Ergonomically Speaking...

As a student (and spring chicken at the age of 25!), my busy lifestyle influences how and when I practise. I’m at an age where everything I do is for ‘me’ – I cook and clean for myself, motivate myself to study, tell myself when to go to bed, when to eat, when to exercise and when to practise my singing/guitar playing. Over the past 11 years that I have been doing this activity, I have had lulls and highs in my motivation to practise and I again find myself in a period of frequent practise. I find that when my life is busy and I may have undesirable tasks to do i.e. study; this task provides me with a good excuse to stop the undesirable task – “because I need to practise for my next gig” (I tell myself). Maybe it’s just a good de-stressor.

The first thing I do when I sit down for practise is ensure I’m in my comfy clothes. I usually sit in the same position for hours on end, and jeans just don’t cut it! The environment I frequently play in is my bedroom. My bedroom allows me the pleasure of sitting on my bed with my legs splayed out in front of me and my song-book and guitar sitting on my lap. Unfortunately performance venues don’t allow for me to sit so leisurely or in my round home clothes! Not only would it be socially unacceptable, but our culture tells me that I may not get as many gigs if I don’t look the part of a folk singer.

The longer I practise, the more aware I become of my body’s ‘deficits’.  My fingers and shoulders have an uncanny ability of reminding my body that they are in an unnatural position - by becoming sore and my fingertips calloused.  My voice – temperamental at times, can also get sore if I don’t look after it with warm up exercises and warm liquids.

I have an old guitar that I use as my back up for performances if my lead guitar breaks a string. Going back to this guitar is a challenge, as the higher action (strings higher off the fret) and heavier steel strings, gives it a different feel and sound. My body feels differently when I play this guitar as my fingers struggle to push down on the thick strings and the sound it emits is harsh. I feel rather incompetent when I’m playing this guitar as I’m unable to produce a good sound, so I always ensure I only briefly practise on the old guitar, then make a quick transition back to the new (I don’t want that incompetence feeling to become ingrained….!).

Blog One - Singing & Playing Guitar

Welcome to Semester Two:

Singing and playing guitar is a form of play that allows me to creatively express myself. When I first think of this activity the words ‘relaxation’ and ‘enjoyment’ spring to mind. I feel so relaxed when I do this activity that I can sometimes play and sing until my voice goes hoarse. I love the creative license of moulding other artist’s songs, in doing so making them my own. Unfortunately no artist would be proud of my guitaring, as my skills have stagnated over the past 10 or so years!

Performing is one way I can communicate with others without actually directly speaking to them. Regardless of the fact that my voice or guitaring might sound a bit rough at times, I have always had positive experiences when performing.  I think that people are so receptive to the music I play as they appreciate the challenges associated with getting up in front of a group of people and singing. The voice is a very fickle instrument and without practise, care and fine tuning, it can sound very rusty. When I’m performing I can see people’s appreciation by their body language – smiles, clapping or tapping a foot, or some make an effort to come over and give positive feedback. Although there is always an element of nervous anticipation, I get a buzz out of performing and enjoy having the ability to give others enjoyment in that moment.

The task of playing and singing for two hours each week over nine weeks, is a challenge that I am willing to accept. Mindful practise is a good reason to stop watching ‘Shortland Street’ and do something that I find productive and enjoyable. This is also a good excuse to stop ‘cramming’ in practise the night before a gig!

And so it begins...