Joelle Leandre

Music: The Universal Language

March 5, 2023December 2, 2022

Music is one of the most universal and influential forces on earth. People from all over the world have found ways to express themselves through music, and they’ve used the medium to communicate with others — whether it’s their peers or even strangers.

Music can express an array of emotions: happiness, sadness, anger… really anything you want! As such, music has become a language that everyone can understand regardless of cultural background or other differences in life experiences.

Music is a Social Activity that Brings People Together

Music is a social activity that brings people together. It’s a common thread that connects us and can be used for social change or to connect with others and share experiences, even if we don’t speak the same language.

Music is a universal language that has been used for thousands of years to express emotion, ideas and concepts. It can be used to communicate with people who have very little or even no verbal communication skills at all.

The traditions and customs in our society are passed down from generation to generation through oral communication or teaching elders how to do something correctly before they die so that it continues into future generations without it being lost entirely due to time passing without someone knowing how things were once done before them.

Musicians Employ Non-traditional Instruments in their Compositions to Explore New Sounds

Some musicians employ non-traditional instruments in their compositions in order to explore new sounds. For example, the composer of this piece utilizes the voice to create a new soundscape.

He uses his voice as an instrument and sings different pitches on top of one another, resulting in a unique composition you might not hear from anyone else!

Music is a Language without Words

Music is a universal language. It can be used to express emotions without words, describe things that are hard to put into words and even describe things that don’t even have words.

For example, if you’re feeling happy and want to share this feeling with somebody else, music can quickly get your message across.

Effective Form of Therapy for People who are Experiencing Physical or Emotional Trauma

In fact, listening to music has been shown to help people relax, recover from injuries faster and more fully, and even improve their moods if they are dealing with depression or anxiety.

This is because music helps us express emotions we wouldn’t otherwise be able to put into words. Music can also help us remember important moments in our lives—which can be helpful when we’re grieving the loss of a loved one.

It’s also been shown that listening to music while exercising makes it much easier to lose weight as well as keep it off long-term (and thus reduce your chances of developing heart disease).

Music Transcends Cultural Boundaries

Music is a universal language. It transcends cultural boundaries and can be used as a tool to connect people from all walks of life. Music has been shown to have positive effects on both the physical and emotional health of people from all walks of life.

Music has been a part of human life since the beginning, and we will continue to use it as a way to express ourselves, connect with others, and come together as one people.

Why We Turn to Music in Times of Grief

February 2, 2023December 2, 2022

When we’re grieving, it can feel like our world has been turned upside down. In those times, we turn to music for a variety of purposes—but three main reasons come up consistently: Music makes it easier to process our feelings; music allows us to connect with others in meaningful ways; certain songs can feel like they provide a message or comfort we need at the time.

As you move through your grief journey, consider how music might help you through some difficult times. We’ve highlighted why people turn to music during times of loss below!

We turn to music for various purposes, but three main reasons come up consistently.

In cases of grief, we turn to music for a variety of purposes. We use it to process our feelings and connect with others who are experiencing similar things, but the main reason we turn to music is that it gives us a message we need at that moment.

It conveys information that can’t be expressed in words alone. In this way, it helps us process what’s happening in our lives even when there are no answers or solutions available.

Music makes it Easier to Process our Feelings

Music can help us process our feelings. It’s a common adage that one of the best ways to cope with grief is to feel it, but sometimes it takes time for those feelings to surface. Music can give us an outlet for processing and feeling anything that may be on our minds during a difficult time.

Music can also make us feel better when we’re sad or depressed. There are few songs that don’t make me feel happier when I listen to them, even if only for the nostalgia factor or because it reminds me of someone I love. Listening to music is a great way to lift your mood from feeling down into something much more positive!

Songs can give Us the Words We need to Communicate with Others who are Grieving

Sorrow is a universal emotion. We all feel it, and we can all empathize with it. But the way we express our grief is often dependent on the culture or community in which we are raised.

When you experience a loss, it’s normal to want to share your feelings with people who understand what you’re going through—and music can be an effective way to bridge that divide between cultures and languages.

Whether you speak English or Spanish or French, or German, songs are one of the few ways that music transcends language barriers and bridges cultural divides.

Music is an important part of our lives and can help us cope with difficult times. The ways we turn to music are varied, but specific themes emerge consistently: We listen to music because it helps us process our feelings. It allows us to connect with others meaningfully and feel like we’re not alone in our grief.

Lyrics provide us with language when we might otherwise lack it or give us words we need to communicate with others who are grieving alongside us. Music serves as a distraction from the pain at times or provides something familiar, stable and safe to return to when all feels lost.

The Health Benefits of Music: Why Listening to Music Is Good for You

January 4, 2023December 2, 2022

Music has a long history of being used for healing, and it’s now clear that there are many benefits to making music a part of your daily life. It could help improve sleep, increase exercise performance, reduce pain and stress—and even boost your memory.

Promote Better Sleep

Listening to music before bedtime can help you fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer. When you listen to music, your brain waves slow down, which relaxes the body and mind, so it’s easier for you to drift off into slumberland.

Your body’s response is similar when you’re listening to your favorite tunes as it would be if someone were singing or speaking a lullaby in your ear (without embarrassment). You may even find yourself waking up more refreshed than normal because the rhythmic sounds of the music signal that your internal clock has been reset.

Improve Your Workout Performance

A good workout playlist can help you get into the right mindset for exercise. If you’re just starting to exercise, music can give you motivation and get your body moving. If you’ve been exercising for a while, music may help keep up your intensity so that you don’t lose steam on a tough interval circuit or run.

Music also helps with post-workout recovery by assisting muscles to repair and recover faster than they would have otherwise. Listening to music after exercise has been shown to reduce stress hormones like cortisol, which are responsible for slowing down muscle repair.

It also increases endorphins (your body’s natural painkiller) and dopamine levels in the brain — not only does this feel good physically but mentally too!

Lowers Blood Pressure and Hypertension

Music can lower blood pressure and hypertension. Listening to music is one way of reducing stress, which has been linked to chronic illnesses such as heart disease. In addition, it may help you fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer if you’re having trouble sleeping.

Listening to music can also improve your mood and make you less depressed or anxious. Finally, music can help manage pain from cancer or other diseases by blocking out the pain signals from the body’s nervous system that travel up your spine into your brain when there’s a problem with whatever part of your body is injured (e.g., broken bones).

Stimulate Creativity

There’s a reason why people often play music when they aren’t sure what to do or when they need to solve a problem. Music can help you focus, allowing you to concentrate and think clearly about whatever is on your mind. Music may also lower stress levels, which could improve your ability to focus even further.

It’s clear that music can be a powerful tool for improving your health and well-being, but it’s important to remember that not all music is good for you. You should choose music that aligns with your mood and goals. If you’re trying to fall asleep, listen to softer sounds like classical or ambient music.

If you want an energizing boost right before your workout, rock out! Music is powerful medicine—now more than ever, we have access to it wherever we go, thanks to smartphones and other devices capable of playing our favorite tunes. So what are some of your favorite songs?

The Science of Music: How Melodies and Rhythms Affect the Brain

December 2, 2022December 2, 2022

Music is a powerful form of entertainment and an important part of human culture. It affects us in many ways, from the way we think to how we feel. The science behind it is fascinating, and it’s worth taking a look at some of these effects:

Affects the Brain in a Number of Ways

Music affects the brain in a number of ways. It can help you learn and remember, get in a rhythm and stay in rhythm, influence the way you think, help with stress, anxiety and pain—and make some people want to move.

Music is so powerful that it is often used as an alternative medicine treatment for conditions such as chronic pain or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Listening to Music can Give you Energy

Music is a mood-altering drug. Listening to it can energize you, relax you, and make you feel more awake. The reason for this is that our bodies respond to music in a similar way that they do with other drugs—they release dopamine (the “feel good” chemical) and oxytocin (the bonding hormone). Music also has an impact on your heart rate, blood pressure and breathing patterns.

If your goal is to get energized while working out or studying: Listen to fast-paced songs with big beats (like dance music) that will help increase the amount of oxygen in your body. If you’re looking for a more relaxed state: Choose slower tempo tracks where each note lingers longer than usual (like jazz music).

Music can Influence the Way you Think

Music can influence the way you think. For example, music that is perceived as happy will make a person feel happier. The same type of effect happens with sad or angry music, which helps explain why people may listen to sad songs when they are feeling down or angry and why some people like listening to angry music (such as heavy metal) when they want to get pumped up before an athletic event.

In addition to affecting your mood, music also has a powerful effect on attention and focus. Playing music while doing homework can help children concentrate because it drowns out other distractions and makes them more engaged in their work.

It can Help with Learning and Creativity

You can use music to help you learn new skills. Music has been shown to improve the rate of learning, memory and creativity. It can be used to help you focus on a task and complete it with more accuracy than if you were working without background music.

Music can also be helpful when it comes to relaxing or chilling out after a stressful day at work. Listening to soothing tunes will calm your nerves and reduce stress levels, which will make it easier for you to think clearly again so that you can tackle whatever problem may have caused the stress in the first place!

Music is beneficial for many conditions, and the more we learn about how it affects the brain, the better we will understand and use this information in our daily lives.

How Contemporary Vocal Music Will Save the World

November 9, 2022October 22, 2022

What is Contemporary Music these days? We can all agree that Jazz is not the only contemporary music out there. Contemporary Music is not widely regarded as a popular genre of music as opposed to Classical Music. Contemporary Music is, instead, an approach to music as opposed to any particular kind of music. Contemporary Music is best described as the music created with present-day trends of rhythm and harmonies. Unsurprisingly, this genre of music attracts plenty of versatile musicians who are happy to innovate and discover themselves away from the opera. Contemporary Music is not only a favorite among the musicians but also among the audience, where they connect to the emotions through the vocals. For a long time, it was believed that Classic Music is superior in class and elegance to the other kinds of music. But recently, these old-fashioned opinions have changed, and the music world no longer accepts the supremacy of classical music. With these changes in perception, Contemporary Vocal Music is unsurprisingly earning its place as an innovative medium that can transport the audience into musical neverland.

One could say that the declining popularity of Classical Music is the reason for this preference. And the statistics support the claim – the percentage of adults attending classical music declined from 12% to 8% during the span of five years from 2002 to 2008. However, it is essential to note that, be it Classical or Contemporary Music, talented artists will always be alive and thriving in the minds of the audience. Singers pursuing formal training and education in contemporary music are not common, which might be partially due to the comparatively less availability of specialized degree programs. One of the best ways to experience Contemporary Vocal Music is to experience it in your body; as such, it also offers a broad spectrum of possibilities to inspire participation from almost anyone. The wide popularity of Contemporary Music can be justified owing to the fact that nearly all musicians prefer to perform new music in recent years as opposed to in the past.

The small-scale popularity of Contemporary Music is appealing to many listeners who want to listen to something other than the mainstream music and trends everyone is into. Listeners might also like that contemporary music is a cross-pollination of the different genres spanning various times. One of the primary reasons for the increased popularity of contemporary music might be because of the unique ways it can connect the audience with the unique experiences of a musician. Contemporary Music is not just about the popularity of rhythms or harmonies but also about how the audience connects with the remarkable stories of the artists in terms of the cultural influences and social constructs. Contemporary Music undoubtedly takes listeners through a journey of self-discovery by listening to the stories and experiences that shape today’s world.

What is Vocal Music? Different types you need to know

November 5, 2022November 1, 2022

One of the most important parts of music is singing voice. There can be many musical instruments in the background, but the human voice remains the stand-out element in music. You can look into this article to know what vocal music is and the different types you need to know.

What is vocal music?

Most of us have favorite singers or bands we love to listen to. Maybe you are a part of the church choir, or maybe you played a part in a high school musical. All of these have one thing in common: vocal music.

Vocal music is the music in which the human voice is the main attraction of the track. It can be a solo voice, duet, or chorus. A vocalist sings the lead in this music when singing the track’s melody. This can be better understood when placed in opposition to instrumental music that combines instruments such as strings, flutes, or brass.

Vocal music is a way of human expression. Therefore, they are found in different cultures and use different voices to convey different emotions.

Different kinds of vocal music

Starting from Opera to beatboxing, there are different types of vocal music that people engage in every day. Here are the top vocal music varieties that best illustrate its power.

Opera

In the past few years, opera music has established itself as one of the most popular forms of vocal music that can be at par with rock and pop music. Opera first saw daylight in Italy in 1500. Later, Jacopo Peri’s work La Dafne was performed at a wedding, making them more popular. But the course of Opera changed with his subsequent work, L’Euridice, which made Opera into the form that we know today.

Even though Opera was introduced as a form of entertainment for the elite class, today, they are part of mainstream music.

Acapella

Whether we are looking back into the pages of history or looking into modern-day music, Acapella remains extremely popular. This is one such music type where the power of human vocals can be found at its peak. In this music, they will replicate the voice of instruments with the human voice. They use all the potential of the vocal cord to create music. This characteristic makes it stand out from the other genre of music.

At first, Acapella was born out of necessity. Street performers who didn’t have access to instruments started using them. This gave birth to a music style that depended solely on vocal skills, making them more creative.

Pop

Pop is one of the most catchy, simple, and commercial forms of music. They refer to a wide range of popular music like rock, hip-hop, and country and are enjoyed by the mass audience. With the emergence of legendary artists like Michael Jackson, they became more popular. The funk, soul, dance, and upbeat element make them widely appealing.

So, listen to this music to understand the power and potential of human vocals.

Joëlle Léandre: An Overview

October 8, 2022October 22, 2022

Joëlle Léandre is a famous French Bassist and is known for her collaborations with other musicians in the field of improvised music. Born in France on September 12th, 1951, she made her music debut in 1984 with Les Douze Sons. Her childhood was filled with music, and she was particularly interested in the piano during her early years. In her later years, she developed an interest in double bass, which won her many honors and scholarships during her education. Her double bass teacher Pierre Delescluse encouraged her to apply to the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique de Paris, where she was formally trained and noticed for her talent in the bass. Her outstanding musicianship took her to the United States and to the Centre for Creative and Performing Arts in Buffalo through a scholarship. In the United States, she expanded her network and met some of the best composers, such as John Cage, Giacinto Scelsi, and Morton Feldman. Among them, John Cage greatly influenced her music and compositions. Her time in the United States also enabled her to experience downtown New York music, which was another significant influence that led to her continued involvement in the field of improvised music.

Some of her notable collaborations in the field of contemporary music are with Pierre Boulez, Merce Cunningham, John Cage, and Giacinto Scelsi. Among them, John Cage and Giacinto Scelsi were the biggest influences in her life and music. In an interview, Joëlle Léandre said that John Cage was her spiritual father and changed her perception of sound and music. In another interview, she tells how Giacinto Scelsi allowed her to discover her own music and how his music transported her into a new world of improved consciousness. In the field of jazz music, she collaborated with Derek Bailey, William Parker, and Sebi Tramontana. Her music was owned and distributed by different music labels, including FMP, Leo, RougueArt, and Red Toucan. Some memorable songs and albums she released throughout the years include Instant Replay, Les Douze sons, Trios, Sweet Zee, Frerebet, Joelle et Tetsu, Philippe Fenelon, Voyages, etc. Some of the recent releases include Can You Hear Me and Unleashed. She has also performed live at the Tampere Jazz Festival twice, where popular international artists compete with each other.

Joëlle Léandre is also the member of European Women’s Improvising Group (EWIG). The group evolved from the Feminist Improvising Group, and Joëlle Léandre joined the group in 1983. In the early 1900s, she co-founded Les Diaboliques with Irene Schweizer and Maggie Nicols, who were her long-time musician friends. Besides that, she also teaches several classes in prestigious universities about contemporary and improvised music. She has lived in France, Germany, and U.S during her lifetime, teaching at academic institutions in the religions and playing concerts. In 2002, she was invited to Canada as a visiting professor for music and composition.

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