Habits. Depending on what they are, they may be hard to establish (think exercise!) and for others, even harder to break. My daily routine generally consists of starting the day with a cup of coffee, answering emails and then checking various sites for the latest news. I don’t know about you, but it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find joyful and productive content when faced with the preponderance of media that lives by the adage ‘if it bleeds, it leads’.

The main impetus behind HarmonyWishes has always been to provide uplifting, interesting and beautiful images to share through e-cards as an anecdote to the negative, intolerant and superfluous images we are bombarded with daily. If you sent a HarmonyWishes card every day to a different person for a month, stop and think about the ‘ahhhh’ or ‘aha!’ moments you could elicit.

In the spirit of spreading positive energy, I offer up two wonderful music videos from Playing For Change – Imagine and Gimme Shelter.

I’d love to hear about creative, uplifting sites, so send us some of yours so we can create a new morning routine – coffee always tastes better when it’s infused with joy.

And add a HarmonyWishes card to your routine…and just Imagine…..

I am on a kick about collaboration of late.  It seems I’m not alone. Check out this amazing co-creation project called In Bb 2.0. It is a “collaborative music and spoken word project conceived by Darren Solomon from Science for Girls, and developed with contributions from users.” Seeing is believing in this case. So head over to this link to watch and listen for yourself.

In Bb

To give you a bit of a preview, Solomon and Science for Girls have built a platform where people can compose a song together using YouTube.  Here are the simple instructions:

• Sing or play an instrument, in Bb major.Simple, floating textures work best, with no tempo or groove. Leave lots of silence between phrases.
• Record in a quiet environment, with as little background noise as possible.
• Wait about 5-10 seconds to start playing.
• Total length should be between 1-2 minutes.
• Thick chords or low instruments don’t work very well.
• Record at a low volume to match the other videos.
• You can listen to this mix on headphones while you record.
• After you upload to YouTube, play your video along with the other videos on this page to make sure the volume matches.

What’s really incredible is that even you, the listener, play a roll in the collaboration–as you can choose and pick which videos to play or pause at any time.  Thus, you can create an infinite number of compositions every time you visit and listen.

You can check out the original project In Bb that didn’t involve public participation here.  Or you can visit marker/music, another amazing project that mixing the same ideas of collaborative composition with YouTube AND a mapping function.  Or why not give it a try yourself?  Co-creation is the Next Big Thing!

Cheers,

Megan

Have you heard of the group Pilobolus?  Most known for the Pilobolus Dance Theatre group, Pilobolus is also a cultural institute, offering education and training, as well as an organization that offers creative services to businesses and industries through workshops and consulting.  They started back in 1971 as a self-described “outsider dance company.”  Their signature was the exploration of creative collaborations through athleticism and movement.  But their mission quickly moved beyond performances, to inspire others to transform their perceptions of “what dance should be.”  They foment a culture of effective group creativity, using dance as their tool.  “We watch what is unique about every body that moves, and in doing so discover infinite forms of what is beautiful and possible.”

The proof is in the pudding–as you cannot escape bending your perceptions of what is possible when you see one of their performances.  Maybe you already have!  Did you catch the Academy Awards ceremony in 2007?  You might remember the series of silhouettes that peppered the ceremony.

Or perhaps you’ve caught this commercial for Hyundai while flipping the channels.

That’s Pilobolus!  Recently, I caught a movement piece performed by Pilobolus at the TED conference.  Some forewarning, it’s about 13 minutes long.  However, the piece “Symbiosis,” merges biology, creation and relationships in the most amazing way.  It’s worth the time.  Let it inspire you to consider the infinite possibilities!

Cheers,

Megan

I’ve got a lot of fun YouTube discoveries this month for you,  HarmonyWishes community.  So get ready to strap in and take the visual (or auditory) journey.

This latest find I stumbled upon while on the TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) video site.  (The link is actually via YouTube).  TED hosted a conversation about “Notes & Neurons” and the common, almost innate connection humans have to the Pentatonic scale. If you don’t know what a Pentatonic scale is, don’t worry, me neither. I had to look it up.  “A Pentatonic scale is a musical scale with five pitches per octave in contrast to a Heptatonic (seven note) scale such as the major scale.”  Apparently, Pentatonic scales are very common around the world, found in Celtic music, West African music, rock, blues, melodies from Korea, China, India.  The list goes on.

In this video you’ll see musician Bobby McFerrin demonstrate the very ingrained notes of the Pentatonic scale with the audience.  He comments that no matter where he performs this exercise, whatever country, the result is the same–”everyone gets it.”

It’s sometimes hard to believe in our giant world that we all could share some innate capabilities or instincts.  Here at HarmonyWishes our mission is to embrace and encourage diversity and tolerance.  Exploring our differences, as well as our common characteristics, whether through music, ideas, images or sound, is important to us.  We’d love to hear your stories of commonality in unexpected places.  You can share it with us here on the blog, or send us a line.

Happy May!

Cheers,

Megan

I just saw the latest from the imagination of Michel Gondry, one of my favorite music video directors.  The concept is so simple and playful. A great accompaniment for Mia Doi Todd’s  “Open Your Heart.” Check it out:

After watching the video, it had me scanning Oaxaca for interesting juxtapositions of color (an easy task in such a colorful city). Where does color and image play a role in your life?  Can you think of a particular place or time where color evoked a feeling or memory for you?  Are there any images in our gallery that use color in a way that you find intriguing?  Let us know!

Cheers,

Megan

In a past blog post, we highlighted Playing for Change, an organization that promotes peace through music. Their latest endeavor definitely caught our attention, for the sheer beauty of the story behind it, not to mention the music that accompanies it.

Rather than paraphrase a wonderful story, I encourage you to listen to the music, feel the joy, and then read Mark Johnson’s description of this project below.

When we think about the role of dreams in our lives, they serve as both the places we go when we shut our eyes as well as the hopes and aspirations we hold for the future of our loved ones and ourselves. Playing For Change began as a dream to create something that could be full of positivity and inspiration for the human race. We have found that music is the greatest tool on earth for us to achieve our dreams of a better world for everyone. The village of Kirina, Mali is the heart and soul of this dream and a place with music at its core.

I ask everyone who believes in a better world for tomorrow to join us today to build our next great music and art school in the village of Kirina, Mali. Together, it is a dream that we can make come true, and we will always know that there is a place where music and inspiration are passed on from generation to generation for the betterment of all of humanity – Playing For Life!!!

For anyone wanting to contribute, you can find more information on their website, Playing for Change (org) and for more videos, check out Playing for Change (com).

Blessings,
Meg

Copyright 2007~ Rebeca Beeman

Celebrations marking Guelaguetza week have arrived here in Oaxaca. Also known locally as Lunes de Cerro (Monday on the Hill), Guelaguetza is one of the most important customs celebrated in Oaxaca. The word—a bit tricky to pronounce (gay-lah-GHET-sah)—comes from Zapotec, an indigenous language still widely spoken around the state. It means: “reciprocal exchanges of gifts and services.”

The focal point of Guelaguetza week is the large folkloric dance festival that takes place on the two Mondays following July 16 in a large amphitheater on the hillside overlooking Oaxaca City (thus, Lunes de Cerro). Indigenous delegations hailing from the seven regions around the state flock to the city to present their region’s traditional music and dances in the intricate and colorful costumes representative of their home communities. At the close of each dance, delegations heave giant palm-thatched baskets up onto stage, dipping in, and hurling treasures from their villages to the eager public in the stands. Clothe-wrapped cheeses, artisanal breads, sombreros and the like, are tossed out wildly. The dancer who can heft with the most gusto receives the wildest cheers from a grateful audience.

But Guelaguetza involves much more than the two dance festivals atop the Cerro de Fortín. Parades, or calendas, begin days before the big show; brass bands, giant puppets and roving revelers hoisting up luminaries march through town, gathering up passersby in their wake. A mezcal festival squats down between the walls of Santo Domingo and Carmen Alto churches, offering visitors a chance to sample from the myriad flavors and varieties of Oaxaca’s artisanal producers.

Copyright 2007~ Rebeca Beeman

Guelaguetza week draws many tourists from around México, and the world. The town is pulsing with new activity. I’ll confess that I prefer the celebrations out in small villages, or the ones that take place in homes all over Oaxaca, to the pomp and circumstance in town. Small pockets of communities all over the state host their own dance festivals over the next two weeks. The crowds are less, but more local. And the celebrations take on some air of what the Guelaguetza originally looked like when there was no amphitheater or Secretary of Tourism—but just a hillside packed with those proud to share what their ancestors taught them.

Copyright 2007~ Rebeca Beeman

My own adopted Mexican family here invites loved ones over for a lunch that stretches from two in the afternoon until dawn. We sprawl and eat, dance and chat. We embody the Spanish word “convivir,” which a dictionary will tell you means “to exist,” but also literally means “to live with.” I like both meanings. And I like to think of Guelaguetza as a time to personify that verb in action. I invite you, wherever you are in the world, to celebrate your own kind of Guelaguetza this week. It’s a great excuse to reconnect!

Saludos,
Megan

** Photos courtesty Rebeca Beeman.

From the album, Un Día

Some haunting music has been captivating me of late.  Have you heard of Juana Molina?  I’m very usually late to the musical game; and yet, I can’t help but add to the commentary: she’s wonderful!

Molina is Argentinean, raised partly in Paris by a tango-singing father and mother.  She became a huge success as a comedic actress on Latin American television—when suddenly, she realized at the height of her career, I don’t want to do this. I want to make music. And that’s what she did.

Her songs are these unwinding, ethereal pieces, where she’s looped together her voice with instruments, overlapping and repeating them to create a whole symphony of sound.  Lyrics and melody seem to take the backseat to the environment she stirs together.  I’m inspired by the sounds, but also by the woman who was able to redirect her life and energy mid-swing.

If any of you are interested in an introduction to her work—I recommend you listen to this Radio Lab podcast all about Ms. Molina! (And poke around a bit on Radio Lab’s site. Radio Lab is in my Public Radio Top Five; you won’t be sorry.)

Saludos,

Megan

A friend recently sent a link to this site and made my day….how can you not feel better after watching one of these videos?  Take a look…share them with friends….Founder Mark Johnson’s concept is to music what HarmonyWishes is to ecards -  spreading the message of the global family where similarities outweigh the differences…

Have any world music sites that you like?  Feel free to share via our comments section.

Cheers!

Meg