Today, my longtime partner and spouse, Beth, joined me for a recording day at New Hope Community. I love working with my wife.
Over the summer, Beth and I facilitated a lyric writing day with Gary Siegel and New Hope’s team of administrators. We then composed a melody and sent their music specialist a track to use for rehearsals with staff and adults who wanted to sing and play at today’s session.
New Hope is a magical place. They serve disabled adults, yes, but they also have some unique things like a farm and horses. You can learn more about them here.
My favorite part about their community, though, is how they treat one another – with respect, tenderness and generosity. (They treated us that way, too.)
Recording a song is always different based on the group doing the singing. Typically, there is a little or a lot of anxiety around the process, so Beth and I try to keep it light by saying things like…
“Let’s just have fun with this.”
or
“They call it PLAYING music for a reason.”
And when some part needs a bit more zing? We start with encouragement…
“I love the way you’re doing that part. Let’s try it, again.”
and
“You’re getting better on every take. This time, let’s think of your best day here while you’re singing.”
If Beth and I are working with professionals, this kind of encouragement isn’t necessary, but it’s critical with the other 99.9% of the world. It’s the rare bird that stands in front of a microphone with dozens of people watching and doesn’t start sweating.
But to tell you the truth I LOVE watching people liberate their Inner Child during their time with us. I saw it today. Folks arrive carrying apprehension and leave with joy.
A great recording day becomes a love fest and that’s the reason why I freakin’ love music. For us, it’s not about the notes on a page or even the finished song. It’s how a bunch of people become like kids on a playground, again.
I guess you could say, “It’s magic.”
