Every week we are redefining the songs that we make and are recreating them. Certain kids that started off just wanting to pursue rap have branched out to other genres. Redefining music is something that happens every day at SOS, however, it should be something that happens more throughout this world. Music does not have a finite definition.
What makes something music? It is all up to your ears. Another way that we have redefined songs is by recreating their favorite songs by their favorite artists. We listen to the song and decide how we want to make it our own. Whether, they decide to do an acoustic version, or maybe a more electronic version, we make it unique. We decide if we want to keep the tempo the same, speed it up, or slow it down. Then we add the drums, and whatever other instruments that we feel like using. Sometimes the song is unrecognizable. Those are my favorite.
I love doing this and they love singing along with their version of the song.
Yes, lately we have been redefining music. Its time to redefine the record.
As we grow older, we tend to lose our sense of creativity. We start to see reality for what it is…and not what we used to think it was in our mind. Children see the world through rose colored glasses. Even these kids… even after everything they have been through, the world is still a beautiful place. I truly saw the beauty of the mind of a child this week.
There was an event going on last Friday and so the Rec Center was quite busy. There were a number of curious children coming in to see what we were doing with the computers. I told them that we were creating music. They stared in awe. Just seeing us is action recruited them on the spot. I asked the child I was working with if it was okay if some of the other kids watched and helped. He did not mind. He liked showing off his knowledge and his work. Even though there were many opinions in the room we managed to create a piece that everyone loved. I mean LOVED!
They loved it so much that they began to dance. I have to say, they are quite the dancers. They were so impressed with themselves that I couldn’t help but be overjoyed. One girl stated that this song was her ticket to fame. She is going to be bigger than Justin Bieber and she had absolutely no doubt in her mind. This is the beauty of the mind of a child, there is no fear. In her mind she knew she was going to be famous someday and no one could stop her. This is the confidence that we lose as we get older, when we start to become skeptics. Every week I teach them about music and about the programs we are using. I teach them how we need to find a tempo, create a beat and a melody, and go from there. I show them all of the effects that they can add to their music. I show them how to make it their own. But this week, they taught me so much more. That we can be so much more than we are, why stop ourselves? Where has that confidence gone? It disappeared with my child-like mind…but they showed me how to get it back.
Just believe in yourself because you’re more.
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With thanks & love,
Jayme
Last week was a time of reconnecting. Between the holidays, vacation, and sickness it had been a while since I had been at SOS. I was worried about getting back into the swing of things, but was delighted to find that they were just as anxious as I was to get back to music. In a sense, we have created our own little world. A place where we are comfortable talking and catching up with each other. Memories created through our own melodies and songs. They are beginning to understand more of the language of things. Certain kids that only had the attention span for loops on Garage Band are now want to dive into the possibilites of Pro Tools. Kids that once thought that the Mac we were using was a big iPad, now understand what it is and how it works. Words like “midi” and “mbox” make sense to them. Now, if only they could be patient enough to sit there until we make the song close to perfect, but they would rather make five almost finished songs instead of one complete one. For now, I let them make five. Why not let them explore? I just need to keep their attention because I know they will come around. The more they create, the better tuned their ears will be to the beauty that is not yet found.
I did not realize how far they have come until now. Music can allow you to create a world that is all your own. This is something that the kids and I can hold onto forever. I want them to know that whether it is music they hold onto, each other, a sibling, a guardian, any type of relationship…as long as they have that, they are home. If they don’t have a sibling, or a steady guardian…they can come home every time they listen to their song. It is something they will always have. It is a world that they are now apart of, a world they can call their own.
Here is a link to the song that I wrote about this very experience:
http://www.jaymedoyle.com/#!__odds-and-ends
With thanks & love,
Jayme
There are many aspects of life that set people apart from
each other. Many of the kids at SOS view me as a musician. They view playing an
instrument as something that they can never achieve. When I asked them to try
and play something on the keyboard they initially refuse. The thought scares
them. They feel that creating music lies in a world apart from the rest. Little
do they know that they are a part of this world. It never really sets in with
them until I give them a CD of their songs. They created it, it is their music.
It takes time for this to set it. They still do not believe
that they are musicians. They have not realized the greatness that lies within
them. The music that they have created is theirs alone. I love to listen to it
when I go home and show it to my family. I know that they do the same. Music is
what brings us together, and yet, it sets up apart from the rest. Yes,
“us,” they are all a part of it.
With thanks & love,
Jayme
No matter how much I try to prepare myself for my interactions with the kids at SOS I am never fully prepared. No matter how much I try to think of all that they have been through, I still forget. One thing that I constantly am reminded of is how blessed I am. I get caught up in the week and when I go to SOS on Fridays and Saturdays I forget about the beauty of the music that happens there during my weekends. But once I am there, it all comes back.
The kids at SOS just love to look at the equipment. They love the simplest aspects of this program. Just having the ability to create something that is entirely their own is all they care about. I started to work with a girl who is in high school. She loves to sing and never thought about creating her very own song. The thought always seemed impossible. She did not play an instrument, other than her voice. When I gave her a copy of her song, even though it was a work in progress, she stated “This is the best day of my life!” I will never forget her words that day. The fact that this task that I see as simple and she viewed this task as near impossible brought my mind to a halt. Once again, I was not prepared for this. I was a pleasant surprise. Creating melodies and music is simple to me. It is something that I do every single day. And yet, it was the best day of her life. My view of simplicity was her gold.
With thanks & love,
Jayme
I never really gave any thought to rap. It was a genre, of course, but one that I was not really into. I did not necessarily have a problem with it. I’d listen to it at times, when I was in the mood for it. I just thought some of the lyrics were ridiculous at times and seemed like exaggerated situations. But then again, aren’t most pop songs just exaggerated parties? Who has actually been to a party like Katie Perry’s “Last Friday Night?”
I knew that rap was going to be a popular genre with the “kids” at SOS (I put “kids” in quotation marks because some of them are eighteen and nineteen). However, I never knew how much rap could represent. For kids that need an outlet but never learned an instrument and do not sing, rap is it. Rap is their poetry, it’s their soul on paper. But their rap is not exaggerated. It’s real.
Their experiences are raw, they’re real, they’re more than I could have prepared myself for. Seeing rap through their eyes gave me a new perspective on the genre. I do not care what my dad says, rap is music. If only he could get a chance to see it through their eyes. If only the world could get a bigger piece of the pure soul that music brings to light. So join me. Because it is time. Time to open up, to let go, to release, to sing, or even to rap. But most importantly, its time to see the world with brighter eyes.
With thanks & love,
Jayme
Driving to SOS to meet the kids for the first time brought a great deal of thoughts into my mind. Is everything set up appropriately? Will I be able to connect with the kids? Will they connect with me? Everything was whirling through my head and I had a sudden thought…this might not work. But then, I had a heart to heart with myself and a personal pep-talk proceeded. I decided that my worries were frivolous. Music is what I love to do, I can figure this out. It is time to move ahead.
As I walked into the room where the recording equipment was I sat down and loaded everything up. Now was the time to wait. Soon, four children came downstairs they were middle school age. They just loved seeing the equipment and having the ability to make music. We all started to make a song together. One boy played the “drums” on the keyboard and we recorded it. Another girl wanted to play the bass. Then we continued to collaborate together to create one piece. There it was, our piece, a moment that brought us together. This moment was an awakening for me. This whole project is not about me. It is about bringing music to these kids. It is about giving them a creative outlet. I’m here to open their eyes to music & to show them the endless possibilities of creativity. The music will do the awakening.
With thanks & love,
Jayme
Here is to looking ahead.
Life is moving forward constantly. So much happens in any given day. Music can capture those precious moments. Minutes of music can bring back hours of memories. I have a passion for life & a passion for writing. Combine the two together & you get my music. I write about life. The goodness in life, and the hardships. Join me on my journey in working with the children at SOS Children’s Village. There I will be collaborating with the children to write & record music. The songs we create together will be posted at www.JaymeDoyle.com. Throughout this collaboration please take a minute to listen to their songs, to their souls. I will be starting this journey soon and cannot wait to share it with all of you.
For now, I am looking ahead.
With thanks & love,
Jayme
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