Generally speaking, we like to keep these blogs upbeat because, by its very nature, music – listening to it or playing – is such a positive experience. But sometimes sad topics do come up and we feel that they are important enough to merit further exploring. One such subject is Alzheimer’s disease. Why are we bringing this up now? Because November is Alzheimer’s Awareness Month, designated as such in 1983 by President Ronald Reagan. It is all the more poignant because just a decade after the proclamation, the former President himself was diagnosed with this terrible illness. Needless to say, we don’t claim to have extensive medical knowledge about Alzheimer’s, and we only know what the research indicates. And one of the findings that we think is particularly interesting pertains to the effect of music on the declining mental abilities of Alzheimer’s patients.

Awakening the memories

Remember Barbra Streisand’s 1975 hit, “The Way We Were” The opening line of that song is “Memories light the corners of my mind.” In a way, that’s what happens when Alzheimer’s patients listen to music. A resent study shows that these people can recall certain memories and emotions when they listen to music that is familiar to them. In other words, they may not respond to the latest hits, but are more likely to react to songs and musical performances they had meant something to them at one time in their lives. A wonderful non-profit program called Music and Memory is bringing personalized, digital music to the elderly, including Alzheimer’s patients. So far, the organization has distributed iPods to over 140 care facilities in the U.S. and Canada. Anecdotal evidence suggests that patients were able to “reconnect with memories triggered by music.”

Remembrance of things past

How does hearing familiar tunes boost the memory? Scientists point to several reasons. One of them is that music stimulates the mind and may re-hash some dormant memories. Also, music is processed in multiple areas of the brain, which, researchers suggest, tend to be less damaged by Alzheimer’s disease. Whatever the mechanism, we are so happy that music plays such a significant role in the lives of so many people. And we don’t have to remind you that exposure to music is beneficial to anyone, at any time of their lives. A teacher of ours will come to your Manhattan, Brooklyn, or Riverdale home or office to introduce you, your child, or another family member to the joys of music. Please contact us and give your brain a workout!

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Two days from now, on November 11, we will celebrate Veterans Day, which honors US veterans past and present. We salute them and thank them for their service. Like cities and towns across America, New York will hold its own parade – the largest celebration of veterans in the country. Every year since 1919, when the 369th Infantry – just back from fighting in WWI – proudly marched up Fifth Avenue, thousands of veterans and other participants re-trace the same route.

This year’s parade will commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, and the 25th anniversary of Desert Shield. We think one of the best ways to remember the sacrifices of our veterans is to look back at the music that accompanied them into the battlefield. From the bugles, pipes, and drums of the Civil War to the protest songs of the Vietnam era, the music has been an important part of American history.

Songs of glory

At 239 years, America is a relatively young nation. The first armed conflict it engaged in was the one that actually served to lay the cornerstone of our country – the American Revolutionary War, which lasted from 1775 to 1783. Of course, there are no original recordings of any pieces of music from that era (or until WWI, for that matter), but we do know that one of the most popular songs at that time was “Ballad of the Green Mountain Boys.” During the Civil War (1861 – 1865), the only other battle that was fought on American soil, “The Liberty Song,” originally written in 1768 by Founding Father John Dickinson, was popular, as was “When Johnny Comes Marching Home,” And then there was the famous Confederate tune “I Wish I Was In Dixie Land.” By the end of the 19th century, there was another conflict involving the United States – Spanish American War. Even though short-lived (from April to August 1898), it produced patriotic music by John Philip Sousa, such as “Hands Across the Sea.” In the next century, WWI spawned a number of songs, several of which were written by George M. Cohan, including “Over There.” During WWII, Big Band music got the civilian population dancing, but the soldiers fighting overseas were not forgotten. “Remember Pearl Harbor” and “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” were big hits. Unfortunately, WWII was not the last conflict of the 20th century. The Korean War of the 1950s sparked songs like Jimmie Osborne’s “Victory in Korea” and Wilif Carter’s “Good-bye Maria, I'm Off to Korea.” “Ballad of the Green Berets” was released at the height of Vietnam War in 1966, followed, three decades later, by “God Bless the USA” during the years of the first Gulf War.

Patriotic spirit right in your home

The above-mentioned songs are just a few of many written and performed during various wars. We can only hope that these tunes had provided moral support and some pleasure to our soldiers. You too can learn to play or sing any of these songs. Just get in touch and one of our teachers will march right into your Manhattan, Brooklyn, or Riverdale home or office to give you lessons.

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You may not have realized it (unless you are a history buff), but 2014 marked the centenary of the beginning of the Great War, aka World War I (1914 – 1918).

Why are we talking about this historical event in a music blog? That’s because we just came across a very interesting article published by the National Public Radio (NPR) that talks, very compellingly, about the music created during that time, and how it reflects the moods of musicians caught up in this devastating conflict.

As the article notes, “The extraordinary level of destruction inspired them in myriad ways. Some composers captured the war’s violence while others seemed to counteract it by writing music that soothed.”

We’d like to share with you some of the music composed during and after this terrible war (which, unfortunately, wasn’t the last one).

Music from the trenches

Ravel’s “Le tombeau de Couperin” During the war, the French composer drove a truck near the front at Verdun. The six-movement “Le tombeau de Couperin” is dedicated to Ravel’s six friends killed in the war.

Welsh lyricist and composer Ivor Novello wrote a heart-tugging song, “Keep the Homes Fires Burning (Till the Boys Come Home”) in 1915. Irish tenor John McCormack recorded the song in 1917.

Perhaps the best known WWI song on this side of the Big Pond was composed by New Yorker George M. Cohan, whose statue graces the Times Square. “Over There” “Over There” was written two days after President Wilson declared war on Germany; according to the NPR article, it was “a morale booster, an incentive for men to enlist and the first in a string of patriotic hits that later earned Cohan a Congressional Gold Medal.”

These and other songs, though from another era, beautifully express the emotions and perspectives of those who participated in the war or observed it first-hand.

And even many decades after the war ended, composers continued to commemorate this event, which forever re-shaped the landscape of Europe. One such example is the 2012 Pulitzer Prize-winning opera, Silent Night by Kevin Puts.

We come to you in peace!

Obviously, our Hey Joe Guitar teachers are much too young to remember the wars our country had fought in, but they can certainly relate to heart-felt music, whether written during the war(s) or in peacetime.

What is most important to you is that our Manhattan, Brooklyn, or Riverdale teachers can relay their love of music to each student, so that your child will have the best instruction possible – no matter what instrument he or she plays.

Photo by The Happy Rower

The post It’s History: NYC Guitar School Commemorates Wartime Music appeared first on Hey Joe Guitar.