Clearly this doesn’t work if you’re listening to the piano after work in the pub, but a report in the Archives of Internal Medicine shows that if you’re getting on in years this might just be what you need to stay on your feet.

Dalcroze Eurhythmics

Sure, this may sound like a sweeter version of an 80′s pop group, but it is actually a form of music and movement education. Developed a century ago by the Swiss composer Emile Jaques-Dalcroze, it is a way of using your body to gain a fuller understanding and deeper meaning of musical expression. It sounds a little weird but actually makes a huge amount of sense and you naturally do it anyway when you’re tapping your toes or waving your hand to the beat. If you want to learn more there’s a great write up and explanation on the Dalcroze Society of America website.

Back to the research

The study, conducted by Dr. Andrea Trombetti included 134 adults over the age of 65 who were at an increased risk of falling. Over a 6 month period the study group performed a series of multitask exercises that challenged the body’s balance control system, these included walking in time to piano music and responding to changes in the music’s rhythm. The study found that not only did those in the study group have fewer falls than the control group, they also increased their walking speed and stride length.

Music to Walk to

I think this is brilliant and is just one more piece of information that supports the idea of music being good for you. If you would like to try this out with some piano music I would recommend you try out the Solo Piano Playlist. You can stream the music directly from the site or become a member and download the tracks to your iPod.

Sign up for Free Membership – Download The Writer’s Playlist

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Here’s one of my favorite piano pieces – written for a very brave lady who survived cancer:

Emma – 20 minutes 4 seconds

Piano track written for a friend who was fighting cancer at the time – Liner notes

One of my favorite pieces of solo piano music on music2work2 is Emma - along with its accompanying piece, the music was written to help a friend get through chemo.

Download audio file (emma2.5.mp3)

Emma chose to visualize her cancer as a blowfish – it gave her something tangible to direct her energy at and guess what – it worked. Emma not only came out the other end and continued driving her boats across the planet, she ended up writing a book about her experience. I think Em puts it best with the following:

"Now I know I am a no-body and not famous, I am not important and haven’t “done” anything special, no feat of amazing endurance like climbing Everest in my slippers but that is hopefully just the point I think. I am an ordinary Jo with an ordinary story that is not unusual – after all there are 44,000 of us each year diagnosed with breast cancer. There is plenty of information advising us how we will feel throughout the experience, the notorious chemotherapy looms large with each leaflet, but there is little to tell us how to handle this disease – how to get out of bed and how to look yourself in the mirror and deal with the daily nightmare.

I think you all know about the book and it’s aim – I hope my story will be inspirational and motivational to women and men who are also battling this horrific disease but I also hope the account is useful to the family and friends who are also affected in a profound way. I hope you can help me get my story and my message out there.

If my book helps to get one person off their sofa and fighting then I will have succeeded!

Thank you all

Em

www.emmapontin.com

Posted via email from Andrew McCluskey

Writing for the different weddings and workshops had opened a door into a new way of creating themes. 2007 was a development of that approach combined with a growing familiarity with the workings of the Korg Triton. Heath, Wendi and Victoria are all two voice pieces where the piano track is recorded first and the string part recorded on top immediately afterward. Emma is a solo piano piece.

Click on the track title for liner notes, longer streams and 5 minute sample mp3s.

Heath (27:59)Download audio file (heath2.5.mp3)

Wendi at 40 (22:52)Download audio file (wendi40strings2.5.mp3)

Emma’s (20:04)Download audio file (emma2.5.mp3)

Victoria(7:15)Download audio file (victoria2.5.mp3)

Join the music2work2 mailing list – get free 5 minute samples of all music2work2 tracks as well as a bonus 20 minute playlist.

No spam, low frequency.

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Now playing: music2work2 – People 1, 2007
via music2work2

Second Piano piece written for a friend fighting Cancer

An old friend was dealing with cancer so I wrote her some music. After sending it to her, I asked for her numbers and then produced this piece. When I’m writing for or about someone, I often ask them for a couple of numbers, I use these to denote the meter and beats per minute of the piece – I like the randomness of the process and the idea that the recipient is determining the musical outcome.

Emma survived and continues to Skipper her yacht around the globe – she’s an amazing lady. Having had the pieces for a while Emma and her husband Richard sent me the feedback below.

“The first piece makes me remember the moment all this shit began, the horrific nightmare and all its tricks.

Rich and I were talking and for us the piece takes us on a little journey from the beginning right up to the post-mastectomy stage. I feel aggression, hatred and fear at the outset and then the music lifts which for us denotes the next step – the positive move forward after the removal of the cancer – the brighter side of this nightmare beginning to shine through if you like, the positive rather than the negative.

The second piece of music takes on the treatment – tentative at the outset taking on the unknown – I can see myself treading carefully through mess, gently with each step, nervously moving forward – sometimes feeling delicate from treatment, sometimes charging forward with stubbornness – positive and almost light hearted, but each step with determination, all the time pushing, pushing to beat this.

This cancer is strange – whilst I have a cast of thousands around me each one supporting, helping in their own different way – I feel like a boxer – ultimately it is me that stands alone in the ring to deal with this, me that has to step forward and take the hit.

I write this as I listen to Emma’s Numbers – I can just see you sitting there, eyes closed, composing, thinking, feeling the music. We were having dinner whilst listening to my iPod last night, we had friends over, and they asked what we were listening to – the second piece – they loved it. Just thought you’d like to know that.”

I did – thank you Em!

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Now playing: music2work2 – Emma’s Numbers
via music2work2

Piano track written for a friend who was fighting cancer at the time .

For Emma who fought the Blowfish and won.

This piano track was written to give Emma something to listen to while dealing with the chemo crap. After a while I did a second piece for her based on her "numbers" – although I gotta say – this is my favorite. Emma is a remarkable women; her battle with cancer was picked up by BBC Radio Solent and run as part of their 100 Lives project. This article tells Emma’s story better than I can – check it out.

She is another of my favorite people and her brother’s not bad either!

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Now playing: music2work2 – Emma
via music2work2

Our MySpace friend, Rob Costlow, composes and performs piano music in the Healing & Easy Listening/Ambient/Down-Tempo genre. Rob is located in the United States. He founded his own record label, Tourist Records, in 2004.

I enjoy listening to all four samples of Rob Costlow’s music available on his MySpace page; the music is relaxing and beautiful. His piece, Not Alone, makes me think of music2work2′s Emma’s Numbers from two aspects – the music and also its title. Not Alone and Emma’s Numbers are both piano solos that create a similar mood – one of calm and peacefulness. The title, Not Alone, also makes me think of Emma’s Numbers in that it was composed for one of Andrew’s friends who was dealing with a difficult time in her life. I can’t think of any better way to convey to a friend that they are “not alone” during a stressful, difficult time than to compose a beautiful, soothing music session especially for them.

I don’t know what the motivation was for Rob Costlow’s compositions, but his music is very pleasant and enjoyable listening. Check out all four pieces by Rob Costlow on his MySpace page.

There are a couple of pieces of news today – -

There is a new session on the website. Emma’s Numbers is a companion piece to Emma. Check out both of these!

And, congratulations to Kelli.com; they now have their shopping cart up. This entire website looks fantastic. If you haven’t seen it, be sure to go by and have a look around……………purchase a couple of their great songs while you are there!

There is a brand new music session available on music2work2. com. Emma was composed just last week. I find it a little different from some of the other sessions; it is a very interesting piece. It is solely piano and contains a mixture of mood and tempo.

The image or thought that comes to mind when I listen to Emma is of “life.” A single note, that is prominent at times throughout the session, reminds me of a clock or time ticking along. Like life, there are parts of the session that are somber and dramatic; there are parts that are light and cheerful – even “jazzy.” The sound of the piano is sometimes simple, and sometimes complicated. It reminds me of the changes, the ups and downs, the joys and sorrows of life.

Go to the music2work2 web site to “Free Music” and listen to this new session for yourself. You will need to register first but it’s easy and and it’s free.