Author: oconnellmusic101

If it sounds good, it is good. -- Duke Ellington

How to Cope

Posted on by oconnellmusic101

It’s hard to be a student right now.

(Adapted from the Colorado Healthcare Ethics Resource.)

The ways that each of us reacts to stress fall on a continuum.

You may feel little to no impact, or you may feel an increased stress response. When stress is ongoing or severe, this can lead to severe distress, burnout, or traumatic responses.

Personal experiences, support systems, coping mechanisms, external stressors, adverse childhood experiences, and the length of time we have felt increased stress can contribute to where we fall on the continuum. 

Expect that where you are on this continuum can change. It’s also important to remember that people will react differently to the same situation, and that is ok.  

Know that: 

  • What you are feeling and experiencing matters.
  • It’s likely that many people are feeling similar.
  • There are resources—and people—to help you.
  • Your professors care. Let us know if you need help, extensions on work, or a sympathetic ear.

This is a partial list of mental health support resources in our area. Remember: it’s not a sign of weakness to ask for help when you need it. It’s a sign of STRENGTH.

Resources and Links

Mental Health

Local Mental Health Resources

UHS Outpatient Mental Health

33 Mitchell Avenue
Summit Building Suite G80
Binghamton, NY 13903
+1 (607) 762-2340
UHS Outpatient Mental Health Website

Lourdes Center for Mental Health

184 Court Street
Binghamton, NY 13905
+1 (607) 584-4465
Lourdes Center for Mental Health Website

Family and Children’s Society

257 Main Street
Binghamton, NY 13905
+1 (607) 729-6206
Family and Children’s Website

Community Treatment and Recovery Center (CTRC)

114 Clinton Street
Binghamton, NY 13905
+1 (607) 797-0680
Greater Binghamton Health Center

Comprehensive Psychiatric emergency Program (CPEP)

Binghamton General Hospital
10-42 Mitchell Avenue
Binghamton, NY 13903
+1 (607) 762-2302
+1 (800) 451-0560
UHS Website- CPEP

United Way

United Way 211 Website

National Resources

Suicide Prevention Life Line

1-800-273-TALK ( +1 (800) 273-8255 )
National Crisis Text Line Text: 741-741

Depression, Anxiety Online Tests

Domestic Violence

Local Resources

Crime Victims Assistance Center

377 Robinson St.
Binghamton NY 13904
24/7 crisis line: +1 (607) 722-2456
Text line: +1 (607) 725-8196
Office: +1 (607) 723-3200
Crime Victims Assistance Center Website

RISE: Comprehensive Domestic Violence Service

P.O Box 393
Endicott, NY 13761
Advocacy/Counseling: +1 (607) 748-5174
Administration: +1 (607) 748-7453
Hotline: +1 (877) 754-4340
RISE Website

A New Hope Center

20 Church St.
Owego, NY 13827
+1 (607) 687-6866
A New Hope Center Website

National Domestic Violence Hotline

1-800-799-SAFE ( +1 (800) 799-7233 )
National Domestic Violence Hotline Website

Relationship Violence

Domestic Violence Quiz Website

LGBTQ+

Local Resources

Southern Tier Aids Prevention Program (Stap)

22 Riverside Drive
Binghamton, NY 13905
+1 (607) 798-1706
STAP Website

National Resources

Alcohol and Drug

Local Resources

The Addiction Center of Broome County (ACBC)

+1 (607) 723-7308
+1 (800) 771-6402
Addictions Center of Broome County Website

United Health Services (UHS)

Drug Abuse Crisis Line: +1 (607) 762-2257
UHS Website

Inpatient Services

Fairview Recovery Services

  • Fairview Community Residence for Men +1 (607) 722-8987
  • New Outlook Community Residence for Women  +1 (607) 722-8987
  • Supportive Living, Shelter Plus Care, Housing Plus Care  +1 (607) 722-8987

Fairview Recovery Services Website

Helio Health

+1 (607) 296-3072
Helio Health Website

United Health Services (UHS)

New Horizons Inpatient Unit +1 (607) 762-2255

Outpatient Services

  • Addiction Center of Broome County (ACBC) +1 (607) 723-7308
  • United Health Services (UHS) +1 (607) 762-2200
  • New Horizons Outpatient Unit -+1 (607) 762-3288
  • Family and Children’s Society +1 (607) 729-6206

Other Services

  • Broome County SAFE line +1 (607) 778-6119
  • Broome County Sheriff Assisted Initiative  +1 (607) 778-1911, Ext. 1
  • Fairview Recovery Services Health Home Care Management +1 (607) 722-8987

Peer Services

Addiction Center of Broome County (ACBC) 

Family and Peer Navigator +1 (607) 422-4242

Fairview Recovery Services 

VOICES Recovery Center  +1 (607) 821-7811

Mental Health Association of the Southern Tier (MHAST) 

Peer Support Warm Line +1 (607) 240-7291

Narcotics Anonymous
+1 (607) 774-4900
Call for meeting times and locations

Alcoholics Anonymous
+1 (607) 722-5983
Call for meeting times and locations

Al-Anon & Alateen
+1 (607) 722-0889
Call for meeting times and locations

Co-Dependents Anonymous
+1 (607) 687-5620

Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program (CPEP)
+1 (607) 762-2302 +1 (800) 451-0560
24-hour crisis hotline and confidential psychiatric advice.

S Program (STAP)
+1 (607) 798-1706
Excellent education and free harm reduction supplies

New York State Office of Addiction Supports And Services (OASAS)

Hopeline + 1 (877) 846-7369

Broome County Resources

Broome County Resources Website

Virtual Library on Mental Health topics

Virtual Library on Mental Health Topics Website

Online Questionnaires

Local Resources

Online Resources/Screening Tools

Intersectionality: Beyoncé Feminism

Posted on by oconnellmusic101
Beyoncé: Country activist, Southern belle, Black feminist, philanthropist, capitalist, historian, musician at the 2014 MTV Awards.

“When the Levee Breaks,” Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe McCoy (1929):

“When the Levee Breaks,” Led Zeppelin, 1971:

Beyoncé samples the Zeppelin version in “Don’t Hurt Yourself,” off Lemonade (2016):

She also samples a 1962 speech by Malcolm X:

In the official video for “Formation,” we see what happens when the levee actually breaks:

Beyoncé performing “Daddy Lessons” with fellow Texans The Chicks (then known as The Dixie Chicks) in 2016:

The backlash, remembered a few years later:

The official video for “Daddy Lessons,” which mixes footage of a New Orleans “jazz funeral” with grainy video that evokes country blues imagery of the early 20th century.

“Freedom,” also from Lemonade.

“Accountability,” from the visual album.

What is “Beyoncé Feminism”?

The Sadness of the New World

Posted on by oconnellmusic101
Dvorak and his family.

In 1893, Dvorak and his family traveled from New York to Chicago by train to visit the World’s Fair. From Chicago, they went to Spillville, Iowa, a farming community of Czech immigrants. While in Spillville, Dvorak met and heard the music of Native Americans for the first time. As his son described it, they were:

“medicine men” belonging to a tribe of thirty or so Iroquois who lived in tents “south of town, across the creek. … My father was interested … in their songs and instruments… Father received photos from the Indians. These photos were among my father’s prize possessions.” 

The songs the Iroquois sang for the composer may have sounded like this:

Or this:

And, as you know, Dvorak was deeply influenced by Black American folk spirituals. If you listen carefully, you will hear this one in the first movement of the Symphony no. 9, played at a brisk tempo on the flute (Beyoncé in a scene from the movie The Fighting Temptations). Dvorak’s assistant Harry T. Burleigh had introduced him to the tune.

A beautiful analysis of the extra-musical program of Dvorak’s Symphony no. 9 by writer Joseph Horowitz.

Some of the sources Horowitz references:

  1. Paintings of the American West
With the Eye of the Mind, Frederic Remington
Indians Spear-Fishing, Albert Bierstadt
Comanche Feats of Horsemanship, George Catlin

2. The Song of Hiawatha, a book-length poem by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, based on Ojibway legend. The full text can be found here.

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/19/19-h/19-h.htm

British music educator Jonathan James makes the case for the Symphony no. 9 as a conflict between the old and new worlds — the old world of Dvorak’s longing for his Bohemian home is the world of nostalgia, that Romantic yearning for a home which was never the way memory pictures it.

What do you think?

While in Spillville, Dvorak wrote his “American” String Quartet, in which he drew on some of the Native American and African-American sounds he encountered. The fourth movement, here, also evokes the speed and dynamism of travel by steam train across the wide, flat open plains of the Midwest:

PUBLIQuartet improvising on Dvorak’s “American” Quartet, in answer to their question: What would the American Quartet sound like if Dvorak had come to the New World in 2019 rather than 1893?

The Stare’s Nest By My Window

Posted on by oconnellmusic101

A stare is a common starling.

The Stare’s Nest by my Window
(William Butler Yeats)

The bees build in the crevices
Of loosening masonry, and there
The mother birds bring grubs and flies.
My wall is loosening; honey-bees,
Come build in the empty house of the stare.

We are closed in, and the key is turned
On our uncertainty; somewhere
A man is killed, or a house burned.
Yet no clear fact to be discerned:
Come build in the empty house of the stare.

A barricade of stone or of wood;
Some fourteen days of civil war:
Last night they trundled down the road
That dead young soldier in his blood:
Come build in the empty house of the stare.

We had fed the heart on fantasies,
The heart’s grown brutal from the fare,
More substance in our enmities
Than in our love; O honey-bees,
Come build in the empty house of the stare.

(From Meditations in Time of Civil War, 1928.)

This semester, as we study the riches of music and culture (both our own and others’), we will take up the poet’s invitation to “come build in the empty house of the stare.” Understanding music can help us create a more compassionate world.

Quilts from Gee’s Bend, Alabama.

Crack Playlist

Posted on by oconnellmusic101

Although crack sales and addiction were ramping up in 1983, when Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel recorded this song, they’re referring to the pure cocaine of the 1970s.

“Dopeman,” N.W.A., 1988

Too Short, “The Ghetto,” 1990, which draws on conscious soul music of the 1960s:

Nas, “Represent,” 1994.

Jay Z, “Rap Game/ Crack Game,” 1997

The Clipse, “Virginia,” 2002

Kanye West, “Crack Music,” 2005: the well-known Trump supporter argues that Ronald Reagan cooked crack in order to destroy black radical politics.

Ghostface Killah, “Columbus Exchange (Skit) / Crack Spot,” 2006

Guccin Mane, “My Kitchen,” 2007

Jay-Z, “Blue Magic,” 2007: he takes up Kanye’s theme, above.

Ka, “Up Against Goliath,” 2012

Killer Mike, “Reagan,” 2012: Killer Mike charges that Reaganomics is the basis of the destructive whirlwind unleashed by crack, and that Reagan’s illegal Iran-Contra exchange brought crack into the black community.

Classically Black: #TakeTwoKnees

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TW/CW: disturbing imagery of Transatlantic slave trade and police brutality.

Anthony McGill

After the murder of George Floyd in May 2020, Anthony McGill, the principal clarinetist of the New York Philharmonic (and the only African-American principal in that illustrious orchestra), recorded himself in his living room playing a mournful, mixed-tonality version of “America the Beautiful,” and posted the video on YouTube.

In the last 15 seconds of the video, McGill knelt down with his head bent, holding his clarinet behind his back. His posture evokes many conflicting images: not only prayer, but also bondage:

And arrest:

McGill wrote:

The great tenor Lawrence Brownlee responded by singing the spiritual “There’s a Man Going Round Taking Names” on both knees, both the song and his posture an allusion to the death of George Floyd.

Other classical musicians across race and ethnicity took up the hashtag #TakeTwoKnees in support of black lives and against police brutality.

Do you think classical music is an effective tool for protesting against injustice? Why or why not?

Season 3 of the Amazon Prime series Mozart in the Jungle featured an episode called “Not Yet Titled,” in which the fictional orchestra, based on the New York Philharmonic, plays a concert at Rikers Island under the direction of their charismatic Mexican conductor Rodrigo De Souza (Gael Bernal). The episode was filmed live at Rikers, and the audience was made up of real inmates. Watch it here. Do you agree with the inmates interviewed about the power of classical music?

Lush Life

Posted on by oconnellmusic101

[This post was written by student Zerin Jamal as her final project for this class in Spring 2020. All text (c) Zerin Jamal.]

Johnny Hartman and John Coltrane’s rendition of Strayhorn’s “Lush Life”

William (referred to as Billy) Thomas Strayhorn was best recognized for being Duke Ellington’s collaborator and for working with Ellington to produce many classics, such as “Take The ‘A’ Train,” “Chelsea Bridge” and “Isfahan.” Although he had an aptitude for penning timeless pieces, by which he set some of the world’s most distinct jazz standards, and was a musical genius, Strayhorn spent most of his career in the shadow of Ellington. Ellington even encapsulated Strayhorn’s genius with, “Billy Strayhorn successfully married melody, words and harmony, equating the fitting with happiness.” Albeit primarily being recognized on pieces he collaborated with Ellington on, Strayhorn’s “Lush Life” was possibly his most soul-stirring and famous independent song. The song was impressibly composed by Strayhorn while he was in his teens. When he released it to the public, the song was instantaneously a hit as critics marveled at his capacity to compose a song of such caliber, one that also demonstrates maturity and a complex range of emotions that was explored by many after its release, at such a young age.

Duke Ellington was highly regarded as “the great jazz composer” and bandleader of all time as he wrote several of jazz’s biggest standards. His music often incorporated a mastered fusion of “Afro-American sounds and more modern influences including Latin, Oriental, and expressionist sounds” and he aspired to “lengthen current jazz songs, bring new forms to the hitherto malnourished and largely ignored genre that was jazz music.” This must be noted as Billy Strayhorn not only made an absolute assimilation of Ellington’s form and technique but he also integrated his own distinct talent in musical composition; thus, Strayhorn, too, established several jazz standards. While commending Strayhorn, Ellington once declared, “Billy Strayhorn was my right arm, my left arm, all the eyes in the back of my head, my brainwaves in his head, and his in mine.”

“Lush Life” was widely acclaimed for good reason as it had numerous valuable qualities. The song illustrates Strayhorn’s ability to interlink the elegant harmonies of classical music into the vibrant and strong swing of jazz. It also demonstrates his musical inclination as the lyrics and the melody of the song both simultaneously work together to evoke great emotional responses from the audience. The song ‘moves’ and amazes the listeners by communicating the level of depth and maturity Strayhorn possessed as a teenager. Strayhorn’s composition of this piece was also groundbreaking due to the time it was written in.

“Lush Life” was written during the Harlem Renaissance but was released after the renaissance began to fade away. The Harlem Renaissance was a critical period in black history; it was a time in which African Americans obtained jurisdiction over the depiction of black culture and experience, all while bestowing them a position in Western high culture. During this time, Harlem flourished with cultural and artistic expression; artists and writers strengthened the African American spirit by developing phenomenal literature and works of art that showcased the resilience, intelligence, and fortitude of their people. One of the defining arts of the Harlem Renaissance was jazz as it dominated the musical genre, enabling African Americans to communicate their difficulties, frustrations, pleasure, and pride — all of which came with being black in America. “Lush Life” was particularly valuable since Harlem provided a haven for gay African-Americans despite it being frowned upon. Although homophobia was prevalent, artists, such as Billy Strayhorn, were inspirational since they were uncloseted and extremely successful. Harlem as a community granted refuge for gay African Americans due to artists like Strayhorn having a massive influence; hence, their successes created a safe space for other gay African Americans.

“Lush Life” lyrics

The song opens with “I used to visit all the very gay places.” Although the word “gay” was commonly used to refer to “happy” during this period and did not signify homosexuality, jazz music, and especially the Harlem Renaissance, largely consisted of maintaining a sense of individuality and granted sexual freedom. Seeing as Strayhorn was publicly out-closeted and was in a long-term relationship with Aaron Bridgers, it is plausible that Strayhorn was aware of the both meanings of the term and intentionally incorporated it. Most likely, however, Strayhorn utilized the word to note places in which he felt cheerful, relaxed, carefree, and especially gay as well. “Lush Life” reflects Strayhorn’s ability to freely and openly be gay as a result of Harlem acting as a sanctuary for homosexuals.At this time, it would have been difficult to have sexual freedom and to openly display one’s sexual orientation if they were not straight. However, due to some blues singers already implying their homosexuality and his off-stage part in Ellington’s orchestra, it was possible for Strayhorn to openly display their sexual orientation due to both his absence in the limelight and Harlem’s tight-knit community looking out for one another.

Upon further analysis of the lyrics, Strayhorn describes night life as enervating after being unsuccessful at romance. He refers to a bar as a place, “where one relaxes… to get the feel of life from jazz and cocktails,” and narrates that he was familiar with dispirited women who had “been washed away by too many through the day twelve o’clock tales.” He details finding a lover that he believed was going to be a “great love” for him before unfolding,

Ah yes! I was wrong

Again, I was wrong. Life is lonely again,

And only last year everything seemed so sure.

Now life is awful again.

The piece reflects how night life was and still is part of American culture. Strayhorn describes women feeling dejected as a result of their failed romances which led them to indulge in alcohol, just as the Strayhorn, for relief. The song describes how many live luxurious and lavish lives to mask their true loneliness. Oftentimes, many turn to drugs and alcohol to cope with their feelings of grief and sorrow. These social values still hold for our time seeing as many turn to substances as they believe it will help them better cope; however, they, ultimately, suffer more as a result of substance abuse. This song also highlights the dangers of the overly glorified nightlife scene as it can lead to individuals falling subject to peer pressure, resulting in many drinking and trying drugs they initially were against. 

“Lush Life” reflects the contributions of Black Americans to national culture since jazz was heavily influenced by several African American musical forms. Jazz evolved from slave work songs, African American spirituals, blues, and also ragtime. When listened to carefully, one can hear the mixed influences of ragtime, blues, and the piano which was part of band music. People should listen to this piece of music as Billy Strayhorn was also responsible for making great contributions to jazz, alongside Ellington, with pieces of such caliber. When listening to “Lush Life,” people should attempt to hear the syncopated rhythm (influenced by ragtime), Strayhorn’s distinct musical structure, and his moving lyrics.

Billy Strayhorn singing his own masterpiece “Lush Life” live in 1964.

Pinned Post, Spring 2020

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This post will stay pinned to the top of the blog for the duration of our coronavirus course readjustments.

April 10: Broome County Executive Jason Garnar asks that, in order to limit the spread of coronavirus, residents should go out to do necessary shopping and exercise only on days that correspond to their birth year. So: if you were born in an even-numbered year, go out on even-numbered days; if you were born in an odd-numbered year, go out on odd-numbered days.

A message from President Kevin Drumm and Student Assembly President Daniel Todd.

Free internet access during the coronavirus crisis: for more, read here.

Read SUNY-Broome’s daily coronavirus updates here.

When all this is over, Ima be like:

A little levity: “Welcome to Your Hastily-Prepared Online College Course.”

Update 3/26: These are good tips if you can work them.

UPDATED 3/21: At this point, it appears that all students who can go home are being urged to do so. If you cannot go home, please let me know if you need supplies.

  1. As you know the school, per the governor’s request, will be moving to mostly distance learning after Thursday, March 19.
  2. The school is NOT closing, and all buildings will remain open, including the library, computer labs, Mac Lab and practice rooms, and Student Village and the Cafeteria. You are NOT required to move out of the dorms.
  3. If students choose to move back home for the semester, they will NOT be able to return to the Student Village for the remainder of the semester.  They must turn in their key to the front desk.   
  4. Only current students may visit the Student Village.  All other visitors, including family must remain outside of the building.       
  5. The fees to stay in the Student Village for spring break are waived. Students are encouraged students to stay in the area. Also, the Cafeteria will remain open for spring break.
  6. At this time, students are strongly encouraged NOT to travel outside of the immediate area.
  7. All gatherings over 50 people will need to be cancelled. This does not prevent you from meeting in small groups, for instance to work on your midterm project, but instructors have been encouraged to move online if at all possible, so we will be moving online.
  8. We’re building the plane as we’re flying it, so expect things to be unclear and possibly less-than-ideal at first.
  9. We are going to stick with the blog. For most assignments, I will be adding questions to blog posts that you will answer in the comments: you know the drill.
  10. We will be non-synchronous, but your work will be due on a deadline each week.
  11. PLEASE let me know if there’s anything you think I can do better as we move to an online format.

Please use the comments on this post to ask ANYTHING about music, assignments, online learning, student resources, and/or any other concerns you might have about this course, our scholarly community, and the big picture. Ask at any time. I will answer as soon as possible. If you have a question you would rather not ask in a forum that others can see, email it to me at oconnelljr@sunybroome.edu.

Follow updates on the steps SUNY-Broome is taking to address coronavirus here.

SUNY-Broome student resources can be found here.

Good COVID-19 infographics here:

https://informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/covid-19-coronavirus-infographic-datapack/

The Blues Mode and 12-Bar Form (examples)

Posted on by oconnellmusic101

A collection of some of the musical examples referred to by Peter van der Merwe in your reading.

As you listen, think about the similarities in these musics from across cultures. What makes them blues or blues-like?

  1. Charley Patton, “Tom Rushen Blues”.

You’ll be reading more about Charley Patton later. For the moment, pay attention not only to what van der Merwe calls his “shake” on the third scale degree, but also on his technique of doubling the vocal line with the guitar.

2. Bessie Smith, “Poor Man’s Blues”:

3. Traditional Mossi music from Burkina Faso, west Africa. Pay attention to the long, unmetered, chant-like vocal lines.

4. “Goin’ Home,” recorded by the Lomaxes at Parchman Farm, a notorious segregated prison in Mississippi. Note the chant-like, repetitive vocal line and the reverse-dotted rhythm.

4. “Show Pity, Lord,” a Protestant hymn by 18th-century English composer Isaac Watts. Why does van der Merwe include this example?

6. “Gwineter Harness in de Mornin’ Soon,” another song John Lomax collected from Dink on the banks of the Brazos River in Texas.

7. “Dance in the Place Congo” by 20th-century composer Henry Gilbert: it’s in 5/4 and is meant to evoke the dancing on Sunday in Congo Square, New Orleans, prior to Emancipation.

8. “The Maid Freed From the Gallows,” a traditional English ballad.

Led Zeppelin’s version of this ballad, “Gallows Pole”:

9. “Way over in the New Buryin’ Groun'”:

10. “Pretty Polly,” an Appalachian ballad:

11. “Go to Sleep”:

12. “Freight Train Blues.”

Gullah/Geechee Resources

Posted on by oconnellmusic101

The coast of South Carolina was the port of entry for more than two-thirds of the Africans brought to America as slaves. The wealth of the state, and of its capitol city, Charleston, was built on slavery. Charleston was known as the “Cradle of the Confederacy,” and the first shots in the Civil War were fired there, at Fort Sumter.

The Sea Islands bordering the coast became a place of refuge for former slaves, and were able to maintain a unique culture. A brief history:

Current cultural conflicts and land disputes in the Sea Islands:

A ring shout:

The trailer for the 1991 film Daughters of the Dust, about Gullah culture:

Read this long article about black land loss in the Mississippi Delta (the problem of black land loss in the Sea Islands and throughout the South stems from many of the same causes).

https://features.propublica.org/black-land-loss/heirs-property-rights-why-black-families-lose-land-south/

Alan Lomax’s sister, Bess Lomax Hawes, made these films of the Georgia Sea Island Singers in the 1960s. You’ll notice elements of west African music and dance that you’ve seen in other contexts and cultures.

George Gershwin’s 1935 opera Porgy and Bess is set in a Gullah neighborhood in Charleston called Catfish Row. To research the music and customs of the Gullah people, Gershwin, a Russian Jewish immigrant, traveled to the Sea Islands to observe the traditions of ring shouting and polyrhythmic clapping (legend has it that he was the only white man ever seen in a Gullah church who was able to duplicate Gullah clapping and stomping rhythms).

A scene from a rehearsal for the Metropolitan Opera’s current production of Porgy:


The Society for the Preservation of Spirituals is a group of white amateur folklorists who have tried to keep the traditions of the ring shout and other Gullah musical forms alive.

What makes this a complicated endeavour?