[HANASHIR:16448] RE: Ah... the double-edged sword

[Joy Newman <joyzee...>]

Hello:

I am probably one of (if not the absolute) youngest member of this 
listserve.  No...really!  I just turned 20, and joined this listserve a 
little over a year ago because I love Jewish music, am the music specialist 
at a Jewish day camp, run a kindergarten music enrichment program at the JCC 
and sub for the nursery school on occasion, and teach Sunday school.  To be 
honest, I've never sung, in anything.  Never been in a choir, musical, 
special event, vocal concert of any kind...never wanted to be, 
because...honestly...(I can't sing).  But I do love to write and teach 
music.  It's what I'm good at, it's what I enjoy, but except for the rare 
occasion that I teach one of my own pieces, it's mostly through others music 
that I get to share my talents.  This listserve has provided me with 
wonderful resources and insight into the world of Jewish music, and I've 
enjoyed reading and benefitting from your experiences.

Fran recently wrote that:

>The greatest joy is to collaborate/sing/write or connect with as many music
>colleagues as I can whenever I can, in every city, at any conference, I try 
>to
>become part of whatever is happening - but also trying to add whatever I 
>can.

Question:  How could something like this happen for those of us who are new, 
who don't live in or near any big cities, and who can't attend conferences?  
I love checking out new posts to hotshabbat and totshabbat, and appreciate 
how much talent there is out there, but "all" (to my knowledge) of those 
posts are finished pieces.  Ex:  I love to write music, well...melodies and 
lyrics.  I'm not an excellent guitarist or pianist, despite a lifetime of 
practicing, and the reason that I don't often share my music is that I know 
that I'm no good at taking it to the next level.  I have a binder full of 
songs without decent chords, and nobody to sing/perform them!  Is there a 
way that we could possibly expand this listserve, or better yet start a 
"bulletin board" on one of the websites like totshabbat, where musicians 
could post lyrics with a melody for someone else to put chords to, where 
"finished" songs could be posted for someone else to sing and then put onto 
the website so that they could be shared?  Along those sames lines, 
sometimes someone needs a song about a topic, and there just aren't any to 
be found that fit their needs.  Maybe someone like me could write a song for 
their event, even if we could never perform it at an event of our own.

Some musicans are blessed to find a partner who illuminates their strengths 
and compliments their talents.  But many of us don't.  In order to "raise 
the bar" of music we need to enable people to network, and as Fran said, 
"collaborate/sing/write".

Thoughts?  Comments?

As always, I love this listserve, and have benefitted from your extensive 
knowledge and kindness beyond belief.  So...THANKS!!!!!!!!!

~smile always~
-Joy Newman

University of Rochester
class of 2006

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