Monday's Musical Performance Captivates Students

On Monday, October 21, Turner Public School students attended the second performance in the Big Sky Series curated by the Northeastern Arts Network. The group traveled to Dodson to hear The Lucky Valentines (TLV).

TLV feature a husband and wife duo, native Montanans Shaun and Jamie Carrier, who currently reside in Fort Benton. They have written over eighty songs and use a mix of folk melodies, country sounds, and tight harmonies to fulfill their motto: "making sad things beautiful." Their presentation was a mixture of musical performance and music education.

Sharing their craft with the audience gathered in Dodson's gymnasium, the two performers told students to find a way to fulfill their dreams. Jamie began playing the violin when she was four years old, and Shaun has played guitar since he was fifteen.

"Music is the closest thing to real magic we have," Shaun told students. "When we hear music, a feedback loop forms in the recognition, cooperation, and emotional response that happens while we share that moment with one another. We're all human beings, together, so there is an emotional resonance. The music lights a fire, and we come alive."

Jamie added research which suggests: "If we commit to being in the moment and eliminate all distractions, our hearts will often match the rhythm of the music and even synchronize with one another-our hearts beat together."

Before playing their first song, "Life Is Sweet" written by Jamie about her childhood in the Highwood Mountains, Shaun told students: "Listen for the sound of a meadowlark inside that violin." Accompanied by instrumentation, the lyrics reveal the pleasure and pain found in life: "Remember riding horses through that murky water? Remember the smell of the fresh cut grain? I didn't know we'd meet real life monsters. We didn't know that we would encounter so much pain. But it was sweet being young; it was sweet being free."

After that song, Shaun explained how he had repurposed a suitcase and designed a kick drum pedal, amplifying the sound to serve as a percussion instrument. He also told about a percussionist he heard in New York who had used a five gallon bucket and two pieces of wood, not fancy drumsticks, to create music.

"Don't let the cost of an instrument and equipment stop you if you have a music-related dream. Music helps us chase away the dark, so make music, improvise if you have to."

The pair spoke about using the body and vocalizations to generate music, whether through foot stomping and hand clapping or by creating a basic beat box with "boots and cats and boots and cats." They also invited students into a discussion about dynamics.

"The term dynamics refers to how quietly or loudly a piece of music should be played. Dynamics are an important way of conveying the mood of a piece," Shaun stated.

He went on to explain the term by making an analogy to the honor beats heard in a powwow song. These accented drum beats, called honor beats, are the stronger, louder, and slower beats heard that send messages to the dancers.

"Music predates language," Shaun told the audience. "It is a vital communication tool, important for sharing and connecting. Music is potent medicine."

Jamie added: "When we make music, it shares bits of other places as well as pieces of ourselves."

Both musicians also encouraged the youth to keep their child spirits alive. "Protect, safeguard, and nourish your curiosity and excitement. Keep the fire burning in your heart."

A visual artist as well as a musician, Shaun brought a gift for each of the students: a sticker he had designed in the shape of the state's outline. The graphic features the image of Napi, surrounded by many of the colors found in Montana's natural resources. Known as Old Man and often portrayed as a trickster, Napi is an important cultural figure responsible for shaping the world for the Blackfeet Indians.

On November 4, students will again gather in Dodson for the Jazz Legacy Project (JLP). This group performs some of the legends of jazz: John Coltrane, Billie Holiday, and Thelonious Monk. Created in 2015 after an epiphany Justin Varnes had while teaching Jazz History at Georgia State University, the JLP has an ongoing residency at the Velvet Note jazz club in Atlanta.

Occasionally, they take their show on the road, performing jazz and telling stories about the artists. Their presentation promises more than just offering insight into what to listen for when hearing jazz. It also shares threads of American history-as jazz itself does. After all, many movements in jazz are a direct result of cultural shifts in America.