A bit of Vera, Matilda and Howard.

They say you learn something new every day. And my clients are like fountains, pearls and springs when music is involved. Here are a few random tidbits - knowledge, wisdom and truths - I've learned along the way which you might be interested in.

​Vera Lynn was and perhaps still is known as 'the pin up girl of the forces' - air force, navy, army... And she toured New Zealand! How amazing to think that in our school days we sang and played in the Auckland Town Hall, which holds the history of such greats as Vera Lynn. Better yet, how amazing would it have been to have heard her sing live! White Cliffs of Dover, We'll Meet Again, Lili Marlene...my favourite of the many more I sing with people most weeks is When I Grow too Old to Dream. I have it on good authority that her angelic voice is just as good live as it is on her recordings.

​And she turned 100 years of age last year!

What should you do with a drunken sailor? Turns out putting them in the scuppers with a hosepipe on them was a legit move on 1800s whaling ships and in the navy.

Dogs do more than 'woof'. They also say 'ro-ro-ro-ro-ro', 'bow-wow-wow', 'yap-yap-yap', 'yip-yip', 'ruff', and every now and then they howl at the moon like a wolf. (I've been known to too, especially when my client needs a bit of encouragement to say hello. Howling 'hello' is way more fun than just saying it, and I have my past-clinical-supervisor Marie to thank for that! PS any age accepts this mission if the context and preface are right. To be fair, the older you get the more motivating the Queen and Elvis impersonations get. And of course the point is the tailored underlying speech and language and/or communication goals).

About music therapy: It's better than watching TV.

Waltzing Matilda is no more about a little girl called Matilda dancing in threes, than a squatter is a homeless person living in someone else's empty home. A squatter is, believe it or not, a rich landowner. And jumbuck is to sheep, as swagman is to travelling labourer, as tucker bag is to food bag (although I had heard 'tucker' before and probably should have put that together). I confess I have been left a little confused as to why my Grandad had the lyrics on the wall of his games room, and why everyone so enjoys it - myself included - when the song turns out to be about a worker stealing a rich landowner's (the squatter's) sheep, and rather than being caught he jumps into the pond and drowns.
Reminder of the day: listen to the lyrics of the song you're listening to. And prepare to not like the song anymore. Or, love it all the more. 

What?! You don't know who Aaradhna is?!! Aaradhna. Pronounced "Ar-rar-di-nuh". A Kiwi. An Indian and Samoan New Zealander. Soul. Not hip-hop.
And she has integrity. The Vodafone Music Awards judges could have used this info in 2016 before awarding her the 'Tui' - an award for best hip-hop artist.
"This song is Brown Girl, it speaks so many things, it speaks racism, and being placed in a box. For me, I feel like if I was to accept this, I'm not being truthful (to my) song," she said. "I feel like if you're putting a singer next to a hip-hop artist, it's not fair. I'm a singer, I'm not a rapper. I'm not a hip-hop artist."

NZ Herald 18.11.16: Aaradhna claims...

If you want to hear a Cockney accent, Mary Poppins is not the go-to. (I love this movie, and Dick van Dyke in it, so this was hard to hear, however I've heard this from multiple people in multiple settings....so at some point I had to Google it, and...there it is).

Howard Morrison was a nice guy.

He was a wonderful singer, and a great entertainer, but he was a nice guy too.

[Maori Battalion, a current favourite of some of my clients and a great marching and moving song, starts at 4:13]