Diva Joan Cartwright

Joan sings on Saturdays. . .

noreply@blogger.com (Diva Joan Cartwright) — Fri, 09 May 2008 01:07:00 +0000

2671 E Oakland Blvd, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33306
Call for information or reservations: 954-566-1919

SATURDAYS @ 7:30 TO 10:30 P.M.

Start spreading the news. . .

noreply@blogger.com (Diva Joan Cartwright) — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 22:04:00 +0000

Photos at York College

Festival was delightful!

New York was great, a little busy, lots of traffic, smog, but altogether wonderful! Here's a note to a dear ole friend that should make it clearer. . .

Dearest Charles McPherson,

Before I came to NY this trip, a wonderful couple, Rev. Curtis and Carol Davis took me to the American Jazz Museum in Kansas City, MO, and bought me your cd, McPherson's Mood.

Imagine the coincidence of seeing you at JAZZ STANDARD in NY! with jazz promoter and afficianado Jim Harrison and Maxine, Dexter Gordon's widow. Whew!

Then, I spent the night in New Jersey with the family of Willie Williams who worked with me in Philly, when he was only 19. Wow! Willie is still playing sax like a champ! We went to a jam session with Greg Bufford at Crossroads in Garwood, NJ, and who did I run into but singer Juedienne Gordon, niece of Dexter Gordon. Wow! Wow!

My concert at St. Peter's on April 5th at 1 p.m. was slightly earlier than I'm used to (smile), but the music was on. My music was interpreted by Kim Clarke on bass, Greg Bufford (who worked with me for years in Philly) on drums, and Osmany Paredes, Cuban pianist whom I sang with in Mexico, over 10 years ago. "Smokin'" as Jesse and Jim put it.

"Run it!" That's all I can say. It was great to see all of you in NY during one week.

To top it off, I went to SMOKE on Broadway and 106th Street, to hear the song stylings of Vanessa Rubin, who, in my opinion is deliciously jazzical.

So, yes, the trip that began with my WOMEN IN JAZZ Presentation at York College on March 28, was, needless to say, swingin'!

Love your cd. "Ma cherie amour" is playing now! here in beautiful sunny south florida, putting me right back in the mood I was in when I heard you play in NY back in 1969!

Diva JC
Love and music,
Diva Joan Cartwright, Author

DIVA JC PERFORMS IN NYC

noreply@blogger.com (Diva Joan Cartwright) — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 22:17:00 +0000

FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2008

See Photos at YORK COLLEGE

WOMEN IN JAZZ PRESENTATION. . .
* WORKSHOP @ 12:00 p.m.
* CONCERT @ 7:00 p.m.

SATURDAY, APRIL 5, 2008
@ 1:00 - 1:45 p.m.

DIVA JC WILL BE an honored guest of
International Women in Jazz Festival
St. Peter's Lutheran Church
619 Lexington Ave, New York

DIVA JOAN CARTWRIGHT will perform from her Song Book, IN PURSUIT OF A MELODY (Trafford 2006). She will be joined by Jazz Hotline with Kim Clarke on bass, Osmany Paredes on piano and a drummer performing Ms. Cartwright's music.

Entrust America

noreply@blogger.com (Diva Joan Cartwright) — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 23:50:00 +0000

Residents of Olathe, Kansas (Kansas City area), the energy, love, joy and peace in their lives are apparent and abundant.

THE PATH TO TODAY

From a middle class background, Dr. Salaam is the son of two entrepreneurs (a beauty salon owner and executive chef). He appreciates their sound advice: provide people’s necessities and avoid debt (i.e. don’t buy what you can’t afford).

His childhood included a diverse spiritual foundation which enables him to see the universality of God and understand people. It is the #1 factor behind who he is today.

He studied fashion design and tailoring in college, then worked as firefighter for 5 years until an injury brought that chapter to a close. He went back to college, studying psychology. He is a very successful Life Empowerment Coach, helping people to find their passion and reach their goals.

He is a master of network marketing since 1982, earning 5 and 6 figure monthly incomes, having built a network of 42,000 people in 6 months.

He is now ready and eager to empower many more through Entrust America.
Read more about HOW DID HE CONNECT WITH ENTRUST AMERICA?

http://www.entrustinsider.com

Aurora by Suzanne Brooks and Reggie Graham

noreply@blogger.com (Diva Joan Cartwright) — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 18:03:00 +0000

Click to Play

Performance Schedule

noreply@blogger.com (Diva Joan Cartwright) — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 16:23:00 +0000

DIVA JC's will perform. . .

2008 Gigs

Viva Obama! by Suzanne Brooks

noreply@blogger.com (Diva Joan Cartwright) — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 15:45:00 +0000

Click to Play

Aurora by Suzanne Brooks and Reggie Graham

noreply@blogger.com (Diva Joan Cartwright) — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 09:20:00 +0000

Click to Play

Aurora by Suzanne Brooks and Reggie Graham

Video created by Joan Cartwright

Women Writers Class at FIU - Jan 30, 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Diva Joan Cartwright) — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 15:10:00 +0000

On January 30, 2008, my friend Dr. Carole Boyce-Davies ask me to take over her class on Women Writers for one evening. The class at the African New World Studies Department on Florida International University's Biscayne Bay Campus ran from 5:00 to 7:40 p.m. There should have been 14 students, but only 8 showed up. The class was invigorating for me and must have been good for the students, as well, because we didn't leave the classroom until 8:00 p.m.

The crux of my discussion was "Why did I write my own book?"

I read Chapter 10, On Being A Diva, to the class to exemplify how important it is to define yourself rather than allowing another author to define you and your experiences.

We talked about women's voices and how they've been subdued, since the Ice Age. We discussed the Inquisition that snuffed out the lives of nine million women who were alledgedly witches. I told the students that this tactic was used to get rid of natural healers, women, so that men could "practice" medicine. This holocaust led to the shutting of womens' mouths for centuries.

We talked about Black Feminism and how the term "black" may not have applied to the people captured and transported from Africa to The Americas because, before their kidnapping during the African Slave Trade, they were know by tribal names, e.g., Dogon, Ewe, Fulani, Yoruba, Songhay, Mossi, Mandenka, Wolof, Fante, Hausa, Asante, Zulu, Xhosa, etc .

The term "feminist" is directly respondent to women's relationships with men, so black women have a few challenges from the start. First, are light-skinned women considered black? Second, is there a price women pay for being black?

The first question led to a heated discussion among the six women in the class and me. Two of us were light-skinned, the others were brown. The brown women felt that light-skinned women have it easier in this society. One of the males said the determination for being black is one drop of black blood. I agreed, stating that three of my grandparents may have been white, but one of them was black, making me black.

On the second question, we determined that a black woman has two challenges: 1. the possibility of having an unbalanced son; and 2. difficulty having a relationship with a black man.

Of course, there is a wide spectrum of experiences dealing with both questions and they did open wide the discussion of why women do and should write.

First, we ascertained that it is imperative to tell your own story and avoid letting others tell it. Next, self-expression comes from personal experience, regardless to whether you are writing fact or fiction. I used a character from Toni Morrison's book, Song of Solomon. This woman was born without a navel. We discussed how Morrison thought this up, since no human being can be born without an umbilical chord. Was her character symbolic of something unheard of?

I talked about my experiences in the music world, how woman are marginalized by male musicians. Also, I talked about the power of women who brought Blues to the forefront of American and, eventually, global society. They were Ma Rainey, Alberta Hunter, Bessie Smith, Dinah Washington, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald. I mentioned that many of these women were gay because of the difficulties of being a performer and maintaining a relationship with a man.

The students were befuddled by the fact that so many of the blues women were gay. Yet, these women had a powerful voice around the world and brought "black feminism" into being. Their voices were at the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement, I contended.

I told the students that these two words "black" and "feminism" may be part of a propaganda movement to promote the rhetoric of division. I introduced them to the term "semiotics", the science of signs and symbols, showing them how words have more than one meaning. We discussed the ways in which words symbolize things that may be subliminal in nature.

The two males in the class tended toward taking over the class. I held them at bay and brought to the attention of the six women what the men were doing. I said that, too often, men don't understand how they shut the voices of women up, while they debate issues that truly disempower women. I showed the class how centuries ago, women, who were the original hunters, forfeited their personal power so that men could experience power.

I told them that on January 23, 1997, our solar system entered into GAIAMIND, when people from the world's many diverse spiritual traditions simultaneously focus attention on our interconnected relationship with Gaia - the living earth. We discussed auras around individuals, raising of consciousness, the Aurora Project and other activities on the planet to increase LIGHT and help us make our Ascension.

Finally, I asked them, "Why did I write my own book?"

Their answers ranged from, "telling your story," to "leaving a legacy for the future."

I told them that my primary reason was to document my life's work, myself. We reviewed the bibliography I give to students that I teach about Women in Jazz. The majority of authors on that list are Jewish or Caucasian. Their books offer histories of Women in Jazz and Blues who are no longer living. The accounts of these authors may be accurate to a point, however, the books by the women, themselves, like His Eye Is On The Sparrow by Ethel Waters, I Put A Spell On You by Nina Simone and I Wish You Love by Gloria Lynne, are apt to be more accurate, since they are not accounts from other writers, but from the author's own experience.

I explained that, when others write about your life, they miss some of the subtle nuances of your personal experience. I asked how many people in the class write. Of the 8, five write. The other three prefer to read. I encouraged those three to start keeping a journal of daily experience. I said that each of us is a part of the puzzle and we each have a unique story to tell.

Prior to this discussion of journaling, we talked about keeping a diary that would even have a lock on it. The difference between a diary or journal and a book is that you don't share the information and experiences in a diary, but you are willing to share the experiences you put in a book.

The issue discussed by the two men was about how black women who are professional don't care to socialize with men from lower rungs of the economic ladder. This discussion stemmed from the issue of black male professionals marrying white women. The women in the class found it interesting that black males feel shunned by professional black women.

One of the males said he "chased" his present wife for a year, before she agreed to go out with him. Subsequently, he enrolled in college to pursue a degree because of her motivation. The other male student thought this was ludicrous. He said that a man must be a man, that a woman cannot make a man. I said, this is true, however, being motivated by a woman is not a bad thing.

The two male students wanted to go on and on about this subject, but I cut them short, telling them to continue their discussion after class, since this class was about women writers and women's voices. They complied and the women in the class appeared to be grateful that I'd brought this to all of their attention.

Though no one bought my book, In Pursuit of a Melody, I gave the class my two CDs, asking them to share them and I told them that Dr. Boyce-Davies had a copy of my book.

Teaching this class confirmed that, first, I have something valuable to bring to college students and, second, that I should be teaching on a college level, rather than on an elementary level.

I AM grateful to Dr. Boyce-Davies for granting me the opportunity to teach her class. I hope I get to do this a lot more in the near future. For updates on my concerts, lectures and book signings go to this link. Also, visit my new site http://www.divajc.tv/ for videos of great musical artists and more.

Vocabulary

rhetoric
propaganda
semiotics
subliminal
inquisition
holocaust
diva
feminism
aura
ascension

Being A Teacher

noreply@blogger.com (Diva Joan Cartwright) — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 19:49:00 +0000

My teaching career came to an abrupt halt on Friday, January 18, when I was "layed off" due to "low enrollment." However, I did learn a lot in this 3.5 month sojourn as a Music Teacher for 8th graders. The bottom line is summed up in this little quip I got in an email from a friend.

BEING A TEACHER

After being interviewed by the school administration, the teaching prospect said, "Let me see if I've got this right: You want me to go into that room with all those kids, correct their disruptive behavior, observe them for signs of abuse, monitor their dress habits, censor their T-shirt messages, and instill in them a love for learning.

You want me to check their backpacks for weapons, wage war on drugs and sexually transmitted diseases, and raise their sense of self esteem and personal pride.

You want me to teach them patriotism and good citizenship, sportsmanship and fair play, and how to register to vote, balance a check-book, and apply for a job.

You want me to check their heads for lice, recognize signs of antisocial behavior, and make sure that they all pass the state exams.

You want me to provide them with an equal education regardless of their handicaps, and communicate regularly with their parents in English and Spanish by letter, telephone, newsletter, and a report card.

You want me to do all this with a piece of chalk, a blackboard, a bulletin board, a few books, a big smile, and a starting salary that qualifies me for food stamps.

You want me to do all this and then you tell me...

"I CAN'T PRAY or carry a stun gun?”

I WOULD: A Family Album

noreply@blogger.com (Diva Joan Cartwright) — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 15:10:00 +0000

Click to Play

A Family Photo Album by Diva JC to the lyrics of "If I Could" Sung by Regina Belle

If I could I'd protect you from the sadness in your eyes, Give you courage in a world of compromise. Yes, I would, if I could.

Thanksgiving

noreply@blogger.com (Diva Joan Cartwright) — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 01:28:00 +0000

On Sunday and Monday, Nov 18 and 19, we attended the Bobby Jones Gospel Retreat. Our school will be partnering with the new complex Jones is building in Fort Lauderdale.
I've been blessed. My students are singing two of my songs - The Glory Road and Winter's Comin', the latter to be featured in our Christmas play, The Grinch Who Stole The Holidays written by Sparkle Veasy, our drama teacher.
A further blessing is the lease on my new apartment, which has been long in the making. I should be settled in by the time I return to school after Thanksgiving.
Finally, all of my five classes have created a treatment for a music video with a song. We plan to videotape each of the five videos in the coming months. This is very exciting!

Our Talented Students

noreply@blogger.com (Diva Joan Cartwright) — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 17:02:00 +0000

CHECK OUT OUR NEW BLOG FOR TALENTED STUDENTS

EAGLE TALENT AGENCY

Salute to Captain Barrington Irving

noreply@blogger.com (Diva Joan Cartwright) — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 06:00:00 +0000

Click to Play

At Delevoe Park and the African American Research Library and Cultural Center, Broward County residents and official salute the youngest pilot and first African American to fly, solo, around the world. (FL - October 27, 2007)

Fifth Week of Music Class with Diva JC

noreply@blogger.com (Diva Joan Cartwright) — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 01:15:00 +0000

This week, we're reviewing all that we've covered in October, including last week's lessons on intervals, chords: triad, Dominant 7, suspension, altered or raised 5th.

We reviewed SOLFEGGIO or SOLFEGE: Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La and Ti.

We are looking at how music moves through the I - V7 - I Chord Progression, from key to key.

Also, we are searching www.ASCAP.com and www.BMI.com to find performers, composers and PUBLISHERS' and songs in their CATALOGUES.

November Lesson Plan

Week of November 4, 2007

1. Publishers (ASCAP + BMI)
2. Musical Careers (making videos)
3. Ear-Training (Solfeggio)
4. Writing Chords
5. Sight-Singing ("Dreamin'")

Week of November 11, 2007

1. Writing Lyrics
2. Writing a Melody
3. Sight-Singing ("Winter's Comin'")

Week of November 18, 2007

1. Writing Lyrics and Melody on Sheet Music
2. Singing 4-Part Harmony
3. Sight-Singing ("Little Drummer Boy")

Week of November 25, 2007

1. Review of songs for Christmas Show
2. Review of writing a song
3. Testing on ear-training and sight-singing

Also, in November, we will get to WOMEN IN JAZZ and Jazzmen that we didn't cover in October.

End of 4th Week

noreply@blogger.com (Diva Joan Cartwright) — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 00:30:00 +0000

This week we started looking at intervals and chords. I played the intervals for the students and asked them to identify thirds and fifths.

Two of my five classes sang in 4-part harmony. They sounded great, even the ones who said, "I can't sing!"

Well, well, well. The tide surely turned this week. Why?

Grades are due!

So many students remembered my name - not "Miss" - not "Dr.", but "Ms. Cartwright" became popular and famous, all of a sudden.

"Ms. Cartwright, what grade do I have in Music?"

"Ms. Cartwright, how can I get my grade to a B?"

I responded, "By rowboat!" to many of them who'd treated me like a red-headed step-child, for the past three weeks. But, oh, did they become friendly and, oh, did I have the upper hand.

I worked with them. Too many hadn't turned in the first two assignments I gave them:

1. MUSICAL WORDS
2. Musical Careers: musician, conductor, lyricist, composer, agent, promoter, producer, distributor, manufacturer, graphics designer, engineer, etc.

More than half got less than 70% on Quiz 1 and the big TEST I gave. So, I had little to use to raise their grades. I gave extra credit, simply, for reading the Italian and English versions of tempos [or tempi, in Italian]. Presto, Largissimo, Adaggio, Allegretto, etc. That worked to raise some of their grades from and "F" to a "D".

Then, about 1/3 still refused to hand in the homework, over the last weekend, so I had to stay with the "D" for those and was able to give a "C", "B" and even a few "A's" to those who did hand it in. It was a simple assignment: Write two pages on ONE composer with birthdate, place, bio and 3 songs that they wrote. Many students gave me bios on people who sang songs but hadn't written the songs. Some gave me bios of groups. They just do not follow instructions. But I do not bend. I mark them down, when they don't give me what I ask for.

Well, grades went in on Friday. Would you believe they came in on Monday without their homework? This assignment was to watch music videos and write a sentence or two on seven (7) careers involved with creating the video. These students wrote down 7 rappers or singers. UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, today, we sat there and went through 15 careers involved with making a video and put them in order of importance:

1. Script Writer
2. Producer
3. Director
4. Casting Agent
5. Talent Agents
6. Set Designer
7. Camera People (4+)
8. Sound Engineer (including Boom Microphone Operator)
9. Lighting Technician
10. Choreographer
11. Make Up & Costume Designer
12. Editor
13. Distributor
14. Promoter

I asked the students why I am discussing these careers with them. They said so that they would know about these careers and, possibily find one of them that interests them, since everyone won't be a successful singer, rapper, musician, dancer or actor. They realize that there are many different ways to make money in the MUSIC Industry.

Third Week

noreply@blogger.com (Diva Joan Cartwright) — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 20:43:00 +0000

Music is a language. This week, we learned how to PLAY and SPELL scales:

1. chromatic - 12 tones
2. pentatonic - 5 tones
3. diatonic - 7 tone Major scale

We used the Circle of 5ths to determine Major Keys with sharps.
We used the Circle of 4ths to determine Major Keys with flats.

We watched videos:

1. "Encourage Yourself" on www.youtube.com and talked about self-motivation, praise and healing.
2. Clark Terry (trumpet) and Alvin Queen (drums);
3. Louis Armstrong's "What A Wonderful World"
4. Chinese saxophone students with Diva JC in Tianjin, China.

Students identified composers in the following genres:

Classical, Blues, Jazz, Hip Hop
Reggae, R&B, Latin, Rap

Some received extra credit for naming "Old School" R&B artists.
They learned the term "cross over artist" and the meaning.

On Friday, they took a 4-part test covering everything they've learned in the past three weeks.

Here are the lesson plans for October:

Week of October 1, 2007

Introduction to Music
1. Songs and Emotions
2. Musical Careers
3. Instruments:

a. strings
b. percussion
c. woodwind

4. Voices

a. soprano
b. mezzo soprano
c. alto
d. contralto
e. tenor
f. baritone
g. bass

Week of October 8, 2007
1. Rhythms

a. Syncopation
b. Waltz
c. Ballads
d. Latin

2. Accidentals
3. Key Signatures (major, minor keys)

Week of October 15, 2007
1. Scales

a. Chromatic
b. Pentatonic
c. Diatonic (RULE for Major Scales)

2. Composers
3. Musical Careers

Week of October 22, 2007
1. Chords

a. Triad
b. Dominant
c. Suspensions

2. Auditions for Winter Play
3. Composers

Week of October 29, 2007
1. Review
2. Intro to Women in Jazz and Jazzmen

VOCABULARY FOR OCTOBER
MUSICAL CAREERS publisher composer lyricist conductor arranger agent manager producer graphics designer manufacturer promoter critic/reviewer	MUSIC TERMS tempo rhythm syncopation melody dynamics key signature accidental scale chromatic pentatonic diatonic enharmonic cacophony harmony	WORDS TO LIVE BY omnipotent encourage discipline concentration practice collaborate

End of the 2nd Week

noreply@blogger.com (Diva Joan Cartwright) — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 01:16:00 +0000

As Music Teacher at the charter school, I have 83 students in five classes.

This week we covered "syncopation", which is the basic rhythm of most African American music in common or 4/4 time, including some jazz and blues compositions, R&B, Rap, Hip Hop, Reggae, Soul and Rock. We also explored these rhythms:

2/2 - March
2/4 - Ballad (Also, known as cut time)
3/4 - Waltz
6/8 - Latin (Salsa, Clave, etc.)
5/4 - Irregular Rhythms (Also 9/4, 11/4 and 13/4)

While classical music in 4/4 looks like this:
1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and

Syncopated Rhythm looks like this:
1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and

Also, we identified key signatures in the songs in the Music Book that the school has. Students learned that there are three accidentals: sharp, flat and natural. They completed Quiz #1.

On Friday, I had each class read my articles in the Broward Times on B.B. King and Al Green; Mary J. Blige and Macy Gray. This exercise revealed the students who read well and those who do not. They were impressed that I'd met B.B. King and written these articles on him and the other artists.

My goal is to show the students that there are many careers involved with music and that concert reviewer or critic is one of them.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

"You and I are made for goodness. You and I are creatures who are made for transcendence, were made for love, were made for caring, were made for embracing one another. I have look out of door but I mean, although God looks down and sees all of the ghastly things and God says oh, dear.

"Whatever got into me to create that lot?

"And then God sees and God sees the others, the ones who wipe the tears from the eyes of the many, the ones that say we want to do something about poverty eradication. We want to do something about the HIV pandemic and God begins to smile through the tears. And a little angel walks up to God and wipes God's tears from God's eyes. And God says, yes, they have vindicated me. Because you and I are ultimately made for goodness. And that is what is going to prevail."

-- Archbishop Desmond Tutu at Clinton Global Initiative

Video and transcript of this moving panel on "Managing Diversity"
with Fareed Zakaria, Editor, Newsweek Internationa, Queen Rania
Al-Abdullah, Queen, The Royal Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
and Hamid Karzai President, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

Week 2 of Diva JC Music Teacher

noreply@blogger.com (Diva Joan Cartwright) — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 21:23:00 +0000

Dear Joan,
The things you had in your blog were great suggestions. You had the kids write down how they feel about music and their emotions that they may be feeling. I will give it a try and let you know what happens. The kids have less and less attention span than we ever did growing up which is a challenge.
Wendell Harrison and Pamela Wise

Wendell,
This is truly the case. They don't get discipline like we did from our parents, teachers and neighbors. They have so many material things that make them think they are "grown" including cellphones, computers, cd players and telephones. They are not afraid of anything. They know they can report us just like we can report them. It is a tough job being a teacher, from the get go, but without the means of disciplining the students, it is closer to "impossible".

Today, I found out that they do not want an "F" or "0" for assignments. They will cheat from each other's work to get the assignment done. It is really difficult when you prefer that they cheat or copy from another student than fail to hand in the assignment at all. So, for their first assignment, MUSICAL WORDS, half of the students did nothing. The other half got grades ranging from B to A- to A, once they did the assignment and handed it in to me.
Diva JC

Also, see my blog, divajcpursuit.blogspot.com

End of the first week!

noreply@blogger.com (Diva Joan Cartwright) — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 22:01:00 +0000

Day 5 proved to be the culmination of the whole first week. Students were agitated and ready to get on to their weekend of freedom. However, they were stopped in their tracks by the two assignments I had given them: A crossword puzzle that I designed before starting on Monday, entitled Musical Words; and a list of musical careers that they were to choose from and write about, including what the job entails and the education and training needed to get the job.

Stay tuned for next weeks blog that will reveal the results of the two assignments.

And be sure to print out the puzzle and do it for yourself. I assure you, you'll enjoy it and maybe even learn something. Ummm, the answer key is available, but DON'T CHEAT!

Finally, bookmark the link to our October Newsletter for WOMEN IN JAZZ SOUTH FLORIDA, INC. featuring Jazz Woman Sandy Patton and Blues Woman Etta James.

Your comments and suggestions are always welcomed!

Day 4 - Musical Careers

noreply@blogger.com (Diva Joan Cartwright) — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 22:12:00 +0000

Today, we discussed capital, business, free enterprise, products, services and Careers in Music:

Vocalist, musician, composer, lyricist, publisher
Producer, Engineer, Booking Agent, Manager, Marketing,
Graphic designer, manufacturer, distributor (bar code)
DJ, Critic, reviews

One class of 8th graders was very responsive. They sang my song "Dreamin'" in the Reggae style, while one young lady and young man beat the drums.

In the last class, someone raised the thermometer to 80 degrees and the room was very uncomfortable. Students were out of their seats, talking uncontrolably and very rude. They were throwing things at each other. I wrote up four young ladies and asked them to leave the room. I called the mother of one of the young ladies whom I asked to leave the day before for cursing at the security guard and announcing to the class that I was the next to be cursed out. Her mother was not happy to hear from me.

Day 2 and 3 - Musical Insturments and Elements

noreply@blogger.com (Diva Joan Cartwright) — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 10:25:00 +0000

Music classes involved identifying instruments, rhythms, voices, intervals and styles of music.

On Tuesday, students read the lyrics to my song "Dreamin'" and two poems from my book - "Untitled" and "Alone". They were responsive to the messages of the poems. They learned the word "omnipotent" in "Untitled" and realized that their personal power is at stake, if they allow someone else to believe that they are powerless.

However, most of the day was spent commenting on the behavior of out-of-control students. These kids have been left back one, 2 or 3 times. Their self-discipline is minimal.

It will be interested to see how they learn keyboarding. The challenge will be to retain their attention long enough for them to learn scales.

Day 1 - Music Class

noreply@blogger.com (Diva Joan Cartwright) — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 22:34:00 +0000

Today, in my first classes as Music Teacher, I posed the question:
What is Music? to 8th graders. Answers included:

Sound
Beats
Rithum
Something to relax you
Something to motivate you
Soul
Singing
Emotion
Expression
Classic

These kids have too much energy, but we found ways to channel it. I asked them to name some emotions. Answers included:

Love
Anger
Hate
Romantic
Sexy
Flirtatious
Betrayed
Beautiful
Ugly
Sad
Happiness
Joy
Hurt
Fear
Stessed
Confusion

Then, we sang songs to exemplify each emotion, as I crossed them off the board.

At the end of the first period, some of them said, "You make music fun!"

I'd written on the board:

SHARE
EXPRESS
LEARN
FEEL GOOD

I assured them that I was there for THEM and that the class was for them.

The second period with this same group of 8th graders, they read the lyrics to songs in my book, IN PURSUIT OF A MELODY. They really seemed to enjoy doing this.

By the end of the day, I was pooped, and they were jumping across the room like rabbits, but I truly believe they learned something. They told me that they had. So, my first day is done. On to Day 2!

Diva JC

DIVA JC's New Career - Music Teacher

noreply@blogger.com (Diva Joan Cartwright) — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 18:13:00 +0000

Visit my Music Class Blog

CLASS GOALS:

SHARE
EXPRESS
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WOMEN IN JAZZ SOUTH FLORIDA, INC.

noreply@blogger.com (Diva Joan Cartwright) — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 00:44:00 +0000

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WOMEN IN JAZZ SOUTH FLORIDA, INC.