Music has always been a part of my life. I played the piano and sang throughout my childhood and listened to music on records, albums, 8-track cassettes, audio cassettes, CDs, and digitally on iPods, iTunes, iPhones and computers.
It's amazing to reflect at how much technology has changed over the years.
During my childhood-themed mini project, I took my 45's out of storage and was enjoying seeing my record box on display, however, I decided to go one step further.
Over 10 years ago, I had made a CD with my favourite childhood songs. I didn't find the CD but found the list of songs on it.
I made an Apple Music playlist with these songs and others that I found while looking through my records. There were a few songs that were not on iTunes however. I decided to look at record players to see how much they were. They averaged $75 on Amazon. I saw reviews on Amazon that were not that complimentary. I have never returned something to Amazon so in case I would want to return it, I checked Best Buy. The same record player offered in various colours at regular price was on sale in grey for $27. I figured that it was meant to be and ordered it.
I am not recommending this record player. The Amazon reviews are accurate and the table wobbles but I am keeping it anyway. I initially played my new U2 albums I received from being a U2 subscriber. I figured that once I started playing my old records that would wreck the needle, I wouldn't play new records. I quickly noticed though that I didn't really want to play my new records on it. It's good enough for what I wanted it though.
I have continued this music theme and made a playlist of my favourite songs from High School and University Days.
Listening to these songs has revived so many memories for me of the places and people in my life. It has also reminded me of songs I had forgotten.
Music is profoundly connected to our memories.
Dr. Petr Janata tested the hypothesis that music and personal memories are linked in the same region of the brain: the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC). His study entitled Neural Architecture of Music-Evoked Autobiographical Memories was published in Cerebral Cortex in November 2009. His results found that songs linked to strong memories had greater activity in the MPFC. This supported the idea of a "hub" linking music, emotions, and memories.
"What seems to happen is that a piece of familiar music serves as a soundtrack for a mental movie that starts playing in our head. It calls back memories of a particular person or place, and you might all of a sudden see that person's face in your mind's eye. Now we can see the association between those two things – the music and the memories."
It's therefore not surprising that listening to these songs, I can picture myself:
in my childhood home
in my bedroom, basement, living
at a bonfire in the field behind our house
on the dock at Ouellette Bay (Remi Lake)
listening to the radio
going to hilltop rendez-vous in Timmins where cars would line-up to request and dedicate a song live on radio
at school for a gymnastics routine
at friends' houses
at the movie theatre
at the piano
singing/playing in front of the school
in the gym
at tournaments and meets
warming up in the parking lot at OFSAA
at dances
at McDonald's (where I worked)
in my university residence room
at the Jack Pine and the Commercial (hometown bars)
at Fed Hall and Bombshelter (university bars)
walking to campus
at CKMS where I DJ'd
at concerts
and more...
Although I may not like some of these songs anymore, it has been wonderful to think back about these wonderful memories that involved music in my life. It is also a great reminder to continue to enjoy music, especially in the context of making new memories that I will want to remember in the future.
There are 10 months remaining in my Revive55 Project!
I am really excited at the progress I made in my Childhood Mini Project.
My main goal for each mini project is to complete what I call: 5Top5.
My Top 5 in 5 Categories:
Stories
Photos
Mementos
Accomplishments
People
It's difficult to just have 5 in each category but I think it's a great exercise to just reflect and try to choose.
I think even with my childhood long over, it's a work in progress. As I was writing this post today, I remembered my badminton racquet that I kept and was in our furnace room with other sports equipment. I am adding it to my mementos list, bringing it out of the basement and into my memories room.
So here goes my 5Top5:
1. STORIES:
I like it my way
I'm Number 3/Almost Perfect
Childhood Dreams/Ambitions
Family trips
Tourist Hostess Summer Job
Although I have blogged and written many of these stories, I started recording my stories while walking my dog using the Voice Memo app on my phone. When I arrive home, I label the voice memos to find them more easily in the future. I haven't decided what I will do with the recordings, but for now, the stories are preserved.
What are your top 5 childhood stories?
2. PHOTOS:
5 months old
I'll sleep anywhere
At the airport on our way back from Florida in 1977
Back from school trip with some of my souvenirs
Love my school jacket on the suitcase as well
(jacket was originally my brother's)
I'm so happy playing badminton
wearing my favourite outfit at badminton camp
The Terry Fox monument in Thunder Bay
was originally on the side of the highway
Terry Fox died in June 1981
Monument was unveiled in June 1982
We visited a few months later when we drove
my older sister to her new home in Thompson, MN
3. MEMENTOS:
trophies, medals and plaques (I can't pick just one)
badminton racquet
records (45's and albums) (just one? really?)
charm bracelet (and high school ring)
shells from our Florida trip in 1978 (and shells necklace)
I am preserving some of my favourite
childhood mementos in this
heart-shaped Lindt box
I'm not sure if this 45's box was originally mine
(it may have been my older sister's)
but I have taken it out of storage and
enjoy seeing it on display
4. ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
2nd Franco-Ontarien Track Meet 800m
OFSAA competitor volleyball and badminton; All-Ontario track 3000m
Music Festival and Royal Conservatory Grade IX
Offered job at my first interview & tourist hostess job
Badminton training regime, learned to sew to make badminton warm-up outfit I loved
5. PEOPLE:
Family (👋🏻 to those reading)
Childhood friends
McDonald's boss
Grade 1 and Grade 13 English teacher
Coach
Along with my 5Top5, there are other parts to Revive55 Project that are works in progress.
I bought a shelf for the trophies I'm keeping. I need my husband's help to put it up on the wall. It has pegs for medals and a corkboard.
I am updating my Personal Timeline which is a chronological list of memorable events in my life.
I am updating my childhood album. Years ago, I took the photos that were originally in my magnetic childhood albums and preserved them in a Creative Memories album. After making albums for my siblings when they turned a special age, I found lots of other photos from my childhood that I am adding to my original one. I am splitting it up and also adding mementos like report cards, ribbons, certificates and newspaper clippings. My first album is from birth until Grade 8 and my second is my high school years. I will make a third for my university years.
I think that I had decluttered quite a bit from my childhood already so there wasn't too much more to do besides trophies, report cards and certificates. I had one big box of childhood memories that I have split up into smaller boxes that are more easily accessible. Things that could be added to my childhood albums are preserved there.
In my last post, I wrote about decluttering my sports trophies. I looked at my sports trophies before looking at the newspaper clippings. I put some trophies in the "to donate" box before realizing what their significance may have been. I'm not sure if I will reopen the donation box now that I've seen the photos and clippings but for now, I have separated the meaningful ones from the ones I thought weren't as meaningful.
I have a box of music trophies that I haven't opened yet. While working on my childhood photo album, I started looking at newspaper clippings to see what I would want to include in the photo album. Along with my sports newspaper clippings were my music ones. That is the wonderful thing about living in a small town. Every time you win a trophy, you're in the newspaper.
Along with the scrapbooks that my Mom kept the newspaper clippings in (shown at the top in the photo), were file folders that contained the certificates and adjudicator reports for each of my music performances in the Music Festival from 1972-1982 (bottom right).
Tip: Keeping things in yearly folders is an easy way to keep track of mementos.
Unfortunately, I put some of my most special newspaper clippings in a magnetic album (bottom left) that has wrecked the clippings - fading and putting lines along the photos.
The clippings in this album were very difficult to remove. It's a good lesson that we should remove things from these type of albums before they deteriorate further.
Tip: Use a tool like the Creative Memories multipurpose tool to gently unstick photos or clippings that are stuck. If it's a photo, which is more sturdy than delicate newspaper, dental floss can also work.
Tip: Before removing photos or items from an album, have a plan to organize and label the photos with any information you are not keeping (ex. date, location that may be written on the album page). Ideally use a photo-safe writing tool or write on a photo-safe label you can adhere to the back of the photo.
Tip: Be ready to keep photos organized if you remove them from an album. Put them in a photo safe album immediately or label/date each photo.
I initially thought that decluttering my music memorabilia would be simple. I thought I was more attached to my sports days than my music moments. I figured I would keep the memorable ones and get rid of the rest but I am really struggling with that. Do I just keep the ones when I won which was my initial thought? Or do I keep the ones from the music pieces I loved? Or the ones when there was a story with the performance?
As I read through some of the adjudicator comments, I cringed at how critical some of them were. This was a northern town festival. I would say that I competed for fun. The adjudicators came from larger centres in Canada. In hindsight though, many of my fellow competitors ended up studying music at university and making music their chosen career. Just because we were a small town, does not mean that there were not VERY talented musicians. My younger sister competed against Rayanne Dupuis who became an opera singer with the Canadian Opera Company and is now performing in Europe. Those musicians probably appreciated the comments and applied the recommendations more than I did. In this photo that I rescued from my magnetic album, Rayanne is second from the left. I'm fourth from the left. Five people made music their career that I know of in this photo.
When decluttering, Marie Kondo suggests keeping things that spark joy. Is it possible for a negative story to spark joy? For years, I would tell the story of the time I sang a song I loved at the music festival. This is a song that I still play on the piano. I play the original version and if I'm in the mood to sing it, I play it in a different key to sing along.
How I remember the story is that I go up on stage to sing (actually we were in the smaller room so not actually on the big stage in the auditorium - I vividly remember this moment). My Mom is accompanying me on the piano. Before she can start the introduction, the adjudicator says "Brahms in French?" (She spoke in French to say this). I can't remember exactly what she said afterwards but I knew she was not happy about my song choice. So much for my excitement and confidence to perform.
I would later believe that she wanted me to sing it in German. It is only now that I read her comments and see that she explains that:
"in principle I am against these adaptations. It's a shame that you didn't sing...[names of French composers]..that are lovely and the real thing. Your effort is praiseworthy. Diction is clear. Intonation is correct."
[Funny sidenote: I didn't know who the French composers were that she mentioned so I didn't include them in my translation above. The next day, I was reading a book and read the following:
"Bach's preludes and fugues are an exquisite balm for the blues. Gabriel Fauré is a personal favorite when I'm frazzled, and Frederic Chopin's exquisite nocturnes can restore a ravished soul even if a broken heart can't be mended"
As I read this quote, I recognize the name Fauré and wonder if that's what I read in the report the day before. I go back and see that it is. How am I seeing this name twice in two days? The universe is telling me that I should give Fauré a listen.]
I initially put this adjudicator's report in the recycling bin. I took it out to post about it. This is a memorable moment in my childhood. Shouldn't I keep it? I have winning certificates and adjudicator reports that I don't remember. This judge took her work seriously. She was like an early version of Simon Cowell. On another report, she wrote "bad diction. [ other comments - then finished with ] if only we could understand the words - - - -". I can't help but laugh when I read this now. I googled the adjudicator and she had a very prestigious career as a concert pianist (including with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra) and piano professor. She received the Order of Canada in 1980; the year she was adjudicator at our music festival.
I did have a good report when I won in vocal duet with my sister. "Correct intonations. Intervals are good. The voices are lovely. The interpretation is very good. The diction is clear. Thank you!" So she's fair. I'm sure our best musicians had amazing reports.
Most of my reports over the years are kind even when I messed up. Sometimes it's comments like:
I know this isn't your best! (the judge underlined "know" and added the exclamation point)
Better luck next time
with a bit more control, this could be very fine work indeed
some musical playing here, although not always under control today
despite some small memory problems near the ending
I wish I had heard you at your best
a few slips and some confusion near the end but general effect pleasant
If you had asked me how many certificates I had, I wouldn't have guessed this many. It was wonderful to see but I have now recycled most of the 2nd and 3rd places. I kept a couple of special ones.
Each winning certificate has a trophy.
This is how tall the certificates pile was. I sometimes think, they're just certificates, they don't take as much space as trophies, but they do when there are fifty-two.
Having a photo reminds me of how many performances I performed. There were numerous pieces to memorize and perform in front of an auditorium every year. I am so thankful to have lived in a town with this opportunity.
Reading all the comments, looking at the certificates, newspaper clippings and the trophies brought back so many memories. It transported me back in time to the Civic Centre in the large auditorium or the smaller room upstairs. I can remember walking up the stairs to get backstage where we waited for the adjudicator's bell ring that told us she was ready for the next competitor. I would walk up to the grand piano, the only time I got to play such a beautiful instrument, sit on the bench, ensure I was the perfect distance from the keys. My fingers are positioned, I take a breath and play as best as I can in that moment. Some years I knew the pieces better than other years. Sometimes it was luck when I would play it the best I ever played. Other times, it was the opposite.
If we won our individual category, we received a medallion. The person with the highest mark of a few similar categories won a large cup they got to keep for one year and received a smaller replica. The cup winners performed at a gala on the Sunday after the week long festival.
I'm thankful to have taken the time to go through all the mementos but I no longer want to keep it all. I think part of my reluctence to let go was the fear that I would forget. There were moments of "I had forgotten that"! I was reminded because I had all the mementos.
So how do I decide what to keep and what to let go? For many there are four mementos.
This one was especially memorable because I sang a duet with my sister and my Mom accompanied us. We practiced so much to perform this song as well as we did. I enjoyed the harmonies of duets. This slow version of the song is not bringing back good memories though. I don't think I loved the song, but I loved the performance.
The following year, we worked just as hard to perform A Lark in The Air. It was so tough to get the tempo correct but we had a great teacher who taught us to sing it correctly. While we were waiting to sing it, I had a little cough that kept worsening. When I got backstage, I couldn't talk or sing. We were the first performers in our group. I got a glass of water and the other performers went before us while I tried to get my voice back.
It was frustrating to hear the others who didn't perform it with the correct tempo. We thought we could win if we could just sing, but it wasn't meant to be. The way the duet went, I started the song as a solo and then my sister came in with a harmony after the first line. We were performing in the large auditorium and no voice came out until the third word. I could sing the medium and low notes but not the high ones. Being the soprano, this didn't work. We ended up last but the judge gave us praise for singing it with the correct tempo. It's funny that I remember those comments even if I don't have the adjudicator report. I guess I threw it out long ago - or she felt that it wasn't worth writing up a report when it wasn't really performed properly.
There are many songs I sang or pieces I played that I don't remember but I always remembered this one. It's too bad I never saw the film Iris - I would have freaked out! I just found this clip of the song from the film.
This memory brings a smile to my face perhaps more than the trophies or certificates do. It's more interesting to have a story than just going up, playing a piece or singing a song perfectly and getting a trophy. Although I have kept a few trophies, certificates and judges reports, maybe the next time I decide to declutter, I'll be ready to declutter even more of them. I have spent hours looking through the reports, the programmes, looking through the music pieces I still have and playing them. I am happy that I had kept all the things until I had the chance to take the time to go through them and be reminded of what was most special. I just wish I hadn't waited this long to do it.
That is the lesson to take away from this. In the future, I don't want to hold onto everything for decades before deciding what is worth preserving.
