Crying Violins- by Rachel

“Those violins are crying mom,” said a 5-year old Brian in regards to an Andre Previn composition playing at our grandparent’s home. My mother asked Brian what he meant by that and he explained to her that the violins were beautiful, but he could not understand why they were so sad. My mother, fascinated by her child’s interpretation of the sound knew they heard the same song, but perhaps each of them listened quite differently. We all listen and see things in different ways, however the way 5-year-old Brian was so innocently concerned for the violin’s well-being took my mother by surprise, as this was such an unexpected response.

Ever since my mother and I can remember, Brian has been intrigued by music. As stated in my previous blog, my brother could tell you the song title, artist, album, and year of almost any song on the radio. He has a collection of about 350 CDs ranging from Frank Sinatra to Britney Spears. Growing up, we had a finished basement where I had a trunk full of dress-up cloths and dance recital sequined tu-tus and Brian had his CD collection, CD Player, and sound system. In the afternoons Brian would “DJ” in the basement at his very own radio station playing the latest Top 40 Hits, especially his favorite Mariah Carey. Brian has every Mariah album ever made and when asked what his favorite Mariah hit is he replied, “She has lots of hits Rach, too many to even pick just one.” Indeed, you gotta give her that much at least, right? Ha! This radio show was the real deal, full of commercial breaks and everything! While attending college at Roger Williams University in Bristol, RI I co-hosted a radio program on our station 88.3 WQRI FM. Brian was one of our biggest fans and I knew he was itching to get on the air. One summer day, I invited Brian to come to the station with me and introduce some songs on the show. Needless to say, he thought it was the cat’s meow and reminds me of it from time to time. Brian stills has his “radio show” to this day in his own apartment and I am sure this is his way of unwinding, sort of an escape from everyday life. Only if we all dedicated 30 minutes or an hour each day to just unwind with some meditation, exercise, mindless television, music, that book you have been trying to read for months or some dancing, perhaps we would be less anxious and more focused. I know I would be.

After doing a bit of research online about the parallels between schizophrenia and art there were a few things that I found interesting. Brian regularly attends an afternoon program where art and dancing are offered. According to an article by Frederick J. Frese entitled, Coping with Schizophrenia, the psychologist talks about different coping mechanisms people with disabilities use. The most popular forms of expression tend to revolve around music, art, and dance. I think these ways of expression can be extremely theraputic to all people, but especially those with a disability which is sometimes easily forgotten. Some of the greatest and most meaningful peices of art I own have been created by my brother.

Every Saturday night for the last five years, Brian has gone to a local pub down the street to partake in a little kareoke. Various family members have gone to support him and even sang a song or two ourselves. There are a few other “regulars” that show up and sing as well. It seems to be a pretty non-judgemental environment–not that I think Brian really cares who is watching or judging as he is quite content with his singing ability. He doesn’t seem mind who hears and if they like it or not, haha. Brian’s fearlessness in singing is pretty admirable I must say. I have been a dancer and performer since I was a child and I still get nervous singing kareoke even if I am a couple of cocktails in, haha! Frese, a schizophrenic himself says being able to express himself in a nonrational way has helped him release built up pressure and stress however, “these musical or artistic expressions come forth in a manner that is not readily appreciated by others.” He notes the jazz term woodshedding has been coined for such activities. Woodshedding is when a musician will go out away from others to a woodshed and experiment with various sounds until the sounds begin to form patterns that can be appreciated by others (Frese, 1992). I thought that was pretty interesting and agreed with Frese that woodshedding activities such as art, poetry, and kareoke could bridge the gap between the disabled and non-disabled communities.

To wrap things up, I would like to say I think art, music, and poetry are important for all to take part in. I think sometimes people underestimate the disabled community in their ability to express themselves in a nonrational way. Music has done great things for Brian and dance has done great things for me. Get everyone involved. I know it is hard in this economy for some to afford dance or piano lessons and arts seem to never make the cut when it comes to budgeting in schools (which is another blog for another day, don’t get me started on that rant, ha!) but these things are vital to our overall growth and development as a person. I know parents with disabled children have so many things to worry about, but lets not forget about the non-disabled children in the home. That one or two hours of dance class a week was one of the many things I am most thankful to my parents for. Let kids be exposed to Andre Previn, Maya Angelou, and Martha Graham. Let them ”play DJ” or sing kareoke because you never know, these things could be just the kind of woodshedding activities your child or family member may need to express themselves.