July 2021 - Music

JULY 2021

music

Table of Contents Queen of the Blues

Words and Illustration by Zsuzsa Goodyer

It Hits You in the Feels Words and Illustration by Anna Stone

Marching to the Music Illustration by Abbie Winson

Cover and Endpapers: Abbie Winson Editor: Anna Stone

By: Zsuzsa Goodyer

Queen of the Blues

Born Eleanora Fagan in 1915, was nicknamed “Lady Day”, and is now seen as the Queen of Blues. She took her professional pseudonym from Billie Dove, an actress she admired, and Clarence Halliday, her probable father. She originally spelled her last name “Halliday”, her father’s birth surname, but eventually changed it to “Holiday”, his performing name.

She wasn’t even 12 when she experienced her first attempted rape, which her mother managed to successfully stop and press charges against their neighbour. It is believed that after this incident, Billie’s mother moved them to Harlem, where Billie was a runner for the brothel her mother worked in. She began to sing in clubs in Harlem. Often, even though she was the singer she would have to wait outside the venue because of her gender and her race.

She’s probably most famously known for her production of “Strange Fruit” (written by Abel Meeropol) And for her performance at the Café Society, she had waiters silence the crowd when the song began. During the song’s long introduction, the lights dimmed and all movement had to cease. As Holiday began singing, only a small spotlight illuminated her face. On the final note, all lights went out, and when they came back on, Holiday was gone.

(Cited from Wikipedia, from Nicholson, p.

113.).

Lyrics of strange fruit: Southern trees bearing strange fruit Blood on the leaves and blood at the roots Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees Pastoral scene of the gallant south Them big bulging eyes and the twisted mouth Scent of magnolia, clean and fresh Then the sudden smell of burning flesh Here is fruit for the crows to pluck For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck For the sun to rot, for the leaves to drop Here is a strange and bitter crop Although she had great success in the 30s and 40s, she had serious drug issues and was swarmed with legal troubles. She even served a short prison sentence for possession of narcotics. Unfortunately, owing to her drug use, drinking, and relationships with abusive men; her health and voice had deteriorated by the 50s. Although she did attempt to give up alcohol, she soon relapsed and died of cirrhosis at 44. She earned four Grammy Awards, all posthumously. It is sad to think that she was another impoverished artist, riddled with psychological issues, abused, continually put down for being black and female, that was only recognised as such a bright, shining star once she had passed.

The iconic photo I drew the piece from was taken in 1947.

I wanted to portray the tragedy of her life as well as her fierce passion.

Illustration By: Zsuzsa Goodyer

By: Anna Stone

It Hits You in the Feels

As many of you are probably aware, music can make you feel so many different emotions.

When you plug in your earphones or turn up the speakers, you can be transported into a whole other world.

Different genres can make you feel different emotions. A lot of pop songs are love songs, so they can make you feel any emotions associated with that. Rock songs or even heavy metal however is more aggressive, however some people use those genres to relieve any built up emotions inside.

The brain is what makes you feel all these emotions, and there are three parts of your brain that are responsible for these emotional reactions: amygdala, cerebellum, and the nucleus accumbens. The amygdala is involved with stimulating memory, the cerebellum is involved with timing and body movements, which links with the ability to play instruments or tap along to rhythms, and the nucleus accumbens is involved with producing dopamine. Dopamine is the chemical that is involved with feeling pleasure. The combination of the three areas of the brain being used creates the emotions one feels when listening to music.

Music can also be used to heal people. It has been known that people who develop dementia respond well to music. It is a good way to engage with people with dementia. Even people who were musicians and suffered from short-term memory loss could still remember how to play their instrument. For them, it is like riding a bike - they will never forget it, even if they sadly could not remember recent events.

Music has also been proven to improve depression. There was a study published in the British Journal of Psychiatrist, which followed 79 individuals who were diagnosed with depression. 46 received the usual therapy sessions, medication, and psychiatric counselling, however the remaining also received bi-weekly music therapy sessions.

It was found that after just three months the group who received the music therapy treatment showed significant improvements in their depressive symptoms compared to the other group of 46 participants.

Music is important to me. I listen to music all the time, and enjoy singing and playing piano.

If you ever see me on a bus or in the car, you will usually see me playing music. It brings me so much joy, and I can tailor the music genre, depending on my mood.

So, music really does hit you in the feels. It stimulates the brain, and helps you feel more joy in your life.

Illustration By: Anna Stone

Marching to the Music Illustration By: Abbie Winson

Copyright © 2021 by Abbie Winson, Zsuzsa Goodyer, and Anna Stone.

All rights reserved.

This publication or any portion thereof may not be reproduced, copied, reprinted, reworked, redistributed, or used in any manner whatsoever without the explicit written permission of the copyright holders.