First Day of Class! Week 1 (8.25.11)

“Freight Train, freight train, run so fast…” Can this classic song really be written by an eleven year old? The lyrics were so mature and rich, that I was amazed at her talent at such a young age. Not only was the song a classic and sung from the heart, but I learned that Elizabeth Cotten was a left handed guitar player, that used a right handed banjo. I am right handed, yet have a hard time playing a single note on a guitar. As a class, we also sang Goodnight Irene, O Mary Don’t You Weep, and Since I’ve Laid My Burden Down, as way for us to get a taste of what the semester would entail. Luckily we were able to sing along, as we were given a golden set of lyrics to follow, with a deposit in the “dollar box”. The songs we sang made me think that we were singing stories about the lives others have lived, and think about how music was infused in their lives. Out of the next selection, I liked the beat that we sang to of Mary Don’t you Weep, which I learned came from the Hebrew Bible. John Hurt's song, “Since I’ve Laid My Burden Down,” is a classic Mississippi blues type of music that involved a fast finger picking style that I liked very much. Who knew that a visual studies class was offered at Berkeley that involved singing in class and drawing diagrams about how we understand a song. In addition, we were given a short task to draw what it means to be held in our mothers arms. I drew a baby in block form that was wrapped in ribbon and connect to her mother, which is represented through a bow as important symbol of connectivity. Everyones diagram was different, meaning some were more abstract than others. I look forward to having a class where intuition and spontaneity is valued.

For next weeks class....a drawing of John Hurt, singin' the ol' so soulful Mississippi blues....