Have you ever noticed how listening to a particular song can drastically change your mood? We talked with Detroit Symphony Orchestra bass clarinetist, Shannon Orme, about how music can be used to change your mood and productivity. Plus, some fun resources to help you and your children learn more about music.
Tara
Shannon, can you tell me a little bit about the song we just heard? It really made me happy. What are some of the things you did intentionally to make me feel that way?
Shannon Orme
The tempo for that song is a march tempo, which is the kind of tempo where you want to move around. You don’t want to sit still. And we also included Andrés, our percussionist, who played the snare drum – which is not a very calming instrument. It makes you want to get up and walk or run.
Tara
How do you decide whether you’re going to play something fast or slow or upbeat?
Shannon Orme
Well, the music usually comes with a set of instructions by the composer and we get to interpret in between the notes, but the notes and the general style of the way we play it is given to us by the composer. So the composer like Mozart or Beethoven, or the composer that wrote The Neighborhood Song gave us a set of intentions.
Tara
So how do they communicate to you? Is that at the beginning – like next to where all the symbols are in the music?
Shannon Orme
Right, it’s in the top left corner, and it’s just a word that they write. Vivaci or allegretto or largo – which means slow. And then from that we get to make an interpretation of the tempo.
Tara
So this next piece we’re going to listen to, Shannon, you played it a lot differently than you played the first piece. What are some of the differences?
Shannon Orme
Well, the tempo, the walking speed, is a lot slower. My tone, I tried to do a little bit different color – not so bright. And also, I changed a few notes in the original melody so that it sounded sad. Instead of a happy song. In the sad song, he’s playing the vibes.
Tara
Do you use music yourself to help inspire you to have a particular mood for the day?
Shannon Orme
Absolutely. For example, if I’m cleaning my house, I like to play something really upbeat that makes me want to dance and puts me in a good mood and I end up cleaning a lot faster. If I’m about to go to sleep, I want to listen to something slow and calming. Not with a lot of aggressive rhythm to it because I want my body to wind down.
Tara
Can you tell me why you decided that you wanted to play music?
Shannon Orme
I started music when I was in fifth grade band at my school. I picked the clarinet because my mom played the clarinet. And we still had one in the basement from when she was in school. So we had one already in the house, and that’s why I picked the clarinet.
Tara
Does it cost a lot of money to learn how to play an instrument when you have one already?
Shannon Orme
Not necessarily. We had to spend a little bit of money fixing it up. And then if you want to take private lessons, that can be a little bit of an extra cost.
Tara
Do you think that when families are feeling like they’re stressed at home, they could start a new activity and learn how to teach – could they teach them themselves how to play an instrument?
Shannon Orme
Absolutely. You don’t need, necessarily, an instrument to be a musician. You can play the drums with a pencil and a desk, you can sing with your family at home. There’s all sorts of things that you can do. And online, there’s all kinds of free videos on how to learn how to play an instrument or how to write a song.
Tara
I’m really excited that we’ve learned so much about the DSO. I didn’t know the DSO also did education. Is there a place where families can learn more about the DSO resources?
Shannon Orme
Absolutely. We have a website www.dso.org. And we have free educational concerts on the web right now that you can watch at home with your family.