Summer Reading, Get That Feeling

There are a lot of resources out there to keep your young friends and family members reading and it is important to do so!  Research has shown that if students do not keep their chops up over the summer holidays their learning can drop back at least one whole month. That is a lot to catch up when you start back at school.

Here are some helpful links:
The American Library Association's reading list:
http://www.ala.org/alsc/2014-summer-reading-list

The Collaborative Summer Library Program (all American states, I believe, are now part of this.  Vermont and New Hampshire were the last to join!):
http://www.cslpreads.org/

Goodreads has a good source of summer reading for all ages, from kids to adults:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/tag/2014

The Huffington Post has a list of Must Read books for Grown-Ups:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/07/2014-books_n_4550607.html

I am adding Scholastic's site as it has some resources, but you have to log in and it is very fussy. Resources are there for kids, parents and educators:
http://www.scholastic.com/ups/campaigns/src-2014

Want to read some research to back up my earlier comment:
http://cslpreads.org/learning-tools/summer-reading-research.html

and this from the New York State Library:
http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/libdev/summer/research.htm

This years Summer Reading Program theme is science - namely: Fizz, Boom, READ! If you want to tie in some activities at home with this, don't forget the basic science of home economics, just remember to cook healthy snacks and hold back on the juices and sugar!  And your school will have a list of books for folks to read, too. Those, hopefully, come home with the students!

The web is a fabulous source for science too, if you want to play and experiment:
Edutopia:
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/super-simple-summer-science-activities-bob-pflugfelder

Remember that wonderful kids show, ZOOM (rhymes with BOOM!)? They maybe off the air, but are still alive and well on the web:
http://pbskids.org/zoom/activities/sci/

Education.com has some pretty excellent experiments too:
http://www.education.com/activity/science/
http://www.education.com/activity/science/

If you want some traditional stories to go along with all that, then try looking up the stories of the stars, going back to Home Ec., what about Hansel and Gretel? For those of us who love rocks and creation stories, there is a huge topic of interest called Geomythology. Some of the books I have on my shelf (not guaranteed to be in print) which might help are:
Beyond the Blue Horizon, by Dr. E.C. Krupp
Sun Stories, and The Return of Light, by Carolyn Edwards
Myths of the Sacred Tree by Moyra Caldecott
Tales of the Shimmering Sky by Susan Milord (includes activities)
Why the North Star Stands Still, by William Palmer
A Forest of Stories, by Rina Singh
and of course the wonderful collection of tales and activities put together by Joseph Bruchac and Michael Caduto:
Keepers of the Earth
Keepers of the Night
Keepers of the Animals
Keepers of Life

Can we count science fiction as science? Hmm...
If so, check out any Ray Bradbury, (Fahrenheit 451), Heinlein (Stranger in a Strange Land) and Arthur C Clarke (Rendezvous with Rama which I read in high school as compulsory reading). Or something a little more modern:
Rushed, by Brian Harmon
The Sentinel, by Eden Winters
Tanglewreck by one of my top favourite writers, Jeanette Winterson
and the Sixth Science Fiction Megapack, by Art et al!

I hope this is of some help. Keep your minds sharp, your bodies moving, and your fingers flexing!

And let's hope for more fizz and reading, and not so much BOOM & BANG!

Peace,
Simon

Taking Something Floating in the Air

My first recorder. It weighed a ton!

This past weekend I taught a workshop on recording in a home studio, from setting it up, to find the right equipment, to recording.  As a kid, my brother and I recorded on my step-father's Grundig reel to reel machine, and occasionally on the Dictaphones my dad sold from his office supply store in South Wales (before Office Max was invented).  The Grundig had a great smell to it and would wake up like a living beast.  You would click it on with the roll volume button, and watch the green light (above the word automatic) come slowly on and the whole creature of a machine would hum. You could smell the electricity of it, like you can smell the gas burning from a fast car driving 100 mph or more.

I wonder where those tapes are now, and if they still have a couple of little boys pretending to be police officers or spies on them! I later used that same Grundig to record my rock and band. I moved 'up' to a cassette machine, a Walkman and tried recording with that. My best friend Billy in the UK had a Tascam Portastudio which recorded 4 track onto a cassette.  We played with that a lot and recorded a bunch of songs - at least one albums worth! That was the first time I tried engineering a track.  I would take my cassette recorder with me and record my life and stories to my wife when she was over here in America and I was still in the UK. I have always loved recording sounds, stories, and other people, especially street musicians, as well as photograph them. I usually have a voice recorder and camera with me!

When I began life as a professional storyteller in 2003, one of the first things I wanted to do was record stories, share them with the world, and show the world what I could do. Share stories and show my talent, was my plan.  But I also knew I wanted to do the best job I could possibly do - not just a quick record, get it out there, but a really good job.

There is a folk story about a woman who spreads gossip. One day she discovers that something that she spread was a lie and went to the preacher to see what she could do to stop it from spreading further.  The preacher told her to take a feather pillow to the top of a hill on a windy day.  When she was there, she was to rip open the pillow and sake the feathers into the wind, then return to talk to the priest. She did this.  When she got back to the priest, she asked what to do next.  He told her to go and collect every single feather she had released from the pillow. She said it could not be done, and he agreed, but this is how rumours, lies, gossip spreads. Once it is out there, you have no control over it. It has a life of its own, and that is the same to ANYTHING we put up on-line. So I wanted something good, that in 10 years I could look back on say 'It's still good, and I am still happy with it."

Second-hand Tales, released 2006
Artwork copyright Rob Brookes 2006

The first CD was recorded professionally in a studio, but I watched and learned and went home, found Audacity and played with it. Audacity is a free Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). That first CD was released in 2006. I recorded more, and played with Audacity more. I began putting stories on my website. Some of the tools I purchased a long the way (my Roland Edirol R-09 and Zoom Q3) had light versions of DAW programs like Cakewalk and Cubase, so I tried those out.  But I liked the simplicity of Audacity, although there were many limitations.  I began putting more stories on my website. I recorded my second CD in another studio and sat with the engineer, watched, asked questions and played more with the programs I had, working between Audacity and the others, combining talents (tools), if you were.  That CD was released in 2008.  In

More Second-hand Tales, released 2008
Artwork copyright Rob Brookes 2008

2010, with my own equipment (the Edirol R-09) and the DAWs I had, I recorded my third CD.  The music was recorded at the second studio and the stories and music were put together there, and produced, with me helping (again asking questions and watching closely). This was released in 2011 and won Parent's Choice Gold Award.

A Tangle of Tales, released 2010
Artwork copyright Rob Brookes 2010

Then I invested in new equipment.  I bought a condenser mic, a USB box, and set of headphones, as a kit, put out by PreSonus and it came with their DAW called Studio One.  I started playing around with the kit and discovered I had found the digital audio workstation for me! It was fast to learn, easy to use, did everything I wanted it to do and more.  I recorded more and put more out on my website. Played around with the new tools I found. I made bootlegs of unreleased stories which I sometimes gave away at birthday parties. Someone asked me to record their juvenile fantasy novel, which I did.  That was in 2012. Last year (2013) I recorded 4 more books and so far this year (April 2nd 2014) I have recorded two more. All in my home studio. (I would share a photo of it, but it is in a bit of a mess right now!)

It's is not that I like the sound of my own voice.  I just love playing around and recording. I take my voice recorder everywhere I go mostly. You never know when you will hear something cool. (This is the time to listen out for those Peepers calling out to their mates!) Sometimes we just take it for granted, but there is still wonder in it for me, which is probably why I love it so much.  The DAW does not have the same smell that the Grundig used to have, and luckily it does not hum like it! But the same magic instilled in me all those years ago, has a strong hold; and that magic of taking something floating in the air, something unseen and capturing it so I can be heard again and again is pretty cool to me!

Recording (Family) Stories

If you have young children, read on.  If you have grandchildren, read on. If you have elders in your family, read on.

We all come from different cultures and each and everyone of us has different life experiences. These experiences, and our heritage, I believe, make us who we are.  These experiences can be told in stories, and the stories from our own culture and heritage can be, and should be told. As our planet, Earth, gets smaller and as we travel further a field to live the life we want to, we sometimes find ourselves leaving family behind and the stories they have within them.

Photo by Simon Brooks, 2014
Showing: Disney's Babes in Toyland LP, a compact disc, an Agfa cassette tape,
the Olympus WS-300M, the Zoom Q3 and Roland's Edirol R-09HR

I was not able to record many stories from my Gran before she died, just a little bit here and there, although I knew a great deal about my Grandad - he also came to America and Canada.  My grandparents on my father's side, sadly passed away before I could get any family stories from them, and it wasn't until after their death I found that I had Irish in me. My Mum, however, shared some great stories of her life growing up, when I last saw Gran, two years ago.  I found out about her jaunts to the jazz clubs of Birmingham and her wild and crazy friend. Her sneaking off to date with boys! I got some of these stories on tape. (To be used later...!)

As a kid, my brother and I recorded on my step-father's Grundig reel to reel machine, and occasionally on the Dictaphones my dad sold from his office supply store in South Wales (before Office Max was invented).  I wonder where those tapes are now, and if they still have a couple of little boys pretending to be police officers or spies on them! I later used that same Grundig to record my rock and band. I moved 'up' to a cassette machine, a Walkman and then an Olympus voice recorder. I have always loved recording sounds, stories, other people!

As Gran grew sick I realized how much I did NOT know about her.  She came from Canada originally, told me we were someway related to Cecil Rhodes, but I can't see how! She lost her brother, James, at a fairly young age. Gran and my Aunt (great aunt really) Andree sold their burial plots because they were worth some money and planned on being cremated! Our family has been Quakers and Christian Scientists. I tried to get over to the UK and record some of her stories but she was reluctant to talk into the recorder.  I wish I had done more many, many years ago.

These days, it is easy to record at very high quality for not too much money. With the ease of getting digital recorders we do not need tapes anymore, we only need free computer space, and we can get more of that with memory sticks, or external drives! For the cost of taking the family out for a meal or two at a restaurant, you can get voice recorders which record nicely. My grandfather was recorded on cassette, but there is a lot of hiss on it, as it was from one of those Jones cassette machines you see libraries giving away!

Now to bring this into a full circle!  I whole-heartedly suggest that you invest in a good voice recorder. Go to a store, take a good pair of headphones and try a few out. Why? The headphones will allow you to hear the sound quality, which you might not otherwise hear in the store.  Buy one and record stories for your children and grandchildren. If you have elders in your family, ask them to share some of their memories with you. Record your own stories! When your kids grow up, and have their own children, they might want to hear stories you might forget! When people pass away, so do their stories, their life experiences and the stories they knew and loved. If your elders are young enough, then they can record those stories and send them to you. Keep them.  Even though young kids might not appreciate the stories now, when they get older and get interested, you will have them.  If your family moved from another country be it England or Ireland, Egypt or South Africa, India or Serbia you might have family still there, embedded in your heritage.  Have them share those stories with your children, or share with other people's children within your community. You might have a rich source of stories that others do not.  Share this source, your heritage, your stories.

Books are great, they can contain so much information, but voices of your own family or of those close to you contain so much more - their own lives and experiences.

(I am doing a workshop on recording stories using voice recorders, computers, microphones and Digital Audio Workstations - DAWs - at Sharing the Fire, the North Eastern Storytelling Conference on Friday, 28th March at UMASS, Amhurst MA. For more details visit the website of the League for the Advancement of New England Storytelling: http://lanes.org/storytelling-conference/friday-pre-conference-intensives/)

If it ain't broke (or how change occurs when it is 'not supposed to')

From the 1970's and earlier

Stories change as they travel through cultures, and as society changes. As I was putting together some information for teachers about storytelling and the new Common  Core Standards, I was using Little Red Riding Hood as an example of stories to use.  I had found an interesting article by Terri Windham on the Endicott-Studio website from 2004.  Terri wrote: "Great Aunt Tiger, a story found in various forms in China, Japan, and Korea is a close relation to Little Red."  This reminded me of an article reported in 2009 by the Guardian (which also mentioned Jack Zipes' work (his book on Little Red Riding Hood) which talked about an Iranian version with a boy in the place of Red.  "Dr Tehrani found that the variants shared a common ancestor dating back more than 2,600 years... He said: 'The oldest tale we found was an Aesopic fable that dated from about the sixth century BC, so the last common ancestor of all these tales certainly predated this. We are looking at a very ancient tale that evolved over time.' "  NBC recently covered Dr. Tehani's story two months ago with a new twist, showing all of Little Red's relations in a chart!  Dr. Tehani's full report can be found here!  All of it makes for great reading.  Andrew Lang published back in the 1800's that he thought all 'fairy stories' came from India so this research has been going on in various forms for a while.  Looking at these reports and articles shows how stories can evolve.

Stories do change over time. With the printed word, illuminated manuscript, chiseled stone, found papyrus, or scribed scroll we can trace stories and find, or have an educational guess, at where they began. But I also believe that two people, or cultures can have similar ideas at the same time in very geographical places.  I wonder, sometimes, if when people like Tehani say they have found variants, they are simply stories that appeared in different places at the same time, independently.

Can something hit the human psyche at a given time and start things happening? It has happened with technology from the Victorian times to present day.  Even artists go through gestalt moments and come up with a new variant on a theme.  Writers in different places on the planet come up with similar ideas, as did, I believe, storytellers did hundreds of years ago, either to explain why things happened (what's the sun doing up there and why does it go away and come back every day? Where does it go, and can we go there too?) or as cautionary tales like Red.  As humans change either in development (have we really?) and culturally we see new things sometimes in these ancient stories, or we re-write them, either knowingly (The Weight by Jeanette Winterson) or not.  Recently my son and I were talking about the Lord of the Rings trilogy and suddenly I remembered a movie we had seen a few months back called '9'.  I asked my son if he also thought (as I had) if there were similarities. He agreed.  Did the writer/creator come up with the idea independently, or had he read Tolkien?  Did he think it was an original idea?  It is, but there are many influences.  (If you have not seen '9', it is a lot shorter than the Rings movies, coming in at 79 minutes in a single sitting and is a whole lot of fun, even if it is dark.)

And the stories change again! And more research is done and we might be getting closer to finding out who Little Red Riding Hood is and where she came from. Folk tales, to me, are fabulous things, and the research which has been done and continues to be done on them is fascinating. But I wonder when some of us say we need to be true to the original Old Tale, how true we need to be.  We choose what we put in and leave out.  I try to keep as much as the culture as I can find as a way to honour the tale.  But there are stories which I have changed.  My story of the Shape-Shifting Girl is a retelling of a Scandinavian of the Boy Who Could Turn Himself into an Ant, Falcon and Lion (also The Ashlad and the Beasts).  I loved the original story but was frustrated by the number of stories I was reading in the collection where the boy got to marry the princess. She, of course, had no choice, as it happened back in Those Days, but I thought I could make it so that no one had to get married. And also the gift of shape-shifting was given for some very small reason.  I believed that a gift such as that should be won by growth or a somewhat large challenge - more like Real Life. The lad became a lass and the beasts asking the lad to decide for them which part of the horse carcass they should eat became a battle and rescue mission.  These are probably the largest changes I have made to a story, but I have made others.  Some changes to make the story more accessible to a modern audience, some to make a story richer, adding to it where I have found additional cultural information giving depth.  Are either of these things doing a disservice to the stories? The Shape-Shifting Girl is a popular story of mine which is popular with boys and girls of all ages - from kids to adults - running at usually 20 minutes in the telling. It addresses things like consequences, strength of character, and shows that girls can be just as adventurous, smart and courageous as boys.

Many people tell their own versions of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.  When I was growing up Goldilocks was always depicted as a pleasant looking girl, which sort of gave her permission to do the things she did.  A bit Jack and the Beanstalk-ish. My version of Goldilocks came out of talking with my daughter about Goldilocks (what a terrible person she was - a pain, a liar and thief, taking no responsibility for her actions) and playing around with the story and characters.  I added things that were part of my life, or at least my parent philosophy, it one could call it that ("what kind of a parent would I be if I gave you chocolate for breakfast?"), and experiences as a parent.  These things are identifiable to the older care-providers and draw them to the story as much as it draws the children. The Old Tales surely did this when they were first told - were empathic to the listeners, linked to their own existence, and experiences. Should storytellers, oral and/or authors, make changes like these?  And if we do, I wonder which stories will still be told, or read in 50 to 100 years from now.

Review - Elisa Pearmain’s “Forgiveness”

Elisa Pearmain’s “Forgiveness” – Collection of folk tales, workshop, or counseling?

Cover of CD

We all need forgiveness, or to forgive, even ourselves. ElisaPearmain’s double CD set “Forgiveness” is a must-have on many different levels. First there are the stories themselves. But this is not simply a collection of good folk tales, well told.  This is a collection of stories and knowledge which has been put together, very thoughtfully, as a program which uses stories to teach and to heal.

There is the glimpse at Pearmain’s skills, and gifts, as a counselor.  She brings to the front of the CD the forgiveness which is inherent in the stories Elisa has chosen and shares with us on the 2 CDs.  She teaches, through these stories, how we can learn to forgive (ourselves and others), exploring what we need to do first to be able to forgive and/or receive forgiveness.  Pearmain allows us to look at ourselves in a new light through these tales, and from that spring board, how we can grow.  The way the stories and narrative between the tales is presented, is not preachy or cloying.  Pearmain’s voice is guiding, gentle and strong.

“Forgiveness” also gives us the treat to discover, if we have not already done so, Elisa the storyteller, and what a strong storyteller she is.  Her delivery is natural, pacing immaculate, and her voice and style makes it wonderful to listen to.  She invokes sadness and joy in her telling, and each tale is given a power that few can deliver as well as Pearmain; more so, in the context of which she shares the stories.

The 15 tales (and the 8 sections they share) themselves come from many different cultures, traditions and countries. Two are personal stories: one of Pearmain’s own, and one from another primary source, and shared with permission.  These stories add to the power of the program, proving that one is ‘not alone’ in suffering or grief. There are also teachings, ritual, and meditation included to help understand, travel through, and learn.  The eight sections take us from ‘Getting Started’, and ‘Empathy’ through to ‘Letting Go of Anger’ concluding with ‘The Forgiving Stance’. Each section contains at least one story with a reflection or exercise to aid the listener “and those they serve to heal…[to] live more joyfully in the present”.

One could buy the 2 CD set for the tales alone: they are worth ever penny.  One could also buy the CDs for therapy work, or as a gift for those close to us who may be in need of such a program.  15 stories, plus the teachings included on the 2 CD program are very much worth the $22.50.  For more details on the stories, where the stories come from (there are very good sources here), and details on how to purchase Elsia Pearmain’s recorded “Forgiveness” program, please visit: http://www.wisdomtales.com/forgiveness.html

If Elisa Pearmain ever offered a workshop which is based around this program, or brought out a book, to explore and expand this program, I for one would be on board.

Artwork by Simon Brooks, copyright 2013

Not the Three Little Pigs! How a fractured fairy tale came to be!

Part of the art of storytelling is working on the fly: improvisation.  Storytellers do it all the time.  As a live performer, especially working with kids, you get people calling out every once in while, making some comment and you have the choice to ignore it, or acknowledge it, or work it into the story.  Sometimes people want to share their own story, and if we did not have time limits and were not being paid to tell stories, we could listen to all the stories people had to offer, all day long but we can't.  Sometimes people jump up to join in (class clown)! Some people have something to offer.

Art by Simon Brooks, Copyright 2014

This weekend I went to perform at a birthday party. I was told the theme was Spiders and having spoken with 'mom' I had a few other stories ready for the party too.  One was the English story of the Three Little Pigs. When I arrived it was a chilly but beautiful evening. The sun was about to set.  The family had made a canvas sheet for the kids to sit on and there was a rocking chair under the tree with some lanterns above it for me. The canvas had a spider web on it. So of course I open with the story of how Ananzi Received Stories. I did another story which I had discussed with mom and was about to start another requested story, The Three Little Pigs.  One of the birthday girls' friends said: "Because it is a spider party, could you tell it a spiders?" And because she asked so nicely, without thinking I immediately said: "Yes." And then started the tale. I left aside the whole notion of spiders building webs, there was no way I could 'write out' or eliminate the three different houses in that moment. Then came the huffing and puffing.  Birds cannot huff. I am not sure wolves really could, but we will let that pass. Birds really can't.  So this bird kind of coughed and then got a passing wolf to help. Birds also cannot smell. Fact. So how can the bird follow the scent of the spider? Ah! The spider left a fine thread for the bird to follow to the next house! No more wolves helping out - wings! It used it's wings to knock the house down. Great! Bird follows the two silver threads to the house of bricks etc etc. Then I followed and ended with Ananzi's Hat Shaking Dance! It was such a great night and I have to say I could have spent the whole evening telling tales to that family and the birthday girls' friends.

For the full story of  The Three Little Spiders go to my website: http://www.diamondscree.com > Free Stuff, scroll down and click on link to Story and click on the image of the Raven!

There is something very satisfying about being challenged, rising to the challenge, and making it work.  The kids loved it and even helped the story along. Storytelling shows by example that the imagination is a powerful thing, that knowing how to create with storytelling gives strength to the imagination. Without imagination, one could never think out of the box and the Three Little Pigs would be just that - The Three Little Pigs, and we would have no "Little Bad Wolf and Red Riding Hood" or "The True Story of the Three Little Pigs" and one of our favourites at home, "The Three Little Wolves and the Big, Bad Pig."

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words - or is it?

I read a lot.  I read for pleasure (currently into the fabulous 'Life' by Keith Richards and James Fox), many of which get added to the list of books I have read so far this year here on my blog.  I read many anthologies and collections of folktales and fairy tales and poetry too (which I do not list due to the number!), and also for my audio book work (which can be seen on Audible.com)!  But I am also a photographer.  I studied photography at at the Hereford College of Art on Folly Lane in Hereford and it was my only income for a good number of years as I made a living taking photographs, trying to tell stories with a shot or series of photographs.  I also love artwork of many kinds and have a passion or a love of sorts for graphic design and illustration work.

So, when I go dumpster diving at libraries, or rummage through things left at the transfer station or at yard sales, I often look for book titles either to read, to admire, or yes, strip.  Strip?  Sometimes there are books which are beginning to go moldy but which have great illustrations in them or photographs, or they have great covers.  Some of the old and molding books get stripped of all their pages and I made journals from the covers (I am still trying to perfect these.  It is fun to write in an old book legitimately)!  Sometimes I remove the pictures only and leave the books in the dumpster.  Bringing home books going moldy is not an option.

I have a collection of artwork from many books and one day I will do a project with some of them. Sometimes illustrations get pasted on to or in letters to friends or family, but recently  when I was looking at some illustrations there seemed to be a little disconnect between the caption under the image and the image itself.  Mostly it had to do with the expressions on the character's faces. One struck me in particular from Sir Walter Scott's "Quentin Durward', a book I admit I have never read!  It looks like a love scene.  The heroine, or damsel in distress, has her hands clutched (by Quentin) over her heart.  As she looks at her presumed lover, she is quoted as saying: "Durward!  Is it you? Then there is some hope left." But looking at her face she seems, well, not so convincing. And my 11 year old inner self took over and I thought, 'she's looking up his nose and there is something up there!' I began to look more carefully at the expressions of the characters in the other illustrations and sure enough there were grounds to play and speech and thought bubbles came to my mind.

The above was the first of four I, er, messed around with.  The others will be going up on my Facebook account.  In each I have left the original caption.  Now look closely at our heroine's face.  Does it really say "there's hope" or does it say "I am slightly uncomfortable here" with the look in her eyes and raised shoulders?

And so I ask: if a picture can speak a thousand words, what is it REALLY saying?

To see the other pictures I have re-captioned, visit my Facebook page!  They will be going live over the next few days!
Peace,
Simon

Apple Season

A tisket, a tasket, a blue apple basket!
Apple Basket by Simon Brooks, copyright 2013

Branding! A story of who we are?

A recent discussion occurred on the Storytellers Facebook page.  It seems may people have different reactions to 'branding'.  My colleague Karen Chace (a professional storyteller and researcher whom I have a huge amount of respect for) and I created a workshop on branding called: "Branding, It Doesn't Have to Hurt!"  Some people do not like the word brand and I can identify with that! Was that pun intentional?

I think what most people don't realize is that everything has a 'brand' of some kind.  Even some people have a 'brand' - who do you know is known for whacky socks, or strange hats, or braces/suspenders, or tie dye shirts, or wears the same type of clothes all the time (other than Tomm Wolf)? That can all be a form of branding.  Even the glasses some of us wear! And brands change over time.  A lot of change has to do with perception, fashion, management, needs, or personal choice!

However, branding usually tells people who we are as a business, product, or organization.  It's about our image, what we do, and how we present ourselves and act in the world.  A brand can incorporate our ethics and sometimes brands change because of our business.  WorldCom (who began as LDDS for Long Distance Discount Services) were a fabulous company that bought MCI and became MCI WorldCom.  The MCI was dropped and the company reverted to WorldCom, but kept the MCI star, although reversed in direction. Certain accounting practices pretty much destroyed the company, which then went back to MCI, trying to hide the WorldCom negative past history, and is now owned by  Verizon! WorldCom crashed from being a major contender rivaling AT&T, almost overnight.

You can look at Jason Mraz and know him by his now almost iconic pork pie hats.  We know Nike by the 'swoosh', and Coke by it's swish!  Although Starbucks has changed its logo over the years, we still recognize it, from the brown, twin-tailed siren, to pretty much just her face and hair (the twin tails looking like something she is holding, almost off camera, as it were) - now in green.  We can see these 'things' and know what they are and where they come from.  There is an app available where you can guess the company from the brand or logo image! Go and try it out.  It's free!

Be aware, though, that Brand and Logo are not the same thing.  A logo is part of the brand.  The brand, as I see it, is the overall image a company, product or person (small business) has. The logo is part of that.  Other things make up a brand: type face, colour schemes, design styles, sometimes a brand includes 'the copy line' or 'by-line', the mission statement or organizations culture etc..  Take for example: "Just Do It" or "Lovin' It"!  Yeah, I know! But all those things come together to make a 'brand'.  My CDs have their own separate 'brand' with the circle image and type face: the style they have.

Originally, my letterhead, which was part of my brand, was a watercolour picture I had painted.  I moved from performing primarily at libraries for kids and families, to also working in colleges and for adult audiences and with businesses; I had to change my letterhead to reflect that additional business focus.

So the watercolour was dropped and I adopted a more serious black panel with my name in white letters (see top).  This is now used across all my stationary, and is part of my 'brand'. Another part of my 'brand' is what I have with me when I show up to perform or teach, whether at a school, college or business - my apple crate!  This became 'part of me' (the storyteller), and fits the 'storytelling image' I have in my mind.  It began as a simple way to cart all my gear around and have something to put my glasses and other 'bits' on:- a small table and carrying tool.  It carries everything I need, so I do not have to bother my host with requests for this and that. My bodhrán and backdrop are also part of my 'brand'! In some ways, I suppose even the little notebook/journal I always have - seen in the picture here - is also part of my 'brand'.  One of my patrons said they loved the apple crate as it felt like I was bringing part of my home with me!

When we look at these things across the board of our business or organization, we might see that we already have a brand without knowing it.  Some storytellers are known for the shoes they wear, or the way they paint their nails, a certain shawl, shirt, or hat they always wear when telling tales, or are known for their harp.  That is all part of their brand, knowingly or otherwise. Karen Chace is known and uses her ladybird (ladybug).

You could say that your brand is your schtick!  Your brand is YOU!  A brand, your brand is telling people the story of who you are, and what you do, and sometimes how you do it!

Some people don't like the word 'brand'. It comes from the tag, or logo, used for identifying livestock, usually burned or painted onto the skin, hair or fleece of the creature.  Some people feel that companies use their brand to present a false image, but those false images are usually found out and uncovered. Some companies use brand to sell things by brainwashing people, but we can only blame ourselves for letting that happen.

Neither the watercolour or the 'name black banner' are or were my my logo,
but are part of my brand! You might recognize my logo, however - it goes everywhere with me!

Taliesin

And that word - Brand!
Is there another word we could use?
Moniker? Not really, a moniker is a nick name.
Identifier? Maybe! The Collins Dictionary describes
an identifier as: "a person or thing that establishes the identity of someone or something." It's a bunch of 'things' which make up a brand!

So take a look at yourself and what you do, look at what others think you do, and see if you have a brand or identifier! And, if you need or want some help, the workshop Karen and I created can help you focus or fine tune your public and/or professional persona.  Contact us!  We are just a click away!

simonATdiamondscree.com or storybugATaol.com

Growing Stories

A friend of mine, Marek Bennett, who is an artist, musician and teacher, wrote a blog about his forthcoming graphic (comic) travelog of his visit to Slovakia.  It gave me pause for thought about stories and how they grow. In his blog, Marek likens his book like transplanting cabbage! Read it, it is interesting.

In the vein of nothing now is truly original, and with Marek's permission, his blog inspired me to think about stories in a similar way.  Personal stories more so, because they are, well - personal.  Something happens to us, we see or hear something and a seed is planted inside us - the seed of a story.  If we ignore it, it will die and be lost.  Some stories we want to lose and forget, but sometimes those are the stories we should keep, nurture and try to explore and find meaning in.  Sometimes our hardest work is our most valuable.

So here are my thoughts on stories beginning as seeds:

1/. Choose a seed

Heirloom seeds could be considered our family stories, or historical stories.  But there are also our personal stories as mentioned above like those heard on The Moth, traditional folk and faerie stories, myths, legends, sacred stories, the list can go on forever.

2/. Seeds need to be planted in fertile soil
Our minds need to hold these stories, collect them, and store them, recall them.  We need to be creative for the stories to become strong.  We need imagination.  We need to be able to place ourselves IN the story to feel and see, hear and touch those things in the story

3/. Seeds need the right nutrients to grow
For a story to grow (and by that I do not mean add lies for embellishment) you need to work on it. Going back to school, you need to make sure that you have all the who's, what's, why's, where's, when's which's and the how's! Without these the listener might get lost, find the story confusing, not understand what is happening.  The who, what, why, when, when, which and how are the nutrients of the story and without these the story will become stilted, awkward or stunted.  Sue Black has a great resource for these nutrients on her website (which has a number of other teacher resources).

4/. Keep the seedlings indoors until chance of frost has gone
Stories can trick you and trip you, and likewise if a story is brought outdoors before it is strong enough, you could damage or kill the story.  Tell the stories; at first to yourself, to a voice recorder, a pet, a stuffy, the mirror, on a car ride!  This is keeping those seedlings safe until they have grown stronger. Then tell to a practice audience to get the real feeling of the story.  This is like bringing the plants out during the day, but back in at night.  In Laura Packer's recent blog "Eight Things I Learned From the Kansas City Fringe Festival" she says of working with a practice audience: "Because I am a storyteller and not confined to a word-for-word script, the story shifted each time. I loved hearing how some bits rose to the surface and others fell away as I danced with the audience." Personally I like to find those bits that rise in case this indicates something else I need to bring to the story, and not be surprised, although that is fun too, and how stories grow!

5/. Once frost has passed, plant outside in a steady light
Many traditional cultures say that stories are living things - something I strongly believe - and that they only live, or become alive, when told.  If you have never told a story and been In The Story you are telling, then try it.  Not reciting a story, but telling it. When you do, you will understand what I mean by stories are living things.  By now the story you have been growing and nurturing is strong enough to go outside and into the light of day.  Telling the story truly gives the story strength to grow more.  It's roots will go down deeper, the shoots will become thicker and longer, the flowers more radiant.

6/. It doesn't hurt to learn more about your plant as it grows
Long after I have been telling a tale, I have uncovered older versions, or variants, and by reading, listening or looking over these I might find things that were missing - maybe there was another who, what, why, when, when, which or how that I was unaware of and has been brought to light.  I can choose to add that nutrient to the story, or make the decision that the story is strong enough and the right shape and form, and has the right type and number of flowers for me to make it without those extra bits.

7/. Take care of your plant and: Enjoy!

The story has become itself. It has grown from a small seed, and you have nurtured it, but it is it's own being - I believe - and it will continue to grow and change.  It will stay strong if you keep telling it, and will grow weak if you leave it alone with no nourishment at all.  Just like a plant the story will need watering, take it out and tell it once in a while as you learn new stories.  You will never forget it; the story will not die if you have tended it well and look after it well.  And over time your mind will contain a beautiful garden filled with tales and stories to share.  Some will be family stories, some will be personal stories, and some will be the folk and faerie tales we all love so well.

To hear some of my stories, visit my website and go to Free Stuff! And if you are looking for other resources on my website you can find them at: Resources and in the Teacher's Room.

Marek's book is called Slovakia, Fall in the Heart of Europe and you can read some of it and see it's growth on one if his many working websites: http://marekslovakia.wordpress.com

Dream Tree Haus

Just playing around with ideas!

Who's dropping in for a story?

Balloons! Well, one bloody great big one!

So for the last few years, I have been privileged enough to be invited to a family camp in Vermont to tell tales.  It is a little over an hours drive away (although it was a lot closer before we moved to New London).  The 'patrons' of this camp vary.  The very first time I visited, it was for General Electric power players.  There are some groups I have told to, who are families of the Vermont Guard. Every week during the summer whilst the family camps run, I have gone up on a Sunday evening and told stories, mostly outdoors with the sun setting as I tell.  It is an amazing place.  There is an ambiance about it that is rarely found anywhere else I have gone.  It is almost a spiritual experience going there, for me, and I have heard the same from some of the families there too.

Today I journeyed north there.  I packed my gear in the car, my drum, my Irish Breakfast tea and a litre of water and off I went. I arrived and it was a beautiful evening.  The sky looking calm and dry, and the clouds were already catching some colour as I set up my apple box and tuned my drum.  People seated themselves around me after the bell was rung, with the lodge as my backdrop for the listeners, and the sky as the backdrop for me, behind them! Some people had seen me before, others had not.  This place is so great many families come back year after year. The kids were at the front on blankets, the parents, for the most part, on the Adirondack chairs and camp / lawn chairs behind the blankets.  There was some heckling from the kids, but we got underway and headed into the stories.

I began with a tale I was not planning on telling, but because we began talking about my drum and other musical instruments, I felt a musical story should be told, and it was perfect.  Although I do not tell this story often, I love it.  I first heard it told on Amy Friedman's CD Tell Me A Story 3: Women of Wonder. The story is an English story called The Cleverest Tune.  I did a few more other stories, ones I had planned on telling, and was into my last tale for the night: one of everyone's favourites, The Goat from the Hills and Mountains!  One of the parents pointed, from my angle, to a tree and I wondered if there was a bear up there.  We were in the woods of Vermont, here! But it turned out to be a balloon.  A hot air balloon.  With this slight distraction, I carried on, but the balloon got closer and closer and we could hear it's dragon's breath over and over and it got louder and louder!  The climax of the story was getting close as I tried to tell it between bursts of hot air.

The balloon was also getting close - very close and very low.  By now it was crashing through the trees and the pilot was calling out for someone to grab the line which he deftly dropped.  My guess was that the weather was not ideal for ballooning, being as hot as it was.  The bottom of the basket looked damp, which informed me that it might have taken a dip in the nearby lake! Although I had been trying to incorporate the balloon into the story, my formerly attentive audience was lost to the excitement of a bloody, big balloon landing on us! Children and adults alike! And the noise was more than dragon-like at this point and no one could hear except between the bursts!

One parent who had not rushed over to see the balloon pulled from the trees and sky asked me if the goat was squashed under a hot air balloon.  I laughed and said 'no'. Once the balloon was stabilized (a chaser van had arrived and the balloon was attached to it), and children were made safe from the descending basket, and bag of hot air, the kids were offered an up-and-down ride.  Whilst some were thrilled about the prospect of a free hot air balloon trip (up and down 50 feet or so), some wanted to hear what happened to the goat. So those who were interested (old and young) came into the hall where I finished the story.

I chatted a while and then packed up.  As I said my farewells to the people there (including the aeronaught), some of the adults who had snagged an elevation ride, asked about the end of the story and what had happened to the family and the Goat From the Hills and Mountains.  I suggested that their children had heard the ending and some of the adults had heard it too, and they could ask for the end to be told by the people who had moved with me, to tell them the story over breakfast.  I told them, however, that the goat, as one had suggested, was not killed by a hot air balloon!

The story, The Goat From the Hills and the Mountains can be found on my CD More Second-hand Tales or in the book where I found the story: Tales Our Abueli­tas Told by Alma Flor Ada and F. Isabel Campoy who gave me permission to tell the story and record it.  The book is published by Atheneum For Young Readers.  I highly recommend this book (it would be interesting too, for those interested to see how a story changes in the telling.  When I recorded the story, I thought I was being very faithful to the original.  Apparently the story took on it's own personality with my help!  (Alma said of my version: "What a wonderful retelling!" which made me very happy!)

A story coming back to life

Last year my Gran died.  This year, my Aunt died. And this could be part of her legacy.

When I tell my stories to families or for family audiences, I try to leave a message about keeping your family stories safe and sharing them so as not to lose them.  There are stories I know about my Grandad which I need to write down; some of my Gran's stories I have written down and told. My Auntie Gwyneth had a story to tell and she told it.  Well, she wrote it.  About 10 years ago she got cancer and wrote a short biography of her life.  One of the most poignant parts for me was her experience of living in Birmingham during World War Two when Birmingham, along with many other British towns such as Glasgow, Liverpool, Coventry and London were being flattened by bombs.  And the same things were happening in towns in Germany, bombs were flattening towns, bombs dropped by the Allied Forces.

When my aunt passed away, my cousin asked me to do the eulogy. All this happened pretty quickly. Gwyneth's passing, my being asked, preparing for it and doing it.  Gwyneth's life story was to be the basis of the eulogy, but there was more to Gwyneth than was written there.  She was a survivor, or many things. I collected stories from family they remembered, fun stories, stories with joy that showed her human side.  My cousin and I came up with a perfect eulogy, but I kept coming back to her self-penned life story.  All of the players of her early life are mostly gone.  My mother, Gwyneth's half sister, is still trucking and had some memories and experiences to share, and also has memories of the bombing even though she was very young.

Two weeks ago, as I was waiting to set up for the Afterschool program, the upper grades of the elementary school were doing their finishing immigration project.  And later, last week, I was at a school and there were photos of World War Two in the classroom and I shared some of the things I had read about Auntie Gwyneth's wartime experiences as a child. I also began talking to the teacher about immigration, prompted by some other photos and the project at my child's school.  I asked my cousin if I could share Aunties Gwyneth's story with the teacher and she was thrilled to share it. Then an idea hit me.  This is a primary source of both immigration to America and Canada, and wartime experiences. So my cousin and I have been writing to one another to make my Auntie Gwyneth's story into a book for school children who can learn from my Aunt's life.  This will be part of her legacy.  We are lucky that my Aunt wrote her stories down.

I encourage everyone reading this to have family members to write down their own stories, record the stories to save them for our younger generations.  Maybe this way a more personal past can help a global future of understanding.

If there are any teachers who might be interested in helping my cousin and I on my aunts book project, please get in touch with me.

Many thanks,
Simon

Untold stories - Elephants, Native Americans and my Grandad

This is my grandfather, Samuel Horrocks Williams in the 1920's.  He took to farming in Canada instead of following the family mill business in Manchester, England.  My great grandfather told him he has to start, like everyone else, at the bottom sweeping the floor. Grandad had schooling and did not want to start at the bottom so took off for fields a new and became a farmer in Ontario, Canada.

My grandmother, his second wife (his first wife Mollie died of T.B.) had most of his photograph albums and some other things of his that were not tossed out or passed on to other members of the family.  Last year, Gran died.  Almost a year after my mum was able to ship over some of Grandad and Gran's things, reminders of them that have no real value, other than sentimental and keepsake memories.  But Mum threw in a photo album from which the photo above is from.  The album has opened a few questions in the family which cannot be answered, but one of my favorites is this photograph.

Grandad is, I think, the one with what looks like a tan shirt and silly hat on!  This photo, as with all the photos in the album, are from Ontario, Canada.  Look at the houses in the background.  And here he is, presumably in one of the farm's fields with a small herd of elephants and a Native American.  And we are left with this great question: What on Earth is going on here?  The only thing we have come to is that the elephants and maybe some of the people in the photo are from a traveling circus.  The elephants, I presume, have been let off the trailers, be they pulled, or from a railway locomotive, to eat and stretch.  But I wish I knew the story of this image.

Grandad died in the 1980's and I had never seen this photograph album.  Most of the photos taken pre-Gran were not let out or looked at. And Gran has gone so I cannot ask her.  My one surviving aunt from my grandfather's marriage to Molli also has no idea, as most of the photos in the album are from Grandad's first trip which he made before coming back to get Mollie.

I love the photo and the mystery it has created.  Grandad loved animals and the letters of recommendation we have from this time period state this categorically.  And I love the fact that Grandad could ride a horse sans saddle.

Peace,
Simon

Recording with PreSonus' Studio One DAW

For those of you who are new to using a Digital Audio Workstation or DAW, I have been using Studio One by PreSonus for over a year now and have found it to be very good indeed.  There is a lot of functionality and free tools on board.  It is very intuitive, and does not cost an absolute fortune.  I have discovered many things on my journey of recording and it's taken me a while to figure out some of the short cuts.  I have put what I have found in a document to share with others who might want to try it.  You can get a free trial from the PreSonus website.  This also includes tips on recording punch and roll, where you can easily fix mistakes. It is a lot faster than keeping on recording and going back to edit and fix later.  There is a learning curve but it is not steep!

My simple set-up

Studio One Quick Start for narration (for Windows XP)

Open Studio One

1/. Starting from scratch

Click on ‘Create new Song’ and a dialogue box opens with Empty Song on left highlighted. On the right enter Song Title.

Choose where you want song to be saved in next box down.

Sample rate: 44.1 kHz

Resolution: 16 bit

Timebase: Seconds

Song Length: leave at default

Tempo: leave at default

Time Signiture: leave at default

Make sure Stretch audio files to Song tempo is unchecked

Click OK

2/. If you want to save a Template

You cannot save a template until you have first created one! Create a song and save it as a Template.  This will automatically create a folder within Studio for Templates.  You cannot make your own folder or save an existing Template until this is done.

3/. Short Cuts

Short cuts are listed in the top bar: Studio One > Keyboard Short cuts…

There are some handy number keypad shortcuts!

Number pad *: Record

Number pad -: wind time bar back

Number pad +: wind time bar forward

Number pad Enter: play

Number pad 0: stop

Spacebar: play and stop

I added Number Keypad 5 to make a new Mono Track

4/. To Start

Once Song is open, make a new track: Top bar - Track> add new mono track

Click on the solid circle to activate record mode, and playback is automatically opened at the same time.  If you want speakers/headphones muted, click the speaker button so it is no longer blue, or ‘M’ for mute.

Position white time bar at beginning if not already there.

Click the Record button on the bottom tool bar.

5/. Snap time bar

When editing you will find the white time bar will snap into place which is not very handy for narration.  On the top tool bar under the shaded ‘Adaptive’ button, you will find a small box with ‘Snap’ next to it.  Click on the box.  If you open up the ‘Editor” (F2) you will find the same button and will need to click there too.

6/. Punch and roll

On the bottom tool bar there are counters and to the right of those are what look like thumb tracks or map pins.  Click on the top ‘Auto Punch’ button for auto punch!  If you want to have some pre-roll, then click the ‘Pre-roll’ button beneath.  Pre-roll can eliminate the click of a keyboard and give you a lead-in.

To select how much pre-roll you have, to the right of these buttons is the Metronome. Click on the ‘Metronome Setup’ button (the spanner/wrench) and under ‘Options’ choose number of bars.  Two bars is usually fine but you might want more if you are just staring to learn this technique.

When punching and rolling with pre-roll, place the white time bar where you want to cut in.  Hit the record button.  The time bar will jump back your set number of bars and play.  Listen along and jump in at you chosen spot and keep going.

7/. Making Corrections

When I have made corrections, I have opened another track below the ‘finished’ track. By cutting the ‘bad section’ so it is separated, you can use the Mute tool to mute that segment, then record on the second track you have opened. By using a separate track you do not record over what you already have that is good.  But if you do go over you hear it when you get to the ‘okay’ and none muted section.

8/. Multiple takes

If you want to try multiple takes for a section this is fairly painless. Using the ‘Loop Active’ button, you can keep re-recording non-stop in that area until happy.

            To create a loop, hover mouse over the very thin light grey line above the time digits so you get a ‘pencil’ icon as the cursor. Clicking once on the thin grey bar will bring two lighter points.  Dragging these to the left and right creates your loop.

            Click on the Active Loop button on the bottom tool bar, immediately to the right of the record button so it is lighten up blue.

Hit record.

Record until happy and stop.

            If you right click on that new recorded section you will see “Select take”.  Beneath that will be a number of ‘takes’, the most current being ‘checked’. Beneath that is “Unpack takes” and if you hover over that, you can select “Unpack Takes to Tracks.” You can then mute each track, listening to each in turn to decide which fits the best.  This is an option, and is okay for small bits, but can take up more time than you want to spend.

9/. Mixdown or create WAV or FLAC file

When you mixdown it will automatically mixdown between the loop and this needs to be set up. (See: 8/.  multiple takes)

Studio One automatically mixes down a mono track to stereo. To this fix this:
Go to Song> Song Setup> Audio I/O Setup.
Go to the Outputs panel and click on 'Add (Mono)’. This will create ‘Sub 1’. Click Okay.
You can now do one of two things. Make it the default, or just click okay to exit.
If you made it default you are all set.

Go to top bar and click on Song > Export Mixdown which opens a dialogue box.

Location

Choose where you want file to be saved.  It will automatically save to a mixdown folder within the song folder.

Filename: FileNumber_BookTitle_Ch_Number_NarratorName

Publishing: (depending on version): Do not publish

Format (depending on version) Wave File, click on arrow to get to FLAC

Resolution: 16 bit

Sample rate: 44.1 kHz

Export Range

Click circle for Between Loop

Options

Output: Sub 1 (for the mono mixdown) should be default if you made is so earlier.  If not:

Click 'Main' with arrow. Click the arrow to 'Sub 1' and highlight/chose it.

Check the ‘Close after export” box.

Then click OK to mixdown.
Once file is mixed down a folder will open with your file in it (for Windows XP).

Have fun!