Young people are a key part of our gig-theatre show Lost in Music. We’ve recruited local young musicians for each venue on the tour who will perform with the professional cast. Young people are also involved with the marketing campaign for the show. Here’s the first written piece from one of our ‘Young Marketeers’ Jodie Rae:
In the spirit of Lost in Music, I interviewed Ninian Perry, Creative Director of Paragon Music, on why music is an important part of his life. Paragon Music is an organisation that helps to support people to create and perform their own music.
How does music play a part in your life?
“I studied music from an early age, played the piano to begin with, and then played the double bass. I went to college to learn to play the bass and then went into orchestras, playing across Scotland. I joined Paragon as one of their players when it was a western classical contemporary organisation. And so, we played a lot of western classical contemporary music and commissioned lots of Scottish composers. It wasn’t until about 30 years ago that I ended up in this position of creative director.
But I played a bit of music – jazz, classical, rock, pop, Indian, and a fair amount of community music. I’ve been a teacher of bass, among other things. I taught Community Music at Strathclyde Uni and RCS and organised a few projects with students at Glasgow Uni as well.”
What do you use music for?
“Personally, I use it for chilling, you know, for unwinding. It’s a really great way to relax, but also triggers memories as well, which is nice. I do that quite a lot. But I also love listening to it and working it out. Music has got quite a few different angles to it that make me want to play it, listen to it etc. I also use music as a tool to support people’s health, well-being, and ability to be with others. It’s a fantastic tool, for being together, expressing your own self, and being with others to do that.”
What is your favourite type of music?
“Obviously, lots of classical music. I was steeped in that from an early age. I’ll listen to typical classical music like Handel or Bach, but also to one of my favourite composers, Richard Strauss.
But also, I love jazz music. I love rock and pop. From my era, I remember the Beatles. They influenced my taste in music. But I also enjoyed a lot of soul music. I love that. People like Earth, Wind and Fire. I love their whole range of instruments, voices and harmonies, and everything. There’s also Quincy Jones and Weather Report. I enjoy folk music as well – like James Taylor – and also a lot of bassists, you know, like Jaco Pastorius.”
How do you feel when you listen to music you love?
“It puts me into another zone actually. I think activates part of my brain where I loosen off. I float off into a sort of memory space, with a “good feeling” vibe. It probably activates the happy neurons, you know? I think that makes you makes you feel good. I think that’s good for your health.”
What has been your favourite musical experience in your life?
“I mean, memorable shows I’ve seen were Led Zeppelin at the Earls Court, back in the day. It was an absolutely stunning performance. Just incredible. I see a lot of great performances nowadays, but from my era, they were absolutely outstanding. A few years ago, I saw Santana and he was really still cooking. He was really great. Also, Sting and Shaggy. Those are some of the bands I enjoyed.
Participating in music, I’ve had such incredible memorable experiences. For example, I performed in Mahler 8, which is often known as a symphony of 1000 with literally 1000 people. So that was an experience. I’ve enjoyed a lot of beautiful, smaller chamber music that I’ve been involved in, in different parts of the world.”
Why do you think live music is important?
“Although you might know that piece of music, you don’t know what’s coming next and I think that’s very much like life. So, it corresponds very much to the lived experience.
You know, you can plan your day or whatever, but you never really know what’s going to happen next. Live music grows with you at that point in time. Even though it might be a song that you know, it’s probably going to be slightly different if it’s played live. It sparks my curiosity when I hear something I’ve never heard before. If you’re listening to something from a record that you play over and over again, you’re looking for the same feeling each time. When you get the live experience, you’re like ‘wow.’”
What are some of your earliest memories of music?
“One of the first things was seeing a guy playing the drums actually. My mother was friends with him. I think I was about four or so. He had Down’s Syndrome, and he just loved the drums. I thought “wow, he’s amazing”. That stayed in my mind.
My earliest memory of playing a piece was probably the first piece I ever played, which was by Benjamin Britten, a British composer, and it’s actually for kids. It was called ‘Noye’s Fludde’ or ‘Noah’s Flood’. It’s about the biblical story. You have to play something called a ‘ground bass’ and you play the same notes over and over again. And it was easy because I’d only been playing the bass for a couple of weeks. It immediately made me like feel part of a group music-making event. I did get lost several times though, but it made me feel like I was at sea a lot of the time. But I suppose that’s appropriate!”
How do you think music can help benefit people?
“I think that music is sort of processed in the brain differently, differently from words and numbers. I’ve been told it activates the right-hand side of the brain as opposed to the left side, which is more logical. So, it relieves you of having to process words and such,
helping you to be more creative and activate your imagination. It feeds your soul, I think, and also feeds your emotional situation. It helps alleviate stresses and brings you into different states which are useful for the human condition to be in.
When you’re talking to somebody, one person talks at a time. In music, you can all talk at the same time. So, you can all be playing and listening simultaneously. That is a wonderful sense of free-flow communication, which you can’t really get with anything else. You can maybe do it with dance, but this is with sound.
I think that’s one of the great benefits, especially for people who may find it difficult to put words together, process words, communicate words, have speech impediments, or generally have always held back from talking or getting involved. Then this opportunity arises where you can play music together. There’s no impediment. There’s no impediment to you just being able to freely contribute to this type of sound communication. That gives you so much more freedom to be who you are.”
Jodie Rae is a singer-songwriter, musician, and actor from the West Coast of Scotland. Jodie uses her music as a raw, unfiltered outlet that reflects her own experiences with love, self, and loss. She has gigged and performed theatrically across Scotland, at events such as Celtic Connections, DMC’s The PLAZA, and the Dumfries and Galloway Arts Festival.
Lost in Music
Touring Scotland from 16 Sept – 7 Oct 2022
Tickets on sale now.