Art Heals All Wounds
Do you think art can change the world? So do I! We’re at a pivotal moment when scientists, medical practitioners, and creatives are coming together in recognition of the ways that art plays an indispensable role in our well-being, as individuals, communities, and societies. In each episode we hear from artists and creatives who share their inspiration for their work and its wider impact. These conversations about transformative artistic practices show the ways that art can be a catalyst for healing and change.
How do we change the world? One artist at a time.
Art Heals All Wounds
Voicemail from Musician and Podcaster, Carolyn Kiel
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In a voicemail message to Art Heals All Wounds, podcaster and musician Carolyn Kiel shares how arranging music has changed how she listens and how she sees the world!
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[00:00:00] Pam Uzzell: Do you believe art can change the world? So do I! On this show, we meet artists whose work is doing just that. Welcome to Art Heals All Wounds. I'm your host, Pam Uzzell.
[00:00:47] Carolyn Kiel: Hello, this is Carolyn Kiel. I host the Beyond Six Seconds podcast, where I interview neurodivergent people about their lives. In addition to being a podcaster, I'm an instructional designer, writer, and musician, so creative work has always been a big part of my life in so many different ways. Some of my favorite types of creative work have been a blend of working on my own and collaborating with other people.
[00:01:14] For example, I spent many years singing in acapella groups. I also got to arrange some songs as part of those groups. Arranging, for my acapella group, is when I'd take a song that usually has a combination of vocals and instrumental parts and adapt it to vocal parts only. So when I'd arrange a song, I'd spend some time by myself to listen closely and repeatedly to the song, then recreate the song part by part, line by line, as a song where all the parts are voices. I'd analyze the melody and harmonies, build the chords and chord progressions, and figure out how to recreate the song's instrumental parts as vocal parts that mimic those instruments, like guitar, bass, drums, piano. etc. It's kind of like putting together a puzzle.
[00:02:06] Sometimes I'd stay pretty close to the feel and sound of the original song, and other times I'd get more creative and change up the song's style, tempo, structure, etc. All of this information I'd put in a special computer software program for musicians. The process is analytical, creative, emotional, and satisfying.
[00:02:28] The real payoff, though, is when I would hear my acapella group sing the song that I arranged. First in rehearsal, where everyone's learning and practicing their parts, then in a live performance, and sometimes even on a recording. It's a magical feeling to hear my work come to life through the voices of others.
[00:02:50] The process of arranging also changed the way I think about, listen to, and experience music. I used to just sing along to the radio. I still do, but now I also have a harmony part or two that I make up and sing along to almost every song I hear. My brain just gravitates towards finding those parts. When I hear songs, sometimes I visualize them as notes on a musical staff or like the tracks in my recording software.
[00:03:17] So arranging has changed how I interact with the world as far as what I hear and listen to, even though I haven't arranged a song in many years, it's something that's changed me and remained with me, and I think that's what's powerful about creative work. It changes your thinking and helps you grow, making you a little bit different than you were before.
[00:03:40] Thanks, Pam, for this opportunity to reflect on my arranging work and contribute my story to your podcast.
[00:03:54] Pam Uzzell: I happen to listen to Carolyn Kiel's podcast, Beyond Six Seconds, and it is amazing.
[00:04:19] I'll leave links to it in the show notes for this voicemail.
[00:04:24] To anyone listening, if art and creativity play a significant role in your life, don't be shy. Share your story with me in a voicemail and I'll put it on the show. Just go to my website, arthealsallwoundspodcast. com and click on the big button that says, leave a voicemail for Pam. And if you want to support the show, you can always click on the link called buy me a coffee, and I will put that money to very good use in helping to pay for my amazing editor and other things that go into the making of this show.
[00:04:59] [00:05:00] Thanks so much for listening.