ArtBeat Radio

Welcome to episode 2 of Quarantunes! Where quarantine can’t stop our creativity!

For this new episode, we get to experience musical expression by artists over at our Therapeutic Arts Program (TAP II)

0:47 "Handwashing Song" is a parody of one of TAP II's favorite songs, "Here Comes the Sun" by the Beatles. The lyrics were written by artists via the online platform, Zoom. The focus of the song is to demonstrate how to properly wash your hands. The artists at TAP II decided to take a basic procedure of maintaining proper hygiene and turn it into a fun tune for their peers and family to listen to! The vocals and guitar were recorded by Jessica, a music therapist at TAP II and Jamond, an artist at TAP II. All other instruments were recorded by various artists using Garageband in the comfort of their own home. Enjoy this wonderful piece and remember to wash your hands!

3:49 “Your Virtual Heart” was composed in a group music therapy session via Zoom. A total of 13 students worked on this instrumental song. Artists used the program ‘Song Maker’ on the website ‘Google Chrome Music Lab’ to compose this piece collaboratively. All artists voted on the instrumentation, tempo, and structure of the song before composing each section independently. There are three sections-- A, B, and C -- each with its own unique style and texture. About half of the artists directly composed their own designated short segments of each major section using the control screen function on Zoom. This means they directly manipulated the program with their own computer, placing notes on the screen where they saw fit. The other half of the group communicated to the music therapist where they wanted their notes placed in preferred rhythms. This created a truly unique songwriting experience, in which each motif represents each individual in the class, creating a comprehensive instrumental piano piece. The title “Your Virtual Heart” reflects the artists’ collective journey exploring music-making in a new, virtual environment.

5:08 "Garageband Quarantunes" is a compilation of various instrumental improvisations that the artists at TAP II recorded on Garageband to a simple guitar sample that the music therapist, Jessica, provided. Each artist chose an instrument of their choice and recorded their improvisation in the comfort of their own home. This song was created to show each artist's expression and emotion by using the gift of music. Enjoy this wonderful piece!

6:42 “My Heart Broke in Music Lab” was composed by TAP II artist, Rudy during his 1:1 music therapy sessions. This artist utilized the ‘Song Maker’ app found on the website “Chrome Music Lab”. He made all choices about instrumentation, tempo and structure prior to composing. This artist controlled the music therapist's screen to independently explore different musical motifs and lay down notes to create three distinct sections of music. The music therapist and artist converted the sections to Garageband where effects were added and he got to select percussive styles and drum tracks. This song was meant to highlight the creative ways musical collaboration can still take place even when we are not able to do so in person.

A very special thanks to our narrator from ART Center, and album cover artist from TAP II.

You can watch some fun videos created by Able Arts Work staff over at our YouTube Channel, Able Arts Work – Virtual Learning

Learn more about our organization by visiting AbleArtsWork.org

Thanks for listening!

Welcome to episode 1 of “Quarantunes”! Where quarantine can’t stop our creativity!

For our first episode, we experience musical expression from Cultural Education Center for the Arts (CECA) and album artwork from Achieving Results Together (ART Center)

0:45 “Mountain Song” was composed in a songwriting and music technology class. Choices were made about what instruments would be used, and artists had their own instruments sampled via zoom, which included a shaker and a cup! The songs that are being written in this class have been thematically tied into a "Crafting Comics" class. In the story being written in that class, two young settlers have lost their deer and are looking for it in the mountains - this song is a musical interpretation of the beginning of their journey. You can find the lyrics below!

Happily, we go up
Shyly we walk along
Cold nights are so mean
Snow Looks so beautiful
Life is at the bottom
Our goal is at the top
Home is where the video games are
Rocky Mountains are so pretty
Bears are so scary
Pigeons Coo in the air
Ravens Fly through the sky
I see a horse in a house
How Strange!
Crows don’t go near that house
We brought extra Apples
We’ve also got Bananas

2:39 “Wrestling Intro Song” was put together recording different instruments from each artist's home, including a shaker, keyboard, guitar, and tambourine. The artists chose both the key and tempo while the instructor provided different instrument lines to be chosen from.

3:55 “Another Green Sunflower” was constructed to demonstrate the sampling ability of the Ableton program. In it, the Beach Boys song "All I Wanna Do" and the Brian Eno Song "Another Green World" are put together to make a laid-back hip-hop beat. You can find a YouTube video on our channel to see how Daniel created this!

6:10 “Horse Song” This is another song from the CECA songwriting collaboration with the crafting comic class! In the story, two main characters come across a horse that lives in a house. They want to spend the night with the horse, but the horse never turns their music down! All musical choices were made by students. There's even a shaker and hand clapping that was sampled over zoom! You can find the lyrics below!

I’m the best horse, I stay hydrated
I like to run with the herd
I gobble up Chile and mangos with lime
I think my rest is super important
I like to sleep with music on
My best friend is a really cool cow
They are super friendly
This is my cool new house I built
You can stay at the house
But I’ll never turn my music down

7:48 “Corona Sounds” was made by sampling different household objects in place of traditional percussion. In the song, one can hear the sounds of squiring hand sanitizer, a can of disinfectant wipes, an empty roll of toilet paper, and some canned goods. These sounds work together to make up the backbone of the groove that the song is based around.

You can see how instructor Daniel created some of these tracks, and get inspired to create your own recordings using everyday items you can find in your home! For free content to keep you creative during this quarantine, please visit our YouTube Channel - Able ARTS Work: Virtual Learning https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyEY9XQUaQ_dZGXPy2E41-g

Learn more about our organization by visiting Ableartswork.org

Thanks for listening!

Hello! You’re listening to ArtBeat Radio’s first episode about the staff members of Able Arts Work! In this episode, we listen to the story of our founder and CEO, Helen Dolas! We had the opportunity to interview Helen in order to learn more about her history and see what inspired her to create this amazing organization.

We hope you enjoy this small piece of our history and we look forward to representing more of our staff, giving our listeners an idea of what it looks like “behind the scenes”. Thank you for listening!

Hey hey hey, you’re listening to ArtBeat Radio. This is DJ Jess Getter, 2019 ArtBeat Radio Summer intern, comin’ at ya live with some fresh sounds from the many brilliant minds over here at Able Arts Work.
First in the lineup we have a piece from the artists at Encouraging Personal Independence (EPI Center), who created a segment called “30 Second Poetry” where they perform their poem called "The City" which features their select favorite lyrics of two different songs. While one artist reads the poem aloud the other artists create a musical soundscape that represent elements of the poem and the sounds of the city. The songs featured are “Human Nature” by Michael Jackson and “Hear You Me” by Jimmy Eat World.
Following this we have an exhilarating local news story, narrated to us by some of the artists at Achieving Results Together (ART Center), with some eyewitness interviews giving us the hottest, freshest takes.
After that, we mellow out with a sound collage from the artists at The Cultural Education Center for the Arts (CECA), who utilized the noises of the 1940’s to make a dreamy soundscape, transporting us back to a time when radio reared its head in American culture.
And last but not least, we have an original song called “On the Radio,” written and recorded by the artists here at The Therapeutic Arts Program (TAP II).
Sit back, relax, and enjoy this original broadcast. Jess Getter, signing off!

This Podcast is brought to you by Able ARTS Work’s ArtBeat Radio in collaboration with the Los Angeles County Arts Commission.

On a Roll!, a fundraiser and party for our transportation department, was held at Hotel Maya in Long Beach. Between the casino games and amazing live music from Hedgehog Swing, there was lots of fun to be had! Our friends at EPI, Encouraging Personal Independence, worked really hard to create a fun video for our event (and to top it off, they made an original song, "Summer," to kick off our summer months for our listeners)! Take a glimpse into our night as ArtBeat Radio was there to record interview responses from some of our lovely guests.

HAPPY WORLD RADIO DAY!!!
Radio as a medium is ever changing and always important. It has been utilized by scientists, governments, artists, activists, and everyday people around the world. Radio has been one of the most creative and experimental forms of media in recent history with so many of the art forms we love now stemming from this world-changing technology.
The ArtBeat Radio crew asked members of the admin team at Able ARTS Work some key questions about the radio and what it means to them and our artists. But what would radio be without some music? Our friend Jesse stopped by to sing a radio favorite, “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” by The Proclaimers, with us. Happy listening!

"Happy Holidays!" from all of us here at TAP II! We've been working hard the past couple of months to create a wintertime story in order to celebrate the holidays and the transitioning seasons. This storyline was a collaboration of creative thoughts from the TAP II community. Sound effects, verbalizations, and music were chosen and recorded by "Save Me a Seat!" with help from other artists within program. Please enjoy, and Happy Holidays!

ARTifact Gallery & Forum presented Hear Our Voices, an art exhibition created to discuss inclusion, intersectionality and identity of groups historically excluded from mainstream societies. ArtBeat Radio was on the scene at the opening reception to record the panel discussion featuring Claribel Valdovinos, an artist and educator located in Long Beach, and Ifunanya Nweke, founder of Jazz Hands for Autism (http://jazzhandsforautism.org). We even asked a few friends to share some of their thoughts with us as well. Enjoy this live installment!

BOO! Happy Halloween! This episode was a collaboration between the ArtBeat Radio crew and the TAP II community. To celebrate the spooky Fall season, everybody got together and created a story using their various artistic abilities. The creative process took place over a few weeks with instrumentation and narration by ArtBeat Radio, verbalizations by a verbalization class, and the overall storyline created with the community morning group. Enjoy our spooky story!

This year, Able ARTS Work hosts the sixth ArtBeat for Humanity Gala, and our theme “Soy Fuerte! My Story” highlighted the stories of our community of artists in Able ARTS Work. The Artbeat for Humanity Gala VI was held on Saturday, May 5th at the Hotel Maya in Long Beach. This event is a multi-sensory celebration that encapsulates Able ARTS Work’s commitment to inclusion, community support and orchestration. During the gala, Able ARTS Work will honor the former chair of the Yamaha Music and Wellness Institute C. Terry Lewis with the Ami & Remo Belli Humanitarian Award, which recognizes community leaders supporting wellness and inclusion.

To see and hear more, check out the following links!
YouTube: https://youtu.be/vHYOb6JuZvE
Flickr: https://flic.kr/s/aHskASkDa3

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