"Unlike
most experiences in our life, spontaneity and individuality were
welcome."(read
full testimonial)
"The improvisations were amazing."(read
full testimonial)
"At the end of the session I felt
energized and alert" (read
full testimonial)
"The feeling of those sounds
relaxed my body, made me breathe slower, and helped me clear my
mind." (read
full testimonial)
"It is like jazz in its spirit
of improvisation. But, instead of music theory, its vocabulary
and grammar are emotion and imagination; that is, the stuff of
our own lives." (download
full testimonial - MSWord 29KB)
..............................
"Unlike
most experiences in our life, spontaneity and individuality were
welcome."
Christine Alicot brought a new way of thinking to our class.
She told us there was music all around us, so we began by listening
to the music of our classroom. From there, we discussed how we felt
and what we heard. Then it was time to create music ourselves and
without instruments.
Most of us are used to performing music that is dictated, structured,
and planned. However, Christine encouraged us to improvise, creating
music with no defined form or style. Combining my own sounds with
those of my classmates, we created beautiful rhythms and harmonies
expressive of each individual yet unknown by all of us.
Unlike most experiences in our life, spontaneity and individuality
were welcome. We were able to experiment with various instruments
and combinations of sounds for a common goal of music.
I really enjoyed this opportunity to break away from the routine
of class and music. The experience sent me on a roller coaster of
sensations including: excitement, peacefulness, anticipation, laughter,
and mostly joy. Christine reminded me of the beauty that may only
come from creation.
-Neil Allman, University of Florida
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"The
improvisations were amazing."
After the initial activity (listening to the surrounding sounds)
we were able to concentrate on the creation of music. The improvisations
were amazing. Even though our rhythms and melodies could be somewhat
random, they all seem to come together. I felt energized and excited
by the music. I think the improvisation activities really made my
day. Even the following day, I felt more energized than usual ...
Music is one of the best ways to connect people together, and I
feel like our class will be even more unified after exploring the
creative process in such a manner. This is an experience I was glad
to tell my friends and family about. It is definitely one of the
best things I have gotten to do in a class.
-Sharmini Pitter,
University of Florida <BACK
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"At
the end of the session I felt energized and alert"
I had a wonderful time participating in Christine Alicot's
musical activities. The creative musical exercises forced me and
my classmates to pay extremely close attention to each other and
the music we were creating ... It was an especially unique experience
because everyone on our class had the opportunity to try playing
these different instruments without having to worry about how well
they were doing. I think the purpose of the session was to get our
class to both relax and focus at the same time. This goal was achieved
through our participation in a couple of different musical activities
... I really enjoyed these activities because it made no difference
whether or not my classmates had musical experience as long as they
were listening to and feeling the music while they played. it was
also a great reminder that it isn't necessary for music to be planned
or practiced ahead of time, and that some beautiful and moving music
is created spontaneously. At the end of the session I felt energized
and alert from focusing on fitting in with the ensemble, but I also
felt extremely calmed by the beautiful soothing music our class
created.
-Brook Critcher, University of Florida
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"The
feeling of those sounds relaxed my body, made me breathe slower,
and helped me clear my mind."
I walked in to class not knowing what to expect. Dr. Zach had
told us Christine Alicot's visit would be an experience, but I was
not quite sure what she meant by that. I came to class with an open
mind and I was ready to see what she had to offer. I immediately
became intrigued bywhat I was about to participate in when I saw
all the instruments last out on the floor. What were they there
for? would we get to use them? How were we going to use them? The
first part of the session where we all sat in silence and listened
to the sounds around us was probably my favorite of all the activities
we would do...
The next two activities were not only soothing, but they were also
fun. I loved to anticipate what each trio would sound like or how
each person would play their instrument. Sometimes when a steady
beat was formed or a slight tune was created, I would close my eyes
to get a better feel of the sound. The feeling of those sounds relaxed
my body, made me breathe slower, and helped me clear my mind.
I now see what Dr. Zach meant by this being an experience. The only
way to fully understand its effects would be to actually participate
in the
activities. It would be too hard to describe all its benefits fully
only in words. It was a wonderful experience and I would recommend
it to anyone.
-Katie Almon, University of Florida
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