Songs for CARL
My name is David Bellos and I'm a musician making music for a cause I care about.
I aim to give a gift to C.A.R.L. in the form of music.
I aim to reward the efforts of C.A.R.L. (the Canine Adoption and Rescue League) by composing a number of musical pieces for them. These pieces will be inspired by the stories of volunteers, adopters and staff that I will gather in a series of interviews. The interviews will be aimed at uncovering the heart of why these volunteers and staff dedicate their time and talents to this organization.
Who
I will be partnering with C.A.R.L., the Canine Adoption and Rescue League. They are a No-kill dog shelter based out of Santa Paula, California.
For simplicity's sake I will be using my name, David Bellos.
I will be partnering with Dr. Ruben Alarcon, a board member at C.A.R.L., to set up interviews with staff, adopters, and volunteers.
What
I need to interview up to ten people and have them answer the questions: "Why do you do what you do for CARL? What makes what you do worth it?"
I need to take my answers and compose a number of pieces based on those answers.
Where
In the interest of safety most if not all interviews will take place over Zoom meetings, emails, or phone calls.
When
As we are still contacting various staff and volunteers, Interview dates are TBA at this time.
We expect interviews to be underway in early March 2021.
Why
In my conversation with Dr. Alarcon it became apparent that C.A.R.L. is not widely known outside of Santa Paula and could use some more exposure.
I plan to use my music to raise awareness of their efforts.
How
The process of completing this project will be outlined as follows.
Schedule and perform interviews with staff.
Research ways to compose music that relieves stress.
Compose the pieces themselves.
Upload the music to a YouTube playlist.
Below is an annotated bibliography of information sources that I will be updating periodically as I find more research that pertains to my project.
Annotated Bibliography
Levitan, Daniel. This Is Your Brain on Music: Understanding a Human Obsession. PENGUIN Books, 2019.
Levitan's book offers a look into why we enjoy music as a species. He covers how music is performed, how we as humans listen to it, and why we enjoy it so much. The author takes an informed, but informal approach to the research he presents, conveying much of the information in anecdotes, and then explaining it afterward. It is highly informative writing that only a someone with both a background in neuro science, and a love of music could produce.
YouTube links to my songs
Track 1: https://youtu.be/ZVDqGynaaJ0
Track 2: https://youtu.be/7Y1zra3SV1I
Track 3: https://youtu.be/4wWEZCw20Uk
Track 4: https://youtu.be/6RRvU84QOj0
Track 5: https://youtu.be/4kHCNo9b2-o