What to Play
What music should a musician play at the ECCCC? Which pieces, genres, and styles? Here is a guide to help figure out how to select music for this space.
The ECCCC Lobby Music Guidelines state, “Play secular music (non-religious). An occasional religious song is permitted, but not continuous play. Use a variety of music to fit a variety of backgrounds.” Let’s get into some more detail about what this means, and what is appropriate to play at the ECCCC. The goal is that musicians feel confident in the choice of music they are going to share!
To view the full set of ECCCC Lobby Music Guidelines, view:
Some great advice from Heather Hightower is: in order to pick effective pieces for your time playing in the Cancer Center, start by looking at the music you have and are able to play and/or perform. Then, narrow that music down to the pieces you’re comfortable and confident playing. Out of those pieces, assess what is appropriate for the Cancer Center.
A word of advice from me: In order to assess your comfort level performing a piece, play it for family, friends, or visitors, and see how it goes!
An important side-note: You may find that the music you’re comfortable playing is better suited for another community space, like a coffee shop or senior living facility. In that case, share your music where it best fits, and start working towards a performance at the ECCCC for the future! Any time spent sharing music in the community is a gift, important act of service, and good practice for a performance at the ECCCC. For more information on other performance opportunities in the community, follow @medicalmusicproject on Instagram. Additionally, if you are interested in performing in a specific location, contact the volunteer coordinator for that space for information on volunteer opportunities.
But how does a musician determine what’s appropriate to play and what’s not?
Jeanne Jackson's advice from an interview is to “choose music that is really appealing”. This is simple yet powerful advice. She went on to say that it is important to choose music that would make somebody was to stop and listen; something that captures people’s attention. It is important to choose a mixture of pieces that people will and will not know; it’s nice to have a mixture of both fresh and familiar melodies.
Which styles are best for the Cancer Center? Again, it is a sensitive space, meaning the atmosphere can be difficult to perform in since most patients and families are facing intense hardship, and responses to music can be unpredictable. The ECCCC requests that volunteer musicians play “soothing” music.
Let’s break that down.
What a musician may perceive to be beautiful, calming, or soothing could register differently for someone who is not musically trained; some slower, dramatic pieces could be perceived as depressing or dragging to a listener or passerby (such as Edvard Grieg's Notturno). I asked Jeanne Jackson for some guidance on how to pick music that is soothing and relaxing to the ear without being perceived as “sad”, and she offered the following advice:
When building a program for the ECCC:
- Consider pieces in major keys, and pieces that are light, airy, and pleasant.
- Remember that you can play pieces at a variety of tempos! You may have a piece in your repertoire that could become appropriate for the Cancer Center with some adjustment to the tempo and/or dynamics.
- Choose the order of your program so that the mood changes are not too dramatic. Pieces for the Cancer Center should be generally mellow. The longer the notes in a piece, the more you reduce the blood pressure of those listening. Although, too much slow, elongated music can feel heavy if played all in a row.
- A musician should strive for balance and diversity in their program, but be mindful of making transitions in mood gradual.
- Music in a minor key may be played, but should be inserted purposefully into a program. Try to have more major music than minor music, and choose minor music that is really beautiful.
A word from Kate Tamarkin is that, “lots of notes can make people nervous.” She commented that when music is too “busy”, it can become irritating.
A great segment from the Houston Methodist Hospital's Center for Performing Arts Medicine guide to performance is:
Music should appeal to all audiences. A wide variety of musical genres are well-received and provide support in hospital environments, although certain parameters consistently prove useful in guiding musical selection. Music that is tonal, diatonic, or pentatonic in nature, but which might have dissonance in the context of the musical development or drama, is effective.
Elements of music that may trigger anxiety and that should be avoided often include sudden loud sounds, high volumes, dissonant chords, extended sections of harmonic dissonance and intense rhythmic activity. In addition, extremely virtuosic and rhythmically angular music should be avoided in this particular setting as it may increase the anxiety levels of listeners in an unintended and negative way.
The pianist...selects music purposely aimed to relieve anxiety and offer rejuvenation while creating a welcoming environment of solace that supports the journey of healing and caregiving for all. This position remains conscientious of the environment and modifies music selections and volume in regards to audience feedback, activity in the space and environmental disruptions or acoustic constraints.
With that in mind, musicians should choose music that would relax and uplift someone: something pleasing to the ear that evokes calmness. If a musician is questioning the appropriateness of a piece for the ECCC, an adjustment in tempo or dynamics could ensure a piece's eligibility for that setting. It can also be helpful for musicians to record themselves playing the piece, or to play it for others and ask how it made them feel.
In short, there is no magic rule for determining if a piece is appropriate, but as long a musician prepares music that is calm, pleasing, and well prepared and presented, as Michael Slon said, "there really aren't other parameters".
Music does not have to be complicated or impressive to have the desired effect at the ECCCC. By playing in the ECCCC, the musician's job is to lighten the atmosphere, relax and soothe those around them, and make the patients', families', and staff's experiences more positive. Honestly speaking, sometimes the less complicated the music, the better! A musician's skill is evident through their delivery of the music; no fancy show tunes needed!
Sample Program:
Imagine by John Lennon, arr. by Mona Rejino
Little Atlantic Rhapsody by George Nevada
May Breezes by Felix Mendelssohn
About Foreign Lands and Peoples by Robert Schumann
Here Comes the Sun by George Harris, arr. by Eugénie Rocherolle
Lula-Blue by Johannes Brahms, arr. by Kevin Olson
Sonate KV 331 (variations I, IV, V) by Mozart
The following YouTube videos and my own recordings demonstrate appropriate ways to deliver some of the pieces listed above!
Imagine.m4aImagine
Here Comes the Sun.m4aHere Comes the Sun
(Audio recordings only)
May Breezes
About Foreign Lands and Peoples
IMG_4098.movLula Blue
Mozart (var. I, IV, V).m4aSonate KV 331 (variations I, IV, V)
With this arrangement of a Mozart theme and variations, I adjusted the piece so that it is suitable to play at the ECCCC. The full piece is comprised of six variations (with varying speeds, volumes, and moods) but here I only played three of those variations (and only the first half of variation IV). I took some repeats to extend the piece, and kept dramatic points in the music calm. This goes to show that pieces that may not be appropriate for the ECCCC originally may be adjusted to fit the setting in which they will be played.
Please continue on to learn more about eligibility for performing at the ECCCC by visiting the next page: