Injecting Imagination Into Music: The Shoe Bird
Written by Dan Finkel
One of the most wonderful things about music (and about auditory entertainment in general) is that while it does dictate what your ears hear, it leaves the rest of the story more or less up to you – you get to picture the performers, or imagine the scene the music evokes in your mind. Before the invention of TV, when radio was king, this was how most people experienced entertainment in their homes (and cars), though they could of course go see movies and theatre if they wanted to add the visual. I happen to think this sort of “ears only” stimulation is great for kids, since they are expert imaginers – this is something they do better than almost every adult – their little minds are totally primed to be taken on an auditory adventure. Music on its own takes us on wonderful adventures, but when music and dramatic storytelling are brought together, sometimes the results are amazing.
The Shoe Bird: A Musical Fable, a recent Grammy award-winner, is one of these amazing results. The story is based upon a children’s tale by Eudora Welty; the album features dramatic narration by Jim Dale, and beautiful, powerful, witty music by the Seattle Symphony Orchestra accompanied by two outstanding children’s choirs. The concept is basically the same as Peter and the Wolf, which has remained a “timeless classic” for the last seventy years since Prokofiev first gave it to the world. I would never have imagined that anything else could possibly resemble Peter and the Wolf, but The Shoe Bird…is it too corny to say that it did a good job filling those shoes? I feel pretty confident saying this recording is going have similar “timeless” appeal. The story is about the chaos that ensues when birds decide to wear shoes, and though it is a great story, the sounds on this album are what really draw you in. Jim Dale’s voices and reading are characteristically superb – he has that fascinating mixture of playfulness and presence that master storytellers always exude. The music…what can I say? You really just have to hear it. It was composed to help tell the story, and it does just that, weaving expertly throughout the narration, augmenting overtly, but never overpowering the words, lending distinctive voices to each character. The fable has a nice moral (be happy with who you are), and is completely appropriate for any age – the entire recording is about an hour long, however, so if you have a little one like me, you may have to listen in several chunks.
Enjoy, and if you like Peter and the Wolf or already know this album, please share what you think in a comment!
Happy Listening!
Dan is currently pursuing a PhD in Anthropology at UConn, studying human evolution and behavior as they relate to music, religion, and social cognition. He has been an educator in a number of settings, including Outdoor Educator, Adult Educator, High School Science Instructor, and most recently Parent (which is probably more of a student role than a teacher role, to be honest). Dan has several passions: his family, science, outdoor education, and music. He is an amateur musician (bass) and a life-long fan of many types of music.
