Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Preface to "People and Education," a Songbook Compiled by Students from UC Santa Cruz

Well, the future drives us on while we explore the cosmic song until we reach the fence which represents all that has gone, for a lifetime hurries, and it knows no worry, yes, on the unknown ground's where we belong.



It may be that this booklet is a collective shout from a boat that has until recently been drifting aimlessly out to sea. Its shipmates are adroit, equipped, prepared to employ themselves as worthy navigators. The ship itself? It is a trusted companion; though weathered and dilapidating, it is compressed with the tales of a rich history. She limbers on with her sails clipped and sewn back together, impeding her speed and direction. The shipmates stand on her decks regardless, manning the wheel, the rudder, the bilge pump, the nets, the galley. A futile adventure? Perhaps. A noble one? Undoubtedly.

In times where money reveals its fleeting nature, when the curtain that hides economic magicians is blown up by a devious breeze, the reason for saving and spending it becomes a magnificent question posed to society. To what do I offer my earnings? Is it worth the sacrifice? What does being an "educated" citizen mean? Can't I just learn that from my parents? My grandparents? Perhaps, but the shipmates on board the questing vessel look to the horizon as they embark forward, unsettled by such a simple resolution. Their earnings go into themselves, into their ship, into their kin. They are a unit, a group of able-minded and able-bodied individuals. They are their own and each others' parental guidance. They have no direct paterfamilias, nor a common God. They each adopt a different belief in death, embody unique and elaborate pasts, and a different reason to create. They have made their severance from the standard, and formulated their own methods for maintaining a sound morale. They have crossed into their roles as explorers, and there is no end to such a worthy task.

It has been said that power can do as it pleases with any organized group that it wants, for it will always have the purest knowledge of the money required to buy it out. But power is broken up, we have learned, by a plenitude of individual things, as a wolverine may be devoured by army ants. Power cannot acquire the explorer's heart, his soul, nor his will, because it becomes apparent that the developed explorer requires no power beyond his own knowledge. On this ship, this singular vessel, is the oneness that power can contain by clipping and sewing as it pleases. The shipmates on board, however, are of a different order. They are able to see past the boat, as their dreams probe into space and beyond. To embark where he sees worthy- this is the task of the explorer. Together, united on the decks of their boat, these shipmates collaborate on solving the problems that leave many unjustly behind. It is in the face of these problems that they invoke the laws of mathematics, the tendencies of nature, and the ebbing and flowing mannerisms of humanity. Numbers and letters, the measurable and the felt, come together to form tools to communicate the collective results. With these tools, a message is made into a product of sound and symbol. The shipmates, each one aware of his place, grip the rigging and steer for the horizon, preparing for the impending challenge of keeping their vessel afloat and in motion. They look to each other, as this is all they have. Then, one of them begins to sing.


Everybody can make music, whether they musically inclined or not. Some of the songs on the following pages may be easy to play, others may be more difficult. Still, try them all. Try clapping your hands if a drum is too intimidating; sing out loud if you think that a song is worth hearing, even if you might not be right on key; slap your cheeks, pat your knees, whistle, or dance. These are all ways to enjoy music without having to feel like a hack or someone that is not trained to make it. You are alive, and that is all you need to make music with others. A song is a message, and when we sing that message as a group, everyone feels good together. Everyone has a heartbeat, and so has rhythm. Everyone has a brain, and so has a message. Everyone has hands and feet, and so has instruments. We have created this booklet with hopes that you will use it on your own at a party, with friends and family, amidst a political gathering, or maybe privately for your own use. Maybe it will motivate you to make your own songbook. Ultimately, we have put this book together so that homemade music can be celebrated and appreciated as something that is organically human. So make a fool of yourself, sing to a touchy subject, rile up a fun-loving crowd. However you use this book, remember that it is testimony to our celebration of being alive.

Happy singing!

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