There is a quote from the play the Mourning Bride by William Congreve that "Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast". In our Naxos Music Library e- resource there is music that can soothe fans of any conceivable type of music.
Join us on Zoom tomorrow for a social gathering. That's Wednesday 6th, at 10.30am, on Nollaig na mBan, everyone is welcome. Please get in touch with the library at [email protected].
Where is my mind? Music therapy with a difference.
And now for a few thoughts from our colleague Clodagh on keeping sane whilst keeping indoors. I’m starting to get a little home-crazy. With home-schooling, home-working and home-only for the foreseeable future, all I can think of is escape from home rather than using my spare time to clean the previously untouched corners of my home. Bathroom grouting – you have no need to fear! My escape is music. Music touches almost all of us I think, we’re hooked by a bassline or drawn to a melody. I have music in every room of the house, so that I can listen as I read, cook, work or argue about how April Fool’s Day is not a national holiday and therefore home-school still goes ahead.Have you ever wondered what it is about music that makes it so appealing to us humans? How does it affect our brains? How do earworms happen to us? Have a listen to ‘Musicophilia’ by Oliver Sacks, available on eAudiobook through Borrowbox with your library membership. Sacks quotes Charles Darwin’s ‘The Descent of Man’ in his introduction claiming music to be a pretty useless, but nevertheless enjoyable endeavour! I think of dementia choirs here in the city and wonder if Darwin could do with an update? ‘As neither the enjoyment nor the capacity of producing musical notes are faculties of the least use to man ... they must be ranked among the most mysterious with which he is endowed.’If you’d like to find out more, another book choice might be Daniel Levitin’s ‘This is your brain on music’.Or why not check out some of the great music biographies on Borrowbox of talented artists such as David Bowie, Rory Gallagher or Janis Joplin.Watch our how-to video on Borrowbox.Access eBooks/eAudiobooks on your phone, tablet or reader. Once you have installed the app, search for Dublin in the ‘Library’ field provided and then sign in using your library membership card number and PIN.Members of other library authorities will need to access BorrowBox using a different link.In the current situation, I could certainly do some musical therapy, so rather than reading further, I’ve decided to give my faculties a challenge with Artistworks for Libraries, available via RB Digital with your library membership. Watch our how to video for RBdigital.My challenge is to master the bass guitar lying lonesome in the corner of one home-schooler’s bedroom, purchased from the much-missed Walton’s on South Great George’s Street way back when the home-schooler expressed an interest in learning, swiftly followed by a lack of interest in learning. I delude myself that I could be the next Kim Deal or Tina Weymouth, should anyone come looking for a 40-something librarian bassist, with a side knowledge of 2PiR and the counties of Ireland ‘as Gaeilge’.On Artistworks for Libraries, Nathan East provides the bass guitar tutorials. He has worked with musicians from Eric Clapton to Herbie Hancock, and you’ll know his bass lines from songs such as Kenny Loggins’ ‘Footloose’ or Daft Punk’s ‘Get Lucky’. That’s impressive, so I watch the first few videos, feeling a little perplexed by new terms such as harmonics and intonation.‘One man’s G sharp is another man’s A flat’I slow down to get to grips with the terminology and tie it in with what I know already from previous instrumental dabbling. I move on to the warmups and scales and really enjoy getting stuck into the sounds of each string. I’m delighted to see that these videos have a slow-motion version too. The short videos that allow you master a skill before moving on are great for building confidence.The break in the daily home routine is refreshing. Learning an instrument requires a focus that makes you shake off distractions and gives you a sense of accomplishment as you progress. Have a look at Artistworks for Libraries, think about what you could do with the mysterious faculties with which you have been endowed.Dream of your other life in music. Plans for my world tour are on hold for the moment, but watch this space…
Music Lending, a smash hit at Pearse Street Library
Instrument Carousel - a partnership between Girls Rock Dublin and Dublin City Libraries was a smash hit with all the teenagers in Pearse Library on Culture Night last Friday. Instrument Carousel was an opportunity for participants to explore their musical potential.It marks the launch of the “GRD Gear Library”, the gear loan service designed for teenagers by Girls Rock Dublin & Dublin City Libraries. Sixteen teenagers took over the Library in a fun & loud experiment involving electric guitars, basses, synths, keyboards & drums. By moving through different rooms and engaging with GRD coaches, participants learned a song on each instrument, and finished by performing the song together.Girls Rock Dublin is a non-profit, volunteer-led organisation that builds girls’ self-esteem through music creation and performance. Providing workshops and technical training, GRD creates leadership opportunities, cultivates a supportive community of peers and mentors, and encourages social change and the development of life skills. From Culture Night any teenager who is a member of Dublin City Libraries can borrow their preferred instrument for three weeks. All you need is your library card!Teenagers will need the signature of a parent or guardian when completing the membership form. Their parent or guardian will need to bring photo I.D. and proof of address. Get access to great online resources, borrow books, DVDs and now musical instruments! There are no fines and you can use your card in any library in Ireland. Joining is easy. Call into Pearse Street library and borrow what you like. The GRD Gear Library is a collection of instruments, amplifiers and musical accessories that Girls Rock Dublin are now making available through Dublin City Libraries all year round. The collection is made up of donated gear from people in the community who value the work of Girls Rock Dublin and from purchases made from funding received with thanks to Reverb.com. GRD Gear Library also welcome donations of 'gear'.The library is an ongoing project, more pics from Culture Night 2019 on flickr. Dublin City Libraries are free,fun and easy to use. Find out more.
This Culture Night marks the beginning of a fantastic opportunity for teenagers to borrow a musical instrument from Dublin City Libraries. Dublin City Libraries and Girls Rock Dublin are proud to present “GRD Gear Library”, the gear loan service designed for teenagers under 18 and launching on Culture Night with “Instrument Carousel”. Girls Rock Dublin is a non-profit, volunteer-led organisation that builds girls’ self-esteem through music creation and performance. On 20 September at 6pm 16 teenagers will take over Pearse Street Library in a fun and loud experiment involving electric guitars, basses, synths, keyboards, ukulele, glockenspiel, pedal effects and drums. By moving through different rooms and engaging with GRD coaches, participants will learn a song on each instrument, and finish by performing the song together. This is open to teenagers of all genders. From Culture Night any teenager who is a member of Dublin City Libraries can borrow their preferred instrument for three weeks. All you need is your library card! . Dublin City Libraries are free, fun and easy to use. Joining is easy and completely free. Get access to great online resources, borrow books, DVDs and now musical instruments. There are no fines and you can use your card in any library in Ireland.The GRD Gear Library is a collection of instruments, amplifiers and musical accessories that Girls Rock Dublin use for their summer camp and events and are now making available throughout Dublin City Libraries all year round. Teenagers will need the signature of a parent or guardian when completing the membership form. Their parent or guardian will need to bring photo I.D. and proof of address.Take a look at the instrument gallery, then call into Pearse Street library and borrow what you need! Email Pearse Street Library to make a booking.The collection is made up of donated instruments from people in the community who value the work of Girls Rock Dublin and purchases made through funding from Reverb.com.It's is an ongoing project so donations are welcome!
Our featured online resource this week is Freegal ,a free music service which offers access to about 15 million songs, including Sony Music’s catalog of legendary artists, and over 40,000 music videos.The Freegal Music website has thousands of artists, tens of thousands of albums, and millions of songs.In total the collection is comprised of music from over 40,000 labels with music that originates in over 100 countries. There is no software to download, and there are no digital rights management (DRM) restrictions. Dublin City Public Library users have unlimited streaming and can download 5 songs per week. All you need is your library card number and PIN. Go to https://dcpl.freegalmusic.com/ or download the free App from Google Play or the Apple Store
Down by The Salley Gardens, Thíos cois garraithe na Saillí le WB Yeats
Bhain slua maith taitneamh as seo ó Ghuthanna Binne Síoraí (Everlasting Voices) ar Lá Filíochta na hÉireann, Déardaoin, 26 d’Aibreáin i mBliain na Gaeilge, 2018. Bhí filíocht ó WB Yeats curtha i láthair i mbéarla agus Gaeilge ag Cathal Quinn, Acadamh Lir agus seinnteoir, Enda Reilly. D’aistrigh Gabriel Rosenstock na dánta ó bhéarla go Gaeilge.We celebrated Poetry Day Ireland, 26 April and Bliain na Gaeilge with a great event, "I Hear It in the Deep Heart’s Core" with Guthanna Binne Síoraí at Dublin City Library and Archive.
The Orchestra of St Cecilia Collection includes concert programmes, posters, flyers, correspondence, programme notes, recordings, soloists and conductor’ biographies and administrative documents. Access to the collection provides unparalleled insight into the processes involved in professional orchestra and event management from the turn of the twenty-first century through recession times in Dublin. Find out more and view some items from the Orchestra of St Cecilia Collection...Dublin City Library and Archive.
David Bowie was The Future. His first solo album 'Space Oddity' was released at the peak of The Space Race between the US and the USSR in 1969. It portrays the plight of an astronaut alienated from his planet and family. This could have been influenced by the Kubrick film '2001: A Space Odyssey'.