Children's improvisations are music to one man's ears
David Dove founded Nameless Sound to foster musical creativity among the young
Published 1:23 pm, Tuesday, February 19, 2013
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The rudimentary percussion instrument called a Boomwhacker is not the sort of thing most adults would eagerly put into the hands of a child, never mind 19 children ages 5 to 7. David Dove, however, believes children are to be heard as well as seen.
After being greeted cheerily by a group of them at the Star of Hope Mission's Women and Family Emergency Center, Dove passes out Boomwhackers and drumsticks, and a chaotic racket ensues. Soon enough, though, little rhythms emerge. Later, each child has a chance to tap out a unique percussive pattern. One child comes up with a particularly interesting and complex sound, and Dove takes notice.
"You've played drums before?" he asks. "I can tell."
Dove may have discovered a future collaborator for Nameless Sound, the organization he founded to promote creative music performance and education in Houston.
A California native, Dove, 41, played trombone in the popular Houston band Sprawl, which split nearly 20 years ago. He then was drawn deeper to jazz and free forms of improvised music. Around 2001, his friend and mentor Pauline Oliveros - an esteemed composer, accordionist, philosopher and educator - allowed Dove to begin a nonprofit organization under her Deep Listening Institute umbrella in Houston, which was her hometown.
More Information
How to help
1 Nameless Sound's members volunteer at shelters and community centers, so they're dependent on membership and sponsorship. Membership information can be found at 713-928-5653 or namelesssound.org.
1 In addition to donations, Star of Hope also accepts clothing and supplies. More information at 713-222-2220 or sohmission.org.
1 MECA (Multicultural Education and Counseling Through the Arts) has a variety of volunteer programs and also accepts donations. More information at 713-802-9370 or meca-houston.org.
With Deep Listening, Dove started to provide education and outreach at shelters like Star of Hope and organizations like the Multicultural Education and Counseling Through the Arts, which offers art and cultural classes and programming for under-served youth and adults.
Dove also organized a youth ensemble that incorporates six-week music sessions and occasional performances. The ensemble has become an admirable producer of alums who have had success performing and teaching music. Dove and his staff of five also work with a children's ensemble and do classes for people with special needs.
In 2005, Dove left Oliveros' organization to create Nameless Sound.
"Teaching is such a big part of it all," says Wadada Leo Smith, a renowned trumpeter from the '70s avant-garde jazz scene who hosted some workshops for Nameless Sound in 2007.
"One can make art anywhere they're at. But there aren't as many places to learn.''
Nameless Sound distinguishes itself from other musical outreach by its emphasis on purely improvisational music. Much of Dove's approach isn't about making sounds, but rather being attuned to what others are doing. He cites Maria Montessori as an inspiration for her belief that the role of the teacher is that of observer.
"Musical improvisation is about being a listener," Dove says. "Your senses are open. It's not unlike being a teacher and needing to know when to affirm and when to challenge. And each situation is different. Music education can be so conservative. I never heard this sort of music as a kid. So I think improvisation is uniquely suited for this type of education.
"And anyone can access it. This kind of music, free improvisation, it's not a kind of music. It's a process. 'Style' implies a certain idiom and language with a cultural base. This music isn't that way. It's valuable and therapeutic for individual growth and confidence. It fosters a sense of community."
If that sounds lofty, the kids at Star of Hope nevertheless relish their time making music. Scott Arthur, the organization's spokesman, says the approximately 1,100 homeless people at the mission on any given day include about 300 children.
"They're just tagging along for the ride," he says. "And it's usually a bumpy one."
On a recent night, the hallways were filled with mothers and children on the floor because all the beds were occupied. Star of Hope offers an array of services to get its occupants back on their feet: classes on healthful cooking, résumé preparation, GED prep, finance tutoring. And there's also the classroom full of children, most still in school uniforms.
"I've never seen anything like it," Arthur says about Dove's class. "They really do enjoy doing this."
Dove pulls a variety of different percussion instruments from a bag. With each new one, a murmured chorus of "I want that one!" washes through the circle of children. He asks each child to sing out his or her name in an interesting way. A few are shy, but most are game. Dove is nurturing but firm about silence and attention. He wants to develop good listeners. An ecosystem of sound begins, and Dove encourages the kids to vocalize, to thread their sung names into the sound.
Time is running out. He has another class on the south side of town.
But first Dove distributes dumbeks, small goblet-shaped aluminum drums. He takes a larger drum, a djembe, from its case.
"That's a big drum," one child says.
"It's a big drum," Dove says, "because I'm a big kid."