Believe Music Heals

01/23/2024

Dear Friends, I am elated to tell you that The Believe Music Heals 16 Week San Quentin Program is up and running! The amount of heart and soul that lives beyond the gates of San Quentin is astounding. It’s a profound experience each and every time I walk through those gates. We went live with our program in early November and since then I have been spending every Wednesday morning with a group of 26 inmates dedicated to transforming their lives through the healing power of music. The first 8 weeks have been focused on guided meditation, breath work, setting intentions, learning healthy vocal techniques to grow vocal range, improving pitch accuracy and refining tone, and developing authenticity and honesty in vocal delivery. We have distributed instruments (guitars and ukuleles) to all of the participants and we are in the process of learning chords, strumming patterns, finger picking, and some basic music theory. We are also learning about various song forms for songwriting.

We have embarked on a series of writing exercises that include studying the works of literary giants in prose, poetry and fiction, as well as the classics of great songwriters that have come before us. Participants have chosen songs to sing and I have burned CD’s of their requests and printed lyrics sheets for them to sing in karaoke format for their peers. Their self confidence is growing. Some can’t get enough! We have an open mic portion to our class each week. But the most exciting thing I can share with you is that brilliant original songs are being composed from a place of soul searching and deep introspection. Songs are being written on topics of forgiveness, gratitude, reflection, giving back, healing, introspection, and life lessons learned. People are taking risks and diving in. They are processing and channeling their traumatic life experiences into songs as a means of healing. The music is a safe place to make sense of the events that led them to where they are today. There has been opportunity for both solo writing as well as collaboration. We have created a safe space, a circle of trust, and participants are honing their musical skills and telling their stories through song while finding connection and creating community.

Each and every time I arrive, I am greeted with smiles and words of gratitude and appreciation from the participants. And everyday when the class is finished I am thanked sincerely by each and every participant. I have never received such appreciation for my teaching. Many people have told me that this Believe Music Heals program offering is the best thing that has happened to them since their incarceration. Many of them say they have always wanted to pursue music but life never afforded them the privilege and opportunity until now. And in return, this experience is giving me a renewed sense of life purpose. I am amazed by what is unfolding in front of my own eyes and ears.

We are now halfway through the program and now is the time for us to start recording these beautiful songs and voices. We have guest producers and engineers scheduled to come in with portable recording gear to help create an album.

This is where you come into the picture. We need your help. This program has been funded exclusively by donations from the public. We raised $2500 on our Give Butter platform but we did not reach our needed goal. WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT to move forward to record these songs and make the album we have been working towards.

In addition to funds, we are also graciously accepting donations of musical instruments for the program.

What is most needed:
Guitars
Keyboards
Ukuleles

Each resident has a unique story to tell. Each resident has a powerful voice that deserves to be heard. Each resident is on their own unique journey towards healing.

I truly believe that the value in this program will not only benefit the residents who are participating, but also the other residents around them as well as the broader community who may be inspired by these powerful songs. The messages communicated are ones coming from a unique perspective that are not often shared with the world and could change lives. The participants are clearly eager to do that.

Please show your support and allow this program the opportunity to help participants reinvent and rehabilitate through the healing power of music and DONATE TODAY!

Your donation will make this album possible!!!

https://givebutter.com/believemusicheals

From the bottom of my heart, I thank you.

🎶❤️🎶

10/06/2023

Dear Friends, I have incredibly exciting news!!! Believe Music Heals was just approved for a 16-week Finding Your Voice Music Program for 25 individuals at San Quentin State Prison! It is slated to begin November 1st! For the past 10 months the board members of Believe Music Heals and I have been working diligently with the resident Rabbi, Paul Shleffar, the prison program coordinator and the warden at San Quentin to make this program possible. Lieutenant Gardea just gave us the green light for a Fall schedule that carries through Spring 2024!! I am beyond thrilled!

We will bring the healing power of music to these select inmates starting with breath work and voice, then singing together, playing instruments, and progressing to writing songs both independently and in collaboration. The journey will culminate in a collection of professional recordings to comprise an album featuring original songs written and performed by the residents at San Quentin.

One year ago, I founded Believe Music Heals as a not-for-profit organization with the mission of bringing healing through music to those who need it most. Our goal is to bring people peace and hope during times of distress and hardship, by using music as a vehicle for self-expression, creativity, comfort, and transformation.

I’d like to share with you a series of ‘coincidences’ that have led me to this opportunity at San Quentin. Two years ago a man, who I’ll call “Joe”, replied to my ad on Craigslist and started coming to me for voice lessons. Joe was a recent parolee from San Quentin. He had served in the Navy before being incarcerated. During his years at San Quentin, Joe picked up the guitar and started to write songs. He told me music helped him through his hardest days in prison. When Joe got patrolled in 2021, he decided to take his love for music to the next level. Joe wanted to sing, play guitar, and write songs as a means of healing his spirit, making sense of his life experiences, and to create a new identity for himself as he reintegrated into the world outside. Joe told me stories about the talent of the residents in San Quentin. He said he had never heard voices with more soul, more conviction, more heart, and more purity. I was fascinated. I wanted to hear those voices. I know first hand that music is the one thing that carries me through the darkest times of my own life. I could only imagine how important music must be for those who have lost their freedom.

I could not get the thought of teaching music at San Quentin out of my mind. Then one day, I saw an email from someone asking for an electric guitar to donate to San Quentin. I replied and one thing led to another until soon after, I was volunteering to teach a music workshop under the guidance of Rabbi Paul Shleffar, at the Chapel in San Quentin. It was incredibly powerful to witness the creativity sparked and connections built between the participants. The program was a huge success. I felt moved to pursue a longer program so the learning could reach deeper and I am so proud to tell you that this is now a reality.

We need your support! We have applied for grants and we are still waiting to hear back. Meanwhile, we have a start date slated for November 1st and we are hoping that YOU, our community, will help launch this program. I believe that once the program is happening and proving to be successful that we will receive grants to keep it going for a longtime, but for now —

WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT to make this happen!

We need to raise $20,000.

This amount will include:

3 Teachers (professional musicians)
2 Engineers (professional recording engineers)
Production and Editing Services
Gear, Supplies and Insurance
Mastering
Art Creation
Graphic Design
CD Pressing & Digital Streaming Service Set Up
Release Planning & Launch

PROGRAM START DATE: NOVEMBER 1st!

Dates of Program:
November: 1, 8, 15, 29
December: 6, 13, 20
January: 3, 10, 17, 21, 31
February: 7, 14, 28
March: 6

Final Performance Date To Be Determined

We are proceeding with the program in good faith that the community shows its support. I will post progress reports weekly for each of the classes. We hope to be granted permission to document and photograph the classes.

I am confident this program will transform lives. I believe it will build confidence, foster creativity, create community, and deliver an opportunity for healing and personal transformation. Healing through music is a powerful way to help individuals treat, cope, and transcend physical, emotional, cognitive and social challenges. Studies show that music helps lower heart rate and blood pressure as well as cortisol in the body. Scientific evidence suggests music causes extensive activation of the brain, promoting the repair of motor and neural systems helping the recovery in stroke patients, reducing symptoms of depression, improving memory, dementia, Alzheimer’s, cardiac conditions, substance abuse, pain management, and even healing from injuries/surgery.

Music can help us process and navigate heartbreak, grief, and other complex emotions, ease anxiety, fear and help improve self esteem and mood. Music has a way of opening our hearts and helping us feel more connected to others, to ourselves, and to the world around us. As a result, it can serve as a direct path to our ability to maintain balance and improve mental health.

Music can become a legacy and a path to transformation.

I know I am not the first person to bring music into prisons. Of course, Johnny Cash paved the way by bringing his music behind bars in San Quentin and by recording Folsom Prison Blues. But I have wondered to myself, what impact would it have, if inmates had the chance to tell their own stories through music? Because EVERYONE HAS A STORY, and EVERYONE HAS A VOICE.

The inmates will have the opportunity to write their truth, their sorrows, regrets, and lessons learned in the form of a song, from the place where they are in their lives today.

As they tell their stories through music they will have the chance to redefine how they see themselves and how others see them. I am committed and inspired to move forward in this spirit.

I ask you, my friends, my community, to please help us support this music program at San Quentin.

Please click the ‘GIVE BUTTER’ Page and DONATE TODAY!! (link in comments)

For more info, please visit:
www.BelieveMusicHeals.org

07/26/2023

Come Join Us!

Summer Beats Festival 2023: A Believe Music Heals Benefit hosted by Ounces Outdoors and Northgate SATURDAY, AUG 5, 4-8PM, SATURDAY, AUG 12, 4-8PM, SATURDAY, AUG 19, 2-8PM, SATURDAY, AUG 26, 4-8PM with bands performing: Grateful Tuna, The Live Oaks, School of Rock San Rafael, Moonstruck Events, Key Lime Pie, Black Sheep Brass Band, essence, Eric McFadden, and My So-Called Band

To help raise awareness and to support Believe Music Heals, on Saturday August 19 starting at 1:30 The Magic Flute, a local full-service music store, will host a one-day Guitar Restring-a-Thon. For a $20 donation to Believe Music Heals, players can get a restring with a FREE set of PRS strings.

05/28/2023

https://www.marinij.com/2023/01/03/marin-project-parlays-music-lessons-to-unlock-creativity-from-trauma-terminal-illness/

The not-for-profit organization, Believe Music Heals, seeks to make music-healing programs available to people with chronic and terminal illness, or hardship and distress.

05/28/2023

https://sanquentinnews.com/the-power-of-healing-through-music/

The power of healing through music March 20, 2023 by Jerry Maleek Gearin Professional singer and songwriter Essence Goldman held a workshop called Finding Your Voice on Dec. 20 at San Quentin’s Interfaith Chapel, to share the power of healing through music. Professional singer and songwriterEssenc...

05/28/2023

https://marinlivingmagazine.com/essence-goldman-is-changing-lives-through-the-power-of-music/

Bay Area songwriter and musician Essence Goldman has been harnessing the healing power of music to change lives.

05/28/2023

https://www.kalw.org/kalw-music/2023-04-05/singer-essence-goldman-helps-people-heal-through-the-power-of-music

Essence Goldman is the founder of the nonprofit “Believe Music Heals”, which uses the power of music to help people who are ill or dealing with hardship.

05/28/2023

Believe Music Heals is dedicated to bringing healing through music to those who need it most. We are a not-for-profit organization that brings people peace and hope during times of distress and hardship, or at the end of their lives, by using music as a vehicle for self-expression, creativity, comfort, and transformation.