COGNITION - a concept album for the medical community
THE IDEA:
It is often overlooked that music can be a powerful communicative tool. By choosing the proper instrumentation and chord progressions, among other important decisions regarding the timbre, an artist can effectively transfer an emotional concept. Lyrics are often helpful in leading a listener in the right direction during interpretation, but a lot of the meaning is derived from the listener’s own experience. As I have come to learn quickly in medical school, communication and emotional intelligence are difficult yet necessary skills to foster in order to successfully move down this career path.
Largely in this spirit, for my scholarly project I have written and recorded a conceptual album consisting of six songs that all play on the many emotions experienced throughout the medical community. The different songs represent various feelings, interactions and situations one may find in the hospital, at a patient or health care provider's home, or out in the community in general.
Below I have included some snapshots from my notebook to capture a few examples of how I brainstorm and organize songs.
THE PROJECT:
Six songs have been fully written, recorded and produced. A few other song ideas along the way did not quite make the final cut but will certainly be revisited at a future date.
Each track is paired with a brief description and a piece of artwork. I will leave the exact interpretation of the meanings behind these pairings up to the listener, but each image will match the theme of the song. The descriptions are short and sweet so as to give everyone a starting place to then conjure up their own take on what the song is all about. This, to me, speaks to the beauty of music as an art form. For instrumental songs, I may include more detail to better prime the listener for a meaningful experience.
I highly recommend listening with headphones for the best experience! Please enjoy and feel free to reach out if anything in particular resonates with you and/or if there is interest in further discussion in general. My email is
jakerosewater1@med.miami.edu.
Cognition
Both the title track and introductory statement, this song ponders the meanings of life and consciousness through a tumultuous but exploratory burst of piano-fueled energy, setting the stage for the larger narrative but also preparing the listener for a slower, more introspective second piece.
Voyage (ft. Justin De la Fuente)
I have been working on this song for a few years now, on and off, and what it means to me has evolved quite a bit since I first began. It represents the uncertainty that regularly presents itself within the medical community and in life in general. As someone who personally embarked on a long journey to become a physician, this song highlights an optimistic uneasiness that often surrounds ambitious goals.
Patients may interpret this song differently, for no one asks to become a patient, and while new diagnoses may be frightening, they may end up unexpectedly helping some people reevaluate what is most important to them in life.
Lyrics:
When do I breathe?
I’m a leaf in a stormy sea
Come rescue me
Is what I said before you ran off clean
I want to believe
In a world far from here
I want to peer through
I know it’s there, I know it’s true
Come on this voyage with me
There’s so much to see
Come on and dance with me
Don’t give me that chance to breathe
I want to believe
There’s a world far from here
I want to let go
Otherwise, we’ll never know
Come on this voyage with me
Time just isn’t free
Come on and celebrate, let’s
Take this chance to achieve
All of our wildest hopes and dreams
I want us to remain unseen
Tesseractomy
This song embodies the overwhelming feelings found at the beginning of a new patient's journey into the realm of medical care. In a dizzying frenzy of piano and percussion, using escalating, ringing motifs that summon a whirlwind of foreign experience within such a short amount of time, the intensity of the unknown in this piece highlights the feelings of those who have received frightening new diagnoses or have been hospitalized for reasons they do not understand.
Reality (ft. Matt Agritelley)
This song captures the aftermath of the previous track, in which someone in an unfamiliar and volatile situation may feel broken down and lost, yet remain searching for hope all the same.
Lyrics:
Over here it's me you see
Look past your silly dream
Look around it's all you see
Get a grip on reality
Take a chance and fake your part
The whole world is waiting
You better start (you better start)
Just keep your head up high
There's still time to fly
Just keep it all outside
You're never quite obliged
Now I'm running off the wall
Is that the edge right there?
Just let me fall (just let me fall)
The whole world
Is crumbling now
Oh, crumbling now
Force it on yourself
Oh, yourself
The Slow Burn
By introducing some improvisational jazz piano into the mix, this song captures the unexpected nature of medicine through a different lens. As a healthcare provider, things may not always unfold as anticipated, especially in the hospital, and sometimes patients may take everyone by surprise.
A Golden Morning
This triumphant conclusion to the album embodies the revelation and relief of a patient finally learning that they are cancer free. I attempted to capture the wonderful experience I can only imagine would ensue with flourishing major chords and a crescendo into an up-beat, joyful melody, along with a slower middle section during which the listener may soak up the feeling of such a moment.
Acknowledgements
A huge thank you and shout out to my brother, Max Rosewater, who assisted in a large part of the recording process and who has also been kind enough to help with mixing and mastering the record. Thank you so much Max! If anyone is looking for fantastic new music, please check out the music listed under his name on all major streaming platforms!
Another big thank you to Justin De la Fuente and Matt Agritelley, colleagues of mine also from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, for singing on two of the songs as noted below. This project would not be complete without your time and effort; thank you both!
Thank you for reviewing this portfolio. I hope you have enjoyed what I have accomplished with this project.
I look forward to continuing to share this album and hearing feedback so that I may further develop as a musician and empathic healthcare provider.
