HAP PALMER - Singer/Song Writer/Musician
[Wendy at Dreamish.com] I have the pleasure of working with Hap Palmer on his website. He is dedicated to education and children and it shows in his songs and music. Hap Palmer and I will share with you an interview that we did recently.
[Wendy at Dreamish.com] Were you exposed to music often when you were a child?
[Hap Palmer] My mother sang in church and with a couple of different choruses. She took vocal lessons and unfortunately we children were not very supportive. When she would hit those loud high operatic notes we would yell "eeeuw!" I recall singing at a PTA meeting when I was a teenager. I sang a couple of 60's folk songs which met with polite but tepid response. Then my mother got up and sang "Indian Love Call" and brought the house down. That's when I realized hmmm I guess there is something to this light opera stuff.
My father had an extensive collection of swing big band recordings which he used to play for dance when he was in college. He was a dance DJ before the term came into use. As a child, I enjoyed lying in bed and listening to these recordings.
[Wendy at Dreamish.com] Did you dream of growing up to be a singer/songwriter?
[Hap Palmer] I didn't start singing until I was in college. As a child I didn't even know what a singer/songwriter was. Actually, I never liked listening to singers. I only liked instrumental music. Stuff like Benny Goodman quartet with Lionel Hampton on vibes and Teddy Wilson on piano.
[Wendy at Dreamish.com] What were your other childhood dreams?
[Hap Palmer] As a child, I don't recall having any dreams of grandeur. This came more in my teen years. As a child I was fascinated by many things. I did lots of fiddling around and tinkering with stuff, making craft projects, making forts and little secret hiding places, improvising plays, and the like. My kindergarten teacher wrote a note home to my mom telling saying "Harlan is one of her problems, he is interested in everything and can apply himself to nothing." (Harlan was my legal name, and Happy was my nickname). In high school, I dreamed of being a famous athlete. When this dream proved clearly unrealistic, I dreamed of being a famous singer.
[Wendy at Dreamish.com] Did you fulfill those dreams? Why or why not?
[Hap Palmer] My Aunt Zuma, who I had great respect for, once asked me, " with so many people wanting to be singers and actors and there being such a need for teachers, why do you want to be on stage?" Making a contribution was very important to her. I still remember her in her 90's pretty much confined to her room, sitting there going through a big basket of buttons, finding matches, and sewing them on little cards for the church thrift shop. She was incredibly unself-centered, and did for others up to the day of her death. With her influence, my goals changed to wanting to use music in some way that would help others.
[Wendy at Dreamish.com] What musical instruments do you play?
[Hap Palmer] Guitar, bass, saxophone, clarinet, flute
[Wendy at Dreamish.com] How long have you been playing?
[Hap Palmer] I started clarinet when I was 8 or 9 years old. A couple of years later, I added the saxophone. When I was in high school my sister went to Mexico for summer school and took up the guitar. I was quite taken with this instrument, and bought an old broken guitar from a friend for five dollars. The bridge had come unglued, so I drilled a couple of holes and bolted it back on. The case was an old blanket with belts to hold it around the guitar. I got a chord wheel and taught myself some chords. In the privacy of my room, I began softly singing as I strummed the guitar.
[Wendy at Dreamish.com] How many songs have you written?
[Hap Palmer] I've never bothered to sit down and really make an accurate count. So many of my songs were just learning experiments leading to something better down the road. One good song is worth a million mediocre ones.
[Wendy at Dreamish.com] You started off with teaching special education. What was the most memorable moment?
[Hap Palmer] Thirty years ago, I started with a class of what at that time they called "trainable mentally retarded." There were so many funny little moments like shaking a can of paint and the top flying off and paint going all over my white shirt. My students got such a kick out of this.
We were supposed to teach them just self help skills, like eating and dressing etc., and also simple skills like sorting and stacking. One day a boy came up to me on the playground and said, " This is a school for dumb people. Why do you like to teach at a school for dumb people?" He said, "I want to learn about that." As he pointed to a dusty globe on the top of a cabinet. This is when I started giving them more simplified academic work so they could feel they were doing what their siblings were doing.
[Wendy at Dreamish.com] What education have you had that has highlighted and helped your career?
[Hap Palmer] I had an under graduate program in musicianship where I learned to hear and sing the intervals. This skill made it possible to hear a melody in my head and write it out, and also to sight read music. The graduate program in dance education at UCLA gave me many ideas for combining my music with creative movement for young children.
[Wendy at Dreamish.com] How did you get involved with Amy Weintraub of Baby Songs?
[Hap Palmer] Amy Weintraub and Brooks McKewen had heard my music and contacted me. They shared their ideas regarding videos for children. We found we shared many of the same goals.
[Wendy at Dreamish.com] How often do you come out with a new tape or video? What do you do in the meantime?
[Hap Palmer] I am always working on two or three ideas at once. After awhile one seems to rise to the top of the pile. I put together a new CD or revise and expand an existing recording every year or two.
[Wendy at Dreamish.com] How do you balance your family life and work time?
[Hap Palmer] The same way everybody else does, with difficulty. It's always a challenge especially when both parents work. There are periods when I feel I'm not giving enough time or doing as well as I could in any area. Somehow, we all muddle through.
[Wendy at Dreamish.com] What future dreams do you want to fulfill?
[Hap Palmer] I would like to have some of my songs translated into Spanish, and learn enough about the language so I could sing them in Spanish. I am taking a beginning Spanish class this semester.
Thanks Hap. Your music has been bringing real joy to many families over the years. I am so happy you have shared your thoughts and experience! (Wendy - Dreamish.com)
Hap is living his dreams. Visit his website at http://www.happalmer.com and see his many delightful recordings, lyrics and activities and teaching aids. Also check for his latest concert dates.
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