Safe shelter in sound of music
Music is not just artistic expression for tenderfoot singer-songwriter Jasmine Beach, it is a tool to overcome life’s challenges,
It is little wonder she is always singing, writing songs or playing around with chords on a guitar.
Jasmine Beach grew up in a home immersed in music. Whether it be the sound of her mother singing, or her father playing guitar and talking about the blues, it was a comforting constant through her childhood.
The first guitar came at age 7, a gift from dad Tony Beach.
She did not pick it up until she was 10 but once the strumming started, the songs soon followed.
Jasmine, now 16, is quick to dismiss those early compositions but they form part of a musical grounding that is now helping her tackle Tourette syndrome.
A disorder of the nervous system, it causes the body to make uncontrollable movements and sounds. For Jasmine, she can find herself stammering, repeating words or whistling, or an arm will suddenly jerk.
The tics are more frequent when she is stressed, though it is telling that there is no fear of them manifesting when she is on stage in front of a crowd – because they never do.
Music is the antithesis of stress; it vanquishes her worries and provides a safe haven.
Talking to Jasmine at home and watching her on stage is like being introduced to two different people.
The shy and softly spoken teen becomes a force to be reckoned with when there is a guitar in hand, exuding confidence and prowess. She finds herself, succumbs to the sound and the audience can’t look away.
Back in her bedroom, the walls covered in anime drawings and posters, the air is filled with indie folk and folk punk sounds.
Favourite bands that influence her music include Rainbow Kitten Surprise, The Front Bottoms, Of Monsters and Men and AJJ.
‘‘I always listen to music. It is comforting to me.’’
Jasmine has grown up in Levin, and was attending Horowhenua College in 2020 when she started noticing her head was twitching.
She blamed it on a lack of sleep at first, until she could not stop doing it.
A teacher sent her to the school nurse, who sent her to the doctor, and then to the hospital.
After a scan, she was diagnosed with Tourette syndrome. School became an incubator for her anxieties and she would suffer panic attacks.
She managed to secure a lastminute audition for UCOL’S certificate of music programme in Palmerstonnorth.
It changed everything. Her days became anchored on learning and playing music, and the tics diminished.
Jasmine is hard on herself and rarely likes her songs. Dozens of screwed up pieces of paper can be found at her feet before one finally makes the cut.
She says she is getting better but is picky about what makes the cut.
The guitar is a constant companion. Chords form and then it is up to her brain to find the words to fill the spaces.
In the grand tradition of singersongwriter confessionals, Jasmine normally writes about herself and her feelings.
One of her new songs, Your
Piano Ghost, is about the difficulty of trying to connect with someone who won’t open up.
‘‘I typically like writing sad music, because I have more to write about, and it is easier to think of words and the songs just sound prettier.’’
She would love to forge a career in music.
‘‘Ever since I was little I have alwayswanted to be amusician, to write and createmy own songs and to share them to the world.’’
Father Tony Beach says enrolling Jasmine in a music course was the best thing he ever did.
He says it was extremely scary when his daughter first came home from school with the Tourette’s symptoms and they didn’t know what was going on.
She would hit herself on the head or body and started saying words at random.
‘‘She started to struggle at school and she was really good at it.’’
Amusic course had provided relief for his son, who has dyslexia, so Beach suggested a similar path for Jasmine. ‘‘I occasionally notice the Tourette’s now, she is a lot more relaxed.
‘‘It is a different kettle of fish. I am proud of her. ‘‘But more than that, I am proud of the way she holds herself and her personality... ‘‘My philosophy is to let her do whatmakes her happy, and I can help her and give her the tools but she can do what makes her happy,’’ Beach says.
UCOL music teacher Graham Johnston says he remembers Jasmine’s audition, hanging on to hear the end of the song she had written.
‘‘She writes songs you want to listen to three or more times to really get them,’’ Johnston says.
He has seen Jasmine’s confidence grow exponentially since starting the course.
The classroom environment is family orientated and students know the staff have their back.
She now has less trouble interacting with people and has gained the confidence to give anything a go.
‘‘She is so softly spoken, and then she sings and it is wow.’’
Jasmine is the youngest on the course but is fantastic on stage.
She has fun and the audience always responds to that, Johnston says.
‘‘Music is one of the few things that utilises every part of the brain – physical, logical and emotional.
‘‘Jasmine has the potential to be a bit of a voice for Tourette’s.
‘‘We see the programmes on television but now have someone to normalise it,’’ Johnston says.
‘‘I typically like writing sad music, because I have more to write about, and it is easier to think of words and the songs just sound prettier.’’