By Kate Rauhauser-Smith — Photos by J. Sinclair

No matter how you celebrate the winter holidays, or even if you don’t celebrate at all, music is probably an intrinsic part of your life this time of year. Whether “Silent Night” at church, children learning the Dreidel song at Grandma’s, or “Santa Baby” out shopping, music is everywhere.

If you’re lucky, Martha Bassett’s rich, clear voice will hit that list this year, whether you hear her sing at Swingle Bells on December 7 or buy her new Christmas CD. Her show schedule usually includes many Triad venues, but this month she’s sticking closer to her roots. After Swingle Bells, she’ll be singing at church concerts culminating in a Christmas Eve service at the Davis Memorial Chapel in Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

The Winston-Salem-based singer, musician, and songwriter is a classically trained performer who has also studied how the brain perceives sound. To say she is passionate about music and how it affects people is an understatement. For years, as a vocal teacher and choir director, she heard too many people say they couldn’t sing. Older people especially would relate stories of teachers telling them to “just move your lips” with the songs instead of singing.

“That’s so sad! Everybody should sing. You need everyone’s sounds in a group to make magic,” she says. “It’s not about what you sound like. I’m not a great dancer, but I love to dance and do it a lot. Everybody should sing. It’s important. Even if you just sing in your car, you should. Everybody should sing.”

She has often been amazed by the connection people feel to her performances. “I could be playing in a party, and no one might seem to be listening,” she says, “but later, maybe at the party, maybe a week later or a month, someone will stop me and say, ‘I was going through this in my life and your song, or your music, helped me through.’

“It’s really humbling. I mean, it’s nothing I did intentionally,” she continues. “It’s the music. It’s my job to just be there and do the best that I can because all music is music therapy. All music is sacred music. All music is important.”

When did you first realize you were creative?
There wasn’t a specific moment. I always felt creative, as I think all children do, but some of us never outgrow it. Wouldn’t it be cool if we all made music?

What inspires or influences you?
A good story, nature, things I hear people say, other artists’ music. I get my best ideas while driving.

What routines or rituals are part of your process?
For writing I need quiet. I record little ideas, little pieces of songs on my computer. When I sit down to write in earnest I read and listen back through those pieces to see if anything is useful. I often write songs that I’m not happy with, but maybe a year later I’ll come across a song that I like one line of, or maybe the chord progression, and I’ll use it as a jumping off point for a whole new song. I have to write a lot of bad songs to get one good one. I count on my band members for perspective. Sometimes the songs I like the least are the ones my audience likes the most.

What makes art or the act of creating important?
The ability to create is what makes us human. Art communicates universal ideas and emotions across space and through time. You don’t have to understand it intellectually to be affected by it. As an artist, it’s easy to feel like what you’re doing is unimportant, but really, what could be more important than adding your experience into the overall human dialogue?

What advice do you give others who want to pursue creative outlets?
Don’t leave it to the professionals. Whatever your medium, become familiar with your tools and practice often. The simple act of practicing will enrich your life. It feels good to create, to focus intensely. Do it just for yourself.

Learn more about Martha Bassett, find her performance schedule, listen to some of her music, and order her CDs at www.marthabassett.com.