Musings @ DeFord Music

My Favorite Things

2012-01-09T11:33:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday! January has struck, and I thought it might be fun to share some Christmas favorites. Every Christmas season I do the musical equivalent of staring into the cupboards at dinner time, wondering "what shall we serve up this year?" So I'll list a few things that worked for us, beginning with this one:

For our stake fireside this year, we were assigned "O Tidings of Comfort and Joy" (SATB) in which arranger Betsy Lee Bailey combines two traditional melodies. It's fast, upbeat, and easier than it sounds.

The link above takes you to Jackman music, where you can get this song. (I have two quarrels with this page. First, they used organ to accompany the demo track, which may put some people off. It's scored for piano, and really sounds soooo much nicer that way. Second, the talk-talk-talk sales pitches through the beginning of every audio sample on the Jackman site can drive you insane. Ah well, ignore the talk and listen to the song.)

I love love love this arrangement. The choir perked up visibly every time we practiced it, and I think it will be a staple for us for a long time.

I'll add a more as I have time. If you have anything you'd like to share below, feel free!

A Hunting We Will Go...

2011-12-13T16:02:00.000-07:00

Just for fun, here's an activity that our family did a couple years ago and we'll probably repeat this year.

Christmas Scavenger Hunt

Rules:
Divide up into car-sized teams.
Make sure someone in each car is carrying a digital camera.
Give someone in each vehicle a copy of the list--things the group must find and photograph.
Set a time by which each vehicle must be back
When everyone gets home, the car that found the most items from the list wins--with the photos being the proof that the items were actually found.

Trees:

Tree in window
Very large decorated outdoor tree
A Charlie-Brown-like tree
Artificial tree outdoors

Lights:

Luminarias
Snowflakes
Lonely string of lights
Great color combination
Awful color combination
Monochromatic (other than all white)
Cool light sculpture
Lights with coordinated music
Five-pointed star
Star of David
“Merry Christmas” (words in lights)
“Noel” (words in lights)
“Ho ho ho” (words in lights)
“Feliz Navidad” (words in lights)
“Happy Holidays” (words in lights)
Candles in windows
Deer

Blow-ups/plastic sculptures/wooden cutouts

Mickey Mouse
Donald Duck
Snowman
Rudolph
Santa
Mrs. Santa
Elves
Tin Soldier
The Grinch
Misc. Looney Tunes
Misc. Disney
Other TV/Movie characters
Deflated blow-up
Scary/Disturbing blow-up
Non-specific blowup character
Train

Scenes that fit the caption:

Quantity not Quality
A Touch of Class
What Were They Thinking?
Bah. Humbug.
Fairyland
Why bother?
Overkill
Toyland
Blatant Commercialism

Miscellaneous:

Candy canes
Candy other than candy canes
Decorations like a gingerbread house
Wreath on door or house
Something totally unexpected
Something really bizarre
Something truly awesome
Decorated commercial establishment
Apartment Balcony
A cross
Sleigh on a roof
No L
Something Hanukkah-related
Manger scene
How to annoy the neighbors
Real snowman
Decorated vehicle (street legal)

Your favorite

Start time___________

Return time___________

One point will be awarded per item. One point will be deducted for every 5 minutes past the specified return time for late arrival. We'll look at them over cocoa when we get back.

Drive safely. No one will get them all.

Feel free to modify and add/subtract as you like. We had a great time looking at the pictures, ooh-ing and aah-ing over some of the lights and mocking each others' photograpic skills. We didn't actually award a prize because it was entertaining enough without it, but it might be fun to come up with something for which you could really compete.

Happy hunting!

The Problem With Vanity Searches

2011-12-05T14:36:00.001-07:00

I gave up on vanity searches awhile back. (In case you're wondering, "vanity search" refers to typing your own name into a search engine like Google to see what comes up.) I gave up on them for a good reason: sometimes you just don't want to read what people have to say about you.

This story started last week. My husband and I were each on our own computer (parallel playtime ;) and the conversation went something like this:

Dennis: Well... how does it feel to have your music sung in Westminster Abbey?

Me: Dunno. When you find out, you tell me.

Dennis: No, no... I'm not kidding. Look at this...

It seems my DH had done some vanity-searching on my behalf, and had found that in late November a youth choir presented "Arise and Shine Forth" as part of a service in... **drum roll** ...yep, Westminster Abbey.

I was more than a bit surprised ("astonished" describes it better), and pleased (okay, "tickled pea-green" comes to mind here). We visited there a couple of years ago... it's a magnificent, venerable structure (<--- understatement of the year) and of course we just walked around gaping like the gormless tourists we were. I watched the royal wedding there a few months ago on the internet (blame insomnia... I didn't plan on it) and listened to the gorgeous choir that sang that day. I would never in a million years have dreamed that at some point, some brief moment in time, the harmonies echoing around those vast expanses would be my own. I wish I could have been there to hear it.

Now here's where I got stupid. I wondered, "Wow... what else have I missed by shunning vanity searches? If Dennis hadn't looked, I would never have known..." So I crept back to my computer, and surreptitiously, foolishly, idiotically entered my own name into the Google search bar.

The results were a miscellaneous lot... sites linking to other sites; lists; lists of lists; a few friends and fellow composers (that conjured a smile); and then...

...one nice little blog in which my name appeared as a synonym for "bad music." It wasn't outright criticism, just an offhand comment in which you could just see the blogger's eyes rolling, and the disgusted look with which the words were typed.

I'm going to wear my heart on my sleeve here for just a minute, because I think that some of the Denizens of the Internet who post from the safety and anonymity of their rolly-chairs and their screen-names need to understand exactly what they do.

I felt sucker-punched. I did not cry... much... but what I felt was akin to physical pain. (I did shut down the computer and recommit to leaving vanity searches to my husband, so the exercise wasn't entirely a waste of time.)

I wonder what the blogger wanted to achieve. Did he want to convince me that my poor little contributions to the world of music have shortcomings? No-one knows it better than I. Did he want to demonstrate his superior taste? Probably. Did he want to cause hurt? He succeeded.

Many of us humans are a bit weird. Our sense of self-worth is like a house of cards, each card written over with encouragement or friendship or love... anything positive we can gather out of an overly-negative world. And then somebody comes along and with a single breath or a few keystrokes blows the whole structure to the ground and we have to start building all over again. I don't know why one such comment can wipe out every positive thing you've ever heard, but there it is.

At least I'm in good company. I can't think of any LDS musician as vocally criticized as Janice Kapp Perry, notwithstanding the real, solid good she's done in the world (not to mention the fact that "I'm Trying to Be Like Jesus" is the best Primary song ever); JRR Tolkien took a lot of public criticism for his flights of fancy (though he gained credibility as the copies started selling); I occasionally haunt a place called Cougarboard where athletes and coaches who work their hearts out for the entertainment of a fickle fan-base are verbally abused by those same fans for even the smallest mistakes.

The standard advice when it comes to critics is "ignore them." Easier said than done, because I'm as insecure as... well... as the average human being. (Did you know that every time I do something new and send out an update, I want to go curl up in the fetal position and not come out for the rest of the day? It's true.) My wise husband tells me that just maybe, for me, my insecurity is part of what I have to sacrifice in order to serve. That idea helps.

So what's the point of this over-long rant? I don't want sympathy (I'm over it), I'm not begging for compliments, and I don't want anyone to poor-baby me (unless you want to do it with See's Lemon Truffles).

Here's the point: We can criticize and complain all we want in private. We can do it over dinner and teach our kids. We can form our own Friendly Neighborhood Haters Club. But hateful comments made on the internet will do no good, and may do great harm. Whether we anticipate it or not, what we say will be read by the people we reference. Since we do not see into each others' hearts, who knows how much damage is done?

Okay, I know it's hopeless. I'm preaching to the choir again. But this is just one more plea for internet civility. No, internet kindess. No, better yet, internet Christianity. In the words of one of the most Christian men who ever lived, "We can all be a little kinder, a little more generous, a little more thoughtful of one another." (Gordon B. Hinckley)

What I Believe

2011-11-19T04:09:00.001-07:00

Well, some of it anyway. That's the title of the new CD, and the title of the last song on it. But I guess I'm getting ahead of myself...

I've been working with James Loynes (I'm saving the lowdown on that boy for last :) on this new collection of music for the past couple of years. I was also writing a new cantata concurrently with this project, so it's no wonder several of the songs from the cantata also show up on the disk. There's a few existing songs on it as well—reworked and hopefully made cooler.

Here's the fun part: I get to talk about some amazing people. We'll start with the two amazing women you hear on the first track, Anne Lauritzen (flute) and Ramona McConkie (cello). (The scores were rather easy for them, but oh my ….they do them justice!)

Here's Anne:

She's a flutist, but she's also a Brazilian capoeira instructor, she's remodeling an old church—turning it into a home for her family; she spends the occasional Friday evening down by a local lake playing classic rock on the flute with her accordion-playing husband, and she wears the coolest shoes on the planet. Can't beat that.

This is Ramona. If you ever want to see a cellist who becomes a part of her instrument, watch Ramona play. Half of what she played was written, and half was improvised, and all of it was gorgeous. She's the principal cellist for the Colorado Springs Chamber Orchestra, teaches private cello lessons, subs in the symphony, and contracts gigs for the Briar Rose String Quartet (wow... got anything to do?). Best of all... she studied at BYU. My kind of girl.

Next comes Sarah Crowther (violin), who makes her first appearance on track two. This beautiful young lady grew up in my ward. I listened to her play violin when she was just starting out... and this summer I attended an encore performance of her master's recital. She got her master's from the U. of Utah (traitor.... ;); she now has a studio in Salt Lake City; someday she would love to be the voice of a Disney princess (she's a singer too); and she's running a marathon in Greece. (Wow... I really know some interesting people, don't I?)

Kevin Cookson (guitars) is next on the list. He provided the guitar chords and charts for two of the tracks, but to make them sound like he played them, you'd have to be three people. (You can do that when you're multitracking. Ah, technology...) Kevin is an excellent musician. He's also a writer, and best of all, a foster-dad. He and his wife have fostered over 100 children and adopted several as well. (Not only do I know interesting people, they're also good, kind, wonderful people as well.)

Last of the instrumentalists, but certainly not least ...ohhhhh man... do I love love love the sax... and Ryan Janus is an amazing sax player. He plays a bunch of other instruments too—he played oboe for our Easter program in April-- and he's got a resume as long as your arm (you can read all about him on his website). He currently plays principal saxophone for the United States Air Force Academy Band, serves in the concert band and Falconaires Jazz Band, as well as playing piccolo in the marching band.

Which brings us to the fine young man who is the vocalist. Listen to him... do I really need to say much? (Hmmm... I looked back at the rundown on “Once Too Often...” yeah, I do.) When you listen to James, he sounds smooth, and warm, and rich and fabulous. You might think he's a kind, humble, unassuming person, who puts his whole heart into his music, to the point of forgetting himself. You'd be right. Since the day he nervously contacted me out of the blue by e-mail (with a couple of MP3s attached... my songs... who wouldn't love to get THAT in the e-mail?) we've simply claimed him and his wife as family. (Kinda sad, really. When you're family you get on people's nerves... ah well, I play to my strengths, and getting on people's nerves is definitely one of them.) One of the best things about being a songwriter who isn't a performer, is that I get to hear my songs come to life in voices other than my own. Nothing could be better than hearing my creations sung the way James sings them.

Anyway, if you've stuck this blog entry out, you're a determined reader. Only a couple more things to add...

I'm trying bulk pricing on the CDs this time. We put quite a bit of money into the project, so we'd like to recoup it, and perhaps a bit more so the next CD can be even better. (I'd like to do a HUGE production... with a philharmonic! And the Tabernacle Choir! Um... not gonna happen... but I can dream, can't I?) However, I know people use these as gifts and in their Church organizations, so I wanted them to be affordable for that. Anyway, we'll see if that's useful to anyone.

I have also published a songbook of all the tracks. At first I wasn't too keen on the idea, but looking at the price tag, the book is about the same price as ink (or Kinkos--I'll tell you a funny story about Kinko's one of these days...), so I thought, why not? If you only want to print a couple of the selections, I wouldn't bother with it. If you want to print everything, or you just like things neatly bound, it's a reasonable alternative.

Best of all... it's done. I can't tell you how happy that makes me. If I put in all the hours I've spent on this working at the local Mickey D's, I could probably have paid someone else to do it, and had free French fries to boot... hmmm, I'll have to think about that....

Hope you like it. :)

A Place In His Arms

2011-10-10T20:02:00.004-06:00

You know, I thought I was done. It had taken a good year's worth of work to put together an Easter cantata (which isn't ready to upload yet, btw, but will be soon), and I had dotted the last quarter note and added the final barline. I really thought I was done. Shows what I know.

This song started singing at me, and I knew there was one more. (In a way, it was kinda like deciding I was done having kids and realizing there was another one waiting. :) So I started scribbling, and "A Place In His Arms" was the result.

The story of how Jesus blessed the little children they brought to Him is one that I especially loved as a child. I took a bit of delight in the idea that the grownups thought the kids had no business taking the Savior's time, and had to learn otherwise. As an adult, the story has taken on a deeper (and kinder) meaning as I've learned some beautiful lessons from my own kids and the children I'm privileged to work with in Primary. I'm very grateful that the Savior taught us to value our children, and to be humble and teachable as they are.

As real as the incidents in the Savior's life were, they all seem to serve as parables as well. Jesus took the little children in His arms and blessed them... one by one... individually... giving me the assurance that there's also a place in His arms for me.

I'm always grateful when a song comes this quickly--even if it means I'm not really done when I think I am. As a side note, the children's version of this song was awarded a "Grand Prize" in the annual Church music submission this year. I seriously considered calling the music office to ask if they'd made a mistake--it's so very simple and not at all what I assumed a grand prize-winner would look like. Shows what I know.

Bless This Land

2011-06-29T14:20:00.032-06:00

As a sort of happy birthday present in honor of the US Independence Day coming up next week, today I'm posting a new song titled "Bless This Land."

The music was composed by Michael Moody, former chairman of the LDS church's music committee, and current president of the Papeete Tahiti Temple. (How does one sign up for that assignment?!? ;) Though he is worlds above me in ability and education and experience, for years Michael has encouraged me in songwriting, and it's mostly due to his influence that I began offering my music publicly. He's an amazing musician and a great man and I appreciate his kindness in composing the beautiful setting for these lyrics.

The vocalist on the demo recording is Annabelle Smith, a beautiful young wife, mother and talented lady who lives here in Colorado Springs. She performed beautifully as a narrator in our recent Easter program, and was kind enough to lend her lovely voice to this new song.

The lyrics....

As I watched the highly-publicized reaction of a small subset of my fellow Americans to the death of the terrorist Osama Bin Laden, I really had to wonder about the US press. Why choose to present a picture to the world of a tiny, attention-seeking minority that so poorly represented the way most of us feel?

I live in Colorado. I saw no one celebrating in the streets here. We heard the news, looked at each other and said... "Wow." The mood was somber, resigned, perhaps a little melancholy at the necessity of such actions... anything but celebratory.

There were no TV crews here.

I believe that our Heavenly Father loves every nation, every people, and every individual. Acts of war are sometimes necessary to defend our freedom, our peace and our families, but they are never a cause for celebration.

It's not a popular opinion, but I dislike Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" films. In spite of their beautiful scenery and epic scope, they ruined my favorite character from the books, and being the loyal little soul that I am, I cannot forgive them. It was Faramir who said this:

War must be, while we defend our lives against a destroyer who would devour all; but I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend...

I guess Faramir was just too noble and upright and good to be portrayed properly. I know many "Faramirs" today... men and women in uniform who love the country they serve enough to die for it, but do not love war or violence. My son-in-law is one of them. They will be the ones celebrating in the streets when the time comes that "nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." On that occasion I'll happily join them.

I love my country as I hope you love yours. In writing the lyrics to "Bless This Land," it occurred to me that certainly if we can "learn war," we can "learn peace." And so, the prayer to God, our Father, to "teach us peace."

Happy birthday America. Barbecue in the backyard, eat watermelon, watch fireworks, and teach your kids peace.

Miscellany

2010-11-15T17:51:00.004-07:00

I'm busily working on a new Easter program for the coming year, and it's taking more hours than I care to report. So, needing a momentary distraction lest I go mad, I looked up my name on whitepages.com and found that in the USA there are eight women named Sally DeFord. I'd love to get us all together to see if we're much alike. I'd bet we're not.

If you want to find out how many of you there are, you can go to names.whitepages.com, enter your first and last names, click "Name Facts" (under the "Find" button), then "Find." I know... small things please small minds.

My poor website has been suffering, but thanks to my dear daughter Jen, an update is imminent. The site DVD is going to be later than I thought though, as a result of the need to change all the Soundclick links. (So many nice people have offered to help do that... and I do appreciate it! Jen took care of that too.)

I'm getting tons of requests for a recording of the simplified version of "If I Listen With My Heart." I'll have a child vocal solo eventually, but there's also one available (children's chorus) here:

If I Listen With My Heart

Eventually it will probably be linked from the Primary section of the site as well, but for now you have to go through the Music section to get to it.

Happy Monday!

Time for a facelift

2010-08-06T10:15:00.004-06:00

Heh... not my face... my website. In the nooks and crannies I can find in my schedule, I'm busily updating the look of defordmusic.com.

Don't expect anything fancy-schmancy. No Flash, no ads, no frills. I'm just trying to improve usability, and make it look a little nicer.

Orson Scott Card, that skillful writer of sci-fi, LDS fiction, opinion articles, etc., once referred to my website as "almost-primeval." (You can see his comments here.)

I was so amused by the reference that I've decided to start the annual "Orson Scott Card Primeval Website Award." Which I win.

I also realized with embarrassment that my last Website on CD is dated 2007. So that will get an update at the same time.

It's taking forever... I have a bazillion pages to redo, and there aren't that many nooks and crannies to do them in. It will eventually get done though, I'm determined, because I think the new things I'm doing are kinda cool. Sometimes I wish that I could just write music and let my staff do the website for me. Since the cat doesn't really care what I want, it's not gonna happen. :)

Much fun.

2010-06-22T18:30:00.002-06:00

Arranging grand, triumphant hymns is just soooo much fun. "Praise To the Lord" today... what a great old German melody, and it's lending itself to some really interesting progressions, and... and... hope I don't get too carried away!

The Dress

2010-05-10T10:10:00.006-06:00

Well, sewing is not my favorite thing to do, and I have no vanity about it whatsoever...still it was gratifying to know my daughter trusted me enough to have me do it, and even more gratifying to have a couple of tourists stop to take pictures of her in it. So here's the creation I worried, worked, fussed and even bled over (I did not swear, however sorely I was tempted.):

Either the wind was blowing mightily, or this was some kiss:

So there you have it. I will never do it again. Don't ask me to help you with yours--bleeding fingers and white satin don't mix well. :)

10 yards

2010-05-01T06:06:00.002-06:00

So we have a wedding this coming week. Amy is marrying Jake Pettigrew on Thursday, and we're very happy for them. They seem perfect for each other. Amy wanted some very specific design elements for her wedding dress, so I ended up sewing it for her, even though I'm not a great seamstress. Fortunately the miles of lace trim covering all the seams has saved me by covering most of the flaws.

As for the title of this post, well...

10 yards=

a) 30 feet
b) a first down
c) the length of lace trim I sewed around the hem of said wedding dress
d) all of the above

Yep, it really is 30 feet around the circumference of the skirt hem. Amazing. I'll post some pictures later in the week.

Odds and Ends for April

2010-04-05T09:59:00.005-06:00

As you might expect, our annual Easter cantata was this weekend, and everyone did soooo so well. This year we used harp and flute, which added some nice variety. The choir was really "on" last night in particular--it felt very much like they were an instrument and I was doing the playing as I directed. That's a cool feeling.

General Conference was lovely yesterday. I haven't heard ANY of Saturday's sessions yet (I'm glad the audio is available already!), since Amy was home for just the one day and we had to go.... wedding shopping.

Amy and Jake are getting married May 6, and Saturday was the only day we'll have together until the week or so before the wedding. Since I'm sewing the top of the dress (we bought the skirt) we had to find patterns (it took three to get what she wanted), sew a muslin mockup, then buy fabric and trim... all in one day. Good thing we're pretty laid back about it all or we might have just... exploded.

So maybe this isn't significant in the middle of everything else, but Saturday afternoon we stopped at B&R (which I think contributed to the laid-back-ness of the wedding shopping) and I tried their Premium Churned Light Raspberry Chip , which I'd never had before. MMMMMMMMMMmmmm!!!! Gotta remember that one.

I have a couple of new things in the works musically. I'll probably post a new song dedicated to dads this week--hopefully in time if anyone wants it for Father's Day in June.

Just for fun, I've been working with James on a some show tunes--"Til I Hear You Sing" (from Andrew Lloyd Webbers new "Love Never Dies") and "Proud of Your Boy" (the tune that didn't quite make Disney's Aladdin). I did the tracks and James did the singing--of course. (Before you ask, no, there are no scores and no, the tracks aren't available.) It's good for me to occasionally do some things outside my usual style/genre. There's a lot I can learn that way--we'll see if any of it soaks in.

Last bit of trivia... filed in a category called "Thing That Make You Go "Hmmm."

Yesterday a sidebar on one of the news sites caught my eye. It said, "Healthy Chocolate Cupcakes--Get the recipe for this good-for-you dessert!"

It's a novel concept... a chocolate cake recipe using beets. Okay, I'll bite... but wait! If you look even casually at the recipe, you see that it calls for 2 cups of butter, 1/2 cup of oil, 2 1/2 cups of granulated sugar, and a pound of XXX sugar. All in about 12 servings.

And it's healthy! (I read it on the internet, so I know it's so.)

Who knew that beets were so magical? If a can and a half of beets cancel out that much fat and sugar, sign me up as a bona fide beet fanatic! ;)

Another cool video

2010-02-19T11:06:00.002-07:00

I love things like this. The analogy is a little obvious perhaps, but the quirkiness of the movie makes it fresh, and it's good to be reminded of this message once in a while.

Thumper Was Right

2010-01-28T07:07:00.020-07:00

"If ya can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all."

This post is obviously going to be a bit of a rant. I can do that. It's my blog.

I'm often dismayed at the things people will say when they're protected (as they suppose) by the anonymity of the internet. Blogs, message boards, comments on news articles, Facebook, Twitter... you name it.... there is a plethora of publicly accessible places to post cyber graffiti. They're inhabited by the nameless and faceless, tapping away at keyboards to express their opinions on subjects ranging from music to basketball, religion to French cuisine, politics to childrens' literature.

And as they so vehemently point out, they are entitled to their opinions and have the right to express them.

They also have the right to walk up to any stranger they choose on the street and tell him, face to face, that he's downright ugly. In most cases it's not gonna happen though and here's why:

It's not nice.
It's not anonymous.

The same reasons should restrain what people choose to say on the internet. In the unreal world of cyberspace, athletes who lay it all on the line day after day and give everything they have are criticized for lack of effort; composers who bear testimony of Christ as best they can are mocked for their efforts (and no, I'm not talking about myself); leaders who devote as many hours to service as their critics seem devote to message boards are denigrated for their mistakes... the examples are legion. You know. You've seen it.

It's not nice. Don't believe for an instant that the target won't feel the sting. I don't know an internet user who has never done a vanity search. It's human nature, and hey, it's fun. Most of the time.

And cyber graffiti isn't as anonymous as people might think. If you're savvy enough, you can discover IP numbers and track the likely contributor. If you care enough to overturn rocks to find what lurks underneath.

It's not likely to make much difference, ranting like this. It will only make me feel better to have said it publicly, with my name attached. But if it causes anyone--anyone!--to think twice before mounting an attack on another human being's sense of worth, no matter how anonymous they feel or how tough the target may appear, well, I'll have added my mite of kindness to the collective treasury of charity in the world.

An opinion is your right. Expressing it is your right. But sometimes it's, well, not right.

Thumper was right.

Surfacing...

2009-10-30T11:53:00.005-06:00

...from two CD projects, several trips and an ever-insistent Relief Society calling has left me wondering...did we have a summer? I missed it somehow. :)

Allyse's CD project is done, and the sheet music is posted. I really need to do something to convince people that the arrangements on that album are not yet in print or I'm going to spend waaay too much time answering inquiries about them.

James's CD project is close, and the sheet music will be posted in the next week or so. I got a jump on the new year by including a song based on next years youth theme in this project, so that will be part of it.

The trips are over, for the time being.

And last but not least, I am no longer the RS president. Am I sad? Nope. I still have all the women I love-it's not like I'm moving away or something--without the meetings and paperwork to go with it. :) No new calling yet...shhh!... don't tell!!! so I'm trying to put my life back in order before the next adventure starts.

What time is it anyway?

2009-09-18T02:20:00.026-06:00

We just returned from two lovely weeks in England, and my sleep schedule is still skewed, so I guess posting about the trip is the thing to do at 2 a.m. :)

This trip was something I've been looking forward to forever, and I finally worked up the nerve to hover over the Atlantic for eight hours with the help of flight anxiety meds. It's amusing that after flying over and back I have seen not one glimpse of the ocean from the air, having slept the entire flight both ways. Hence, the jet lag.

So here's the trip in pictures, since words don't do it justice, especially at this time of night! A word of warning: this is nothing more than a day-by-day account of two weeks spent playing tourist. If you're not into long-winded travelogues... skip this! You've been warned...

We looked at all the usual touristy stuff in London, though this was actually just a whistle-stop sort of tour and we didn't really see much in depth. This picture was taken from the London Eye.

Bath was the next stop. Here's James, Dennis and Fran at the Royal Crescent. All alike. I'd hate to be a seven-year-old trying to find my way home from school. Supposedly Johnny Depp owns one of these, but he missed us. Next time. This was taken on one of two rainy days in two weeks. I'd have felt cheated without a rainy day in Bath.

The Roman baths are huge and fascinating, and the tour is very cool.

The Crown Inn at Bath. Every town seems to have a "Crown Inn." This one was very quaint and begged to have its picture taken, so I obliged.

The little village of Castle Combe was like stepping back in time. It also made us feel like giants--everything but the church was on a very small scale.

Lunch in a genuine English pub in Castle Combe, where I was the recipient of a none-too-friendly look for ordering water. (Well, really... they had only Pepsi products.) Funny, while in England (I should say "whilst" but I can't bring myself to do it), we ate KFC, Indian, Italian, some sort of African-can't-remember-which-country, Japanese, Chinese... all sorts before we finally got around to good old fish and chips.

I did, however, discover these, thanks to Fran. Cornish pasties... mmmmm.... so nice. I'm glad we don't do these in America. I need to go on a serious diet, and these would make it just about impossible.

Here's a look at a wild Cornwall bay, complete with caves, from the climb to Tintagel castle. If you're looking for a picture of me to prove I was actually present on this trip, I'm in this one. ;)

Here's a picture of the pretty little B&B we stayed at in the absurdly charming Cotswold village called Bourton-on-the-Water. It was a rather idyllic place, where we felt like youngsters, relatively speaking.

This meandering waterside walk...

...led to a walking trail along fields like this...

...punctuated with scenes like this. What a place.

Next was Chester where we walked the two-mile length of the Roman wall circling the city center (with only a short detour through a shopping mall). There were various cool things to look at and photograph...

...ranging from this totem pole made of dishes ("Be our guest...be our guest... yes I did sing it... who wouldn't?)...

...to the cathedral. Then we tried to leave and find the motorway, taking a small detour through northern Wales by accident. Driving in England was rather like a two-week version of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. Who needs Disneyland?

Speaking of driving, there was some interesting signage as we went along... signs on the motorway to "Crapstone" (not great stone, that), and "Antique Chairs" (hmmm), a sign in town to "Evolution" (for those who want to get a jump on the process) and one that said the speed limit was "20 for a good reason!"

The next stop was the newly-painted Temperance Institute in Southport. (No pictures... I think James is posting some on his blog if you're interested.) We attended the United Voice choir practice which was great fun. They sang "Born Is the Light Of the World" for me, which was lovely. (I tried to accompany... without music... on a small keyboard... I was pathetic.)

Friday we visited Lake Windermere, then came back to the Darwen Library Theatre (which has nothing to do with any library... weird name) where James was part of a show, regaling us with ballads, and at one point doing a rather brilliant impersonation of Roy Orbison. ;) Unfortunately, my camera batteries were dead. Bah.

Then on Saturday, Lyme Park... the Pemberley of the Colin Firth version of Pride and Prejudice. Mr Darcy missed us... next time. I had Dennis stand in for him, though I couldn't convince him to go for a swim. (Funny how many people think that actually happened in the book.)

We stayed Thursday through Monday with the Loynes clan (wonderful people--I wanted to bring them all home with me), and they made sure we tried all the English food we could ask for. Crumpets (no, our English muffins don't compare), clotted cream and scones, fish and chips (I can do without vinegar on my chips, thank you), clotted cream and scones, the full English breakfast (English bacon is ever so much nicer than American bacon... but beans with breakfast?), and did I mention...clotted cream and scones? Heavens, I need to go on a diet!

Sunday night we did a fireside in the Chorley stake center at the Temple complex. James sang... of course... and he was fabulous... of course... stole the whole show. (Literally. He picked up the notes to my talk after his first song and left me looking a bit gormless at the podium, wondering what in the world I had done with it. I'm sure it was accidental. Truly.)

Monday, we visited Chatsworth, the Pemberley of the latest Pride and Prejudice (IMHO, possibly the worst adaptation of the book ever). The house was grand in an over-the-top sort of way--James asked if he needed to repent after looking at some of the murals on the walls and ceiling. Definitely.

The grounds were amazing. Here's the whole lot of us (see, I really was there) in front of the Emperor Fountain--an amazing feat of engineering you can Google and read about if you're interested.

Tuesday we had a short tour of Preston and the Church history sites there, then headed south to Oxford. We really had no time to explore it properly, so we'll save it for next time. Heh. Then I slept all the way home and am now... jet lagged.

Thus endeth the travelogue. The only one left reading at this point is undoubtedly my mum.

California Dreamin...

2009-08-10T09:08:00.005-06:00

...though it's not a winter's day. Here in Seaside (where Holly and Kyle and Damien live) it's supposed to be summer, but it's not exactly warm. Kyle is studying at the Defense Language Institute, and they live on beautiful Fort Ord. If you've ever been to Fort Ord, you'll know just how TIC that comment is!

Damien is nearly two, and along with being Terminally Cute, he's practicing for the Terrible Twos. His parents will have to endure that--I just get to enjoy the cute. Grandmothers have it so good. Yesterday before Church he tangled with a PBJ. He eventually won, but the PBJ put up a good fight. This picture doesn't even begin to do it justice.

Let's see... since last time I wrote anything of substance here, I spent a week in Utah with Allyse Smith Taylor, working on her next album. One of the highlights was getting to meet her family and staying with her wonderful grandparents. Grandma makes a mean omlette... Allyse's mom sent in lunch a couple of days... I got to know Kneaders fairly well (mmm... good thing they don't have those in Colorado yet)... Dan Carlisle at Soularium studios keeps a well-stocked candy dish in the control room... in short... the whole week revolved around food, and unfortunately the aftermath is still haunting me.

I was hoping to be of some use in helping Allyse with Snow, but I'm not sure I was worth my board in that respect. It was fun to meet Dan and Jared at Soularium, Sam Payne, April Moriarty, Daron Bradford... fun to reconnect with Marvin Goldstein. Allyse's album should be out shortly, and the tracks really are lovely.

James and Francesca Loynes came over from England so James could do a couple of duets with Allyse, then they came on to Colorado to spend the next month with us. We recorded the tracks for James' next CD, and spent the remainder of the time playing silly games, sightseeing, and planning our trip over to England in September.

One highlight of their visit was July 4... Independence Day... and to honor, er... honour the occasion, they regaled me with our national anthem. It was something quite out of the ordinary to hear "...and the rockets' red glare... the bombs bursting in air..." done in proper British accents by singers costumed for the occasion... a red, white and blue tiara, bow tie, socks... I have pictures, but I think I'll let James decide whether or not to post one lest I leave myself open to retaliation.

They also cooked us up a proper English feast (complete with... goose fat?!) one Sunday--Allyse and Spencer and Snow came down for it. I know the British are accused of doing bland food, but this was marvelous. Taking them back to the airport in July was rather melancholy. That's the problem with visits... they always seem to end somehow, and you have to go back to real life.

Musically, the long and short of all this is... I have a whole fistful of new scores to post, in the unlikely even that I ever get them finished. (Okay, I'll get them finished... but it's taking forever.) I'll probably start adding them one at a time over the next few weeks--makes the updates much easier than doing it all at once.

Poetic Justice

2009-07-16T23:05:00.001-06:00

The end... she said... the END... of 15 straight years of Seminary... no more Seminary ever she said.

Guess whose hubby will be teaching Seminary this year?

Okay, yeah, I'm a bit jealous. :)

One Thing At A Time

2009-05-17T15:18:00.012-06:00

...is a good rule to follow. My to-do list is baffling my brain... so pick just ONE thing and do it, right? My calendar is making me cry, but I can only live ONE minute at a time, so just go with what's there, right? So, in the face of tiling my downstairs bathroom, cleaning carpets, weeding gardens... I picked ONE thing: "Update Blog." Heh... lazy. :)

Lots of fun miscellany at the moment (well, fun for ME anyway!)... to begin with... *****drum roll******* my grandson is now officially a member of the Primary Nursery! His mommy and daddy might actually get to hear a lesson or two on Sundays. :) Okay, you're dying to see a picture of him, yes?? Here's my beautiful Damien:

Funny, I could have sworn footballs were shaped differently.

Daniel, my youngest, graduates from High School on Friday. His last day of Early Morning Seminary (a before-school scripture study class for which he leaves home around 5:30 a.m.) is Tuesday. This marks the end of an era for the DeFord household--15 straight years of Seminary. Wow. At the Choral department awards night this past week, he received the "Outstanding Senior" award in his a cappella group--an all male ensemble called the "Inflatable Misconceptions." Here's a picture of my Daniel at the zoo awhile back:

A bit blurry, but sooo in character.

In the music world... I spent a couple of days last week with Allyse Smith Taylor and Marvin Goldstein, working through a dozen or so arrangements for Allyse's next project. Allyse has quickly become one of my favorite people in the world--having her so close (Denver) is a blessing--and her new baby Snow (perfect name for a Rocky Mountain baby!) is just beautiful. We had a good time trying to stay on task. Marvin is great for funny stories, and between us I think we crammed a couple of hours worth of work into two days... ;)

We'll be hitting the studio in June for a week--the CD should be out in August. This is Allyse's project--she's doing all the work, all the funding, calling all the shots... I'm just along for the ride. I'll be posting streaming audio so you can listen to her beautiful renditions when we finish. There will be two brand-spankin-new-never-been-heard-before songs on the album, and I'll post the scores for download when the recordings are ready. (It's going to be interesting trying to convince people that Marvin's piano arrangements don't exist as sheet music... he just takes the music that's available and goes to town with it.)

James Loynes will be singing a couple of duets with her on the album, and after we're done he and Fran will be coming back to my place... I get to keep them for a month this time! Life is good. :)

Smile.

2009-02-05T12:08:00.002-07:00

This post has nothing to do with music. (Come to think of it, half of them don't, but hey... it's my blog!)

This YouTube video is long. 16 1/2 minutes long. But honestly, watching it was one of the nicest 16 1/2 minutes ever.

I love things that make me smile. ;)

Cold, Cold, Cold!

2009-01-28T06:04:00.004-07:00

You know, here in Colorado Springs we are a spoiled-rotten-as-it-gets bunch. It's always amusing to talk to telephone support people who may be anywhere in the country or world, and hear them say, "Wow... Colorado Springs... you must be freezing!" The weather here is one of the best-kept secrets in the country. Lots of sunshine, bright clear skies most of the time, snow melts in a day or two, and through the winter you can count on half your days being shirt-sleeve weather, with maybe a hoodie thrown in for early morning or late afternoon. So when we get a couple of days in a row of reeeally cold weather, some of us get whiny. Like me. Ah well, they say you should play to your strengths, and whining is one of my specialities. ;)

I'm currently working on a song to support the LDS youth theme for 2009 (it's going to the vocalist today), and I must admit I'm curious about something. The theme is "...be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity." (1 Timothy 4:12) It's a great scripture, and a worthy theme for all of us, old or young.

The thing I wonder is why the first phrase, "Let no man despise thy youth..." was omitted. I'm sure there are good reasons--no quarrels with the theme as it stands, but... I think the pat on the back that phrase offers to our young people is a well-deserved counterbalance to all the flack they get for their driving skills and other perceived vices.

The young people of my ward (translation: local congregation of the LDS church) are wonderful kids. I love to sit next to them in choir, to hear what they're doing and what their concerns are, to let the girls steal my grandbaby when he visits, to see the excitement as young men who grew up too fast wait for their mission calls... Of course, I don't know them all, but if the ones I do know are any indication, they're great people, and are making a superb contribution to the world.

It's amusing that Paul would caution Timothy about youth--it seems funny to me, in our modern world where "young" is good and "old" is somehow less desirable. (The alternative isn't all that appealing, now is it?) At any rate, some of the people I love best are half my age, or half that, and I hope they include themselves in Paul's "no man," and never feel they're too young to make a difference.

Well, honestly.

2009-01-02T21:58:00.002-07:00

You know, BYU's football season didn't turn out quite the way I wanted, but there's always next year, and the basketball team is doing quite well.

I am not generally a Utah fan. However...

Why in the world is a 13-0 Utah team not even mentioned in the same sentence as "national champion??" The only team left undefeated in the country, solid in every respect, dominates #4 Alabama in the bowl game... and they're not deserving? I wish just a few of the AP voters who think for themselves and aren't in the hip pocket of the BCS would play the maverick and give them a vote.

/rant

***Yes, I am working on a song to support the 2009 youth theme for the year. It will probably be finished about the end of January. Sorry I'm slow... but life keeps getting in the way.***

On Tuesday Evening...

2008-11-06T15:37:00.003-07:00

...I nearly cried for joy because... it's o v e r!!!! As a registered unaffiliated voter in Colorado, I unwittingly pasted a target on myself. I was precisely the voter they were looking for, and during the weeks preceding the election we were getting seven to 10 political calls a day--recorded messages for the most part, and all annoying. Thank heaven presidential elections are only held every four years.

Whatever you may think of the outcome of this election, I find it a wonderful thing that our country has progressed to the point where candidates of either sex and any race have a legitimate shot at the White House. I just wish the process didn't foster such rude behavior.

And there you have it... the sum total of my interest in politics.

My Grandbaby and His Mommy Are Coming To Visit!

2008-10-14T08:44:00.013-06:00

Holly and Damien will be with me for a week in November and I am over the moon about it. (Kyle has to stay at school, unfortunately.)

I'm sure you're dying to see him, so here's my beautiful grandson:

Is this a future BYU linebacker or what? Holly says he loves to play piano and sing now, and knows two whole notes! A musical linebacker! Oh what a prodigy my grandbaby is!

He'll be turning one soon, so I'm thinking a birthday celebration is definitely on the agenda.

This past weekend we took Daniel off to a "Y Weekend"--a good excuse to attend the BYU/UNM game where my beloved Cougars became bowl-eligible at 6-0. (No, we didn't get that third shutout in a row, but in the last four games they've allowed a whopping 17 total points... not bad.)

Almost done with the new Christmas things... this week for sure... **crosses fingers**

4 and Oh my...

2008-09-27T23:07:00.003-06:00

Two shutouts in a row... that's good stuff. BYU 44 WYO 0 (<---zero) . (Last time they had two consecutive shutouts the scores were... ***drum roll*** ...59-0 and 44-0.) I say let's make it three in a row, just for symmetry's sake.

Sorry to afflict you with football posts, but hey, 'tis the season.

'Tis also the season for the general RS broadcast. Elder Uchtdorf was beyond fabulous. My favorite quote: Don't let the voices of critics paralyze you, whether they are voices from without or from within. (No quotation marks... that's my rendition from a faulty memory. Read it when it's posted!)

Still mixing James's Christmas tracks--enjoying myself immensely. They'll be up in a week or so.

Good Times

2008-09-16T11:30:00.002-06:00

Ah, fall...

My BYU Cougars are now 3-0 after shellacking UCLA 59-0 (yes you read that correctly) on Saturday, in one of the most amazing games I've ever watched. You know, I'm really a non-violent person... and football is certainly only semi-controlled violence from beginning to end. Why do I love this game?

A couple weeks ago I had a lovely visit from James and Francesca Loynes, from Southport, UK. We spent two and a half days together, and I only reluctantly agreed to let them leave. It wasn't really a proper visit... James and I worked most of the time, though Fran indulged herself in the dangerous sport of shopping. But we didn't see Pike's Peak or the Garden of the Gods, or anything. Next time!

Unlike the week Heather spent with me, we had no bulldozers or backhoes to contend with. Everything was very quiet--and we recorded Christmas music to our hearts' content... a few old things, a few new ones... and oh my, what a voice! I'm mixing tracks over the next couple of weeks, and I'll get them posted sometime around (hopefully!) the first week of October. We'll put them on CD as well, so my mother can have the 50 copies she wants... ;)

In the meantime... Wyoming is up next on the football schedule. Poor dears.

Silence

2008-08-10T23:52:00.003-06:00

Remember the old Simon and Garfunkel song, "The Sound of Silence?" (If you do, you're getting old like me. ;) It's a funny thing, but sometimes we seem to be afraid of silence. I wonder why.

We visited my mom's fast and testimony meeting last week. (If you're unfamiliar with the term, "fast and testimony" meeting is a once-a-month worship service to which we come fasting and the time and mic are open to anyone who wishes to come forward and share their spiritual feelings with the congregation.) There was a lull for a couple of minutes, no extraordinary occurrence... and some nice man felt obliged to stand up because he "hated to see the time go to waste."

Well, since he was the stake president I didn't argue the point (if he'd been my stake president it might have been different) but... really. It's such a wonderful time to feel the spirit, to ponder in a beautiful, somewhat quiet (depending on the kiddies) setting, and I've never once felt that such silence was wasted time. Ah well... different strokes I guess.

On a related note. My third daughter, Amy, mentioned the other day that one of her favorite times in church is when it takes longer for the priests to break the bread for the sacrament than it takes for the congregation to sing the sacrament hymn. She absolutely loves sitting quietly, listening to the organist play, and just thinking and feeling. I hadn't really thought about it, but she's right. Those are valuable minutes. I hope the organists of the church know what a blessing those minutes are and feel the appreciation Amy and I are sending their way.

Tomorrow I'm visiting my grandbaby! (And his parents, of course. ;)

2008-05-14T08:31:00.003-06:00

Tomorrow I head out to Seaside, CA, to see my adorable Damien and his mommy and daddy. I will try my hardest not to be an obnoxious MIL, but I retain the right to be the most obnoxious, partial, prejudiced grandmother in existence.

I'm leaving all my RS responsibilities behind, and for five glorious days I don't intend to look back. Perhaps the world will still turn without me. There's a new song in the wings (I'll use the flight time to proof the scores and the recording), and a new arrangement (more flight time to transcribe the accompaniment, since I recorded it before I wrote it...), and hopefully it will go up a week or so after I get home. Thank goodness for flight anxiety meds. Yes, I'm an airplane wimp.

My baby boy, who turned 17 on Sunday, thinks he can probably fend for himself while I'm gone. I just don't know how he'll cope without me here to need the car and curtail his computer time in favor of homework...

A Lovely Christmas Gift

2007-12-22T11:35:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I received a lovely Christmas gift. It came in a plain, padded brown envelope from the Nottingham Stake Choir in England. They gathered themselves together in a church classroom, and sang for me so I could hear "just how good [my] music sounds with an English accent." Indeed. (I sometimes mourn that we Americans don't emulate English diction enough in our choirs, but that's a lecture for a different post.)

The choir performed beautifully--they even had dynamics. Then came the soloist at the end, Emma Boone singing "I Heard the Bells On Christmas Day." That was when the tears started. She had a beautiful voice, but that wasn't what inspired the tears. She performed flawlessly... like an angel (a British angel at that), but that wasn't it either.

The thing that made her performance so touching was hearing the words "Peace on earth" sung in an accent other than my own.

The words to "I Heard the Bells..." were written by Longfellow to express the despair and subsequent resurgence of hope felt during the American civil war. And, because poetry is so universally applicable, they might also aptly express the despair and resurgent hope of every people, everywhere who have known war and conflict.

I listened to the words, "Peace on earth... peace on earth..." repeated in her delightful English accent and wished--how I wished!--that I could hear those words sung in every accent that adorns human speech. I wish I could hear them in a German accent, and a Korean accent, and an Arabic accent, and that every nation on earth would sing them together, and laugh together at the cacophony produced by differing vowel shapes, and slap each other on the back and...

How I wish.

Thank you, to Emma and the Nottingham Stake Choir. I wish you all, and everyone, everywhere, in every beautiful accent, peace on earth.

Grandbabies are cuter than the regular kind.

2007-11-22T07:19:00.001-07:00

Introducing Damien Glenn Wilson, my first grandbaby. He arrived Monday, November 19, at exactly 8 a.m., and weighed in at... **drum roll** ... 10 lbs. 9 oz. Obviously a future BYU linebacker.

Timing, timing, timing...

2007-09-21T06:30:00.001-06:00

Wow. I've been blindsided. The week of my daughter's wedding reception, I was called to be the new ward Relief Society president. Since our former president had been in place for just a year, this was a bit unexpected. (For those of you who aren't familiar with the term, the Relief Society is the women's organization of the LDS Church. It's responsible for the temporal and spiritual welfare of all the women in our local congregation. Heading up the organization takes basically all your waking hours, all your emotional and spiritual resources, and requires eating a lot of chocolate.)

After the first week in this new calling, one very kind man in our congregation (who obviously understands the learning curve involved) asked me if I felt like I'd been "drinking from a fire hose." Yep. Pretty good analogy. I've spent most of my life working with the children and teenagers, and I have no idea what I'm doing.

How the new responsibilites will affect my songwriting habit remains to be seen. Probably a whole lot more songs about loving and serving others. (I wonder if that's what the Lord had in mind?) At any rate, I'll continue to write the things I feel (it aches when I don't) but please don't count on me for specific offerings for awhile.

The combination of a wedding and this calling have put me dreadfully behind in the e-mail department. If you've written requesting a response, hang on...

Happy Day!

2007-08-30T07:39:00.000-06:00

Happy Wedding Day to Holly (my daughter) and Kyle (my new son-in-law).

If I survive, there may be some new things coming in September.

Not a Sparrow falls...

2007-08-17T09:25:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was a sad day at our house. Our dog Gloria, who was in her 14th year, had to be euthanized at the vet's office. She was old, and it was time... but oh my. Dennis had to take her, brave man, since I couldn't have done it.

I wonder, is love for a pet a good inspiration for music?

Over the years quite a few people have written requesting songs for funerals. It's not the kind of song I usually write. At my funeral, I don't want anyone singing about crossing bars--though it's a lovely poem. I want people to sing my favorite songs. I want a choir (the Tabernacle Choir if you can get them... okay, nevermind) to sing something glorious and grand, something huge and wonderful that fills the available space and shakes you in your seat. I'll be in the front row, watching your diction and hollering "Blend! Blend!"

Still, I wonder, is love for a pet an acceptable inspiration for music? When we've lost family members or friends, the emotions have been rather too deep for me to express in song. Maybe this gentler loss will be something I can work with.

Bad Blogger! Bad! Bad!

2007-08-14T16:01:00.000-06:00

I think maybe I'll name my next dog Blogger just so I can say that to someone other than myself. My mom informed me that my last post here was nearly a year ago... a subtle hint I guess. So for the sake of my mother, here is a rambling, pointless blog entry. I'll try to have something real to talk about next time.

It's hard to believe summer is nearly over. Daniel is back in school, Amy will be home from BYU for two weeks, then back to school for fall term, and I haven't accomplished half what I wanted to get done. Oh well, at least we have tickets to the BYU v. Arizona game on Sept 1.

Heather spent the better part of a week here in July, recording some new tracks. I'm working on the mixes as fast as my ears will allow, but I don't want to hurry through them. It was so fun having her here. We worked morning till night every day, with the exception of Monday the 16th when we took the evening off to see Order of the Phoenix in the IMAX (3D... very cool). Other than that small break, it was work, work, work. The city decided to update our curbs that same weekend, and we found ourselves battling the bulldozers, backhoes, dump trucks... helicopters, supersonic jets, UFOs... well okay, not those, but other than that I think every noise making contraption in the city was having a parade on our block. Thank goodness I have a Bulldozer Filter! (Ha.) Anyhow, it's a sign of just what a wonderful person Heather is that she still likes me after such a grueling week.

In the past month or two I've also met some new singers who will be showing up on the site over time. I'm not going to tell about them yet... I don't want to steal their thunder... but they're terrific.

On the down side, I currently have 15 new recordings waiting to be mixed, and more in the wings. That's a lot of work, and when all is said and done, I really should compose a few new things along the way. Why oh why do I always end up with so many irons in the fire???

The Lowly Ward Choir

2006-09-14T06:33:00.000-06:00

A couple of weeks ago I made the mistake of thinking that visiting this year's Parade of Homes would be a fun thing to do. I came home, looked at my surroundings, uttered a hearty "Blech," and started painting. So this morning while the putty dries in a few nail holes seems like a good time to rant on one of my favorite subjects: the ward choir.

IMHO (if any of my opinions are really humble) the purposes of a ward choir don't necessarily include putting on stunning performances. It's a good thing too. Realistically speaking, even the best choir I've ever directed or sung with hasn't come close to the elusive Mormon Tabernacle Choir standard. How could it? We don't audition, we practice once a week if we're lucky, and most of our chapels don't have choir seating for 360. So what's a ward choir really for?

First and foremost, a ward choir should be about bringing participants closer to Jesus Christ. If you're a choir director, go back and read that sentence again. ;) In a choir practice we have the opportunity to pray together for an hour or so, through the song of the heart that is literally a prayer to the Father. If a choir were to practice every week, and never perform, it would be time well spent provided practice time is a time for drawing nearer to the Savior. Everything we do as choir directors needs to be planned with that end in mind.

After that come some wonderful side benefits. A ward choir can be an invaluable tool for helping new members feel welcome. Practicing inspiring music together can help choir members feel and understand the doctrine of Christ in ways they may not have experienced before. And yes, choir members can also improve their musical skills along the way.

Do we still work to present the best possible performance? Absolutely. But I believe that when drawing nearer to the Savior is our number one priority, the rest will follow. With the Spirit's participation, even the simplest performance will uplift and strengthen both the hearers and the choir members, but especially the choir members.

I'm working on a new Christmas song at the moment. It's nearly finished, and I'll post it after I figure out which voicings to include. So far it's just solo and Alto/Tenor duet... we'll see what else materializes.

Personal Preferences

2006-08-03T00:14:00.000-06:00

It's August. August means time to divide the iris. It means scout camp and canoe trips. It means school starts in two weeks. It means... BYU football's fall camp starts on Friday. That last one gives me shivers. They just better be good this year.

I realized the other day that I really don't like some of my own music. There are very few songs with which I am satisfied, and even fewer with which I am both satisfied and happy. My music divides itself into three lists in my mind: the "Fine, Not Bad and Serviceable" list (which I shall ignore in this post); the "Blah" list; and the "Wow. Who Wrote That?" list. Unfortunately for me, the "Wow" list is the shorter of the lists by a rather wide margin.

My "Blah" list tends to include songs that are more than a few years old. I guess that's typical isn't it? You change (hopefully for the better), you progress (or regress, as the case may be), and what pleased you once doesn't necessarily please you now. I hesitate to name specific songs, lest I tromp on someone's favorite, but... after all, this is just a blog, and what's my opinion worth anyway? So here are a few from my "Blah" list:

"No Room, No Room." Difficult parts, too high, and it just doesn't sound right to me. Maybe one day I'll revisit it and revamp it. Maybe not.

"If I Have But a Moment." I still like the message, but I don't care for my melody.

"O Little Town of Bethlehem." Blah introduction. The rest is okay. I guess.

Enough of that. It's depressing.

There are actually a few pieces that make me remember who is in charge of the pen when a good song hits the paper. A few from my "Wow. Who Wrote That?" list:

"For Me Alone." I re-read this the other day, and realized it says exactly what I wanted to say. That's a minor miracle, and I'm thankful for it.

"I Have Not Seen, Yet I Believe." Ditto.

"My Grateful Spirit Sings." Okay, ditto again.

I guess that's the real test for me--does the song say exactly what I wanted to say, in both text and music? Of course, these are more recent compositions. They may or may not stand the test of time. We'll see.

One of the things I try to do (with varying success) is to keep from falling into the same old patterns, same old rhythms, same old melodies, same old chords, same old same old... and that should (hopefully) make the songs different enough that, for each individual, some will appeal and some won't. I'm always amazed to get notes from people that say I love everything you've ever written. I assume what they really mean is I love everything you've ever written that I love. That would make much more sense.

Survival

2006-05-04T08:16:00.000-06:00

16 more days of school. 16 more days of getting up at 4:15 in the morning. 16 more days of spending hours a day researching and preparing to teach bleary-eyed teenagers. (The best teenagers in the world, but still... it's 5:30 a.m.)

There is a new hymn arrangement languishing on my piano rack.

Maybe in June.

Inspiration on Demand?

2005-12-14T14:42:00.000-07:00

Well, it's December, and before the queries start rolling in, let me state for the record: I will try over the holidays to come up with a simple song for the 2006 Mutual theme.

Most of the requests I get refer to the Mutual theme as the "YW Theme." Hmmm. Could it be that our young women's organizations use more music than our young men's organizations do? Naahhhh....

I'll give it my best shot. However, I try to listen to the Spirit when writing music, and sometimes the Lord sends me in a different direction than I expect. Though He is very good to me, inspiration isn't always available on demand.

A couple of years ago the Church music office asked if I would write a song addressing a certain theme. I spent a week struggling with it, and finally came to the realization that this just wasn't my song to write. I felt guilty telling them so--I like to be useful--but they understood perfectly.

I have sometimes worked to address certain themes or phrases, and found them absolutely intractable. After abandoning them for years, I have revisited them with much greater success, which makes me believe that the time simply wasn't right the first time around. One example of this is the recent release, "And His Name Shall Be Called Wonderful." The chorus languished in the "My Documents" file on my M: drive (yes, I have an "M" drive) for years and only this season made itself useful.

Fortunately, though inspiration isn't always available on demand, it has been my experience that it's always available when it should be, and I have never yet had reason to doubt the Lord's timing.

Miscellany:.

--Football: My hubby and I are heading to the Las Vegas Bowl next week to watch BYU play Cal. Hopefully our presence won't jinx the team for a change. I asked my brother, "What is there to do there for non-drinking, non-gambling prudes like me?" He had some good ideas. It's nice to have brothers who are kindred spirits.

--Food: Top Secret Recipes has an amazingly good recipe for a clone of Starbucks Pumpkin Scones. I've never had the original, so I can't compare the two, but the clone is yummy, and easy enough even for me.

--For Local Folks: Our Easter Cantata for 2006 will be a combined venture--CSNS and CSS. Should be fun. We're doing one presentation in the Lexington Chapel and one in the Broadmoor Chapel (which has very bad acoustics and the most horrible old pipe organ--pray for angels!) on Easter weekend. More details available in January.

--For Everyone: I wish you a Christmas filled with happiness, the love of our Heavenly Father and the grace of his beloved Son, Jesus Christ.

Merry Christmas!

Telling My Own Story

2005-08-09T10:41:00.000-06:00

Well, it's been awhile since I wrote here... in June I began my latest oddyssey in a new assignment as an early morning Seminary teacher. The advance preparation has been very time-consuming, and the day-to-day preparation will undoubtedly be just as demanding. I'm still chuckling over it... obviously nobody peeled back the covers at 5 a.m. and took a look at me before giving me this assignment!

It's never seemed very important to me to tell how I got started in this musical hobby of mine, or why I chose the internet rather than conventional methods of distribution. However, over the past year or so I've noticed that to fill the void caused by my reluctance to tell my own story, a few others have ventured to do it for me, and to quote Emma Woodhouse "[They] do it very ill."

So for you faithful friends who suffer through the ramblings on this blog, here's the scoop from beginning to end. This will be long. You may want to bail right now.

The first song I ever wrote was horrendous. It was a love-hate ballad aimed at a high-school boyfriend and even my uncritical mother couldn't find much good to say about it. I seemed to sense some hesitation in her "Um... very nice, dear," and destroyed it forthwith. So the boyfriend never got to hear it. Pity.

Over the next few years I dabbled in writing, but always with the curious intention of becoming a rock star. When I wrote a song as a high school senior and a few months later John Denver released a new single with the same melody, I think I began to realize that rock and pop might not be my forte.

Several years later, I began to write again. I had married, had two children, and grown in my love for the gospel, my Heavenly Father and my Savior. These things found their way into lyrics and I began setting them to music.

My first "real" song was "It Was for Me." A friend encouraged me to "send it in." "Send it in where?" was my ungrammatical response. She provided me with an LDS publisher's name and address. The publisher accepted the song, had it typeset, sent it to me for approval, and then... sat on it. It was hard to understand why at the time, but from my later perspective I can see that he was inspired. Eventually I requested that my copyright be returned to me, and the publisher was very kind and accommodating.

Several years went by, and I continued to write. I enjoy the process. Composing is, for me, a combination of therapy, testimony, relaxation, creativity and recreation. In my makeup there was no driving need to share my compositions with the rest of the world, only to write them and occasionally sing them for my mom (usually over the phone). I feel closer to the Lord while writing songs in His praise than at any other time, and that was enough. I was content.

I entered a few Church music competitions and that was fun. Friends and acquaintances seemed to like the music, so a few copies were in circulation, but not many. Imagine my surprise then, when out of the blue one of my musical heroes called to tell me in no uncertain terms that I should and must publish. He had asked a publisher friend to contact me, which subsequently happened. I sent several things to him, and... waited. I heard nothing for what I felt was a very long time. (He tells me that, for publishers, it was not a long time. I still disagree. :) Meanwhile, another publisher had also contacted me (they must have some sort of ESP network or something) and offered to publish the material as well.

So, my dilemma was this: one publisher, it seemed, didn't want the material; I didn't feel right about the other; and yet I had been given direction that the music should and must be published. What to do?

The answer came in the form of my youngest brother. He sent me to look at the website he had designed all by himself. I thought, "If my baby brother can do this, I can do it." Designing a web site myself wasn't something I had considered, but with John's help it was surprisingly easy. The hard part was putting the music into a format that was readable by all internet users. I searched high and low for others who were distributing music online, but I searched in vain, and eventually had to conclude that this was uncharted territory. PDF seemed the most likely, so I experimented with converting the music to that format. (A frustrating experience... Adobe's help desk wondered why in the world anyone would want to do that, and Personal Composer, though intrigued and as helpful as could be, had no clue.)

Eventually it clicked. I posted my original web site to the (gasp... choke...) Geocities server. The idea was to give it a try at no expense and see if the idea would fly. It flew. Within a couple of weeks, I had exchanged e-mail with people from all over the world, helped a couple of others set up similar sites, and felt an overwhelming confirmation that this was the right avenue to follow. It was gratifying to be able to share so easily, and to provide for many choirs and musicians music they were otherwise unable to afford.

My only regrets came a short time later. Publisher #1 called to say he liked the material I had sent him. I gave him my URL. He visited it even as we spoke on the phone, and his comment was "Oh, we can't have that." So here was a decision for me. I could pull down my site and go with the commercial publisher, or abandon the commercial route and continue to distribute online. Well, you know how that decision went. I regretted wasting his time, I regretted disappointing him (he really was very kind through it all), I regretted not being willing or able to give in to his further entreaties over the next month or two, but I have never regretted my decision to do it this way.

Now. Let me clear up a few misconceptions. First, I do not feel that all musicians everywhere should be doing what I do. I fill a need. They fill other needs. This was simply the right method for me, and there's no need to inflict it on anyone else, or to make comparisons. Second, I do not intend to pull a bait and switch on anyone. I have heard it rumored that I intend to make this music available free now, but charge for later materials. Nothing could be further from my mind. If some tragedy struck my family such that extra income was necessary, I would have to reconsider. However, in my current blessed circumstances, the Lord expects me to share, so share I will.

This musical/technological journey has been a great blessing to me and my family. I am so thankful for the wonderful friends I have found through our love of the Lord and music that praises Him. I am grateful that my Heavenly Father has provided me the means to contribute in some small way to His great work.

Stake Easter Program

2005-03-29T14:34:00.002-07:00

It's snowing. Easter was Sunday, yesterday it was 70 degrees F., and now it's snowing. I must live in the Rockies.

Our stake's Easter program Sunday evening went well. We performed the brand-spanking-new-never-been-performed "Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee" cantata. Our choir numbered about 130, counting a couple of no-shows due to illness (missed you guys!), and I must say they outdid themselves. Somehow there's just more focus and intensity during a real performance than during a rehearsal, and that was certainly true Sunday evening. I had joked with them during rehearsals that the soloists and violinist were so good that the choir was really unnecessary. Definitely joking. They were impressive, and conveyed the Spirit as I had hoped they would. One down, one to go, as we are repeating the program this Sunday, April 3, also at 7 p.m.

Speaking of the soloists and violinist... wow. They were fabulous. I worried a bit about our two narrator/soloists--one was recovering from a string of asthma-related illnesses and the other is having a baby in a month. (How's that for stress?) They were superb. Our violinist is a senior in HS this year, but sounds like he's been playing for a lifetime.

I am one blessed director. Happy Easter!

A Day Late and a Dollar Short?

2005-03-04T11:36:00.000-07:00

I've always found that old cliche amusing. Heavens! What I wouldn't give to be only a day late!

Three months after I intended to be finished, the scores for the "Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee" cantata are finally complete. They aren't yet paginated, and they still have to be downloaded individually... there may still be errors I need to fix... but the last little black dot has been scribbled on the page and uploaded.

Never again will I mention that I'm working on a program until it's absolutely, 100% finished. :)

Time to go clean my house. Maybe even read a good book (I have quite a collection in my to-be-read stack) with some nice hot cocoa for company.

*******sigh*********

(...of relief, naturally!)

A Greater Respect for Organists

2005-02-12T07:55:00.000-07:00

The organ scores for the "Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee" cantata are nearly done, and I have developed a greater respect for organists in general. After spending several hours one day sitting on the organ bench, I began to realize that you use muscles in that activity that you don't use in any other... in short, I'm downright sore!

The organ scores are relatively easy. When I do optional organ for these programs I try to keep the difficulty level about the same as standard hymns. There are two reasons for this: first, most Church organists are really pianists pressed into service on the organ who have minimal training to go with the job; and second, I'm a pretty bad organist myself. So they stay easy.

There's just one more organ score to go, "At the Rising of the Sun," and it will probably be the most difficult since there's a lot of motion in the bass line. I should get them posted by Tuesday.

Conducting Tips #3: Notes from "Beyond the Downbeat"

2005-01-20T05:44:00.000-07:00

Well, good morning. It's too early to think rationally, but there's more to fill my hours today than there are hours to fill, so I'm starting around 4:30. Ah, for the good old days when I was a young adult and thought I was the busiest person on earth... ;)

I put the new cantata page up yesterday, incomplete as it is. Absolutely terrifying... posting unfinished, untested material! Why do I do this?

Today I'm culling suggestions from a book called "Beyond the Downbeat" by Sandra Willetts.

--Breath control and capacity can be improved with good physical conditioning. Singing is a physical activity much like an athletic event.

--Better diction will produce a better sound quality.

--If your choir needs to improve rhythmic unity, work to intensify consonants.

--"diphthong" is pronounced "diff-thong" not "dip-thong." (Perhaps this doesn't make much practical difference, but you don't want to offend your English majors.)

--Always voice an "r" when it begins a word or appears between two vowels (unless the second is silent as in "here"). Never voice an "r" when it appears at the end of a word, comes before another consonant or appears before a silent vowel. Never roll an "r" except for extreme dramatic effect.

--When singing legato, words should be "linked" (that is, the end consonants abut the following syllable) unless doing so causes new words to be formed that obscure the text. Example: "Gladly the cross I'd bear" should not become "Gladly the cross-eyed bear."

--Many words begin with "be" or "de" (as in "believe" and "deliver") but these are often correctly pronounced using a "bih" or "dih" sound. If unsure, look it up in a dictionary.

--Singers tend to be flat when they are insecure on notes or rythms.

--Singers tend to be flat when repeating a note three or more times. Watch for it and make the singers aware if they're flatting repeated notes.

These are all the suggestions I'm going to distill for now. There are plenty more in these and other books, but I'm using these as a handout for the choir directors I work with and I wanted to keep things short and basic--and not overload them with too much information at once!

One book I picked up at Amazon that I really like is called "Conducting Technique for Beginners and Professionals" by Brock McElheran. It's a bit too technical to offer much in the way of one-liners, but it's one of the best short works I've found for improving conducting technique. He's clear, concise, and everything he says just makes sense. Good stuff.

Conducting Tips #2: Notes from "The Wednesday Workout"

2005-01-17T20:19:00.000-07:00

The initial rehearsals of the new cantata went fairly well this weekend, and after two complete read-throughs we didn't find anything glaring. So I'll start concocting a web page for it tomorrow.

In the meantime, I'm still going through choral conducting books to find short snippets of good advice for my handouts. Here's the next batch--notes taken from "The Wednesday Workout" by Richard Devinney:

--You should spend a great deal of time studying the text of a hymn or anthem, as the text is usually what gives it a place in the worship service.

--As you study your score, mark it up... but use a pencil so you can change your mind!

-- The size of your arm movements should indicate dynamics, but should also be proportional to the size of your group. Larger arm movements will be required for a congregation than for a 16-voice choir.

--Good sound starts with good posture. The choir is likely to emulate the director's posture.

--A major element of effective conducting is eye contact. Learn your score, and look at your choir. You can't expect them to look at you if you're not looking at them.

--Do not sing while conducting. Listen instead.

--We talk too much and sing too little.

--Humor will be one of your best tools. Laughter relaxes the singer, which makes the sound better.

--When the choir needs to work on learning notes for extended periods of time, break into sections. You'll get twice as much accomplished and avoid boring the idle sections to tears.

--It's impossible to blend voices unless the vowel sounds are sung uniformly by everyone in the group.

--Words should be sung as they are spoken, but we don't all speak them correctly in the first place. The authority on pronunciation is the dictionary.

--Choose music that you love. You will be more successful in directing music you love because you will have more enthusiasm for it.

--Ask choir members to rate their enjoyment of a song after they have presented it. Find out if it is a selection they feel is worth repeating in the future. Note the response for reference.

--To recruit new choir members, an announcement in the bulletin or newsletter will do little more than to let a few people know that you would welcome new members. Personal contact by the director is the best option for recruiting.

Some of these may be duplicates of previous (or future!) entries. I'll weed out duplicates as I combine them for my handouts, and I'll post them in the Reference section of my web site.

Conducting tips

2005-01-14T18:14:00.000-07:00

It's been one of those weeks. Most of the week has been taken up in recruiting for the Easter choir, copying, putting together books, typing up rolls, rehearsal schedules, and other such tasks. I also finished the last solo number for the program, called "This is How I Know." It will be interesting to see how intimidating it is... it's in 5/4 rhythm which frightens a lot of folks. It's really not so bad if you listen to it before you read it. I'll have to get the recording done for it soon.

Our stake choir's first rehearsal is tomorrow. I'll start posting the cantata music after the weekend... after the choir members have pointed out all my mistakes!

I also took a break (ha! some break!) and read an old choral conducting textbook that I came across. It was mostly old news and pretty self-evident, but sometimes we old hands get a bit complacent and it's good to review the basics. Since I'm preparing information for a stake music workshop and I have to consolidate several books worth of information, I might as well do it here:

--One pitfall for new conductors is using a beat pattern that is too rounded... or not definite enough. Too much motion.

--Use of a baton is largely a matter of personal taste.

--Conducting in front of a mirror will help you develop better conducting skills. (I do this quite often... it's amazing the bad habits you can pick up without knowing it.)

--In addition to metronome markings, a thorough study of the mood of the text will help determine an appropriate tempo for each selection.

--Overuse of the left hand (i.e., keeping the beat with both hands) makes it relatively ineffective for special situations (i.e., attacks, releases, crescendos, etc.).

--When singing, "Mary" should still be pronounced "Meh-ree," not "May-ree." "Angel" is "ayn-jehl" not "ayn-juhl." There's quite a long list of similar mispronunciations.

--Spoken instructions, remarks, etc., should be kept to a minimum during a rehearsal. Sing, sing, sing.

--Choir members need to be reminded (perhaps repeatedly) never to sing so loudly that they cannot hear the individuals and parts around them.

--To avoid too much dependence on the piano (or other accompaniment) passages should occasionally be rehearsed a cappella.

--Simply saying "Let's sing it again," doesn't accomplish much. There should be a purpose for the repetition, and the choir members should know and understand the goal of the repetition.

--Singers become fatigued by singing too long in a sitting position. Occasionally have the choir stand to rehearse.

--If the singers have their "noses in their books" (and are therefore not watching for cues), instead of telling them verbally to watch you, try conducting the passage erratically--speed up or slow down at will, and use fermatas where none are noted. It becomes a sort of game, and teaches them to watch the conductor.

That's probably all I'll use from this volume. I have four more in the to-be-read stack...

2005 Mutual Theme; New Cantata

2005-01-10T11:42:00.000-07:00

How many times have I looked at these dumb blog things and thought they were a waste of time? Time to eat my words...

I've decided to use this kind of format to post day to day thoughts and musings that may be of interest to some, but not all, of my site users--things that I wouldn't want to inflict on the masses via a site update. On to business...

The question of the day: "Are you planning to write anything for the 2005 YM/YW theme?"

The short answer: No.

The long answer: Maybe. Last year I didn't plan to write anything for the theme, and something popped up anyway. So you never know.

About the new Cantata:

At this point I'm up to my ears trying to get the new Easter program finished. Our stake will be using it this year, which means it might be nice to have the music done... ;) The chorals are finished. We had a sight-sing last night with just a few of us, to look for dumb mistakes and just to proofread in general. We found quite a few things I need to fix, but over all the music is pretty much finished. I'll post it sometime later this week.

The new cantata page will be weird at first. I'll have to just post links as the scores are ready. Anyone who chooses to use this program for this year is taking a risk. I still have to finish organ scores, violin obbligatos, narration, and interludes, and I can't give anyone a definite date.

As for having anything else up my sleeve at present, I don't. The composition of this cantata is absorbing me absolutely. You can't imagine the hours it's taking up. Only my family understands the magnitude of it when dinner is late, laundry is undone and they have to fight their way through parts of various rooms. Looks like the Christmas tree may be up until March this year... ;)