Why, Oh Why Do I Do This To Myself?

OK, So I'm going through all the hymn arrangements and making new audio files for the ones with the mechanical playbacks. I'm learning the new recording and editing equipment nicely, thank you. But as I'm playing through them, I think, "Oh, I need to extend this ending just a bit." and "Oh, I need to simplify this verse."

I just can't leave well enough alone!

However, having said that, I still like the new version of All Creatures of Our God and King better. Yes - an extended ending and a more interesting third verse. I think anyway.

So, give me a few days to finish the notation and the new recording and I will post it.

Sigh.
But anyway:
Make a joyful noise unto the Lord!

A Great Resourse!

Here is a great article about Free LDS Sheet Music.org
This is a great resource for free Christian music.

http://www.heraldextra.com/entertainment/provo-couple-runs-popular-free-lds-sheet-music-website/article_5a4bac2c-502b-5879-9d40-ac9e7ee0dd7a.html

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord!

Who is Ready For Christmas?

Yes, Christmas comes around every year and it is never too soon to start thinking about Choir Music for your next Christmas Program!

I just posted an SAB arrangement of the traditional melody of Away In a Manger. It has a soft lullaby counter-melody throughout the piece. Since our choir has so few men, I wrote it once again for SAB.

Also, this is the first piece I recorded using new equipment for the playback. The good news - It sounds human instead of computer generated. Plus I can play all the holds and retards as they should be played. The bad news - I am still learning the new equipment and there are a few ragged sounding places where I didn't get the voices matched up perfectly with the accompaniment. I am sure I will get better as I go along.
Thanks for your patience!

And...
Make a joyful noise unto the Lord!

More Recordings to Come

OK, Fun Pianos Solos recorded. Now to start on the Choir arrangements...

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord!

Improved playbacks! (I hope)

I am working on the playbacks of a few of the arrangements and piano solos to give them a more human feel. Since my mechanical playback sounds um, well, mechanical, I will be replacing them with recordings done by an actual person - me. I have invested in some recording equipment and, depending on how long it takes me to figure out how to use it, you will hear new versions of some arrangements.

I will keep the instrumentals done by Martin Pracher, since I feel I can not improve on those, but I feel that many others need to be redone.

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord!

More Tweaking

After practicing Come Follow Me with our Ward Choir, I decided it needed some tweaking and stretching. Why oh why did I think it was a good idea to squish six measures of music onto one line?

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord!

Fun Times at Seminary

Most of you know that I teach Early Morning Seminary, right? Well, yesterday, I asked one of the boys to return something to the library and gave him my building keys. After class I could not find the keys anywhere. I figured the boy slipped them into his pocket and forgot to give them to me. Of course, by the time I realized I couldn't find them, the students were already on their way to school.

It's a short walk and I wanted to catch the kids before they got to school. So I jumped in my car and sped down the road looking for the boy. He happened to be on the corner near his school just about to cross the street with a bunch of other students. I yelled to him from my car but he didn't hear me, so I started yelling and gesturing to all the students.

By this time, other parents in other cars who were there to drop off their students began to notice the crazy lady screaming and yelling at the kids. The students themselves just stared at me with wide eyes, apparently not understanding what I was saying.

Finally I got the boys attention. I could tell he was weirded out by my display, but I had no choice. At last he said he had left the keys on the table and hurried away.

I went back and carefully went through everything on the table. Someone had put them in the pencil box and closed the lid so I didn't see them.

I would not be surprised if a parent wrote down my license plate number and reported me to the police. I can just imagine the headline: "Seminary Teacher Arrested for Stalking Students."

That's one way to make a difference in their lives.

=0)