Monday, December 25, 2017

Christmas Every Day – Music Story

Everyone – naughty and nice – longs for a place that meets the deepest longings of the human heart, a place where it’s like Christmas every day of the year.
Music Story
A place where there is
·         Community instead of privilege
·         Forgiveness instead of payback
·         Harmony instead of conflict
·         Intimacy instead of walls
·         Transparency instead of hidden motives

A place where bullying, violence, and sexual harassment are unknown. Thievery can’t be found. Jealousy and envy have no quarter.

A place where there are no good-byes. A place of permanent prosperity, where no one lives in squalor or want. A place of generosity. Where random acts of kindness are common place. Where there is thrill in discovery and creativity. And joy over what others have and will accomplish.

This is a place where there is no evil. Where justice and mercy are perfectly balanced. It’s God’s place. His city.  It’s out of this world, but coming soon. He promises, “Everyone who conquers will inherit all these blessings, and I will be his God and he will be my son.”

Those who enter, enter by his rule. “See, I am coming soon, and my reward is with me, to repay everyone according to the deeds he has done. I am the A and the Z, the Beginning and the End, the First and Last. Blessed forever are all who are washing their robes, to have the right to enter in through the gates of the city and to eat the fruit from the Tree of Life.”

May you enter that city. Merry Christmas to all!

From the musical The Majesty of the Maker! this video is scrolling playback of the song.
Kathy


Click here to download 50-page PDF of the musical: book, music in lead sheet format, lyrics.

Click here and here to read about the city.
You can get print (PDF) and/or digital (MusicXML™) sheet music for Christmas Every Day.
Christmas Every Day
Click here for print sheet music.
Christmas Every Day
Click here for digital sheet music.
(MusicXML™ is the standard open format for sharing digital sheet music.
Check the help files in your music notation app for directions on importing MusicXML™ files.)
(Quotes are from The Living Bible.)

Friday, December 8, 2017

Mystery - Music Story

The Making of a Music Story
Colossians 2 describes Jesus as the mystery of God! Mystery would be an awesome theme and title for a song based on that chapter.
Mystery

My notes on Colossians 2 spill over into the next pages. I’ll write then rewrite and rewrite lyrics.
Mystery

The final revision of lyrics sits at my work station where I play around with melody lines in major and minor keys.
Mystery

Now to create the song on my computer. Going for a nocturne-like arrangement of Garritan® virtual instruments.
Mystery

Finale®, my music composition program, creates a WAV file of the score. I add it to my iTunes playlist and listen on my iPod. The arrangement needs work.
Mystery

So I edit the score. Again. And again. And again.
Mystery

Now to make a video. I’ll need a public domain image as backdrop and interesting fonts for music and lyrics.
Mystery

From the album “Sing” this Music Story video is a screen capture of Finale® playing Garritan® instruments.
Kathy

Did Mystery capture the theme of Colossians 2? Click here to read the passage.

Print sheet music for viola and piano is available for Mystery.
Mystery
Click here for PDF.
Do you play or teach the viola or piano? Mystery is on SmartMusic, the comprehensive music practice app!
Mystery
Click here to practice the music. Click here for SmartMusic help.
You can change key and instrumentation with MusicXML - digital sheet music.
Mystery
Click here for MusicXML.
(MusicXML™ is the standard open format for sharing digital sheet music. Check the help files in your music notation app for directions on importing MusicXML™ files.)
Mystery is on SmartMusic here.