New Music

I splurged last week on something that I normally don't buy -- sheet music. Not really exciting new to anyone else, but I was excited about it. :) Since I don't take lessons anymore, I never learn any new songs, and I was just completely tired of the same repertoire of music that I have been playing for about five years now. I knew I wouldn't have time to learn anything hard and my hands can't handle a lot of tricky stuff anyway, so I tried to think of what I would really enjoy playing. The answer I came up with was music from my favorite movies. It's already familiar to me, and it's just fun to learn songs that you hear in movies over and over again. I wanted to learn Bella's Lullaby from Twilight, so that was my first choice. The rest of the score is really just variations on the same theme, though. Then, I saw the score from the Pride and Prejudice with Keira Knightly. Now Colin Firth will forever and always be Mr. Darcy to me, but the music in this version is awesome. I love the titles of the songs, too -- Daydreams, Stars and Butterflies, The Secret Life of Daydreams, etc. The music is a little harder than I thought it would be, lots of twos against threes in music lingo, but I can't wait to learn it. And last, I happened to see a solo of My Father's Favorite from Sense and Sensibility. It may well be my favorite of all of it. So, I cannot wait to learn my new music. And, hopefully, our house is going to sound like a Jane Austen movie! :)

Piano Lesson

I went to my piano lesson yesterday. It was interesting. The teacher has come through a lot of hand injuries herself, so it was encouraging to hear that someone really can learn to play again. One of the key things she was showing me was to play with my fingers near the black keys, not the edge of the keys, and to keep your wrists relaxed. That's not as easy as it sounds. Until you force yourself to notice it, you never realize how much tension you hold in your wrists and fingers while you play, especially when doing chords and octaves. This teacher learned to play this way from another teacher, Vickie King, whose website is www.naturalpianoplaying.com. I really hope I can use these techniques to play the piano again!

What I've been up to......

I just noticed how long it's been since I've posted. Yikes! I didn't realize it had been over a week. Last week was pretty busy. I had a bad cold the first half of the week and had to work long hours the last half of the week. So, I didn't get around to blogging. After I work 3:30-midnight once, it kind of wipes me out for the rest of the week. Thankfully, I have this weekend off! Yay!

I do have some news that's somewhat exciting -- well, it's exciting for me. At church last Sunday someone gave me the name of a piano teacher who retrains pianists to play after performance injuries. It had been so long since I told her about my hands that I was amazed she remembered. I contacted the teacher this week and we have a lesson scheduled on Tuesday. It has been four years since I overworked my hands playing difficult pieces and developed carpal tunnel syndrome that I haven't been able to get rid of since. A few weeks ago I sat down to play a few pieces and was discouraged because my hands just wouldn't cooperate with me. I'm really hoping this teacher will be able to teach me a new way to play so that I can actually play again!

A few good days

I did a lot of things on my to-do list this weekend. I found a home for a few things that were out of place in my room. I worked on my new drawing and made some progress. I went for a walk yesterday, but it was so windy I felt like I was going to be blown over any moment. I went through a lot of my writing last night, editing and thinking over what my next step should be. I'm in a difficult place with my writing now. I came to a place where I was fresh out of ideas, so I stopped working on continuing the story and have been working mostly on rewriting the beginning for a few months. It really needed it. Since then, I've come to a place where I'm out of ideas in the rewriting of the beginning and I was beginning to despair of ever getting anywhere with this mountainous project. After looking through my work last night, I began to see the light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak. I figured out how much more I need to do to rewrite the beginning, and was pleasantly surprised to realized that it's not much! Only three or four chapters. So, that gives me incentive to keep steady work on it.

I watched the movie version of The Woman In White yesterday. The book was so good that I hoped the movie would at least be comparable. Ugh. It wasn't even close. The girl who played one of the main female roles was Molly from Wives and Daughters and James Wilby from A Tale of Two Cities was also in it. Still, the movie wasn't good. I could deal with the slight alterations they made to beginning, but about midway through, everything got so mixed up. They seemed to just make sure the main points of the story were similar to the book without caring how many twists and turns they used to get there. Why couldn't they just go by the book? The book is so great. It's like a Dickens, a Sherlock Holmes mystery, and Jane Eyre all in one.

I have quite a collection of hymn arrangements and am thinking about making a recording of them this summer. I wish I had made it before I got carpal tunnel syndrome in my hands and was able to practice and play more than I do now. It's a lot harder for me to play now. One of my friends has made a couple of recordings and she tells me it's really fun and worthwhile, so I might give it a try later this summer. I'll just need to pick my favorite arrangements. The choices I have are:

In The Garden

It Is Well With My Soul (arranged with Claire de Lune)

Holy, Holy, Holy

I Will Arise And Go To Jesus

As The Deer

All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name (arranged with the Hallelujah Chorus)

The Lord's My Shepherd

You Are My All In All

This Is My Father's World

Near to the Heart of God

O, the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus

We Gather Together

The Old Rugged Cross

Jesus Loves Me (arranged with Clarie de Lune)

How Great Thou Art

I Am A Poor, Wayfarin' Stranger

The Water Is Wide (a duet with my sister)

I have another arrangement of It Is Well, but I would have to learn it first. My two hardest hymn arrangements are How Great Thou Art and Poor, Wayfarin' Stranger. Because my hands aren't as limber as they used to be, I don't think I could try both of them, but I would definitely try to get How Great Thou Art ready. With all these hymn arrangements, I actually don't have one of Amazing Grace that I enjoy. I have one in a early level 1 book that was okay and then a hard one that my teacher gave me when I asked her for one, but I never liked it. It's just chord chord, cho-ord chord, with no pretty melodies at all. Out of all these, which would be your top 5 to compile into a CD? And, do you have a favorite that you don't see listed? I have two books of hymn arrangements that I haven't learned yet, so it might be nice to learn something newjust for the project!

What Child Is This?

This is one of my favorite Christmas songs. I love the words and the beautiful melody. When I found the words at www.cyberhymnal.org, I discovered that each verse has its own chorus. The tune is the traditional English melody, Greensleeves, and the word are by William C. Dix.

What Child is this who, laid to rest On Mary’s lap is sleeping?

Whom angels greet with anthems sweet, While shepherds watch are keeping?

This, this is Christ the King, Whom shepherds guard and angels sing;

Haste, haste, to bring Him laud, The Babe, the Son of Mary.

Why lies He in such mean estate, Where ox and ass are feeding?

Good Christians, fear, for sinners here The silent Word is pleading.

Nails, spear shall pierce Him through, The cross be borne for me, for you.

Hail, hail the Word made flesh,The Babe, the Son of Mary.

So bring Him incense, gold and myrrh, Come peasant, king to own Him;

The King of kings salvation brings, Let loving hearts enthrone Him.

Raise, raise a song on high, The virgin sings her lullaby.

Joy, joy for Christ is born,The Babe, the Son of Mary.

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

This is one of absolute favorite Christmas songs. I love the words and the joyful melody. The fourth and fifth verses are different than the version in my hymnbook. I think sometimes they are combined so that there are only four verses. My favorite verse is the third, with the line, "Mild He lays His glory by, Born that man no more may die. Born to raise the sons of earth, born to give them second birth." The words are by Charles Wesley and the music by Felix Mendelssohn, one of my favorite composers.

Hark! The herald angels sing,“Glory to the newborn King; Peace on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled!” Joyful, all ye nations rise, Join the triumph of the skies; With th’angelic host proclaim,“Christ is born in Bethlehem!”
Refrain:
Hark! the herald angels sing,“Glory to the newborn King!”

Christ, by highest Heav’n adored; Christ the everlasting Lord; Late in time, behold Him come, Offspring of a virgin’s womb. Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; Hail th’incarnate Deity, Pleased with us in flesh to dwell, Jesus our Emmanuel.
Refrain

Hail the heav’nly Prince of Peace! Hail the Sun of Righteousness! Light and life to all He brings, Ris’n with healing in His wings. Mild He lays His glory by, Born that man no more may die. Born to raise the sons of earth, Born to give them second birth.
Refrain

Come, Desire of nations, come, Fix in us Thy humble home; Rise, the woman’s conqu’ring Seed, Bruise in us the serpent’s head. Now display Thy saving power, Ruined nature now restore; Now in mystic union join Thine to ours, and ours to Thine.
Refrain

Adam’s likeness, Lord, efface, Stamp Thine image in its place: Second Adam from above, Reinstate us in Thy love. Let us Thee, though lost, regain,Thee, the Life, the inner man: O, to all Thyself impart, Formed in each believing heart.
Refrain

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/

Christmas Music

I love Christmas songs. Many of the songs we sing every year have such beautiful, rich words if we really take the time to think about them when we hear or sing them. Between now and Christmas, I am going to post the words to some of my favorite carols so that I can spend at least a few minutes thinking over their words and my readers can, too. Some hymns have more verses than are typically printed in our hymnbooks, also, so this might be a way for us to learn a new verse or two. I thought I would post the words to everyone's favorite, Silent Night, first.

Silent Night

Silent night, holy night, All is calm, all is bright.

Round yon virgin mother and Child. Holy Infant, so tender and mild,

Sleep in heavenly peace,Sleep in heavenly peace.

Silent night, holy night, Shepherds quake at the sight;

Glories stream from heaven afar, Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!

Christ the Savior is born, Christ the Savior is born!

Silent night, holy night, Son of God, love’s pure light;

Radiant beams from Thy holy face With the dawn of redeeming grace,

Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth, Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth.

Silent night, holy night Wondrous star, lend thy light;

With the angels let us sing, Alleluia to our King;

Christ the Savior is born,Christ the Savior is born!

ALTERNATE TRANSLATION
HOLY NIGHT
Holy night, peaceful night! Through the darkness beams a light

There, where they sweet vigils keep O’er the Babe in silent sleep;

Resting in heavenly peace,Resting in heavenly peace.

Silent night, holiest night!Darkness flies and all is light!

Shepherds hear the angels sing;“Hallelujah! hail the King!

Jesus, the Savior is here,Jesus, the Savior is here.”

Holiest night, peaceful night!Child of heaven, O how bright

Thou didst smile when Thou was born; Blessèd was that happy morn,

Full of heavenly joy,Full of heavenly joy.

Words by Josef Mohr written circa 1816-1818. Music by Franz Gruber circa 1820. Source http://www.blogger.com/www.cyberhymnal.org..