Once again I’ve chosen lyrics by John Birch for this choral arrangement. This prayer contains such vivid imagery celebrating God’s wisdom and power in the creation of the world. I was particularly captivated by the image of God’s laughter creating a wild goose to fly across the universe. Although I’ve chosen to use repeating phrases … [Read more…]
When I first started playing the harp about a year ago Caledonia was one of the pieces that was on my wish list. This folk balad was written by Dougie Maclean in 1977. He reported that he wrote it in about 10 minutes while on a beach in France when he was feeling homesick for … [Read more…]
It doesn’t seem like an emotion as wonderful as love should hurt, but sometimes it really does. Today I’m thinking about it in the context of loving a pet. For me its dogs, but for other people I know it can be cats, birds, bunnies, turtles, snakes, rats, or lizards. I may not understand some … [Read more…]
Hail storms are nothing new here on the mountain. Last night it went to a whole new level. Around lunchtime it started raining and I heard a little bit of hail. It melted right away and I didn’t think much more about it. Last evening the storm had escalated to lots of rain, thunder, lightening, … [Read more…]
I know there isn’t a “right answer” to the question of what key signature I should choose when I begin a composition. However, it is one of the questions that I find really difficult to answer. There are many articles and chapters in textbooks that suggest that different key signatures represent different emotions. Some key … [Read more…]
I’ve got big news! I have launched a virtual psychotherapy practice. I was able to find a practice management company that takes care of all of the things involved in running a therapy practice that I don’t enjoy, such as credentialing, scheduling, and billing. That allows me to focus on the parts of providing psychotherapy … [Read more…]
I love the prayers and poetry of John Birch. I’ve set several of them to music for choir and piano in the past couple of years. One of my favorite arrangements so far is God of Rising Sun. God of rising sun, embrace us. God of mist and rain, refresh us. God of flowing stream, … [Read more…]
I have had a lot of vicarious exposure to handbell music. Both of my sons played handbells as they were growing up. We were blessed to attend Westminster Presbyterian Church in Dayton, OH. That church had an outstanding music program for youth and adults. On occasion I would be asked to play a single bell … [Read more…]
March has been a very challenging month for me. There has been a lot of negativity coming my way from a lot of different directions. These are the times that finding happy things in the midst of all of the unhappy things makes a huge difference. So here is a list of my March Happy … [Read more…]
Autumn Mist is a piano composition I wrote in 2023 for the early intermiediate pianist. Although the initial key signature is C Major, it starts on an E minor chord, giving it a decidedly modal feeling. The opening section starts predominantly with block chords with the F natural characteristic of the key signature, but unexpected … [Read more…]