Finding the Meaning in Everyday Life

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A Love Song

May 31, 2025 by drleannamanuel Leave a Comment
red and orange galaxy illustration

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…]

Posted in: Composition, Music Tagged: creation, John Birch, love, wild goose

Caledonia

May 17, 2025 by drleannamanuel Leave a Comment
brown highland cattle on field of grass

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…]

Posted in: Harp, Music Tagged: Caledonia, dougie maclean, Harp, Scotland

When Love Hurts

May 12, 2025 by drleannamanuel Leave a Comment
close up photography of white and black cat

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…]

Posted in: Daily Life, Dogs Tagged: Bodhi, love, pets, Scooby, Seamus

Oh Hail!

May 5, 2025 by drleannamanuel Leave a Comment
hail balls after heavy rain lying on ice

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…]

Posted in: Daily Life, weather Tagged: hail, mountain life, rain, storm

What Key Signature Should I Choose?

May 3, 2025 by drleannamanuel Leave a Comment
a girl writing musical notation on the blackboard

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…]

Posted in: Composition, Music Tagged: Emotions, Key Signature, singing

Big News

April 25, 2025 by drleannamanuel Leave a Comment
close up photo of vintage typewriter

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…]

Posted in: Anxiety, Psychology, Stress, Therapy Tagged: Anxiety, Depression, stress, writer's block

God of Rising Sun

April 23, 2025 by drleannamanuel Leave a Comment
scenic view of mountains during dawn

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…]

Posted in: Composition, Music Tagged: John Birch, lyrics, prayer

Handbells

April 20, 2025 by drleannamanuel Leave a Comment
music sheets in close up shot

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…]

Posted in: Composition, Harp, Music Tagged: bell choir, handbells

March Happy Things

April 2, 2025 by drleannamanuel Leave a Comment
illuminated gratitude quote on board

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…]

Posted in: Daily Life, Just For Fun Tagged: gratitude, Happy things, thankfulness

Autumn Mist

March 6, 2025 by drleannamanuel Leave a Comment
red leaf trees near the road

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…]

Posted in: Composition, Music Tagged: Autumn Mist, Early intermediate, piano
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