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 |   The Good Life. |
I am a professional musician  , worship leader , small business owner , songwriter , aspiring author and freelance nonfiction writer with a chemical engineering degree . But that's just my resume. My profile of qualifications is only one of the ways in which I am unique. Here I chronicle my personal and professional goals and my efforts to achieve them. Occasionally I fail. Mostly, I take daily baby steps toward all my long-term goals. Much like the stories I pen, the songs I compose, and the businesses I run, I am always a work in progress. ![Merit Badge in Music
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To a dear friend whose talent for writing music is sensational. May you have a fabulous New Year, (((Brandi)))!!! *^*Kiss*^*
Big hugs,
Sherri *^*Heart*^*](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/genre-Music-1050.gif) ![Merit Badge in Organization
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I don't know how you do it, but I assume there's magic involved *^*Bigsmile*^* I have really enjoyed this month of planning and preparation for NaNoWriMo and I love how organized it all is. Thank you for hosting a great challenge and for your dedication to helping so many of us prepare with confidence and trepidation for National Novel Writing Month (known to sane folks as 'November' *^*Laugh*^*) at your [Link To Item #1474311]](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/general-Organization-1150.gif) ![Merit Badge in Leadership
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For your hard work, commitment, talent and innovation in running the October NaNoWriMo Preparation each year, which helps many of us get our scattered thoughts together for November's novel-writing. And also because this badge has ducks on it.](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/general-Leadership.gif) |
| How the hell did it get to be September 20th already? The first fifteen minutes of my day this morning were complete and total shit. If you're intrigued, read on. And thank you for reveling in my misery. I love you, too. I woke up early for bio reasons. I zombie-walked past the sleeping dog, out of the bedroom, down the stairs, and into the kitchen adjacent to the living room so I could start the coffee. That's when I remembered the sleepover featuring four teenage boys. They were sprawled all over the furniture and floor in the living room. I tried to be as quiet as possible while making the coffee, but you can't shush running water. They started to stir, and I felt guilty. But, damnit, I wanted coffee. On a typical morning, I would gather up my computer and peripherals from the living room (where I "work" in front of the TV in the evenings) and move to the office (where I WORK in the mornings.) Luckily, I'd remembered to collect my stuff last night. Unluckily, I'd forgotten the Chromebook itself, which was tucked between the end table and the couch, which was occupied by a seventeen-year-old boy, and which I had to creep past and tiptoe over three other teenage boys to reach.  So far, so good... until I realized that I'd also left my mouse in the bedroom. I didn't want to go back in there to get it because the dog always wakes the second time I go into the bedroom. Instead, I scoped out my husband's computer (my old broken laptop) to see if he had an extra mouse handy. I found his laptop closed. I started to whisper obscenities. You can't close that laptop. The screen is broken. I swear if that happens again the thing will never boot back up. You almost have to see it to understand but the screen is separating in the lower left-hand corner, near the fan, and when you open or close the lid, it puts pressure around the hinge. The pieces of the chassis separate and break further, and black liquid crystal stuff spreads across the entire screen. And the worse the chassis breaks, the worse the computer overheats. Eventually, the hard drive will fail. You can't close that laptop. Keith needs that computer operational in order to find a job. Otherwise we'll have to buy a new computer. *points to the sentence indicating that he's looking for a job and therefore doesn't have a paycheck* I specifically told the teenager who actually lives here to be careful around that computer last night when he was looking for ways to hook up his own laptop to the TV. It's only partially his fault. I know he has ADD. When I said, "Be careful around the computer and don't jostle it," I should have instead said, "Come here. See this computer? Don't close the lid. Don't touch the computer. Don't even breathe on it. But especially don't close the lid. Now repeat that back to me."  So the obscenity-whispering was in part anger at the teenager for closing the lid and anger at myself for not being more clear.The computer sits in the dining area, just off the kitchen, on the side opposite the living room. I realized that whispering obscenities defeated the purpose of all my earlier tiptoeing, so I shut my mouth and fumed silently, vowing to chew the teenager's ass out later when the rest of the boys were gone. I didn't find a spare mouse, so I went into the bedroom to get mine. And since it was the second time I moved around in there, the dog hopped up and wanted to join me. Of course he wanted to investigate the boys in the living room.  Now, I've got him locked in the office with me. He's lying on the guest bed making puppy dog eyes at me, begging me to let him go out and play, or at least explore the house. Just be quiet and chew your bone, Sammy. Food Log: 9/19/16 - Coffee w/sugar-free creamer - Peanut butter - Maple brown sugar oatmeal* - Leftover pizza - Keith's yummeh homemade chili with cheese and sour cream .......and then the craving hit** - Chocolate chip Fiber One granola bar - Toast with butter - Handful of grapes - Crystal Light * The oatmeal is sweet and I probably won't eat it again, at least not before I meet my 21-day goal. However, I ate it because I told a friend about my addiction to cereal (it looks lie this: top off the cereal to use leftover milk; add a little milk because the cereal is dry; repeat) and she said she had the same problem. She switched to oatmeal because you serve yourself a fixed quantity and you're done. It appeals to my sense of logic, so I intend to implement it in the long-term. Interesting observation: I found the maple brown sugar flavor a little too sweet. ** I wanted cookies or a cupcake or a donut sooooo badly. It was all I could think about for at least an hour. I didn't eat the granola bar at first, but after an hour or so of misery, I folded. It's sweet, and I shouldn't have eaten it, but it was the "healthiest" sweet thing I could think of. But this isn't about health, at least not in the short term. It's about breaking addiction, and I failed just a little bit. And it wasn't even enough. The toast and the grapes were more attempts to satisfy that urge for sugar or just carbs or whatever. Bleh. I'll do better today. |
| Food Log: 9/18/16 - Coffee w/sugar-free creamer - Peanut butter - Half onion bagel with cheese and tomato (can you tell we're out of ham?) - Sausage - String cheese - Potbelly skinny roast beef on multi-grain - 1 serving almonds - Spinach salad w/grilled chicken, tomato, onion, light catalina - Butternut squash soup - Leftover pizza (2 squares) - Apple cider If you already read my newsfeed, ignore the following. I'm blogging it to (1) document it, because I usually post work-related work in my blog, and (2) get credit for the word count. If you're seeing it for the first time, enjoy.  How To Not Get Hired: Step 1: Complete online application. Indicate that you are underqualified, overpriced, and that you desire more hours that we can offer. Step 2: Call immediately after completing application and speak with receptionist to say you didn't feel like you were able to sufficiently explain your salary requirements, and even though you understand that we currently have no openings, and that you just wanted confirm that the hiring manager got your information. Learn that the hiring manager is Angela. Leave your phone number with the receptionist (the same number you listed on your application.) Step 3: Call again the very next day and leave a message with the receptionist that you just want to make sure the hiring manager got your message and application, because you have not heard from Angela. Step 4: Call again two weeks later and ask to speak with Angie. When you are told no one by that name works here, ask for Angela. When you are told that Angela is not available, insist on speaking with the owner, even though the owner is not the hiring manager for this position. When you are told that email is the best way to reach the owner and instructed to email the owner at the provided address, insist that the owner call you because you don't have an email address. Because I like numbered lists, here are the reasons I do not intend to hire this candidate. 1. No an email address. Does that even require explanation? Who applies for a job and doesn't have an email address? 2. If it wasn't obvious, she's underqualified, overpriced, and desires more hours than we can offer. 3. While follow-up and assertiveness can be good traits, making demands of the hiring manager's boss is generally not advised. If you are this demanding when you want a job, how much more demanding will you be when you are in our employ? 4. I don't call people. I realize this is a corollary to reason #1, but where #1 was a refusal to hire on principle, this is more of a logistical obstacle. If you can't email me, you won't get hired because I schedule interviews and send offer letters to people through email. Your lack of an email address is really not my problem. Any questions? What have you learned today, students? |
| Food Log: 9/17/16 - Coffee w/sugar-free creamer - Peanut butter - Half onion bagel with cheese and tomato - Banana - Clif bar - Pecans - ZonePerfect bar - Popcorn* - Pizza - Apple cider *Popcorn is an absolute no-no! It clearly meets the criteria of "serves absolutely no nutritional purpose whatsoever" and "you just keep eating and eating and eating" that I established as the definition of the "sweets" and "junk food" I abolished for life21 days. And this was salty, buttery, bar popcorn. I ate it on accident at the pizza place while waiting for our pizza. I just had a brain fart. As soon as I realized I'd been eating "junk" food, I stopped, horrified. Then proceeded to argue with my family about why pizza isn't "junk" food. My sister-in-law kept persisting. I got testy. Snappy, even. Finally, I explained it in terms she could understand. Background information: SIL is a smoker. Me: "It doesn't meet my criteria." SIL: "It's junk food." Me: "Back off! It's not junk food, and I'm serious, and I'm about to get upset!" Silence. Me: "Look, I'm addicted to food and I haven't had sweets or junk in five days. Have you ever tried to quit smoking for five days?" SIL: "Yep." Me: "Were you cranky?" SIL: "Yep." Me: "And if someone tried to tell you on Day 5 that switching to your vapor thingy doesn't count as quitting, what would you tell them?" SIL: "I'd tell them to shut the hell up and back off." Exactly. And for the record, I was wrong. This is Day 7, not Day 5.  |
| Food Log: 9/16/15 - Coffee w/sugar-free creamer - Peanut butter - Half onion bagel w/ham and cheese (I'm a creature of habit!) - Banana - Cheeseburger (the dollar-menu variety, from Wendy's) - Nuts - ZonePerfect bar - Beef jerky (I dropped the dog off w/Keith, who was fishing, because he's unemployed and can, and beef jerky is what he had) - String cheese (the other food that Fisherman Keith had in the cooler) - Mashed potatoes (I'm starting to think this is a trigger food... I just want more... and more... and more...) - Apple cider... but I was proud of myself that I only drank half the glass (rather than refilling the glass like I did the other day!) Nothing else to report, except that I miss donuts. |
| I have to cut costs in my Gahanna campus. Big time. Two factors affect our student counts: enrollments and withdrawals. Of course we prefer if every student studies their instrument forever, but that's not realistic. Some students never practice. Some pick up too many sports and can't juggle music into their schedules (no, seriously, that actually happens.  ) Some stay with music but they move away or leave for college. And the one that breaks my heart the most is when they lose a job or for some reason can no longer afford lessons, even though the student is passionate about their instrument.In an ideal world, we always have more enrollments than withdrawals, and we keep getting bigger and bigger. But in the last year, our student counts have been gradually declining. Where we once had nearly four hundred students, we now have only three hundred. My budget meeting yesterday was painful, but I think we've found ways to cut budgets without too big of a hit on morale or cutting salaries or wages. It was HARD, and there will still be sacrifices. Some perks will be going away, and we'll have to limp along without repairing or replacing computers that run too slow, guitars and violins that have to be tuned every time, and pianos that have keys that don't work. I have to believe this is temporary. We soared past three hundred originally. I can't believe this is our steady state. One theory is that with the economy on the rebound, people have been going on vacation and buying the car they've been limping along without, which ties up their monthly funds. Another theory is that the construction on the main road around the school and in the plaza itself is causing too many headaches for people to walk in our doors. A third theory is simple marketing 101: we've increased our prices gradually every year, and as prices go up, volume goes down. Here's hoping that when the construction ends, people rearrange their budgets, and people realize that inflation is a thing, we'll climb back up again. In the meantime, I have to cut costs just to break even in Gahanna. This is not a get-rich-quick business. It's an "I love my job" business, an "I'm making a difference" business, an "I'm sharing my passion with others" business, an "I employ a lot of people" business. Our newer (Polaris) campus, by the way, is still growing. It's growing a lot slower than Gahanna ever did but at least the growth is headed in the right direction.  On a happier note, we are launching a scholarship program this year for underprivileged middle schoolers in the two local public school districts that house our two campuses. We can afford it because I, along with a couple of my instructor employees, are willing to take on a handful of pro bono students. We will be working with the school districts to get candidates. Students who are on discounted or free lunch may apply, and they have to get a recommendation from their music teacher stating that they have natural musical aptitude and are hardworking, and they have to perform at a minimum number of our recitals. So that's good, at least. Yesterday was a busy day, and one that had me outside of my house for most of the day with little access to food. Although it was painful budget meetings keeping down my calorie count, I suppose I should celebrate the little victories. Food Log: 9/15/15 - Coffee w/sugar free creamer - Peanut butter - Half bagel with ham, cheese, tomato - Banana - Chipotle: One steak taco w/fajita veggies/tomatoes/cheese, half serving chips/guac - Lance cheese crackers (very questionable but the least junky thing I could find) - ZonePerfect bar |
| Week 1 of "I Write in August-September-October" [ASR] was a gimme because the contest started late this season... and I survived Week 2. I wrote my first fiction work since probably NaNo of 2014, plus wrote a decent-length review. Only (11?) weeks to go. It will be an interesting fall, between I Write, Prep, NaNo, and a trip to the Bahamas near the end of November. Doh... did we plan my honeymoon during NaNo??? Stupid music school breaks that we have to schedule around. Food Log: 9/14/15 - Coffee with sugar free creamer - Peanut butter - Half bagel w/ham, cheese, tomato, spinach - ZonePerfect bar - One serving walnuts - ZonePerfect bar - Sushi (shrimp tempura, six pieces) - Kar's Raisin Almond Cashew Mix - Grilled chicken tenderloin on bun w/bacon, bbq, tomato, onion, spinach - Leftover chicken & veggie soup from yesterday - Apple cider I haven't had cake, cookies, ice cream, etc. in three days, and believe me, they've been available. I'm pretty proud. Three days down, eighteen to go. |
| I signed up for "I Write in August-September-October" [ASR] because I like to torture myself. Therefore, I have to write something and submit it to a contest within the next two days. GAH! (I love nested WritingML {size} commands. So dramatic.)Food log for Sunday, 9/13/15: - Sbux tall skinny vanilla latte (significant improvement from my typical white mocha!) - Coffee w/creamer (no sugar - and it wasn't bad!  )- Cranberry pomegranate Clif bar - One serving macadamia nuts - Onion bagel with ham and cheese, tomato, spinach, bacon - Chicken broth with chopped green beans - Two pieces beef jerky (which was way too hot) - Apple cider (questionable, but from the farmer's market during apple season) - Homemade soup w/shredded chicken breast meat and lots o' veggies - Ear sweet corn w/butter - Brat in bun w/dijon mustard and shredded cheese - Butternut squash - String cheese ...and I think I'm done eating for the night. |
| FOOD LOG for Saturday, 9/12/15: - Coffee with sugar free creamer - One tablespoon peanut butter - One serving raw walnuts - String cheese - Spinach salad w/pork loin, corn, green beans, onion, tomato, shredded cheese, sliced jalapeno string cheese (no dressing) - Cinnamon raisin English muffin, toasted with butter - Cup of raspberries/blackberries with honey - Fruit salad with raspberries, blackberries, sliced banana, and pecans - Two slices ham, one slice cheese - 1 cup mashed potatoes The English muffin and the berries with honey might have been a *little* bit of a cheat. I was obviously craving something sweet. |
| WebMD finally recognizes food addiction as a thing. I've been telling my doctors (gyn and gp) for years that I suffer from a food addiction. You know what they tell me? Just eat less calories. Everything in moderation. This is not helpful, because instead of following their (seemingly simple) instructions, I continue to binge, to stuff myself so full that I feel physically ill for hours, and I can't sleep through the back pain and abdominal cramping all night. And then I feel like a failure. Because it should be simple, right? Just eat less calories. Everything in moderation. Like the addict that I am, I hide my eating habits from friends, family, and pretty much everyone... except when I'm at a church potluck, or a party, or a buffet, where everyone can see the huge pile that I can't help but stack on my plate, even though it embarrasses me. I need to stop hiding. The people around me have to stop letting me get away with it. I'm going to (try to) stop eating non-practical foods. I think that strategy will work because I'm a practical person. If it doesn't serve a nutritional purpose, it doesn't go into my body. I don't know if I can do it. But I'm going to try for 21 days. And I'm going to log my food publicly so you can all see how much of a glutton successful I'm being. Please hold me accountable, friends! If I'm not logging my food, message me and ask me what I've been eating today. On the list for elimination: - salty snacks like chips and pretzels - candy, ice cream, cake, cookies, pretty much anything classified as "dessert" - cereal, because I do this thing where I continually refill my bowl before it's empty so I can't count bowls At this point, the list is still growing, but that's what I have for now. Everything I read about this addiction says you have to permanently eliminate trigger foods from your diet for life. Chips and cookies are trigger foods! Salty snacks are okay if they have protein. Fresh, frozen, or canned fruit is okay, but not dried fruit (which is practically candy.) Although controlling my weight will be a nice side effect, the primary goal is to fight a very serious and very real addiction. Thanks in advance for your tough love. Today's food log is published below and is a work in progress. Cheers, Michelle Friday, 9/11/15 - 8:00am Coffee w/2 tablespoons sugar free creamer - 8:00am Tablespoon of peanut butter (so I can take my iron pill) - 9:30am Half an onion bagel with 1 thin-sliced Swiss, 2 thin-sliced ham, 1 slice tomato - 11:00am ZonePerfect bar - 2:00pm Potbelly skinny roast beef on multigrain w/onion, tomato, italian seasoning (no condiments) - 3:30pm Old Wisconsin turkey snack stick - 4:30pm Another turkey snack stick (they're tiny 70-cal things) - 6:00pm Macadamia nuts - 7:00pm Spinach salad w/tomato, onion, corn, green beans, cheese, smoked pork loin and light catalina dressing - 7:30pm Grapes (while my guest eats a Li'l Drummie without me THIS IS MY FIGHT SONG |
| I should get writing credit for this. A former adult student who may be geekier than I () posed this question on Facebook: Here's a bit of music theory to dabble with... The fifth in a scale is called the "perfect fifth". The ear loves it with a passion: So much so that it has a vile hatred of the diminished fifth, or tritone. The fifth is even called the "dominant". Musical tuning and key signatures revolve around the fifth...literally. (circle of fifths) But why is that? I wondered about the underlying math. The ear accepts an octave as the same note because it is double the frequency. A4 is 440 Hz. A5 is 880 Hz. A3 is 220 Hz. The chromatic scale has 12 progressive semitones (minor seconds), and the fifth happens to be 7 semitones above the tonic. (12 and 7 are Divine numbers.) What's 7 the number of? Divine completeness. Six is the number of man. The tritone is only six semitones above the tonic. Does your ear really understand that? It might. But what is the fifth in terms of actual frequency? Well, a minor second is 2^(1/12) Hz above its tonic. So it stands that the fifth is 2^(7/12) Hz above. And that power is almost exactly 1.5. (It's actually 1.49something). Incidentally, the tritone, being six semitones above tonic is exactly root two. That's right, the square root of two times tonic. Since A major has 3 sharps (F, C, G), and the fifth is E natural, it stands to reason that E4 is just under 440 x 1.5 Hz, or almost 660 Hz. The ear likes that interval. My answer: Andrew, you don't ask simple questions, do you?? First of all, consonance (the opposite of dissonance) is entirely subjective. Yes, we have centuries of study that show harmonics are pleasing to the ear of the average person, but that's still only the average person's opinion. Consider that different rules apply across the world; we are mostly familiar with Western music. Also, consonance would be boring without dissonance, which gives us the ability to color our music with emotion and expression. Nonetheless, the perfect fifth is considered pleasing to the ear by general consensus. Mathematically, the perfect fifth has the simplest frequency ratio (see "pitch ratio" here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfect_fifth) except for the unison and octave intervals. If you would like to conjecture about the spiritual basis for the consonance of the perfect fifth, I certainly enjoyed reading your theories. I can only add that if you believe that God made all things beautiful and all things unpleasant, then it follows He is responsible for the design of audio frequencies and their relative consonance or dissonance. I find it entirely believable that He would have a sense of humor or at least irony about the whole thing. In your question, you correctly stated that the pitch ratio of the perfect fifth is 1.5, but consider it this way instead: 3/2. The octave is 2/1.The perfect fourth is 4/3, also considered a highly consonant interval, and the major third is 5/4. The augmented fifth, according to this chart (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pitch_intervals), is 25/16. When multiple audio frequencies are heard together, they do not remain independent. They interfere with one another. So the relative frequencies, and how simple or complex they are with respect to one another, will impact the resulting frequency that you hear. For the perfect fifth, independently, the fifth oscillates three times for every two oscillations of the root. This is why we consider pitch ratios in whole number fractions instead of decimals to evaluate their simplicity (where "simplicity" is an indicator of consonance.) |
| This one is my gift to all of you. The song was originally by sung Judy Garland in "Meet Me in St. Louie". Whenever I sing a Christmas set list, I close with this song, featuring simple solo vocals and acoustic guitar. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas Have yourself a merry little Christmas Let your heart be light From now on, our troubles will be out of sight Have yourself a merry little Christmas Make the yuletide gay From now on, our troubles will be far away Here we are, as in olden days Happy golden days of yore Faithful friends who are dear to us Gather near to us once more Through the years we all will be together If the fates allow Hang a shining star upon the highest bow And have yourself a merry little Christmas now Enjoy. Cheers, Michelle |
| This is a simple arrangement of Rudolph played on a lead guitar, an acoustic guitar, and some quiet percussion. But the best part of the song is the extra verse at the end, where the reindeer actually apologize to poor Rudy. Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer Had a very shiny nose And if you ever saw it You would even say it glows All of the other reindeer Used to laugh and call him names They never let poor Rudolph Join in any reindeer games Then one foggy Christmas eve Santa came to say: "Rudolph with your nose so bright Won't you guide my sleigh tonight?" Then how the reindeer loved him As they shouted out with glee "Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer you'll go down in history." Well Rudolph he didn't go for that He said "I see through your silly games" How could you look me in the face When only yesterday you called me names? Well all of the other reindeers, man, well they sure did feel ashamed, "Rudolph you know we're sorry, we're truly gonna try to change." Enjoy: |
| Chick rock! This three-sister band is awesome to watch at a live concert, because they rotate instruments and all play everything with equal proficiency. They use a lot of synthesizer to create the orchestral sound in addition to the drums, driving rock guitar, bass, and amazing vocal harmonies. I love how the piece alternates from calm to crazy and back to calm, such as the riffs at 1:34, 1:55, etc. They're queens of incredible harmonies, like the floating descant at 2:00 and the rich alto at 2:37. Then there's a gorgeous delicate section starting around 3:23 that kicks back in with a crescendo and steady quarter-beat fill on the floor tom around 3:35. O Holy Night O holy night! The stars are brightly shining, It is the night of the dear Savior's birth. Long lay the world in sin and error pining, Till He appear'd and the soul felt its worth. A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices, For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn. Fall on your knees! O, hear the angel voices! O night divine, O night when Christ was born, Truly He taught us to love one another, His law is love and His gospel is peace. Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother, And in His name all oppression shall cease. Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we, Let all within us praise His holy name. Christ is the Lord! O praise His Name forever, His power and glory evermore proclaim. Fall on your knees! O, hear the angel voices! O night divine, O night when Christ was born, O night divine, O night, Oh night Divine. Enjoy: |
| Continuing the "Hallelujah" theme from yesterday is "A Hallelujah Christmas" by the band Cloverton. This piece is a Christmas arrangement of the classic Leonard Cohen "Hallelujah" best known by the younger generations thanks to the Shrek movie. It features peaceful, soothing piano, electric guitar, cello, and a variety of percussion instruments: bells, timpani, and chimes. Be captivated. Get chills when the audience joins in. It's breathtaking.  |
| The Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah is one of the most well-known and beloved orchestral pieces among fans of classical music. If you ever have the opportunity to see a live performance of the Messiah, know that it's traditional for the audience to stand during the Hallelujah Chorus. The entire work is equally suited to Christmas and Easter. It's also one of the most fun pieces a choir can sing, because of how the melody passes from part to part, and how everyone gets equal moments to shine, even the altos!  Not to mention how uplifting and inspirational the piece is.Some traditionalists dislike the Soulful Celebration arrangement of this piece because "you can't mess with perfection" and blah blah blah. Yes, the original sounds like angels singing. But you can't tell me that the additions of trumpets, organ, drums, guitar, bass, and a hand-clappin' gospel choir featuring syncopated rhythms adds nothing to the piece. I my opinion, it breaths new life into an old classic. I've included the original below for comparison. In the original, notice the rustling sound of the audience standing as they recognize the introduction to the piece. Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth! The kingdom of this world is become The Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ And He shall reign for ever and ever! King of Kings, for ever and ever And Lord of Lords, Hallelujah Hallelujah For comparison, here is the original Hallelujah Chorus by G. F. Handel: |
| What would a "12 Days of "Christmas"" [E] celebration be without "12 Days" by Straight No Chaser? This men's a capella group features witty twists on classic songs, bad choreography, amazing harmonies and gorgeous vocal tone. Watch for cameos of the following songs: "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" "Deck the Halls" "The Boar's Head Carol" "Carol of the Bells" "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" "I Have a Little Dreidel", ...and "Africa" by Toto! Here's a snippet of the hilarious "Africa" lyrics: Nine ladies dancing, they were dancing for me Eight maids-a-milking, they were milking just for me I had Christmas down in Africa... Enjoy! |
This foot-tappin', hip-shakin' modern classic featuring the vocal stylings of Mistress of Pop Mariah Carey needs no further introduction. Go ahead and set your player on repeat. You know you want to.  Enjoy. |
| This version of "Joy to the World" begins with improvised gospel piano and organ and the gorgeous tone and amazing vocal embellishments of Natalie Grant on the first verse. I especially love the waterfall sound made by the piano at 0:44. After the freestyle introduction, a descending piano progression ending with two steady quarter-note chord hits kick off the upbeat portion of the song, featuring the addition of trumpets, bass, drums, and of course, a gospel choir. There are some fun chord changes throughout that make the arrangement unique compared to the tradition carol; for example, at 1:38. At the beginning of the second verse, around 2:11, there's a dramatic moment when everything drops out on the downbeat and comes back in the syncopated beat. If you don't find yourself wanting to dance to this one, you're probably dead. Joy to the World Joy to the world, the Lord is come Let earth receive her King Let every heart prepare Him room Let heaven and nature sing He rules the world with truth and grace He makes the nations prove The glories of His righteousness And wonders of His love Enjoy: |
| This version of "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" in blues rock style opens with a deep solo electric guitar riff. After twice through the riff, the guitar is joined by rock organ and drums on a syncopated beat.The vocal embellishments follow the seventh chord progression that is typical of a blues. A gospel choir joins in each refrain, beginning in the first refrain around 1:10. A single backup singer enhances the verses here and there, starting at the end of Verse 2. The lead guitar and organ have wonderful solo moments throughout. There's a neat drama point around 2:41 featuring nearly a capella vocals, with some echo on the vocal processor and just a hint of tinkling on the organ, finishing off with a power moment when the bass guitar kicks a rich sustained note at 2:53. Then the rest of the band kicks back in for the last chorus and outro. O Come, O Come Emmanuel: O come, O come, Emmanuel And ransom captive Israel That mourns in lonely exile here Until the Son of God appear O come o come thou wisdom from on high Through of all things far and nigh To us the path of knowledge to show And cause us in her ways to go Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel Shall come for thee, O Israel Enjoy: |
| This ain't your traditional drummer boy. This drummer boy boasts a multi-piece drum set featuring everything from the kick drum to the crash cymbal. He's accompanied by driving electric rhythm guitar, a wailing lead guitar solo with tremolo at 1:55, and edgy rock vocals. The Little Drummer Boy Come they told me, pa rum pum pum pum A new born King to see, pa rum pum pum pum Our finest gifts we bring, pa rum pum pum pum To lay before the King, pa rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum, So to honor Him, pa rum pum pum pum, When we come. Little Baby, pa rum pum pum pum I am a poor boy too, pa rum pum pum pum I have no gift to bring, pa rum pum pum pum That's fit to give the King, pa rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum, Shall I play for you, pa rum pum pum pum, On my drum? Mary nodded, pa rum pum pum pum The ox and lamb kept time, pa rum pum pum pum I played my drum for Him, pa rum pum pum pum I played my best for Him, pa rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum, Then He smiled at me, pa rum pum pum pum Me and my drum. Enjoy. |
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