The Music of Betsy Lee Bailey
  • Home
  • My Musical Musings Blog
  • Easy Piano Solos and Duets
    • Pop Christmas Easy Duets
    • Easy Piano Solo Disney Songs
    • Beatles Songs Easy Piano Solos
  • What's New
    • Weary Not - solo
    • Ring! Glad Christmas Bells - SATB
    • Glory to God on High - SATB
    • How Exquisite Was My Joy
    • Did You Think to Pray? Mezzo Bar Duet
    • I'll Go Where You Want Me to Go - SATB and SA
    • Have I Done Any Good? - SAB
    • What Child Is This? SATB, Soloist, Flute, Clarinet
    • Christmas Day Round 3-Part
    • America the Beautiful SSAA
  • Patriotic Anthems and Pioneer Songs
  • Praise and Thanksgiving
  • Christmas and Easter
    • Easter - Sacred Chorals
    • Christmas - Sacred Chorals
    • Christmas Choir Scripts
    • Christmas Novelty Songs
  • Sacred Solo Song Collections
    • The Praiseworthy Singer Vol. 14
    • The Praiseworthy Singer Vol. 15
  • More Solos and Duets
  • Choral Anthems and Hymn Arrangements
    • Choral Anthems and Octavos
    • Sacred Original Chorals >
      • Draw Near Unto Me
    • Easy Choir Hymn Roadmaps
    • Hymn Arrangements
  • Women's, Youth and Men's Chorus
    • Women's Chorus >
      • On a Sacred, Still and Silent Night SSAA
    • Youth Chorus
    • Men's Chorus
  • Fun Tongue Twister Vocalises
  • Fun and Easy Warm-up Songs for Choir
  • Music for Home and Family
    • Songs of Home and Family
    • Family Choir Arrangements
  • Sacred Songs for Children
  • Fun Songs for Kids
  • Echo Songs, Rounds and Partner Songs
  • Visual Aids and Strategies for Teaching Primary Songs
    • Song Leader's Bag of Tricks
    • Fun With Music - Nursery and Jr. Primary
    • Pop-Up Books, Word Strips, and Melody Maps
    • Puzzles
    • Dress-Ups and Costumes
    • Examples of Visual Aids
  • Electrical Conduit Chimes
  • Instrumentals
  • Janie Thompson Songs
  • Contact Info
  • About Me
  • Missionary Choir Music

How Far Is Heaven?

8/25/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
          Last week, our missionary son sent us this beautiful photo of the Gilbert Arizona Temple.  The area where he currently works is very near to the Temple.  How wonderful to have the very symbol of the greatest blessings of the gospel that he is called to share with the people, right there, constantly before their eyes.  Not long ago, I was searching for an idea for a Children's song, when I picked up a copy of the 2010 Temples Issue of the Ensign magazine.  On the back cover was a quote by President Thomas S. Monson.  It said, "How far is heaven?  In the holy temples it's not far at all.  In these sacred places earth and heaven meet and Heavenly Father gives His greatest blessings."
          These words literally jumped off the page in melody.  I was so excited, I had to grab a piece of manuscript paper to write it down.  The first verse was beautifully and perfectly formed, but the song seemed short.  There must be a second verse.  So I picked up the Temples issue again and started scanning the pages for another quote by Pres. Monson.  And, sure enough, there on page 10 was a quote that perfectly fit the melody.  "In their gleaming glory, temples seem to say, 'Come home to heaven, home to family, home to God.'"
          Yes, these words fit perfectly, but the song still seemed a bit short.  During General Conference a few days later, I was sure if I listened intently enough, I would hear the words to create another verse.  And sure enough, one of the brethren was talking about temples.  He said, "In sacred ceremonies, covenants are made. These covenants create eternal families."  Yes!  I did not know I was searching for the body of the message.  But it became clear. That was what had been missing.  It is through sacred covenants that the greatest blessings Heavenly Father has to give his children will be given.
         So, this beautiful song for children about the holy temple, "How Far Is Heaven?"  was now complete.  I had the occasion to present this song to President Monson himself.  He sent a letter of appreciation to say that he is always pleased when the members of the Church create beautiful works that will help bring more people to a knowledge of their Savior.  I am sure that this song can be instrumental in doing just that.
          How far is heaven?  How far is heaven?
          In the holy temples it's not far at all.
          In their gleaming glory, temples seem to say, 
          "Come home to heaven, home to family, home to God."
0 Comments

Like Putting Lipstick on a Child

8/15/2014

0 Comments

 
          Sometimes a silly phrase is timed so well that you just wish that you had been the one who said it.  At choir last night, Mack Wilberg was explaining to the string players why their parts were so boring.  He said, "It's like putting lipstick on a child. It would be a mess!"  So, after the eruption of laughter and giggles by the choir, he explained the reason why he did not add a lot of flourishes and movement in the string parts.  He said, "That would take away from the majesty and integrity of the piece." The arrangement was "High on a Mountain Top" which is one of Mack's most brilliant and majestic pieces.  The big interest in the orchestration is in the organ and brass parts.  He told the string players to "own" those half notes and hang in there until the next piece when they would have plenty to do.

          As I pondered the image of "putting lipstick on a child," I thought about all of the shows I have previewed for my work Children's Theater.  So often the packaged shows come with highly processed pre-recorded or "canned" minus tracks.  In my experience, the children's voices do not sound very good against full symphonic orchestra accompaniments or big brass band backgrounds, especially if they do not have a good sound engineer at the ready to pull off some equalizing magic.  Their little voices just aren't big enough to stand their own ground against the overpowering interest in the minus tracks.  In effect, it is like putting lipstick on a child.  It is unnatural and fake.  Instead of supporting the small voices, the heavily orchestrated backgrounds tend to overwhelm them.  

          Sure, there are some young children who can stand their ground against fully orchestrated accompaniment tracks.  But that is not the norm, and their success is undoubtedly linked to the efforts of a good sound engineer.  Most young children between the ages of 5 to 12 have small light voices and even less training.  To expect them to sing with projection over a full orchestration, even in a group, is ridiculous.  And it is just plain wrong to "train" them to belt louder and louder before their vocal apparatus and range are developed enough to managed the strain.  

          "Putting lipstick on a child."  If you have ever witnessed the aftermath of a toddler applying lipstick to herself, you know the picture I have in my mind.  What a mess!  Not only on her face, but on her hands, her clothes, the counter, the furniture, the walls...  Yeah, heavily orchestrated accompaniment tracks for young children's voices can be an unnatural mess like that!

          
0 Comments

One Person Can Change the World

8/4/2014

0 Comments

 
One Person can beat a drum and make enough noise for ten.
One Person can blow a horn, 
And that little bang and that little blare
Can make a hundred people care.
And One Person can hold a torch and light up the sky again.
And one little voice that's squeaking a song can make a million voices strong.
If One Person can beat a drum,
If One Person can blow a horn,
If One Person can hold a torch,
Then One Person can change the world.
 
This wonderful march, "One Person," comes from the pen of Jerry Herman, Broadway composer of such classics as "Hello Dolly" and "Mame."

We in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir have been working to memorize this song for our concert with the Utah Symphony later this week.  Jerry Herman was known for his particularly hummable tunes.  These lyrics are fairly easy to memorize.  They can easily be "pictured."  My sister likes to make up hand choreography to help her memorize lyrics.  These words fit that bill very well.  The words may be fairly easy to memorize, but they are harder to sing because of the fast succession of notes.  The tune is built on a quickly ascending and then descending Major 9th chord -- that is five stacked thirds coming and going!  And gets harder from there!  Not as easy to maneuver!  But it is a fun song to sing and has a neat message.  Ryan Murphy did a bang up job arranging it for out concert!

I overheard some elementary school music teachers in the hallway saying that they loved the message of that song so much, they intended to use it as their theme of this year's chorus concert.  The message is a useful one, I grant you, but I worry about the youngsters being able to sing the extended harmonies with the extended range with anything close to precision.  It could just end up a monotone mess.  The melodic range is well over an octave even if you stay in the key of C Major. 

All I can say is good luck.   


0 Comments

    Author

    My name is Betsy Lee Bailey.  I enjoy singing and writing all kinds of music.  I have performed and directed or taught music all of my life.  This blog is dedicated to all of the people who have been encouraging me to write about my experiences.

    Archives

    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    October 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    January 2017
    October 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013

    Categories

    All
    Chiasmus
    Children's Music
    Children's Storybooks
    Children's Theater
    Choir
    Christmas
    Classical Sacred Solo
    Classical Singing
    Composer
    Composition
    Conducting
    Copyrighted Music
    Cub Scout Music
    Elementary School Music
    Family
    Janie Thompson
    John R. Sweeney
    Lds Church Music
    Lending Library
    Luthier
    Lyrics
    Missionary Anthems
    Mormon Tabernacle Choir
    Mormon Tabernacle Choir
    Patriotic Anthem
    Performance
    Pioneer Anthems
    Poetic Devices
    Primary Songs
    Relief Society Songs
    Singing
    Song Writing Tips
    Teaching Strategies
    Treble Chorus
    Worship Service
    Worship Service

    RSS Feed