The young law student stood up in front of the public speaking class in Law School and displayed a poster of a quarter rest.  He told the audience that when he was in high school the band director explained that this was the most important element of music the band would play all year.  The band director said that observing the rests was just as important, if not more important, than playing the notes. That analogy always remained with the young law student and he went on to relate how a potent pause in public speaking was just like observing the rests in music.  
          The silence, when appropriately observed, is where the audience participation happens.  It is where thinking occurs.  It is when their information processng catches up with the actor's line delivery.  It creates suspense.  It is when to expect an emotional reaction, even laughter or applause.  It is when the Spirit testifies of truth.
          The spaces between the notes in music are very important.  Much like delivering the punch line of a joke or pausing just enough to emphasize an important point, the rests in music clarify the musical thought, delineate the articulation, build up the suspense, and a host of other great things.  If the music went on and on with no rests the effect would be like an entire paragraph read as a run-on sentence.  The emphasis and meaning would be lost to the audience.  They need the pauses to help them process the information.  The listener of music needs the spaces of silence to punctuate the meaning of the music.
          Sometimes the performer or speaker doesn't get it.  They ignore the moments of pause or rest and plough right through continuing with their message without giving the audience time to process, react, understand or even applaud.  That's when they lose interest.  No one likes to be run over by a steam roller!  It's the same in music.  When the dynamic levels stay the same for measure after measure, the audience gets bored, or worse, offended by the constant onslaught.  A performance without variety in effects, tempo, dynamics, and moments of rest is simply ineffective.
          When the audience is bored or lost or unable to process, they check out and begin to entertain themselves in other ways.  The revered Baroque composer, George Frederic Handel, understood the concept of the "potent pause" very well.  He often included measures of sudden and absolute silence at moments of important emphasis in his master oratorios.  Unfortunately, not all audience members have an appreciation of the highly ornamented Baroque musical style.  Once, during a community sing-along performance of Handel's "Messiah," two older women decided they had listened long enough to the very busy polyphonic music and decided to exchange holiday recipes instead.  Their conversing got louder and louder so they could her each other over the music rising to a climax.  Then, at the "Grand Pause" in the final measures of Handel's majestic "Hallelujah Chorus," one lady said loudly to the other, "I MAKE MINE WITH LARD!"
          We as musicians really need to be aware of our performances and how the audience is responding.  Hopefully, the audience will be receptive and stick with us.  Hopefully we will include times of Potent Pauses for the audience to take in all that we are giving.  Hopefully, the performance will be so riveting that no one in the audience will be lost!  The best audience will have some knowledge at least of deportment and etiquette!  Hopefully they will understand that moments of silence really are golden!


           An example of using a potent pause for building suspense:  In the Halloween song "We Are Out to Scare You," there are pauses for effect between the scary opening of the song and the funny follow-on part.  When doing this song with a class, the teacher will ask the children for input of what characters to use in the funny part.  The teacher will take those suggestions, but not reveal her choice until the instant it will be sung.  She might even hold up pictures. The class will quickly join in.  The scary part builds some suspense and suddenly there is a pause that builds more suspense -- and only the teacher will signal precisely when to begin the next part and what character to sing.  It's a little like leading the group to the edge of a cliff and trying to hold them back before they jump!
                       Depending on how effective the teacher is, 
                     this pause can be pretty potent and very fun!

          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."

          Last week I was asked to join a focus group to review a song project for a new composer.  This composer had written many songs on a very relevant topic and was obviously well invested in their usefulness to help society as a whole in this area.  He wanted some frank observations and advice since he was new to the songwriting arena.  Well, that got me thinking long and hard about the elements of good song-writing.

GETTING THE IDEAS ORGANIZED - This is obviously the place to start.  Gaining a working knowledge about the idea, looking for vocabulary to fit the topic, finding a musical style to match the mood or setting, selecting a target audience, are there cultural elements to consider? -- these are all important elements to think about before setting out.
 
MELODY, RHYTHM AND LYRICS- Some composers start with the musical ideas and then turn over their outline to the lyricist to fit words to a mostly finished composition.  Other composers start with words, sometimes a title or theme or a line of text for inspiration.  Those few words actually drive the rhythm and melody and inspire the direction and shape of the composition.  From that beginning, the rest of the piece - melody and lyrics and even arrangement and orchestration - can be created.  Most songwriters work within certain standard compositional and/or poetic FORMS that have been around for centuries. The standard AABA (2 similar phrases, a contrasting section and then repeat of the 1st phrase) or the AB (verse/chorus) models are very typical song forms.

THE HOOK - New songwriters tend to forget about this element.  A hook is a section of the song that packs the most punch.  It is the essence of the message in the most memorable bit of melody and lyric.  It is placed in a prominent portion of the song to be the most repeated and catchy part.  It is the most important nugget of the entire piece.  If your most catchy rhythm or melody does not present the most significant message of the song, watch out! Sometimes the entire message is lost or misrepresented because the hook actually says something unrelated or even counter to the real message of the song.

For example, I heard a song that was about the evils of overcooked vegetables to nutrition.  This song was targeted to young children to try to get them to actually eat their vegetables.  But the HOOK of the song came across not that "overcooked vegetables are slimy and gross," but "vegetables are slimy and gross."  See the obvious problem?  The catchy part of the rhythm and melody picked up only that "vegetables are slimy and gross" and what parent in their right mind wants to promote that idea to their children?

          So, if you happen to be a new songwriter, be wary of your hooks!  You may end up hooking a very strange and unexpected fish!

One of the last activities my mother completed during her years in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir was to record Handel's Messiah.  My sister Bonnie and I have had the unique privilege of just completing the recording of Messiah with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.  Because my time in the choir is running out, I feel like this is such a sweet bookend experience to our mother's experience.  Many memories come flooding back of the Sunday mornings when our house would be filled with the sounds of the glorious choruses of Messiah as we woke up and got ready for church.  Mom played this recording at full volume so that all parts of our house (and half the neighborhood) would benefit from hearing it.  I can even smell the roast beef on the stove being browned to be left in the oven for the hours we would be away at church.  I even remember having my hair brushed in time to "For Unto Us a Child Is Born."  That chorus has always been one of my favorites!

          We took such joy in the fact that our mother, Carolyn Thompson Lee and her mother, Lora Harmon Thompson, our grandmother, both sang with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.  Our Mom sang in brief stints between pregnancies between 1955 and 1965 when we moved to Texas. Our mother's three brothers also sang in the choir during the 1950's and 1960's.  Everywhere we moved, all 36 moves, our mother was a celebrity.  She had sung on radio broadcasts and made recordings, gone on tours, and even garnered a Gold Record with the MoTab recording of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic."  This was her particular claim to fame because she sang the high cadre notes at the end of this incredible piece.  Every time I sing "Battle Hymn,"  I think of her as now I get to sing the high notes!  Sometimes I can feel her presence as I sing!  Can't wait to sing that song again tomorrow on the Memorial Day Special!
          How fitting that the last song we recorded of the Messiah was "For Unto Us a Child is Born."  We worked for hours to get enough perfect takes of the individual sections so that this project can go out to the world as a labor of love to last another 50 years.  The final words were a stirring testimony of Jesus Christ, Messiah, the Savior and Redeemer of the world, "Wonderful! Counselor! The Mighty God! The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace!"  I can truly say, as Ryan Murphy did at the close of the last take, "Hallelujah!"

         Seems like everywhere I turn these days, I hear some little girl trying to sing "Let It Go" from Disney's new animated musical "Frozen."  They all want to sound as accomplished as Idina Mensel.  Dance classes, voice lessons, talent shows, YouTube videos, you name it.  My daughter even related this cute story about her daughter and the impromptu talent show performance.

           As I sit in the loft and sing the glorious music set before me in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, I reflect how in the everyday world of Church Music the reality is very different.  I have occasion to visit many different church meetings in many different areas and wonder if church musicians are a vanishing breed.  The quality of the organ playing and hymn conducting and choir performances and even the hymn singing of the congregations is generally very low and on its way to vanishing completely.  As a visitor in the congregation, when I open my mouth to sing the hymns, I suddenly realize I am singing a solo.  It is a rare occasion indeed when I get to visit a worship service where the congregation is truly uniting their voices in singing praises to God in a purposeful, joyous, and effective way.  It isn't that they are unfamiliar with the words or the tunes.  They just don't put forth any effort.

            When I was 9 years old, I was invited to a birthday party.  The activity at the party was to go see a new Disney movie that had just come out.  "Mary Poppins" was such a wonderful film and the music was infectious.  The whole audience literally went out of the theater singing "Let's Go Fly a Kite" and "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" and "Just a Spoonful of Sugar" and "Chim Chim Cheree" and "Jolly Holiday" and "Feed the Birds."  I went home and told my mother all about the music, oh yes, and about the show, too.  I even sang the songs to her.  My aunts were visiting us at that time and just happened to have their reel to reel tape recorder set up.  My mother hopped to the piano and accompanied me singing all the songs I remembered from the movie.  We have listened to that recording since then and marvel that the songs from "Mary Poppins" would strike a young child so powerfully that she could remember the words and music so perfectly just from seeing the movie once.  Even more remarkable was my mother's ability to accompany the songs without hearing them in person at all.
          The new movie "Saving Mr. Banks" tells the story of Walt Disney's personal quest to get the rights from author P.L. Travers to make "Mary Poppins."  The story was very moving, but I was especially interested in how the songs came about.  Richard and Robert Sherman had quite a difficult time pleasing Mrs. Travers.  She did not approve of "made-up" words and rhymes.  And that was their signature schtick!  Eventually, though, things worked out.  Mrs. Travers softened to the ideas presented to her, especially after she heard the finale song "Let's Go Fly a Kite."  Structurally, that song is simple and joyous, yet it reaches down to much deeper human emotions, those of love and healing.  Little wonder everyone in the theater that day went out singing it.
           The Sherman Brothers were one of the most prolific songwriting teams of all time.  They wrote songs for many, many Disney movies throughout the 1960's and 1970's and wrote for more movies after that.  My generation, Disney fans of course, was raised by these songs.  None of them were too musically complex or sophisticated, yet they resonated with truth and joy and humor.  The most important barometer of the success of a musical show in those days was whether the audience would leave the theater singing the songs.  In that respect, the Sherman Brothers were highly successful.
          As a songwriter of Children's Theater material, I hope to fulfill that same goal.  My aim is to create songs that make the children smile and go out of the theater singing!  The songs need not be sophisticated or complex or even great art.  They do need, however, to resonate with joy and love and fun.  It helps, too, if they are catchy and SHORT!  Believe me, there is nothing quite so fulfilling as to hear the audience go out of the theater humming or whistling your happy tunes!
          

A Song for All Seasons - Recovered Blog Post from 11/06/2013

          Ah, the High School Football season is coming to a close.  We are now into the play-off's.  Last year, my son's team won the State Championship.  So far, they are still in the running for this year's championship.  I wish them luck!

          That reminds me of an arrangement I have enjoyed using as a warm-up song for the kids in my youngest Musical Theater classes.  I took the song "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" and made it into a rivalry song between Baseball and Football Fans.  Years ago, my celebrated aunt Janie Thompson rewrote the lyrics to the chorus to fit Football and I added verses about Football fans as well as Baseball fans.  The little boys in my classes liked it a lot. Girls, too, although they were not generally as rabid of fans.  We had the kids choose which kind of fans they wanted to portray and divided the class as near to equally as possible.  The groups did actions and adopted attitudes to play-up the rivalry, then shook hands at the end to show that both sports are great fun!

          On a musical note, this arrangement of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" provides an opportunity to introduce changing meters to the class.  The chorus is in triple meter or waltz time with three counts to the measure.  The verses, on the other hand, are in duple meter or March time, actually four counts to the measure.  So, in the Chorus, I had the kids SWAY from side to side feeling the strong accent on beat 1 of the triple meter.  I had the kids MARCH in place or bounce up and down with hands on their knees to feel the 4/4 time.  Although this may not be actual dancing, it is a good preparation for it.  Kids need many opportunities to experience RHYTHM and burn it into their very souls.  Then, later when they do need to learn choreography, it will already be second nature!

          The great thing about this song is that it is appropriate for nearly any time of the year.  It seems that the Baseball and Football seasons overlap or are divided briefly by Christmas and a winter hiatus.  What I have found is that Baseball Fans, as well as Football Fans, really are enthusiastic about their sport and have no need of a vacation from it!  So, that gives this little song great longevity!  It's a song for all seasons!


P.S. My son's football team went on to win the High School 4-A State Championship again!  Yay, Team!

Lights and Bells and Whistles - Recovered Blog Post from 05/22/2013

          There is a special quality about some people:  Those who can be in a place and put everyone else at ease, those who can make common situations exciting and happy for everyone around them.  Charles Dickens said it best as his character Ebenezer Scrooge described his former employer Mr. Fezziwig.  

          “He has the power to render us happy or unhappy; to make our service light or burdensome; a pleasure or a toil. Say that his power lies in words and looks; in things so slight and insignificant that it is impossible to add and count 'em up: what then? The happiness he gives, is quite as great as if it cost a fortune.” 

                        ― Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

          You probably know some of these people.  You know, the ones who can light up a room just by walking into it; the ones who just exude love and caring, the ones who do not wait to be spoken to, but come into a group and within 5 minutes know everyone’s names and life stories.

          My own mother was like that.  She never met any strangers.  People were naturally drawn to her because she truly loved everyone.  One of her most wonderful gifts was making things happen.  Wherever she went, exciting things followed.  Of course she could plan marvelous events and shows, but, put her near a piano, and magic happened.  Equally at ease playing background music as directing a choir or play, or accompanying a show, she could bring life to most any event or party.  As a child I was amazed that she could be playing beautiful music at the piano and be carrying on in depth conversations with people in the room.  She claimed that the music simply bypassed her brain and went right from her ears to her fingers.  She gave so many great opportunities to young and old people alike.  She created opportunities for people to showcase their talents or to discover their talents if they didn’t think they had any.  She was always ready and willing and very able to accompany and train singers and actors and dancers and choirs and anybody who happened to be standing around with nothing else to do.  She was the entire package.  She made sure that the show went on complete with costumes, props, scenery, signs, hoopla, lights, bells, and whistles.  Little wonder people loved her.