My Musical Musings Blog | betsyleebaileymusic.com - The Music of Betsy Lee Bailey

Non-Christmas Winter Concert Song

10/5/2022

Public School Chorus teachers have trouble finding non-Christmas songs for their "holiday" concert programs in December. Many schools forbid the use of Christmas songs, even when the songs are not religious. Some school districts allow Christmas songs as long as the program also has a Hanukkah song as well as one celebrating Kwanza. It's really too bad because most of the very best songs are Christmas songs --- religious or secular!

So, some chorus teachers will skip the entire issue by using "seasonal" songs about "Winter" or "We're Having a Snow Day." Those kinds of songs work best when you actually encounter winter weather events where you go to school. We never had winter weather in Southern California or Texas. Oh well.

I overheard my daughter singing a song from one of my Children's Musicals yesterday. "Wintertime" is a 2-part chorus song from "A Successor to the Throne." The words simply talk about how wintertime is a time of waiting, waiting for the warmth of springtime to come again. It talks about the glistening snowflakes swirling and whirling gently down. At the very end, the chorus shivers and says "Brr!"

Although "Wintertime" is written using an Asian Pentatonic scale, I have often thought it would be a fun song for a Winter School Chorus Concert. If other songs from Musicals like "Do You Want to Build a Snowman" from the movie "Frozen" or "Once Upon a December" from the movie "Anastasia" can be used successfully on a school chorus concert, why not my little Chinese winter song?

I just don't think the custodial crew would like it if you blew snow crystals at the end like they do in my show!

Why We Need Variety in Design

9/29/2022

A popular song from long ago went "Little boxes on the hillside, little boxes made of ticky-tacky. Little boxes on the hillside and they all look just the same..." While on my walk the other day, I really took a look at the houses in my neighborhood. Apparently my house was the first built in our section of the area and it was constructed in 1947. That means it is 75 years old now.

Not all of the houses were built by the same builder, but it is obvious that many were. So many are ranchers made of red brick with the same low profile. The few windows are trimmed in white and the nondescript front door opens out to a few steps down to a narrow cement walkway through an indifferent patch of lawn. Some poor houses really show their age due to lack of upkeep. However, some have fared better and show a surprising amount of pride of ownership.

What is more interesting, though, is seeing how many of these little brick homes (that remind me of the story of the "Three Little Pigs"), have been renovated over the years. The brick has been painted or lime-washed and porches have been added in various styles from old English Cottage to Mid-century Modern. Others have been totally transformed into styles more fashionable (like mine which is now a classy craftsman bungalow). So, 75 years later, the little houses made of "ticky-tacky" that started out looking all the same, over the years have been modified. They now provide quite the show as I take my morning walks around the neighborhood.

In music, as in architecture, variety is key. Just like taking an enjoyable walk about the neighborhood, a composition or a show or program should provide an interesting adventure. It's all about good design.

Christmas shows are fun to plan, but there are a lot of parameters that must be understood and planned around ahead of time. Who will be performing (ages, experience)? When and Where will the performance be held? What are the limitations of the venue (stage, piano, power, lighting, access to the stage, sound, technology)? Budget (for music, costumes, sets, props, seating, posters, handbills, tickets, refreshments, sound or lighting technician, etc.)? Will you need rehearsal space and how much time will you need in the venue?

With all of these questions you may also be asking yourself "WHY would I even try to do a Christmas performance!"

For musicians, the WHY is the easy part -- it is a chance to perform! It's as simple as that. And Christmas music is the best! So get your theme song picked and start planning!

Here is a fun theme song for an Elementary School Holiday Program. "Under the Christmas Tree" for 2-Part Children's Chorus.

Christmas Carol-Sing

9/22/2022

What do you do when Christmas is on Sunday and most of your Ward Choir members will be off visiting relatives but the Bishop still expects a program?

This scenario happens every so often. It is good to have a plan!

In many Wards, the operative for me has been to do the the Christmas Choir "Program" (the day when the choir sings the most songs) the week before Christmas. In my wards, I could basically plan on my choir members going off on vacations or visiting relatives for Christmas. Sometimes, it was my family that left. In any case, having the Ward Choir sing on the Sunday nearest Christmas was just not possible.

So, we decided to use a Christmas Carol-Sing - a program using scriptures and messages from the living prophets interspersed with carols and other hymns from the hymnal. The Narrator(s) read the script and the Congregation sang the songs. Everybody was happy. One year, we even had all of our college kids (home for the holidays) be the Narrators. They even sang a special musical number. (They were talented kids!)

Writing a Christmas Carol-Sing script is pretty straightforward.
1. Pray for Inspiration and do your research. Perhaps start with finding a Christmas message from the First Presidency. Extract the best quotes. (See one of my scripts as an example)
2. Plan which scriptures to use. Perhaps some scriptures are referenced in the First Presidency Message or in the hymns.
3. Plan which hymns and carols to use. Perhaps one text contains the over-arching message or theme you want to highlight. Good themes are "Joy to the World" or "Come, O Thou King of Kings." These evoke very visual or emotional reactions from your audience. It gets them "on board" beginning with the title of the program.
4. Think of who will be around to direct the singing, play the organ or read the narrations. Play to their strengths. Give the more descriptive passages to the person who can deliver those parts the best, be aware of the limitations of your musicians, etc.
5. Time everything from line delivery to singing (how many verses?), to preludes, to movement to and from the podium. Make sure you stick within the time frame.
6. Do you need to leave time for a Bishop's Message? Put that into the plan.
7. Make your script legible and print enough copies.
8. Then, even if you have to be gone for Christmas, the program will not disappoint!

Speaking of themes, here is one Ward's theme song for their Christmas Program. They are featuring prophecies of the Old Testament looking forward to the birth and mission of Jesus Christ. What better to use than "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" SATB with Piano and Cello Soloist.

Planning the Christmas Program

9/19/2022

'Tis the season...the season for preparing the Ward Sacrament Meeting Christmas Program. Or at least, most Ward Choir Directors are in the process of deciding which selections they want their choirs to sing for Christmas. After all, Christmas is on Sunday this year (although many choirs need to sing on the 18th before everybody leaves town to visit family out of state).

My sister volunteered my services to help out her ward choir this year. The director and her daughter have been writing the program ever since Easter. They really wanted to center the messages on prophecies from the Old Testament, have a variety of songs, and close with the Bishop's remarks. They also planned to use only hymns from our current hymnal. But they did not want to use the normal Christmas carols (at least not the ones that are already in our hymnal).

Well, it seems that there are some issues with using only the Old Testament and our Hymnal for the resources for their program. There are not many hymns that are Messianic from Old Testament texts. I could find just one, "Come, O Thou King of Kings." (And by the way, the last time I checked, Christ's birth signaled the beginning of the New Testament. Just sayin'.)

Another issue is that the Congregation really likes being included in the singing on Christmas and they really like their old favorites like "Joy to the World," "O Little Town of Bethlehem," and "Away in the Manger."

After a lot of discussion, we finally came up with a compromise. They wanted to use "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" (very basic, mostly 2-Part) with Cello, an Alto/Tenor duet of "What Child Is This?" (with some choir "oohs"), a Primary children's song, and end with a medley of "Rejoice the Lord Is King/Joy to the World" SATB where the congregation joins in for one verse. (I think they were also having the Youth do a number and are also including the congregation on a hymn that is actually used as a Sacrament hymn. But I don't have to arrange those.)

They really wanted a new (not in the Children's Songbook) Christmas song for the children. They actually decided on "Lord of All," a song I wrote that won an Award of Distinction as a solo. Recently, I wrote a simplified version for children.

So, I am finishing up the arrangements I promised for them. Hope it all works out.

Enjoy "Lord of All" sung by my granddaughter Megan Rock.

Programming is Everything

9/10/2022

Many school bands and choirs and orchestras, as well as Community and Church choirs are starting up again after the summer hiatus. Directors are planning ahead to concerts down the road. Even Primary Song Leaders are busy preparing for the Children's Sacrament Meeting Presentations. Here is some good advice from the renowned Choral Conductor Mack Wilberg of the Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square. A while back, he shared with the Choir his views on selecting music for the Broadcasts. His counsel applies to all of us as musicians. (Enjoy this repost from 2014)

Programming is everything. When you choose songs to perform for a choir concert, talent recital or even a Primary program, how the songs will work together in their order of presentation is very important. We were singing "Climb Every Mountain" yesterday getting ready for the Music and the Spoken Word broadcast, when our director Mack Wilberg explained the order of things. Because "Climb Every Mountain" ends in such a dramatic way, the song that follows it must be something extra special. "There are not many places you can go after "Climb Every Mountain." So, he talked a little bit about his thoughts on programming. "Whether you want to believe it or not, this is show biz."

What he meant was that most people associate the Mormon Tabernacle Choir with songs of a religious or classical nature, definitely not with "show business." And many classical musicians don't even want to think of themselves as functioning in the "commercial world." They serve the art not the public. Yet, music is meant to be performed for an audience and so it becomes a business (whether you like it or not) to please your "public" and keep them coming back for more.

So, in programming a finale number on the broadcast to go one step beyond "Climb Every Mountain," Mack had us sing "Come All Ye Nations of the Earth" which indeed goes well beyond the majesty and scope of "Climb Every Mountain."

Many school and church choir directors forget that programming is everything. They may think that it does not matter the ORDER in which the songs are sung, or even their MESSAGES, or KEY RELATIONSHIPS, or how much fussing with REORGANIZING the players or SHUFFLING music has to happen in between the numbers. But those things really matter very much! The ideal arrangement of songs in a concert should create a nice EBB and FLOW leading to a CLIMAX. The arrangement of topics, styles and genres should also take the listeners on a harmonious adventure. They should be arranged in such a way to engage the listener and keep their interest over the entire length of the concert without wearing them out.

So, whether in a choral concert, band concert, piano or dance recital, school chorus concert, church worship service, or even in a Primary Program, how the songs work together really does matter! It is show biz, whether you want to believe it or not, and PROGRAMMING IS EVERYTHING!

Time to Prepare (Music) for Christmas

9/5/2022

Yes, I know that the temperature outside is frightful (103 degrees F) and the kids have just started the Fall semester of school, but September is always my signal to start preparing music for Christmas.

School concerts, Ward Choirs, Christmas Piano Recitals, Caroling Parties, and other Christmas Parties are all great reasons to start getting music prepared.

Over the years, I have put together many concerts, recitals and Christmas Parties. I was remembering some of the concerts my big family and a couple of other musical families collaborated on. For five years, together we did Christmas concerts during the Festival of Lights at the Washington D.C. Visitor's Center. After visiting the Visitors Center again this summer during the Open House of the Temple, so many memories came flooding back.

We sang holiday songs by many composers that featured our combined talents such as using vocal solos and different combinations of singers (and little grandchildren) as well as violins, recorders, guitars, and even a very talented dancer. We also sang some arrangements that I wrote specifically for us.

One favorite arrangement was "Sing a Christmas Carol" by Leslie Bricusse from the movie musical "Scrooge" combined with "Deck the Halls." (The counterpoint and use of melismas make it so much fun to sing!) The first iteration of this arrangement I wrote while still in college. My younger brother's High School a cappella choir performed it first. However, these many years later, I tweaked it a bit for our Family Choir. It gives me such joy to think that such a small family group of kids and parents could manage to sing in 6-8 parts and still stay balanced.

Enjoy!

"Sing a Christmas Carol" YouTube video

Titles and Rhythms Cannot Be Copyrighted

8/24/2022

At dinner in the restaurant last night, one of my sons suddenly asked us all to stop talking and listen to the music. He was laughing because the song that was playing was not the song he was singing along to in his head. He wanted everyone to listen for the rhythms and the chord progressions (which we could barely hear because of the noise level in the restaurant). As his siblings said they recognized the song, he said that he had been singing along a completely different melody and words, but it also fit the rhythms and chord progression.

(I know, I have very musically nerdy children!)

Then the discussion turned to how RHYTHMS, TITLES and CHORD PROGRESSIONS cannot be copyrighted. "Can you imagine what would have happened to all of the Latin music if rhythms could have been copyrighted?" (Drumbeats on table) "There would have never been any new Latin music! So many rhythms are the same!"

Composers have this problem that they have to deal with all the time --- how can they create ORIGINAL music? The same building blocks of music are available for everyone. Originality comes in the way that MELODY, RHYTHM, HARMONY, CHORD PROGRESSIONS, TEXT, TEMPO, and STYLE CHARACTERISTICS come together in a piece. GENIUS is when these elements are put together in ways that amaze and delight the listener.

Take for example what is called a MOTIF. This little musical idea can be made up of a group of notes put to an engaging rhythm often incorporating words that becomes the inspiration for the rest of the song. Sometimes the song already exists, but the composer needs another contrasting MOTIF to bring interest and COHESION to the accompaniment. The composer then has to play the game of TOO LITTLE or TOO MUCH? as he weaves the patterns of the melody and accompaniment together.

In my new arrangement of "Israel, Israel God Is Calling" 2-Part I had to play that game. This old hymn already had a prominent rhythmic MOTIF

that built each of the 8 phrases. Fortunately, the melodic arcs were different in each phrase! So, I needed a contrasting MOTIF in the accompaniment. I chose this:

What was tricky was deciding when enough was enough and when the accompaniment needed a change!

This arrangement was commissioned for a Fathers and Sons chorus to sing in Church. The choir director requested an artistic accompaniment to allow the very simplified vocal lines (mostly melody) to shine.

Now available are two versions --- "Israel, Israel God Is Calling" for 2-Part Men's Chorus and for 2-Part Treble Chorus.

The Driver Gets to Choose the Music

8/22/2022

Ah! Family road trips. When it was just the two of us, my husband and I traded turns controlling what we would listen to on the radio. He liked NPR shows like "Car Talk" and "Science Friday." I preferred Classical music. As the children came along, I remember we played a lot of Disney Sing-Along CD's. But as they grew up, and the older ones got their driver's licenses, we had to come up with a new rule. "The Driver gets to decide what we listen to." Sometimes that worked out and we all enjoyed the choices. But other times, only the driver liked what we were listening to. We did have one CD, though, that became the default when there were too many complaints. Thankfully that CD was filled with Movie Themes mostly from the composer John Williams. (Seriously, who can complain while listening to "Star Wars" or "Harry Potter?")

That analogy is similar to how music is chosen for Ward Choirs - the Director calls the shots. Music is chosen based on what the director likes or what he or she thinks the choir would sound best singing. Sometimes the director is just learning and may choose music that is rather simple or maybe is too ambitious for their combined abilities. But, the music is usually what the Director feels comfortable doing according to his or her own tastes.

Not all Ward Choirs happen to be packed with professional singers and other well-trained choral singers who have sung in prestigious collegiate choirs that toured all over the world. But that actually describes the Choir in my Ward right now. In fact, the Choir Director is choosing pieces for us in 6-8 parts with very sophisticated rhythms and harmonies and piano or organ parts that only a really good accompanist can play. This group of singers thrives on being stretched. But that is not a very common situation for Ward Choirs around the world.

Choir Directors mostly have to choose music many months before they go into rehearsals, sometimes even before they get to know the abilities of their choir members. As a Ward Choir singer, you may be one with outstanding talents, but your cohorts may not be so blessed. Anyway, try to be supportive of your Choir Director. Remember that they are likely trying to do their best with what they've got. After all, here we are just a few months back into singing after the Pandemic. Let's just rejoice that we can have choirs now at all!

Here's a fun Hymn Arrangement for the choir who enjoys being stretched. "From Homes of Saints Glad Songs Arise" SATB

Variety and Originality in Sacred Music

8/14/2022

A composer may have a musical style that makes him or her immediately recognizable. That may or may not be a good thing. The great composers are recognized for their greatness even if they regularly use signature devices, but also because they show great ORIGINALITY. Other composers may be so prolific that their music is instantly recognizable because it all sounds about the same.

Ah, you may say, "But there are only 12 chromatic notes. How original can a person's music really get?"

Fortunately there are many other devices that provide variety. RHYTHM, HARMONY, TEMPO, INSTRUMENTAL COLORS, CULTURAL FLAVORS are a few of these devices. Over the years, composers have constantly been developing new STYLE characteristics. Because many composers within a certain time period tended to gravitate to using similar characteristics and even outright copied each other's techniques, musicologists have divided these into stylistic time periods. Some major ones reflected many of the artistic and architectural modes of their day such as Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Modern, 20th Century, and so on. That is not even mentioning the many and varied Popular and Folk styles that have developed over the centuries.

While it is generally assumed that Church Music is slower to adapt and change to the most current musical styles, there may be good reason for that. Often composers get so excited about writing in new and different ways that they forget who they are writing for. (Older people, for example, do not like fast or drastic changes of any kind.) So, stylistic changes in Sacred Music come about more slowly.

Variety is great in Sacred Music, provided that it supports the spiritual message. The musical writing should support the message of the text and not pull undue focus to itself. Bearing testimony of the Savior and His teachings and inviting the Spirit are the most important elements. The musical compositional style should suit these parameters.

And yet, using the same melodic motives, or rhythmic patterns in the accompaniment, or the same chord progressions over and over can get old pretty quickly. There are so many options to choose from and styles to be influenced by that composers should have no trouble finding inspiration to create great Sacred Music.

Here's a little Christmas piece influenced highly by music of many great composers. Enjoy "Shepherds Shake Off Your Drowsy Sleep" for SATB, Baritone Soloist and Piano.

Re-Dedication of the Washington DC Temple

8/14/2022

Today was the rededication of the Washington DC Temple. My daughter got to sing in the choir and actually be in the Temple when the Prophet Russell M. Nelson spoke and gave the dedicatory prayer. It was a glorious meeting, one that has been long awaited. The Temple renovation took 4 1/2 years to complete. Many, many people have been waiting anxiously for this day to come.

Some of the messages spoken focused on rededicating our lives to serving, particularly in doing Family History work. We were reminded that this work of Gathering Israel on both sides of the veil is the most important work we can be doing at this time. How wonderful that the magnificent Washington DC Temple will be open again very soon.

One of the songs that was sung by the choir today was “The Hosanna Anthem” that was sung at the Kirkland Temple dedication as well as the Salt Lake Temple dedication. A thrilling part was when the choir sang a descant as the Congregation sang two verses of “The Spirit of God Like a Fire is Burning.” This linked all three dedications together. The Washington DC Temple was just the 18th temple built in this dispensation and the first on the East Coast. It has also become a landmark and a tourist attraction in the nation’s capital. Those of us in the congregation felt privileged to sing “Hosanna, hosanna to God and the Lamb.”

Several years ago I was asked to write a piece for a chapel dedication. The words were taken from the Kirkland Temple dedication given through revelation to Joseph Smith. “May this house be a house of worship, of study, of faith, of prayer. May this house be a house of learning, of glory, of order, a house of God.” (D. & C. 109:8)

Enjoy “Dedication”

May we dedicate this house to thee, O God.
   May we dedicate this house to thee, O God.
May we dedicate our lives to thy service, Lord.
May we dedicate our lives to thy service, Lord.
May we offer up our hearts to thee in faith.
   May we offer up our hearts to thee in faith.
May we covenant to bring forth the cause of Zion
   May we covenant to bring forth the cause of Zion. (2X to CODA)
May this house be a house of worship, of study, of faith, of prayer.
May this house be a house of learning, of glory, of order, a house of God.
(Repeat)
(CODA) Forever, and ever. Amen.

The Music of Betsy Lee Bailey copyright 2020