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

Singing in Nursery

9/27/2021

For many years, I worked in Primary --- occasionally as the President, but for a cumulative 37 years as the Song Leader. Most of my Primaries had enough children that we split for Junior and Senior Singing Times and I also spent a few minutes in the Nursery. I had never been the Nursery Leader before, but as of three weeks ago, I am now. And thank goodness, I already know a LOT of songs and have a bunch of VISUAL AIDS!

We have one very young boy who is our sole regular, plus a handicapped older boy who sometimes comes into the Nursery. However, this ward has a lot of Grandparents who often have visiting grandchildren. I was told to plan for at least five children every week because of visitors. I was also told that the previous leaders basically gave up on giving lessons, even short ones, because the children just wanted to play with the toys.

Well, the first day we had no manual yet, so we just let the children play. But after talking around to previous Nursery Leaders "par excellence," I learned that we had to do more than just allow the kids to play. So we came up with a schedule to fill our 30 minutes that starts with a Gathering Time (tactile) activity at our small table, a short Lesson with visual aids, Singing Time with all sorts of manipulatives, and then Play Time with the toys.

After two weeks, I can report that having a schedule works so much better than just letting the kids play with toys. We find that the children like how we sing nearly the entire time. We sing when we bounce balloons, twirl with scarves, shake our little shakers, drop falling Autumn leaves, dance with finger puppets, and share smiles with the silly paper plate frowny/smiley faces.

These children are COVID Kids. The youngest ones were actually born during the pandemic quarantine. Most of them have never had play dates with other children or even been tended by anyone outside of their own households. It may take time for them to get used to our ways of doing things, but one thing we know for sure, they enjoy dancing, twirling and moving to our SINGING!

Primary Music Time - Make It Sing!

4/21/2021

Over the past 13 months, I have heard of almost every conceivable form of Primary Music time activity I thought possible. I admire the Ward Primary song leaders who have worked so creatively to come up with ideas to teach music virtually. They really know the value of teaching the Primary Songs and Hymns although so much has been shifted to the shoulders of the parents.

I have seen everything from interesting word charts, to virtual games, to giving out bags of rhythm props, to playing sing-along videos.

I have even heard complaints that these valiant song leaders are supposed to teach music SILENTLY. (What is that exactly?!!!)

I suppose that some wards are beginning to have in-person Primary Music Time, but are not yet allowed to sing. I guess the only choices have been to play rhythmic games or to teach sign language to the songs on video. NOT REALLY SINGING TIME, is it.

These valiant song leaders have been scrambling to share ideas with each other. They say they are hoping that their efforts are helping the kids learn the songs. I sure hope so!

My experience tells me, though, that only a small percentage of children actually gain the ability to LISTEN and MATCH PITCHES without learning from someone who will give them FEEDBACK. Usually, parents are the first and best teachers. But when the parents don't or won't sing, the children lose out on their earliest instruction. I admit that some children are just born with musical ears, but most need close-up and personal training.

Movies, virtual presentation videos, and recordings may not be the best instructors. They are too impersonal and cannot give FEEDBACK. Most young children are not aware of their own sounds. Most need help learning to listen to and match the model. Also, when they are left to follow an adult voice singing in a range much bigger than the child can produce or has "affected" timbres, they get confused about pitch and appropriate vocal quality.

As a voice teacher, I have had first hand experience trying to help struggling singers overcome issues begun in their youth.

Primary Song Leaders get it. They want desperately to sing in person with the children. They want to help them learn the melodies and words properly. Most of all they want to inspire the children to feel the Spirit by internalizing the simple Gospel truths taught in the Primary Songs.

In-Person Primary Music Time can't come soon enough for me!

Submissions for New Children's Songbook

3/2/2019

Ever since the Church announced the call for submissions to a new Hymnal and Children's songbook, many people in my world have been a-buzz with excitement. For months I have been hearing about songs people are writing or have written and are trying to get input about. Or those who write lyrics who want to collaborate with a composer. I have even heard of small groups who offer to sing through and give feedback on the songs. Or friendly experienced composers who are willing to critique the hopeful manuscripts - for a fee.

I have wondered about some of my own children's songs and hymns. Would they be considered useful? It is natural to wonder and to actively seek out people to be a listening ear, a sounding board, or to just give encouragement. My neighbor across the street gives piano lessons to beginners and also accompanies in Primary. She was an English major in college and later married an English professor. She said that she was willing to take a look at my songs. I was happy to have her opinion because she is NOT really a professional musician but IS an actual "end user." She looked at my songs and gave real useful feedback about what the kids in her Primary might actually like from what she observes from week to week. She also had insights to textural forms, word usage and rhyme schemes and other writing details. She was a great sounding board and I appreciate her insights.

So yesterday, I decided to actually complete the submission process. For the new Children's Songbook, they allow up to 5 submissions per person. I had six children's songs I wanted to submit. One of those I decided not to send in again since they already notified me that it was under consideration. "Live By the Light of His Love" is a song comparing the two accounts of the Sermon on the Mount found in the New Testament and the Book of Mormon. That song had won an Award of Distinction previously in the Church Music Submissions.

Four of the songs I sent in are "Put on the Whole Armor of God," "Hosanna to Our King," "How Far Is Heaven?' and "Lord of All." These are all on my website. Some are also previous award winners in the Church Submissions -- but I simplified them even more drastically and added guitar chords. The completely new song I submitted is "My Baptism Covenant." My sister Barbara has been requesting a new baptism song for a long time. She finally wrote down a list of concepts that needed to be in the song, handed it to me, and I wrote the song.

Now we just wait until July to find out which songs become finalists. So glad I am not on the judging committee!

Simplifying Is Not Simple!

9/20/2018

I have been thinking about what French artist Henri Matisse (1869-1954) said as I have been involved in a simplification project of my own this summer. He said, "An artist must never be a prisoner of himself, prisoner of a style, prisoner of a reputation, prisoner of success…" To me this means that an artist should never be afraid to try new avenues of expression even if that means making changes to style, thinking, tools, even the target audience.

The art of Mr. Matisse evolved over the years mostly due to his health issues, but I admire that he found a way to continue creating. I find it interesting how he reduced his compositions to the basic elements of LINE and COLOR.

Simplifying a composition is definitely not simple! Reducing a piece of art to its most basic elements is very difficult indeed!

In looking over some of my sacred children's songs to prepare them to possibly submit for the new LDS Children's Songbook, I have thought about Matisse and his cut-outs. I have felt that I must strip down my little songs to even more basic elements. Musical elements can also be reduced to LINE and COLOR. But in music, those basic elements are called MELODY, RHYTHM and HARMONY.

So, I have been working to edit these little songs into staves and measures that will fit onto just one or possibly two pages. The type must be large enough and look uncluttered enough for a typical Primary pianist to read easily. The lyrics must be placed between the staves with the melody easy to follow. Any supporting harmony must be no more than three notes and in not more than one octave intervals per hand. The words must be on the level of a 6 to 8 year old child with enough imagery that visual aides can readily be created for ease of teaching. Simplified guitar chords must be placed over the upper staff. And that's just the partial list!

DO THESE PARAMETERS SOUND SIMPLE TO YOU?

Only time will tell if I have cut too much!

Singing Scouts

9/18/2018

The other day I attended an awards ceremony honoring those Scouters who received the Silver Beaver in the past year. My husband was one of those honored and I was his escort. As we walked into the meeting, I was concerned that there was no prelude music even though we were gathering into a large church chapel. I hoped, but wasn't too optimistic, that there would be music in the meeting. How surprised and delighted I was when a Scout choir stood up after the flag ceremony and began singing a set of patriotic songs.

The Scout choir consisted of about 20 youth and leaders. Two of the boys sang solo verses and had great voices. There wasn't much in the way of harmony, but I heard a couple of the leaders chime in with some bass and tenor sometimes. All in all, it was wonderful to hear these singing Scouts!

As a family, we have been involved in Scouting from our early years of marriage. We have three sons -- all eight years, one month and one week apart in ages. If you think about it, that alone would guarantee my husband a leadership spot in scouting for at least 24 years. We started with the first son in Cub scouts at age eight, he progressed through the program, got his Eagle at 16, and the next week son #2 became a Bobcat. When the next son was 16 and getting his Explorer Eagle Palms, son #3 became a Bobcat. He got his Eagle just before his 18th birthday. My husband has served as Cub Master, Scout Master, District Leader and Eagle Coach. So far, he has served over 36 years in the scouting program.

So what was I doing all this time? Well, I was a Den Leader three times with each of our boys. So I did my part. One of my favorite perks of working with the Cub Scouts was teaching the boys to sing. We sang for every Den and Pack meeting. We learned all of the great silly songs that were in the BSA songbook. We made crude but awesome homemade instruments. We learned to play chimes and even had a pop bottle orchestra. But mostly we sang. BOYS CAN SING! Don't ever let them tell you otherwise!

For our Pack Meeting opener once, we sang "Put On the Whole Armor of God." The theme for this Pack meeting was actually about Medieval Times. The boys made their own armor, helmets, shields, foam swords, jousting poles, etc. But of course, we wanted them to understand what was the most important armor they should wear. I was so pleased with their singing. They loved the song and the parents were impressed with their gusto!

I love Singing Scouts!

Writing New Hymns and Primary Songs

9/7/2018

So many people of my acquaintance are talking about submitting new children's songs or hymns for the new editions of the Primary Songbook and LDS Hymnal. There is quite the buzz!

When I was in college in the late '70's, there was also a buzz going around about submitting hymns for a new hymnal. Many of my musical friends were writing new texts and setting them to music or finding existing hymn texts and crafting new tunes to go with them. I actually don't know if any of their hymns were submitted, but I do know that none of them were included into the 1985 hymnal.

I asked the General Music Chairman once what the committee's criteria was for choosing hymns or children's songs to go in a new songbook. He didn't give me any real guidance, only that the songs would have to be award winners in the Music Submissions contest held yearly. Wonder if that will be the case as they work to create these new music collections? Elder David B. Haight came to our Stake Conference back when the 1985 hymnal was still pretty new. We were preparing to use a few of the newer hymns as part of Stake Conference. He had an interesting reaction. He said that he oversaw part of the selection process of the 1985 Hymnal. He was so tired of the straining and stressing over the new hymns that he asked if we would just sing some of the old familiar tunes. It must be a monumental task to choose the hymns and songs for use throughout the entire Church!

My sister has been after me to write a new baptism song for years. She said recently that this was my chance to write a good one and get it submitted. Since she obviously had particular ideas, I asked her to get me started with words and concepts for the song. We were out to lunch with friends and she immediately whipped out her phone, wrote out a few lines and emailed them to me. Five minutes! That is all it took her to come up with these words. She has been in charge of Stake Baptisms for children for many years. She has often thought that we needed a song about keeping the baptism covenant.

I made my first covenant today
I chose to live the Savior's way
My heavenly brother I will serve
His blessings I will try to deserve
The Hioly Ghost is my constant guide
I will feel his warmth daily by my side
I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ
I love my Savior Jesus Christ

So, using these concepts as a starting point, I went home and wrote her a new song. Here's what I came up with.

My baptism is the first covenant I make.
I choose to live and love and serve in the Savior’s ways.
I want to follow Christ, His blessings to receive.
I promise to obey His words and show that I believe.

The Holy Ghost will be companion at my side.
And if I listen obediently, he’ll always be my guide.
He’ll whisper quietly, the truth he’ll testify.
I’ll feel his warmth and comfort, too, as I do all I’ve promised to.
I’ll learn to choose the right and my covenant I’ll keep.

I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ and His promises are sweet.
I’ll repent and endure through all my life and my covenant I’ll keep.
My baptism covenant I’ll keep.

Using Transition Songs in Primary

5/17/2016

Transition songs can be almost any song you choose, preferably short songs --- such as "Reverently Quietly" as a reverent song transitioning to a quiet activity, or "We Bow Our Heads" as a Prayer Song, or "My Hands" as a wiggle song to be used going from a quiet story in Sharing Time to an Activity such as coloring in Sharing Time. The key is to use the same Transition songs for a long enough time. You may want to use the same Opening Song, Prayer Song, Reverence Song and Wiggle Song for an entire month. These can be signals for what comes next.

The Opening song (always a song about Heavenly Father or Christ and His Gospel) calls the meeting to order and signals when to focus on the speaker at the pulpit for announcements. The Prayer song signals to fold your arms and get ready for prayer. The Reverent Song can be used at any moment to transition from a louder activity to a quiet story or talk or a special Guest's message. The "wiggle" song is important to use as a change of pace or for when the children just need to move. It is important to have variations in
doing a wiggle song - fast, slow, loud, soft, high, low. It can be done
with broad movements or completely silent or anything in between depending
on what needs to be taught or accomplished. "My Hands" is an excellent choice because it ends quietly with the arms folded. When the children understand that there are plenty of different activities in Primary including movement and creative expression, they are very willing to sit patiently through the periods of quiet time.

NEVER --- AT ANY TIME --- and I repeat --- NEVER should the singing be allowed to get out of control with yelling, wildness, or using obnoxious sounds, disrespectful voices or motions. (Most kids, when given the chance will always opt for silliness over respectfulness. So never give them that
opportunity!!!!) Children naturally have light high voices and should
NEVER be encouraged to sing louder than their instruments can produce
healthfully. If children are encouraged to yell, they do not learn to
LISTEN to and match PITCHES. A good music leader should ALWAYS try to teach in-tune singing!!!!!!! The children should be encouraged to fill up
with air and use their support muscles to sing with beauty. That is true
power. They should be taught that music can be a conduit to the Spirit.
Through their lovely in-tune singing, they can invite the Spirit to be with
them in Primary.

I have visited many, many Ward Primaries throughout the Church and a common problem is that the inexperienced Song Leader does not realize that by encouraging the children to sing loudly and always do big actions, they
are creating their own worst nightmares. They wonder why the children are
so irreverent and uncontrollable and why they do silly things like jump up
when they sing "Jesus wants me for a Sun -- BEEP!" Save the silly actions
for the wiggle songs and cultivate an attitude of respect for songs about
Jesus Christ, our Savior and Redeemer.

I know through many years of practical experience that these principles
work. My heart aches to see the rising generation growing up without
learning to feel and know the Spirit through these beautiful Primary
songs. When children learn these songs, they can draw upon the powerful
yet simple gospel messages they contain as they need guidance in their
lives.

Musical Transitions

5/16/2016

Several years ago, I had the opportunity to teach music at a school for children with learning differences. These children came to this special school to learn reading, writing, math, science, all the subjects, even though they had difficulties with dyslexia, dysgraphia, executive functioning disorders, Asperger's Syndrome, many problems on the Autism spectrum, and other types of learning differences. In working with these children, I was encouraged to use Music in particular ways to help them TRANSITION from one activity to another activity. The younger children especially needed very regular patterns and schedules to help them feel comfortable during the class period and help them understand and patiently endure the passing of time.

We teachers were encouraged to post the daily class schedule on the board or on a poster in the front of the class. Our 40 minute periods needed to be divided into activities that could be accomplished in small increments time. And each period needed to be scheduled in a very regular pattern of expected activities. A major goal of this school was to help these students learn to manage themselves, their expectations, their patience and comfort levels, so that they could function doing difficult learning tasks.

Even the regular classroom teachers used music for TRANSITIONS between activities. Music helped regulate the tasks and help the students know what was expected of them. A certain song was played to help the K-3 students finish a task and put away their "tools." A certain song was played to set the mood of the activity. A certain song was played to unify the group in getting excited about an activity, or calm them down for a quiet activity, etc.

At the same time, our Ward Primary had two young people with severe Autism. The presidency was at their wits end trying to figure out what to do to see to their needs as well as serve the other children in Primary. I suggested that we use some of the same principles I was using at this special school. We made a Schedule poster for the front of the classroom and gave the two children their own smaller version of the schedule poster. Their versions were laminated so that they could mark when we had accomplished each of the sections of the schedule. We decided that until the schedule was well understood, we would use the same songs as TRANSITIONS between activities. We used the same Reverence Song, Prayer Song, Activity Song, and other short songs as TRANSITIONS for an entire month. The Opening Exercises, Sharing and Music Times went on as normal, but a bit more time regimented.

What we discovered is that all of the children in Primary benefited from the regularities of the schedule. Reverence was at a high level because the children understood the routines. They could manage to be still and quiet during the Opening Exercises because they knew it was fairly short. Then they would get a "wiggle song" to help them TRANSITION to Sharing Time or Music time. We learned to "read" the signs of just how long our presentations could reasonably be, and learned to adjust accordingly to maintain reverence or interest in the activity.

Before long, routines were in place and we no longer needed the Schedule Posters (but we kept to the routine). The key ingredient in our success was to use MUSIC for TRANSITIONS. Music is a Heavenly gift. And where something has a use for GOOD, the Adversary understands it has an equal use for nefarious purposes. May we understand and always use MUSIC FOR GOOD.

The Nativity Song

10/27/2014

New for Christmas!

This arrangement of Patricia Kelsey Graham's beloved Primary Song was originally written for my family to perform at the Festival of Lights Christmas Concert Series at the Washington D.C. Temple Visitor's Center. We love to sing in parts and take turns singing solo. This is a very versatile arrangement for SATB Choir with soloists, duets, trios, and even children. It is perfect to use when creating a live Nativity Scene at your Christmas event.

Available now at Jackman Music and Deseret Book stores

This Is Show Biz

9/1/2014

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 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 shifting 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!

The Music of Betsy Lee Bailey copyright 2020