Unitarian Hymnal Sing-along

In which Kathryn attempts to sing a different song everyday from the Unitarian Universalist hymnal, 'Singing the Living Tradition'. Earlier posts are based on songs from the Reader's Digest songbooks she found at yard sales as a child, including: 'Reader's Digest Treasury of Best Loved Songs', 'Reader's Digest Family Songbook', and 'Reader's Digest Family Songbook of Faith and Joy'. Bonus Folk song material from: 'Folk Song USA', by John and Alan Lomax.

12 July 2006

"Suddenly There's a Valley"

Ah. A song not talking about God. My daughter didn't like this one, but it was a nice break for me. It didn't say anything profound, but there were no glaringly silly lines in it, either. After 250 posts (and almost that many songs, not counting the 'not-really-a-post' posts), I am coming to appreciate the small details of melody and phrase. I'm amazed that there are as many good songs as there are. I'm also hoping that at some point all this will inspire me to find those points of departure into new ground, and again write songs of my own.

'Suddenly There's a Valley': suddenly that isn't making sense. All I can think, when there's a valley, is that I'll have to hike back up the mountain out of this bugger. Sure, take a few pictures, but let's move on.

I've been thinking more about using my voice, and even music in a more general sense, as a job. This is radical ground, confronting the very demons of my childhood, those that speak with my father's voice and say, 'Get a career in Computer Science, and then later you can have music as a hobby. Don't study it now.' So, of course, I had a double major. That was a concession, I know, but I did know on some level he was right: I had no great operatic talent, I would not make piles of money singing. And here I am, a massage therapist. I didn't need to go to college after all.

My voice teacher has been quite an inspiration, though. How about doing spoken voice work? How about doing regular mini-classes in private schools for children? There are other outlets for what I have to share. Meanwhile, and easily, I can still be leading the adult singers at my daughter's school (until I am overthrown by a coup), and I'm getting together with a few friends to consider the wacky idea of forming a band. Life is far from over.

1 Comments:

At 10:25 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I've always thought you would be wonderful at doing voiceovers, or books on tape, or something.

You do know that we met in the first place because of your voice (and the personality it conveyed), don't you? I think of that, from time to time... if you had not, just on accident because the phone answerer person was away, answered Arthur's phone, I never would have met you.

 

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