Music and Lyrics

Dear Reader,  I am in the process of applying to the Brigham Young University School of Music right now. As part of the application, there are a couple of essays about my motivations for wanting to teach music. I wanted to share my response to this question because I want to make it clear how I feel about music. Just the other day, I was walking down the street with a friend, talking about careers when I realized that I don't talk much about how much I want everyone in the world to be able to participate in music. As an experiment, I started singing. Sure enough, my friend started singing along with me.  With that in mind, here are the question and my response.  An analysis and discussion of your motivation to teach. Why do you want to teach classroom music as a career? The principle reasons for wanting to teach classroom music come from experience both inside the classroom and out. Music educators have so much power to influence the lives of everyone around t

Dear Reader,  Here goes another poem. This one has a little more rhyme. It is still an odd form that I don't think even exists: One says you're right, Another says you're wrong Still others say it depends Some declare left, Others extreme right And this one really trends Heard above and below From all corners around Voices rise up, fall down They drag listeners down Sometimes their heads below Almost always with a frown Which is true? Which one lies? Do they know themselves? So many lies Quickly they brew Some created by ourselves This religion, that one there One group extreme, without hair What stays in your head? Political parties, Frat boys too So many noises it's like a zoo Some claim to see the dead Which should you listen to? One that seems right to you. For those who are wondering, the title of today's post comes from an original song by Celtic Woman, a group of incredibly talented singers and instrumentalists. Check out their websit

Dear Reader, I had this poetic-ish insight the other day. Let me know what you think! There are many takes on love on life. I compare mine to a jacket and a tie. The tie, so rich a purple, makes me look good and clean-cut; the jacket a little rough. The jacket is heavy and worth a lot, yet the tie is pretty tough. The tie came from a friend, the jacket from a lover, from which I could never recover.  The tie has several missing strands from years of use, but good sentimental value. The jacket keeps me warm and picks me up while feeling blue.  They are both part of my life, despite not being equal.  Both, however, affect my heart and cause it to be full. I will hold them both dear, but we will see if they will return the favor.  However, leaving the poetry, there is another aspect to these two articles of clothing. I wear both of them every Sunday. What significance does that have? It is the Lord's day. It represents very well how both of them are. They ar

Dear Reader, The time has come again to look back on last year and look ahead to this next year: 2015! Yes, this is the year that Marty McFly comes to the future from his home in 1985, but that doesn't come for a few months (October 21st, to be exact). If you have no idea who Marty McFly is, go watch " Back to the Future ." In honor of the new year, I wanted to share a quick summary of what I hope to accomplish this year. Every year, I implement something I learned from my seminary teacher years ago. He showed us a scripture in the book of Luke about Jesus Christ's life: " And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man." (Luke 2:52) It is interesting to note that this scripture is basically the only knowledge we have of Christ's life between the ages of 12 and 30, when he begins his ministry on the earth. My seminary teacher took this scripture and uses it to plan out new year resolutions. He makes a goal for of th