Music and Lyrics

Dear Reader, For those of you who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, participating in music is probably at least a weekly occurrence, if not more often. For those of you who are not members of the Church, you probably already know that every week during church meetings, there are always hymns and music being produced by the members. We sing hymns in sacrament meeting, sometimes in other Sunday meetings and put together special musical numbers for special events like ward parties. With all this live/untouched music, a question came to mind: why does the church not switch to using recordings of all the hymns in sacrament meeting or other common church events? One of my favorite songs when I was growing up Considering the secular side of music, why is it that we long to hear our favorite bands in person? Why do we jam stadiums, crowd clubs and book live wedding music? The answer, my friend, is divine. Music is a source of creativity. Music re...

Dear Reader, This is a rare post when I can tell you about music one of my friends wrote. Taylor Miranda, a friend and coworker of mine, got together with her friends and wrote this great song called " Live or Survive " for their song-writing class at Brigham Young University. The thing is, the song is really, REALLY good. So, they decided to make a goal to put said song into the upcoming Hunger Games film, "Mockingjay, Part 2." A phenomenon started. People on Youtube have already started using the song for their video montages of the "Hunger Games" films. They have had their song played on different sites and the group, TREN, has been interviewed by KSL News and highlighted by LDS Living . As of late, they have also made a spot in the Deseret News ! If you don't know a whole lot about the "Hunger Games," the series is a story about a society with a terrible infrastructure and corrupt government that rules with fear. The story de...

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 everyon...

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, It is that time of year. Everyone seems to fall in love. Every song you hear seems to say, "Merry Christmas, may your New Year dreams come true." This year that is the case. This year I have been focusing a lot more on why we celebrate Christmas. The video above shares that. I just have to add my testimony to what has been shared. I know that Christ was born with a specific purpose. He was born to perform the Atonement. The night of His birth was a very significant day for the entire world and I am glad we have the time to spend with our families and remember what He has done for us. Tonight I wanted to make a list of songs commemorating Christmas. They are linked to a favorite arrangement for each song on Youtube. The intent was to have as many different artists as possible. If you have any you would like to add, just let me know through your comments or emails. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night! " Mary Did You Know? "  "...

Dear Friends, As I have mentioned before, Barbershop is a big part of life. In "The Christmas Song," there is the line about tiny tots having a hard time sleeping because they are so excited to see if Santa is coming. When it comes to singing, I am like a tiny tot with a glow in my eye. It is the best! Singing with a group is one of the greatest experiences anyone can have in their lifetime. With that, I will share parts of the concert we put on last weekend. Combined choruses from Utah Valley put on a concert in Lindon. Below are the videos of our songs. Our quartet, Ever Higher, sang "The Christmas Song." Mountain West Voices with their rendition of "Homeless." Soloist: Josh Wiser.  The Short Version of "Silent Night." Soloist: Clayton Watts.

Dear Reader,  There are some things in life that are just unattainable in a lifetime. The culture of Flamenco dancing/music is one of those things. There are so many influences from different areas of the world that no one knows where it started really. It is kind of like milking a cow; no one really knows who the first person was to look at a cow’s utters and think, “Let’s drink what comes out of those!” It is something that is amazing but has little known about its origin. Anyway, that was a random tangent. Allow me to return to this week’s trip. The three dancers for the show (See below) We took a trip to Córdoba, Sevilla and Granada this week. Wednesday night was the highlight, possibly the best night of the entire program (There is still another month, so we will see if that holds true). The night consisted of a trip to the only Flamenco Museum in the world, which resides in Sevilla.   It was kind of an adventure getting there because the building is on a ...

Dear Reader, When looking my Facebook timeline or at my twitter account, you can see that I haven't uploaded nearly as many pictures in the past couple of weeks as were posted during my first couple of weeks here in Spain. I have had an epiphany in the past week or so. To me it seems that the internet, selfies, videos, links, etc, are all meant for one thing: to share an experience with someone or multiple people who were not present for the original experience. The thought came to mind that the pictures I have posted have the purpose of sharing my great experiences with you, my friend. They say a picture says a thousand words. This is true. However, there is much more than that. For example, you can see that we are happy and enjoying ourselves in this picture in front of the great city of Toledo. However, I discovered that, unless you were there with us, you do not fully appreciate the view that was behind us. You do not fully appreciate that Liz has a fantastic smile de...

Dear Reader,  I had a dream about Disneyland and the magic that is made there. It went something like this... “ Walking down Main Street USA at Disneyland, CA, is magical. On either side there are characters from beloved shows children grow up with. At the end of the street is the Disney Castle that is famous for firework shows and for being a symbol for Disney across the world. Most mornings the street is illuminated by sunshine, adding to the happy, magical atmosphere. There are several different aromas coming from shops on the street, each aroma adding to the excitement each guest feels as they walk down the street. “’Good afternoon! Welcome to Disneyland!’ There is a gorgeous red-head standing on the curb with a bright smile on her face and a large badge that reads Guest Relations. It is apparent that she loves coming to work every day. Her plaid vest appears freshly ironed and her curly hair is brought up in a pony that demonstrates a professional yet friendly d...

Dear Reader, High School Musical's "It's the Start of Something New" is the inspiration for today. I was looking at some blogs online and I wanted to make some changes. I would love to hear what you think! There are many blogs out there that are all unique. I've made some changes here and I hope you find it more appealing now. Finally, just because I love the song so much, here are Troy and Gabriella for your viewing pleasure. Yeah, the movies have some awkward moments, but enjoy the music and the connections that they make...or something like that.  As an update, I would also like to announce that this blog is coming up on 400 posts! In celebration, there is a contest to see what challenge I can complete having to do with the number 400. You can email me what challenge you think would be entertaining/beneficial to the community and it will be considered in the contest. The challenge will be documented and shared here. I look forward to hearing wh...

Dear Reader, Once every couple of weeks, I have the opportunity to translate for Spanish-speaking missionaries at the Missionary Training Center in Provo, UT. Normally, they are Sunday meetings that I translate, like a sacrament meeting or fireside. One of the other meetings they have is called the "New Missionary Purpose Meeting." I love this meeting because it is 2 hours of missionaries learning what it is like to feel the spirit and connect to people they are not used to talking to. Here's how it works. The meeting is split up into three different parts, during which the group of missionaries (usually about 60 elders and sisters) has the opportunity to meet a different person and teach them about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. During the first two parts of the meeting, there are two missionaries who start off the visit by knocking on the door and coming into the "house" that been set up. After a few minutes, a moderator excuses the other missionaries an...

Dear Reader, Have I ever mentioned how great my dad is? I am certainly lucky to have him. My father follows in the footsteps of my grandparents as a person who is incredibly patient, intellectual, talented and bald (See photo above). Seriously, I can only remember a handful of times where he has lost control of his emotions. Actually the only I can think of off the top of my head is a certain basketball game during a stake tournament. Even then, he wasn't playing. He was the referee and had to raise his voice to a player who was out of line. I feel the need to emphasize that the player was WAY out of line. The main point is that my dad a very patient man.  He is also very intellectual. He may not seem like it because he doesn't talk a lot, but he is very logical when he thinks and can make a good argument on just about any topic. There was one night that we discussed at length (about 30 minutes) the quality of the numbers 2 and 3. We were trying to determine which...

Dear Readers, That title actually has very little significance for this post. I thought you ought to know. Here's just a little update on what is going on in never-ending-music-land. Today we had a rehearsal with The Mountain West Voices . Yes, we are pretty awesome...the whole 8 of us who showed up. Anyway, we had a good long talk about what we want to accomplish with the chorus in this coming year. It was a hard conversation for me to be a part of because I won't be here in the fall, but I gave my opinion when asked. In other news, there will be somekind of barbershop arrangement of 'If I Never Knew You' from Pocahontas  in the future. The identity of the arranger is still in question. So, I guess I'll just share an awesome video with you today. Enjoy!

Dear Reader, Do you remember a few years back when Susan Boyle did so well on Britain's Got Talent  and become immensely famous? She became famous for the song that is the basis for today's post. She sang "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Miserables . For those of you who don't know, the entire story of Les Miserables is kind of a downer. The most depressing part is the story of Fantine, the woman who sings "I Dreamed a Dream." She is a single mother who works to support her daughter. At the point where she regales the audience with "I Dreamed a Dream," she has fallen into prostitution and is at the end of her ropes financially, spiritually and emotionally. She reminisces about her days with her lover who left her and how she had a dream when life was good. One of the lines in the song states, "there are dreams that cannot be and there are storms we cannot weather." In other words, she is at the point where there is no point to contin...

Dear Reader, Happy Independence Day! I don't like to say, "Happy 4th of July!" because I like to remember why we commemorate the holiday. It is a great day to remember what freedoms we have in our country and what has been given to achieve and maintain those freedoms. In the Lundstrom Family, Independence Day weekend is also significant because we make time for our family reunion. What is that like? Allow me to elaborate on our fun-filled days together. Imagine this: 94 cousins, brothers, sisters, moms, dads, children, grandmas, grandpas, aunts, uncles and any other relation you can think of. Add $60-worth of fireworks, 25ish rubber balls, a couple of soccer balls, a Frisbee, card games (Phase 10, Uno, etc), a park, some cones, horse shoes, softball, a BBQ, a couple hundred water balloons, some water guns, 3 blow-up pools, enough food for the people mentioned above, a hammock, and a plethora of chairs. Fit all of this into a 48-hour period. That is just the beginning...

Dear Reader, Sarah Bareilles wrote a song about saying what needs to be said. The song says we should say what we want to say and not be afraid to do so. The song is really a challenge to the listener. I think it is a challenge to those who have a hard time deciphering the difference between staying silent to avoid contention and staying silent to avoid contention. Does that make sense? It probably doesn't. I'll explain. Here are the lyrics to Sarah Bareilles' song to give a little more background (Without the repeated chorus lines):   You can be amazing You can turn a phrase into a weapon or a drug You can be the outcast Or be the backlash of somebody’s lack of love Or you can start speaking up Nothing’s gonna hurt you the way that words do When they settle ‘neath your skin Kept on the inside and no sunlight Sometimes a shadow wins But I wonder what would happen if you Say what you wanna say And let the words fall out Honest...

Dear Reader, Have you heard a barbershop quartet before? The most common thought about barbershop is an image of 4 guys in striped vests, most of the time in the musical   The Music Man.  Yeah, these guys are pretty cool. There are many quartets around the country that keep this line of music going. You can listen to   Storm Front ,   Ringmasters   or   Vocal Spectrum.   They travel around and keep the whole world singing. Yesterday was their day: National Barbershop Quartet Day! I also sing in a quartet. We call ourselves   Ever Higher . I think that name comes from Nick's incessant need to sing high tenor parts. Anyway, the Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS) was founded on April 11, 1938. This is now national barbershop day.  In honor of Barbershop, I want to write all about the chapter of that society based out of Provo, Utah. The group is   Mountain West Voices,  also has part to do with the Brigham Young Univer...

Dear Reader, Have you ever heard the song "Letter to Me" by Brad Paisley? It elaborates on an interesting idea of writing to a younger version of himself. What would you write to yourself at a younger age? I have often thought about time travel and changing the past and have discovered a few things. First of all, if something in the past is changed, the entire future is altered. For example, if you write a letter to yourself at the age of 18 with instructions to not participate in a certain activity, your memory of that activity is erased and the opportunities and lessons learned from the experience are lost, perhaps never to be returned. That means that if it were possible to change the past, you could only change one thing about it. If you want to know more about this concept, I suggest that you watch the Back to the Future trilogy (1985). However, if we ignore this first discovery, it is fun to think about what might have been if we did things differently. How would ...