fluent in mumble

fluent in mumble is moving

2007-09-04T22:31:00.001-06:00

Yes, it's true. This blog, which has been well-used at its BlogSpot location, is making the leap to the WordPress platform, and I'm moving on up to local hosting! (Ooh! Ahh!) That means I don't have to rely on Blogger's, well, reliability, for better or for worse. It also means I get to tackle problems by myself.

The BlogSpot blog will remain in its place for the moment, but it will not be updated in the foreseeable future. Please update your links to the new, improved fluent in mumble:

Blog URL: http://gratemedia.com/fluentinmumble
RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/gratemedia/fluentinmumble

music philosophy, part 1

2007-08-30T23:44:00.000-06:00

As I was speaking with a fellow musician today (he is the teacher in whose classroom I am student teaching), we got onto the subject of jazz. I mentioned that I can't stand to listen to a jazz station for long periods. This got us into a good conversation about modern music and what gives good music its "edge." I have a few philosophical points to share on this:

All music comes from somewhere. It may be an outgrowth of the culture from which it springs. It may be a facsimile of what the musicians have heard before. Music has origins, from a child playing chopsticks to the newest punk rock band. If you analyzed every musical influence which has brushed past my ears, you could probably identify where every good musical idea I've had was used by somebody before me. Real musicians steal. No, I take that back. Real musicians take existing elements and organize them into a recognizable, effective form. Isn't that what God did when creating the world?
The best music is organic. I don't mean that it's free from pesticides and genetic modification. I mean that the best music has a refined human element. Various software tries to emulate human musical performance, and some do a good job. But the best music is felt not only by the audience, but by the performer in the very act. It contains human characteristics (like trademark imperfections) that make it real. The best music is never played the same twice, because the right interpretation for the moment is determined by the venue and the audience and what the musicians had for dinner. Little things that seem inconsequential change the performance immensely for musicians who are willing to follow the natural unfolding of music.
Good musicians are becoming fewer in the world. Why? Attention span, for one. How many children have the drive to practice an instrument daily? How many adults? I see a critical difference between this generation and the generation of our parents: mediocre music no longer requires musicians. Before the technology of the 90s and beyond put a studio within the grasp of any bozo with a synthesizer, making music required live musicians. There were, of course, recordings, but they were made with live musicians as well. Now, musicianship has become novel. It is one thing to play Guitar Hero and quite another to be a musician. But disturbingly, many of us under 30 devote significantly more time to video games than to any real skill-building activity.

new women's trio arrangement

2007-08-29T17:15:00.000-06:00

I suppose I've never been a huge fan of women's trio literature. I was in a children's choir, so I've sung quite a few SSA pieces, but I love the fuller sound and increased chord options available with only one additional part. But some type of bug must have bitten me the other night, and thus I arranged Father in Heaven for SSA women's voices. I'm really happy with the result. Get the sheet music at http://gratemusic.com/songs/Father_in_Heaven.html

some songs are just . . . unfortunate

2007-08-28T15:58:00.000-06:00

I hate to restart my participation in this blog with something so tragic, but I have found something that must be shared.

I am somewhat a connoisseur of bad music. Whether it's poorly written, ill-conceived, or just plain annoying, I have a love-hate relationship with songs that make me cry for non-sentimental reasons.

To introduce today's installment, I have to say that there is nothing funny about any disease. I believe that it's generally good when people are healthy (unless those people are trying to destroy freedom and justice). I am sad when people are sick.

Glaucoma is a serious problem. The people at the World Glaucoma Association think so, too. They deal with it all the time. Apparently, one of the ways they have decided to fight Glaucoma is by writing and distributing a hymn about it. As a hymnist myself, I was interested, so I downloaded the WMA file and had a listen. Let me just say wow. I have never heard a song like it. I hesitate to say this, but after listening to the Glaucoma hymn, I'm not positive whether the author was for or against the disease.

You can read the lyrics and download the song through this site. You have to click on the little yellow "Glaucoma Hymn" link at the bottom right.

Again, wow.

blog vacation, obviously.

2007-08-18T17:15:00.000-06:00

But we have started the new NoiseBlog at http://gratemusic.com/noiseblog - check it out.

Colombia

2007-04-09T13:51:00.000-06:00

I just returned from a fantastic week in Colombia. Yes, that Colombia. I participated with a choir from our university in an international festival of sacred music during Holy Week. It was fantastic. I will not give an extensive travelogue at this point - I will only say that there are two Colombias: the one you see on CNN and the one I visited. They hardly resemble one another. The people were completely warm and welcoming, and for most of the journey, I felt completely safe. Also, some of the beautiful Latin people I visited expressed similar sentiments - we as people did not reflect what they knew of the United States as a whole.

All people are children of God, and this was confirmed to me in a land where U.S. government employees are forbidden to ride the bus.

Related article (including a blurry picture with me in the background): http://www.areacucuta.com/?module=news&file=news&news=4428

noisebox 14 march, 2007

2007-03-23T16:01:00.001-06:00

Volume 2, Issue 4

Thanks for subscribing to the Noisebox, bringing you Grate news about Joyful Noise. We had some technical issues with sending the Noisebox last week, so here is the update for 14 March 2007. Another new piece will be posted within the next few days, so keep an eye out. Here's what's new at gratemusic.com and LDSmusic.us right now:

14 March 2007
when godly sorrow moves the soul

David Macfarlane has produced a beautiful new recording of the award-winning hymn When Godly Sorrow Moves the Soul, which he composed with Nathan Howe. The hymn about repentance and the atonement of Christ was featured at the Church Music Festival on Temple Square last month. Now David Macfarlane's new recording is available through our recordings page.

Note: You now have two options to hear the recording of this piece. First off, you can go to the recordings page and listen to all the tracks we have available through our new Radio.Blog music player at the bottom of the page. Just click on the song title to listen. If you like a song and wish to download it, follow the links from the recordings page to access the MP3.

Thanks,
Grate Music, LLC
http://gratemusic.com
http://LDSmusic.us

http://NoiseBox.net

We do not send unsolicited e-mail.
Feel free to forward the Noisebox to anybody who may enjoy the music.
To subscribe, e-mail noisebox_subscribe@gratemusic.com

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be prepared

2007-03-22T02:01:00.000-06:00

Two things I learned within ten minutes of each other:

1. The Red Cross office in my town is being permanently closed. Donations dropped off right after Katrina.

2. The Red Cross has a very successful new ad campaign in California. I like their new in-your-face approach. http://blog.wired.com/design/2007/03/masterpieces_of.html

Start stocking up on necessities, folks. I'm not an alarmist - it's just a good idea.

Addendum: You may sign up for free Red Cross news updates and make a donation at http://www.redcross.org.

state of the lds music union: overall analysis

2007-03-13T11:23:00.000-06:00

Overall analysis:

Of course we have made progress, but I forsee that the next ten years will be significantly more challenging for the LDS music industry. There will be increased demand, but it will be fulfilled more and more by several small companies rather than a large Deseret/Seagull conglomorate. And Deseret will fight back, trying to buy out the little guys as they become popular. I predict that the songwriting and arranging styles will have to undergo a major overhaul in the next decade, and that LDS consumers will start becoming more discriminating in their tastes, so LDS musicians will have to rise to the challenge of producing higher quality music for which the LDS consumer will willingly pay. Overall, our industry is suffering from piracy and divisions within, and I do not see that those problems will be easily solved in the next several years. However, some will succeed, and they will be the ones whose focus is on sharing the truth more than turning a profit.

state of the lds music union: other considerations

2007-03-13T11:22:00.000-06:00

Other Considerations:

Marketing: It has generally become less ethical. Yet LDS people have also established a pattern of illegal copying, which makes real sales harder to make. This will be a big issue in the industry in the next ten years.
Distribution: It is more widespread, and thus more competitive. The advent of self-distribution online is good for independent artists, but not necessarily for the quality of product received.
Style overall: Too similar to what was available 10 years ago. We see many LDS songwriters but few great LDS composers.

state of the lds music union: vocal performance

2007-03-13T11:20:00.000-06:00

Vocal performance:

Again, at the high end, we see that it has improved slightly, but the style has not changed radically. On the amateur hobbyist end, things are worse than ever because we hear so many more of them. (I should say at this point that I probably ought to consider myself an amateur hobbyist, but I do take pride in what I do and try to make it the best possible considering my resources.) I have not heard a new LDS singer/songwriter in the past 5 years whose voical stylings were irresistably wonderful beyond what is already available. So much is ptich-corrected, overproduced, and overcompressed (especially in the EFY subgenre) that actual vocal talent seems less of an issue today than it was ten years ago.

state of the lds music union: arrangements

2007-03-13T11:18:00.000-06:00

Arragements:

I hesitate to say they are better. For recorded music, they require more gadgets. Synthesizers have improved, so the arrangements sound better in production. Some, like Mack Wilberg, Tyler Castleton, and Enoch Train, have certainly bloomed in their arranging skills in the last decade. But as far as the overall quality of most arrangements we hear, both on CDs and in Church, I think we are continuing to settle for less.

state of the lds music union: production and recording

2007-03-13T11:16:00.000-06:00

Production values and Recording Quality:

They have increased and decreased at the same time. Part of this has to do with the reduction in cost for decent recording equipment and software. If I had started out doing what I do ten years ago, the technology I have now would have been far beyond my means, and I run a pretty bare-bones operation. It is possible to set up a home studio for $500 if you already have a computer. This means that more people have access to recording and distribution of music.

On the high end, production values have increased tremendously. You can listen to the current EFY CDs, and they are much better in sound quality and production than in 1997. However, a flood of amateur music is washing over the industry in general, and that is especially the case in LDS music where (as I mentioned above) the consumers don't seem to care about quality.

state of the lds music union: songwriting

2007-03-13T11:14:00.000-06:00

Songwriting (as a craft):

Much improved. I am especially encouraged that more LDS musicians seem to be writing on themes of the Restoration. Looking a decade back at the songs of Michael McLean and other similar artists, many of them were quasi-ecumenical songs (pretty, but with not much doctrine) which were mostly designed to make the listener feel good. I sense that among the good LDS songwriters of today (and there are also plenty of bad ones, as always), we have learned to teach truth with more accuracy and boldness while improving the music to which it is set.

On the other side of the coin, the LDS consumer has been conditioned to accept and perpetuate musical rubbish simply for the fact that it is "LDS." Listen to KZION, for example (I do), and within an hour you will hear some lovely, well-conceived, well-developed music alongside some terrible, yet heartfelt, songs with four chords and lyrics that don't fit into the musical lines. Many LDS people are well educated in music, but consciously ignore their musical sensibilities when it comes to Church music. This was necessary ten or fifteen years ago because of the lack of good music, but we need to have a paradigm shift as a people and begin demanding excellence. We also need to become willing to pay for excellence when we find it.

state of the lds music union

2007-03-13T11:08:00.000-06:00

On the LDS Musicians group, Michael R. Hicks proposed that we look back on the past ten years in the LDS music industry and reflect on our progress in specific areas. To avoid posting one huge block of text, I will post my "State of the (LDS Music) Union" address in topical segments, beginning with the preamble:

Disclaimer:

In 1997 I was a freshman in high school and I had never heard of EFY (I subsequently attended in 1998). I started seriously writing LDS music in 2000, but I did not do any performances of it in the U.S until 2004 or make any attempt at publishing until 2006. However, I am quite familiar with what is out there - when I go to Utah, I always stop in at DI and look for "vintage" LDS recordings, and I have analyzed much of the currently available repertoire with some detail.

Essentially, I am new, but not inexperienced.

First off, I think we need to define the difference between "LDS music" and secular/general Christian music by LDS artists. They are not the same. Kenneth Cope and Jon Schmidt, for example, have significant followings outside the Church because they produce a segment of their products for the general non-LDS public. In this analysis, I am talking about music specifically produced for and marketed toward members of the Church.

Now to the list...

audience police

2007-03-12T18:18:00.000-06:00

WARNING: If you are rude at a formal concert, expect to get a ticket. I've just finished Audience Police, our newest sub-site on NoiseBox.net. You can print tickets to give to people who do rude things, like:

clapping within a set
loudly unwrapping candies and cough drops
neglecting to take their screaming children to the lobby
using cell phones during the show

Are you ready to join the Audience Police force? Go to noisebox.net/audiencepolice and get started.

noisebox

2007-03-07T12:03:00.000-07:00

This one was a bit of a rushed job, but it turned out better than some pieces I have done with plenty of time to spare. I wrote this arrangement for one of our local missionaries to use at a conference this weekend with Elder Henry B. Eyring. I hope it goes well.

Noisebox 07 March 2007
Volume 2, Issue 3
Crusader's Hymn

Basses and altos, rejoice! In response to popular demand for solos written for lower voices, Grate Music presents Nathan Howe's new solo arrangement of the Crusader's Hymn, also known as Beautiful Savior or Fairest Lord Jesus. A higher version for baritone and mezzo types will be released soon. Get it through our solos page.

new website

2007-03-06T12:09:00.000-07:00

It's still in early development, but I am working on a new site, NoiseBox.net. It is a place where musicians and poets can get low-cost profile pages for people to sample their work and find out where to buy it. Still in the process of getting artists and poets on board (so far, I've just been working hard to get the site up and running). But that's one reason I haven't posted much lately. Also, my sister is getting married.

history of world religions in 90 seconds

2007-02-28T11:11:00.000-07:00

This doesn't show the spread of specific denominations or acknowledge any of the minor (yet significant) religions of the world, but it's quite interesting and worth the minute and a half that it takes to run.

noisebox

2007-02-26T23:13:00.000-07:00

New Noisebox today. This song had an interesting little process - David and I recorded our parts several hundred miles away from each other, and then I mixed them together here.

Volume 2, Issue 3
26 February 2007
Miracle of Faith

You have already heard the piano music to Nathan Howe's new solo Miracle of Faith on the YFE 2006 video from BYU Idaho. Now you can download the MP3 and hear the full song with vocals by David Macfarlane and piano by Nathan Howe through LDSmusic.us. Miracle of Faith celebrates the contribution of the early pioneers and the importance of building our own faith for the benefit of future generations.

Thanks for Listening.

noisebox

2007-02-20T02:00:00.000-07:00

Here's the latest Noisebox. This one took quite a while due to the current busy circumstances of my life at the moment.

20 February 2007
Volume 2 Issue 2
Abide with Me

It took a bit more than a week, but new music is back, with an arrangement of the beloved hymn Abide with Me now available on gratemusic.com and LDSmusic.us. Nathan Howe has arranged it for TTBB chorus and baritone solo, and this arrangement may also be used as a baritone solo with piano or organ playing the chorus parts.

During our long vacation, we have upgraded the site in several ways, including easier navigation and updated browser compliance. Also, we have added a song index to gratemusic.com. You can find any available piece on gratemusic.com or LDSmusic.us, listed by title.

microsoft firefox?

2007-02-16T23:19:00.000-07:00

Yep. It's awesome.

http://www.msfirefox.com/

noisebox

2007-02-02T23:14:00.000-07:00

Volume 2, Issue 1
02 February 2007:
back to work, almost

After our extended winter vacation, new music will begin once more next week on gratemusic.com and LDSmusic.us. While you wait, check out our exciting news!First, at 7:30 the evening of Friday, 9 February 2007, the annual Church Music Festival is happening at the Assembly Hall on Temple Square. A choir will be performing When Godly Sorrow Moves the Soul, which received an award of distinction in the Church Music Contest for 2006. If you are around Salt Lake, feel free to come and listen. It is not a large venue, so be sure to get there early. If you do come, please come and say hello after the performance. Both David Macfarlane and Nathan Howe will be in attendance. Details are on the calendar at LDS.org

Secondly, Nathan Howe has written a song, Miracle of Faith, to accompany a video produced by BYU-Idaho to promote its YFE program. You can view the video on their website: http://www.byui.edu/ce/youth/video/yfevideo.htm.

a test

2007-01-25T18:20:00.000-07:00

Could you pass this test now? Could an eighth grade teacher pass this test now? This is a test from Salina, Kansas. Text reprinted from here.

8th Grade Final Exam: Salina, Kansas - 1895
This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 from Salina, Kansas. It was taken from the original document on file at the Smoky Valley Genealogical Society and Library in Salina, Kansas and reprinted by the Salina Journal.

Grammar (Time, one hour)
1. Give nine rules for the use of Capital Letters.
2. Name the Parts of Speech and define those that have no modifications.
3. Define Verse, Stanza and Paragraph.
4. What are the Principal Parts of a verb? Give Principal Parts of do, lie, lay and run.
5. Define Case, Illustrate each Case.
6. What is Punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of Punctuation.
7-10. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.

Arithmetic (Time, 1.25 hours)
1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.
2. A wagon box is 2 ft. deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. wide. How many
bushels of wheat will it hold?
3. If a load of wheat weighs 3942 lbs., what is it worth at 50cts. per bu,
deducting 1050 lbs. for tare?
4. District No. 33 has a valuation of $35,000. What is the necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals?
5. Find cost of 6720 lbs. coal at $6.00 per ton.
6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7 percent.
7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft. long at $.20 per inch?
8. Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent.
9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance around which is 640 rods?
10.Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt.

U.S. History (Time, 45 minutes)
1. Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided.
2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus.
3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.
4. Show the territorial growth of the United States.
5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas.
6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion.
7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton, Bell, Lincoln, Penn, and Howe?
8. Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849, and 1865?

Orthography (Time, one hour)
1. What is meant by the following: Alphabet, phonetic orthography, etymology, syllabication?
2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?
3. What are the following, and give examples of each: Trigraph, subvocals, diphthong, cognate letters, linguals?
4. Give four substitutes for caret 'u'.
5. Give two rules for spelling words with final 'e'. Name two exceptions under each rule.
6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.
7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: Bi, dis, mis, pre, semi, post, non, inter, mono, super.
8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and name the sign that indicates the sound: Card, ball, mercy, sir, odd, cell, rise, blood, fare, last.
9. Use the following correctly in sentences, Cite, site, sight, fane, fain, feign, vane, vain, vein, raze, raise, rays.
10.Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical marks and by syllabication.

Geography (Time, one hour)
1. What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?
2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas?
3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?
4. Describe the mountains of N.A.
5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia, Odessa, Denver, Manitoba, Hecla, Yukon, St. Helena, Juan Fermandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco.
6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S.
7. Name all the republics of Europe and give capital of each.
8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?
9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the sources of rivers.
10.Describe the movements of the earth. Give inclination of the earth.

The top of the test states: "EXAMINATION GRADUATION QUESTIONS OF SALINE COUNTY, KANSAS April 13, 1895 J.W. Armstrong, County
Superintendent.Examinations at Salina, New Cambria, Gypsum City, Assaria, Falun, Bavaria, and District No. 74 (in Glendale Twp.)"

According to the Smoky Valley Genealogy Society, Salina, Kansas "this
test is the original eighth-grade final exam for 1895 from Salina, KS. An
interesting note is the fact that the county students taking this test were allowed to take the test in the 7th grade, and if they did not pass the test at that time, they were allowed to re-take it again in the 8th grade."

not dead

2007-01-22T18:05:00.000-07:00

It has been quite the hectic few weeks, and I'm taking a slight pause on both this blog and the music websites in order to take care of some small administrative tasks. Like what, you ask?

Submitting music to a particular publisher for wider distribution.
Beginning my last semester of undergraduate classes before student teaching.
Tangling in red tape while trying to apply to student teach.
Fiddling around with the mandolin.
Replacing my hard drive and trying to find all the information it contained in other, non-crashed places.
Rubbing my wife's back while she prepares to write her honors thesis. Very important.
Getting another job, this time at the library, where I will sit behind the circulation desk during hours when nobody comes to the library.
Directing the Institute Choir in Stake Conference. By the way, I love them. They sang very well after a grand total of one hour of rehearsal on the song we performed.
Preparing extra work for the time off I take in February for the Church Music Festival.
Trying to organize time off in April to sing in Columbia.
Organizing and hosting an invitational speech and debate tournament this weekend with 21 high schools currently registered.
Reading and writing submissions for the writing contest held at my university.
A secret project I cannot currently divulge, but which is very important.

So if you don't read much from me in the next few weeks, it is not for lack of noteworthy activity - it is for lack of time and energy to report.

book review

2006-12-28T17:46:00.000-07:00

Over the Christmas weekend, I stumbled upon an unbelieveable book sale. One of the books I grabbed was Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss. I highly recommend it. Truss uses incisive British wit and common sense to defend punctuation. I know that reading about punctuation is not necessarily an exciting prospect to some, but Eats, Shoots and Leaves stands well on its humorous and literary merits. This is not like my high school grammar texts. In the interest of full disclosure, I have been madly in love with the intricacies of punctuation for some time, so I have been wanting to read it since hearing about it on the radio a few years ago. However, I was more than surprised at how enjoyable a read it was, regardless of its content.

http://www.eatsshootsandleaves.com/

the cinnamon toothpaste

2006-12-19T11:56:00.000-07:00

For those of you wondering how my goal to finish the cinnamon toothpaste turned out, here is the result:

This week we went to the Salvation Army store and bought two silver platters, badly tarnished. I spent an evening with rags and my cinnamon toothpaste, cleaning and polishing and polishing and polishing. It used much of the toothpaste, and the rest was contaminated with tarnish, so it now lives under the sink for silver polishing in the future. I started again on the orange toothpaste last night. Once I finish it, I will be ready to switch back to mint, and there will be harmony in the medicine cabinet once again.

noisebox

2006-12-16T03:04:00.000-07:00

The site redesign is finally complete! I can't believe it! Check it out. http://gratemusic.com

Here is the new Noisebox:

Noisebox 15 December 2006 - Volume 1 Issue 18

New design, new carol

Sorry for the long delay in releasing new music. We have been quite busy on the technical end of things. Gratemusic.com has been completely redesigned for easier navigation and future growth. Have a look around and contact us with your feedback.

We proudly announce the release of a new Christmas carol, Peaceful the Night, available through our Christmas page. With lyrics by David Macfarlane and music for SATB voices by Nathan Howe, this carol addresses not only the nativity of Christ, but his role as our creator and redeemer as well as his second coming.

Grate Music, LLC
http://gratemusic.com
http://LDSmusic.us

ask dr. science

2006-12-12T13:17:00.000-07:00

If you haven't heard of him, Dr. Science is one of my media heroes.

Listen.
Read.

free music?

2006-12-07T00:37:00.000-07:00

On the discussion board at KZION LDS Internet Radio, John Hesch asked me:

"...Nate, can you please explain why you think that spiritual music should be given away for free? Why should an LDS artist like yourself give away your music just because you song is about our faith? I don't understand that way of thinking and you're not the first person I have heard this from. LDS authors don't give away their books, LDS movie producers don't give away their movies, LDS artists don't give away their paintings. As an LDS consumer I expect to pay for your music, art, books, etc. What I don't want to do is pay more for your music, art or books just because it is about our faith."

This is a question I get often, and a question with which I continue to struggle. I am posting my answer here as a statement of my current feeling on the subject.

Good question. I don't think all music of a spiritual nature should be just given away, but I do think that it should be accessible. At this point I choose to give mine away because I have reasonably low overhead and I can afford to do so. But any way you slice it, 17 to 20 bucks for a CD with one good song is highway robbery (pardon the pun). Sometimes the ones who really need to hear it are those who can't afford it.

I suppose it depends on the nature of the music and the goal of the artist. For fun songs or songs mostly for entertainment purposes rather than spiritual teaching, I have no problem charging whatever the market will bear. However, if I actually believe the concepts about which I sing in my so-called spiritual songs, I should share that testimony freely to all who would benefit from it. If I claim any degree of divine inspiration in writing a song, it should be primarily for the building up of God's kingdom.

There are production costs. There are administrative costs. I don't generally give away or sell my copyrights or place much music in the public domain. Music is still a business. I just feel that by allowing free access to the music and asking for donations, in time those with more resources will pick up the tab for those who cannot afford to pay. Call me a hippie public radio tote-carrying idealist fool. Maybe I am. At the moment, we are doing better than breaking even on web hosting costs, so I have no real complaints.

This is not to knock artists who use different business models. When I go into the studio to do session work, or when I teach private lessons, do I turn down my rightful payment? Of course not. I also encourage donations when people download my music, I do occasional commissions, and if I was offered a good job making LDS music, I would seriously consider the offer. If I decide to release a CD, I will certainly charge for it. But I will do my best to make it affordable, and I will always offer a good amount of spiritual music for free.

by popular demand

2006-12-05T11:56:00.000-07:00

As a musician, I have a soft spot for music of the most terrible sort. I have to share more, once again with a stern warning. This is not for children. This is not for pets. This may cause your houseplants to wither. I am not responsible for this. I am simply giving you the opportunity to hear . . .

Florence Foster Jenkins singing The Queen of the Night

o holy night (?)

2006-12-03T00:01:00.000-07:00

Possibly the worst version of this song you may ever hear, but somehow also heartfelt. Not for the weak of stomach.

O Holy Night

cultural arts segment: how to tie a cherry stem in a knot with your tongue

2006-12-02T12:36:00.000-07:00

This is the season for Christmas parties for work, school, family reunions, and whatever other reason people can concoct to have everybody over for dinner or those tiny little appetizers I can never spell the French word for. Here on fluent in mumble, I like to give my readers a variety of useful, culturally relevant subjects. This is one of those. It's only good at really boring or awkward dinners. Sometimes when everybody else has booze and you're sipping a Shirley Temple, it's nice to have a way to stand out besides your engaging conversational style. Take this as my gift to fellow teetotalers around the globe.

Here is my method to tie the stem of a Maraschino cherry in an overhand knot:

If possible choose a longer stem, especially if you are a beginner.
Be sure to practice before you actually try this at a dinner.
Plan for if you ignore step 2: If you are desperate to do this before you have mastered it, just get a drink with lots of cherries, discreetly tie one of the stems under the table in a believeable overhand knot and slip it in your mouth unnoticed. Wait a few minutes, then make a show of putting another straight stem in your mouth, contort your face a bit (be sure to give it enough time that people will believe you), then spit out your pre-knotted stem elegantly onto a spoon.
No, that wasn't the WHOLE plan. If you want to do it for real, the secret is that successful cherry-stem knotting involves as much teeth as tongue.
First, bend the stem into a "U" shape with your tongue - the ends up, the curve down, right around the gumline of your bottom front teeth. I forgot to mention that this post may be considered graphic by some readers. Proceed with the utmost caution.
Next, cross the arms of the U. Arm A over arm B, so arm A is nearer to your tongue and arm B is nearer to your teeth. Which is on which side doesn't matter.
Push arm A (the one near your tongue) over arm B and through your slightly opened teeth. Then hold the top of the resulting loop to your top teeth with your tongue while gently sucking the end of arm A through the loop.
Hook the end of arm A with your bottom teeth and pull it through by biting it gently and allowing the rest of the loop to be carried in the opposite direction by the movement of your lips.
Tighten. This can be accomplished by biting an end and moving the rest of the loop away from that anchor point. Be sure to tighten enough to make it secure, but leave it loose enough that people can tell it is an overhand knot. Just a bump in the middle of the stem is significantly less impressive.
Spit it out and impress people.
Leave a comment on my blog and let us all know how it went.

more really, really, really short stories

2006-11-27T11:42:00.000-07:00

You can read more about my really, really, really short story project here. Here are three more for your reading pleasure:

#4: A Western.
Buck’s IPod was turned up so loud he didn’t hear the rustler stealing his
cattle until a brief pause between Meatloaf power ballads.

#5: Western, Part II
Tex wasn’t like the other cowboys. Sure, he would sit at the bar and argue
about Ford and Chevy (usually on the Chevy side, to be safe), but deep inside he
had the undeniable hankering for a Hyundai.

#6: A Cautionary Tale
Clarissa was bored, so she sat in her
armchair and didn’t do anything until she was buried in the sands of
time.
Moral: Even if you are bored, occasionally dusting your house may
prevent eventual suffocation.

noisebox

2006-11-25T11:16:00.000-07:00

New Noisebox:

Saturday, November 25, 2006
Noisebox 25 November, 2006 - Vol. 1 Issue 17

Merry Christmas, Part 2

Exciting news! The Women's Glee Club at the University of Northern Colorado will perform Nathan Howe's setting of Far, Far Away on Judea's Plains at their holiday concert on December 3rd, 2006 at the Union Colony Civic Center in Greeley, COlorado at 7:00. They have commissioned an SSAA version with piano accompaniment. We have now posted both SSAA and SATB editions, unaccompanied and with piano. See the music and hear the MIDI files here, and come to the concert on December 3rd if you are in the area.

http://gratemusic.com
http://LDSmusic.us

getting up on time

2006-11-15T10:09:00.000-07:00

How to get up when your alarm goes off

I am going to try this. If it works, I'll let you know. Added it to my 43 Things.

For me, waking up is one of the least pleasant acts in my life, but I really enjoy the time I am awake.

the least of these

2006-11-14T20:18:00.000-07:00

Today I stumbled upon kiva.org. It is an organization offering micro-loans to entrepreneurs in impoverished countries. I'll spare you the details and let you check out their site for yourselves and decide whether you like it, but I think when I get paid I will send $25. So far, they have a 100% repayment rate, which is fantastic. This is a great chance to make a sustainable difference in the lives of some who simply lack the resources for success.

really, really, really short stories

2006-11-14T17:25:00.000-07:00

I gave up on NaNoWriMo. It became a choice between short-term success in novel writing and long-term success in life. I would have dropped the ball on too many other important things, including some pretty good music.

However, to keep my creative writing chops active, I added a goal on my 43 Things: "post really, really, really short stories." This gives me a chance to write short fiction without the burden of organizing it into a long form like a novel. You can monitor my progress on my 43 Things page about this goal. However, I will also post some of them here on fluent in mumble for your enjoyment:

#1: A Shocking Realization

Frederick was in his second year of culinary school when he found out that
egg-drop soup is not made from “Egg Drops.”

#2: Sunday

Pastor Morrisey’s socks did not match, and the sopranos were perpetually flat in the choir loft. Lucille stayed.
#3: A Sad Story

“What was that?” Franklin shouted; “I can’t hear you over your green and violet dress!” Debbie turned and left him there at Taco Bell, alone.

More to come later.

fame and fortune

2006-11-13T18:21:00.000-07:00

(By fame and fortune, I mean fortune in the sense of good things happening, not in the sense of money in pocket.) It was a good day Friday. I showed the new arrangement of Far, Far Away on Judea's Plains to my choral conducting professor, who is also the director of the Women's Glee Club at the University. He wanted to use it for his women's choir for a concert on December 3rd. Great!

Yes, great. But he wanted an SSAA arrangement with piano accompaniment. No problem. Finished it this morning. Well, actually, I worked from midnight to 5:30, then gave up and finished it at 10:00 after a class. Those easy little projects never are, are they? But I am thrilled that the Women's Glee Club is going to sing this piece, and the annual Christmas concert is a fairly big one. They also rebroadcast it closer to Christmas on KUNC, our local public radio station, where I do my internship. Yes, I'm living high on the hog in the lavish lifestyle of a choral composer. I think we may even move into a place with a bathtub and a dishwasher next year!

Don't take the last part of that last paragraph as whining. I love my life. I love doing what I do. Money means nothing. I just visited some friends whose new baby is having a bit of a rough start. I am reminded once again of the fragile nature of life and the blessing it is simply to breathe. If you are reading this and you are a religious type, a prayer for little Austin couldn't hurt.

noisebox

2006-11-10T01:53:00.000-07:00

New noisebox. I am quite fond of the compound meters in this piece. The author of the text is actually related to David somehow, which is neat.

Vol. 1 Issue 16
Merry Christmas, Part 1

December is too late to start working on Christmas music for those who perform. Thus, we present today our Chris tmas page, an easy way to access all the Christmas music we will release in the coming weeks. We also proudly present our first offering of the Christmas season, Far, Far Away on Judea's Plains. This well-known text by John Menzies Macfarlane has been set to new music for SATB chorus by Nathan Howe. It features jubilant compound meters and a memorable melody. Access the sheet music and hear a MIDI demonstration through our Chris tmas page or our Cho ral page.

Grate Music, LLC
http://gratemusic.com
http://LDSmusic.us

the election

2006-11-09T00:49:00.000-07:00

After the hype of election night (correction: the hype never ends, but the initial hype has calmed somewhat), I feel I can now comment sensibly on the election.

Looking through a number of blogs on all sides of the political world, I have come to a solid, disturbing conclusion: The Middle is sorely underrepresented in all things political.

By The Middle, I mean people like me. I vote. I am not a huge supporter of some of the President's ideas, although I have great respect for the office and the person. I also had great respect for the office and the person during the Clinton administration as well, although some of his acts certainly cannot be condoned. I do not have a venomous hate for all Democrats like some conservatives I hear in the media. I do not have a venomous hate for all Republicans like some liberals.

Am I an independent? Not on paper. To be an independent would be to lose all power in primaries and caucuses. I would much rather remain registered with a party so I can have some influence in which person is selected to run.

Who has been catering to The Middle, the people like me, during this election season? Has anybody stepped forward as a voice of reason to say that there is good in all parties and that cooperation, as Sesame Street taught us so many years ago, makes it happen? No. At least not on a broad scale.

Instead, we have been fed negativity in almost every campaign, whether by the candidates or by their supporters or by media covering the races. This language of mutual hatred is demeaning to everybody in public life, and it pollutes the climate to the point that even months after the election, those who actually made it into office are seen as unworthy of any trust.

I can say that I voted for both elephants and donkeys on Tuesday. I cannot say that I am more or less confident in the future of America today than I was a week ago. No matter who won in the election, The Middle lost. The reasonable people who want trustworthy leaders lost. Those who value the way the game is played as much as the final score realize that a so-called victory for either side in such dirty races is hollow at best. More than any election I can remember, this one seems particularly fraught with loss. The particular people who got the votes don't matter as much as the values and trust so many lost in gathering them.

May God bless the America we now are to become the America we know we ought to be. May we find some way to meet in The Middle and learn the art of civil discourse and brotherhood even in disagreement.

a couple of very interesting pieces on the power of thought

2006-11-08T01:38:00.000-07:00

From Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert, these blog posts are definitely worth reading:

http://dilbertblog.typepad.com/the_dilbert_blog/2006/10/in_over_my_head.html

http://dilbertblog.typepad.com/the_dilbert_blog/2006/10/affirmations.html

optimism

2006-11-07T23:48:00.000-07:00

Everything is about to go very well.

(Important note: This is not an election night commentary. This is not a political commentary. Although I appreciate the democratic process and I am grateful to have been born in a country where I can vote, my current cheerful mood has little to do with the early returns that are just coming in.)

From time to time, I just have to believe that good will come of what is happening in my own life and in the world around me. I have just recommitted to be a better optimist. I have added it to my 43 things. I have started keeping better track of the motions of my mind.

It strikes me once in a while, this unshakeable idea that I have every reason to be thrilled with life. When I have this feeling, good things generally happen. Do they happen because I feel this way and expect them, or can I somehow sense good times in advance? This is an interesting philosophical question which I will continue to ponder.

As for right now, I am completely thrilled about gratemusic.com and LDSmusic.us and what we are doing there. I am optimistic about my family and my personal financial situation. I am thrilled about our marriage. I am excited about my education. I don't believe that I will live without inconvenience or difficulty, but I feel that the good will completely override the effect of whatever problems arise.

Perhaps the election does have something to do with my focus on this subject of optimism. All the analysts and the different parties and candidates are talking about the future. On the radio in the morning, there will be many prognositcations about how our next two years will be in America. There are many doomsday voices. There are many who say that our new leaders will fix everything. Neither side is accurate. Some laws and policies have noticeable effect in the lives of the governed, but generally our happiness and our life situations are governed primarily by our thoughts and desires and how we go about realizing them in the framework of God's plan. This new political season ought to be a new season of optimism and new commitment to make life good for ourselves and those around us.

noisebox

2006-11-03T22:18:00.000-07:00

New Noisebox today. I am really impressed with David's work on this. It's definitely worth a listen.

Noisebox 03 November, 2006
Vol. 1 Issue 15
New MP3 and new arrangement for Like Sunlight Gleams Thy Grace, O Lord

David Macfarlane has just released a rich new recording of his hymn Like Sunlight Gleams Thy Grace, O Lord. In conjunction with the release of the MP3, a new TTBB edition of the hymn has just been published. This hymn addresses the topic of grace in our relationship with Christ and its connection with faith and works. Access the new files through our hymns page.

Grate Music, LLC
http://gratemusic.com
http://LDSmusic.us

the coke and mentos guys

2006-11-02T08:31:00.000-07:00

I know you probably already know it, but the Coke and Mentos guys have just finished their latest video, and it's definitely worth the portion of your life you waste watching it, because they have wasted so much more time making it.

http://eepybird.com/

nanowrimo

2006-11-01T02:20:00.000-07:00

I started my novel today. By today, I mean this morning. I literally looked over at the clock and realized, "Oh. It's National Novel Writing Month. I guess I'd better write something." The working title is "Archie Frey and the Other People in my Inbox." It's stupid. I just need to make myself write it, because who knows when I'll ever write another novel? I'm up to 1,052 words. Goal is 50,000 by the end of November.

friendship

2006-10-29T01:43:00.000-06:00

Recently, I have been thinking about the idea of friendship and how I want to develop it as an attribute in my life. I added as one of my 43 Things "Be a friend like the ones who have changed my life." Here are my thoughts on that:

I do not forward cheesy e-mails that talk about true friendship and threaten certain death if not sent on within ten minutes. I don’t do “just thinking of you, Friend” greeting cards. I want to be a friend of the caliber of those who have found me in my dark times and helped me identify the light I was seeking.

I would be a friend like those I have had who made work a joy and sorrow a short affair.
I would be a friend who understands that the welfare of a soul is worth far more than a few extra minutes of sleep or a few extra dollars in the bank.
I would be a friend who does not change people, but liberates them to change themselves for the better.
I would become a friend by accident to hundreds of people one by one – standing in line at the grocery store, waiting for a bus, browsing at the library.
I would be a friend to those who blatantly disagree with me. I would be a friend to those who are too much like me. These may be the same.
I would be a lifelong friend, even if not in the sense of face-to-face contact. I would be the friend that old friends could call after ten years of silence and pick up the conversation as if we had never parted.

This is the friendship I would develop as a portion of my character.

syndication for the noisebox

2006-10-28T00:11:00.000-06:00

I just created Atom and RSS feeds specifically for the Noisebox. I don't know about you, but I'm going to read the Noisebox in that little thingy above my Gmail that always shows Spam recipes I didn't request. I know this is not a big deal, but it's a good small deal for me. If you're interested, subscribe. RSS Atom

a long rant about something completely unimportant

2006-10-26T22:07:00.000-06:00

My newest 43 Things goal is to finish the cinnamon toothpaste. I shall explain:

I bought a tube of cinnamon toothpaste a few moths before we were married, so I suppose it's been at least 9 months. It's a very big tube - family size or something. My wife hates it, so she uses another type of toothpaste that she doesn't like but also needs to finish. If we could just throw perfectly good things away, all would be well in our medicine cabinet, but as it is, we have two full-size toothpaste tubes, each about half full, slowly being emptied. They take up a lot of space in our little apartment with very little storage space. I suppose it doesn't help that I only use a small amount when brushing.

I didn't even get to the cinnamon one until a few months ago, because I was finishing a different toothpaste she also didn't like. It was one of those with two different pastes in a boxy plastic pump, and she (and I) didn't like how it's almost impossible to get equal amounts of both sides. The cinnamon tastes good, but the logistics of tube space sharing are too complicated. Toothpaste problems can put an undue strain on an otherwise harmonious and exciting marriage.

I think we may have to throw a party at our home when I finally finish the cinnamon toothpaste and we can be united as a couple in our choice of dental care products. Imagine - only one tube of some sensible mint toothpaste neatly placed in the cabinet! Some day, it will be a reality for us.

internship

2006-10-24T18:36:00.000-06:00

On Monday, I started my internship with the music department at KUNC, our local public radio affiliate. I suppose at this point I have to admit my addiction to public radio. Yes, the news coverage is often more liberal than my personal views, but so much of what they do is well produced and expertly presented.

So I started Monday, and most of my job as an intern is opening mail and sorting through stacks of CDs, weeding out albums that definitely don't fit the station's format. I can't do this with my own CD collection - I just collect music, and the only way it leaves my collection is by being borrowed and not returned or scratched beyond repair. But at KUNC, it's fun. I like hearing all the different styles of whatever people call music, from acoustic banjo albums to "I did this myself on my $50 1985 Casio in my basement" albums, this internship is helping me to remember why I started studying music in the first place. It really is nice work if you can get it.

noisebox

2006-10-24T01:06:00.000-06:00

Here is the latest Noisebox. I am quite excited about this recording. I did it several months ago, and it's nice to have occasion to post it.

Grate Music Noisebox
Volume 1, Issue 14
23 October, 2006: New MP3 for Emulation from Psalms of the 21st Century
_________________________________________________

We recently posted sheet music for Emulation by Nathan Howe, and even for accomplished pianists, it is difficult to get a realistic sense of the piece without hearing a choir sing it. To present it to the world, Nathan Howe has recorded Emulation with a choir composed of some of his closest friends - his alter egos. Head to the Recordings page to download and listen. Then feel free to Tell Us what you think.

a brief LDS music rant

2006-10-23T02:30:00.000-06:00

The niche entertainment business geared toward Latter-day Saints is booming. I suppose I am part of that boom. A few big companies dominate the market - Excel Entertainment and Deseret Book (each with several subsidiaries) are the biggest for recorded music. In LDS sheet music, Jackman and Larice are big, and Deseret Book has a big segment of that market as well. Little, independent publishers have sprung up in LDS sheet music, like Sally DeFord (who offers her music for free download), Craig Petrie, Choir Works, and of course LDSmusic.us. I like many of the offerings of each source I have listed here. My problem comes when the desire for a popular style causes the music to slip into speculative doctrine, casual reference to Deity, or bad taste.

Casual Reference to Deity
Maybe I'm a stick in the mud, but I don't remember any stipulation in the scriptures where lowering the status of God or Jesus Christ is allowed for artistic purposes. Yet culturally we have become accustomed to songs referring to Deity as "you" instead of "Thee" or "Thou." I understand that it's harder to fit the formal references into the flow of a song. That is the necessary challenge of the skilled songwriter. Of course, many songs have been written that teach principles of truth without referring to God in the second person at all. I prefer that. It's easier. But when I do include a literal prayer, I make an effort to be formal in addressing Him.

Speculative Doctrine
This is going to make me unpopular. I don't like songs like the ever-popular "O Lord, My Redeemer" and "I Heard Him Come." Why not? They have nice tunes and nice messages. There is plenty to like about them. But I am uncomfortable inserting fictitious characters and situations into the scriptures. I am fine with expounding on the truths found in scripture and recounting the events and parables used therein, but I feel like some songs treat those stories as just stories, open to free and careless interpretation.

Of course, some songs take the speculation much farther, such as the show Saturday's Warrior. This includes some blatant doctrinal mistakes as well as sketchy speculations. For example, a concept of predestination is presented in which there is only one "right one" for a certain man or woman to marry, chosen before birth. This is clearly unsupported by scripture and modern revelation.

Bad Taste
Finally, this boom in the popularity of LDS media has brought with it some reeking examples of bad taste. Taking phrases from religious service and mocking them in song may entertain momentarily, but often crosses the line to mock the sacred. Consider the soundtrack to Sons of Provo, a movie about a fictitious LDS boy band. In one rap, the background singers shout repeatedly "Will all those in favor please make it manifest?" a la Eminem. Sure, it's for fun in a film parody of Mormon culture. But isn't the process of sustaining our leaders vitally important in a religious sense? If a teenager listens to the song only a few times (it only took once for it to get stuck in my head), will he think when he hears that phrase in Church about sustaining people who have been called of God, or will he smirk and remember the mocking song?

Another genre of bad taste which is currently popular is to take a hymn or Primary song and remix it in a modern style. Some of these are really good and tastefully done. Some of them cross the line. For example, one version of the Primary song "I Belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" has been recorded in a sort of punk style with a grinding voice and driving guitars and percussion. To hear the name of the Savior and the Church as performed in this recording grates my nerves. The name of Christ is holy, and should not be yelled for entertainment purposes.

After saying all this, there is much of good in the LDS music world. I am just disappointed in some of the offerings of our "best and brightest" who know better and can do better in creating music of faith. The major LDS music companies should encourage this. We as consumers should encourage this. We are getting to the point where we as LDS consumers do not need to buy a CD or DVD just because it's made by members of the Church - many entertainment offerings by Latter-day Saints are now available. We can afford to use discretion and decide even within the so-called LDS music market what is appropriate and what is not, and when something is not, leave it alone.

that said...

2006-10-22T18:44:00.000-06:00

I know I've been down on Internet Explorer 7 the past couple of days. I'm not trying to make undue peace with it, but here are some things I like:

DevToolBar. It's something you can download from Microsoft, and it's in a Beta version right now. It gives some nice tools most casual surfers don't need. You can get some similar addons for Firefox, but I like the way these are grouped.
The zoom tool on the bottom right. Very handy for viewing ill-designed sites with too-small stuff.
The Anti-phishing thang. I always look at the URL to make sure I'm at the right place before entering personal information, but this will help quite a few people who aren't terribly savvy.

So I'm keeping it. I won't be using it much, but I'm keeping it so I can be sure gratemusic.com and LDSmusic.us don't look too dumb in it. I just care that much.

i.e. 7 again

2006-10-20T16:22:00.000-06:00

I still don't like it. OK, it's been less than 48 hours, but a few things drive me nuts about Windows Internet Explorer 7:

Most notably, the text menu bar is gone (you think). You actually have to press ALT to get it to pop up. You have to do this to get to some of the features. And when you click anywhere besides the text menu bar itself? Yes, it closes. This was obviously not designed with mouse klutzes like me in mind. I hear that you can make it "sticky" so it displays all the time (rumor only - I have not done this yet), but either way, it still displays below the address bar, which is wrong.

A principle of good design is that you don't move something from a familiar location unless there is a really good reason. How did Microsoft do?

Suddenly the icon to access the Favorites menu has moved from top center to second row left.

The reload button looks different and now lives where the Go button was. You can't find it by muscle memory anymore.

Go is gone. Oh, wait. When you type an address, Reload becomes Go. Confusing.

The Home icon has moved from left to far right along with Print.

Where is help? You don't have the text menu bar right at your fingertips, and there is no help icon. Of course it's there, Silly! If you need help, all you need to do is go through TWO drop-down menus easily accessible through the 2-millimeter double-arrow thingy (>>) on the FAR RIGHT of the screen. Don't worry that it doesn't look like a button (or anything, for that matter) until you roll your mouse over it. When you try to drag that little help icon onto the bar with Home and Print where it belongs, of course it is not allowed. Asking for assistance is harshly discouraged.

i.e. 7 - watch out!

2006-10-19T10:16:00.000-06:00

After my post about IE7, Dieter sent me a message on my Vox account about a security vulnerability in it. Already. Frightening, no? I am not an alarmist, and I don't believe that Internet ~~Exploder~~ Explorer will be the end of society as we know it, but I am less than pleased with it at the moment. You can read about the vulnerability here. If you don't have Firefox, you can download it at the bottom of this page.

i.e. 7

2006-10-18T21:52:00.000-06:00

I just upgraded (not positive about that term) to Internet Explorer 7. It seems like everything new about it that is good and useful on the consumer end has been essentially copied from Firefox. Tabbed browsing, for example. I don't like that the menus at the top of the window are gone - it just doesn't seem right without File, Edit, Tools, etc., but maybe I'll get used to it.

I'm not an expert on the security side of things, but since IE supports ActiveX and Firefox doesn't, that automatically makes IE more vulnerable. Maybe the new version will be better, but when I'm surfing around on sites I hadn't previously known (like when doing research), I still always use Firefox.

I was also quite happy to discover that gratemusic.com and LDSmusic.us still work fine in IE7. No emergency redesign! Woohoo!

noisebox

2006-10-14T18:17:00.000-06:00

Here's the latest Noisebox. I really like this piece, although I am obviously biased.

Grate Music Noisebox
Volume 1, Issue 13
14 October, 2006: Emulation from Psalms of the 21st Century
_________________________________________________

This modern choral setting of an original text by Nathan Howe is designed for concert performance. First in a new set of songs called Psalms of the 21st Century, Emulation features rich 6-part harmonies. Emulation is intended for use by advanced choirs. Get it through our Choral page.

my 43 things

2006-10-12T21:32:00.000-06:00

Well, I've restarted my page on 43 Things. Hopefully with the whole world holding me accountable, I'll be pressured to overcome procrastination and reach some of my less immediate goals. If you have suggestions for what some of my 43 Things should be, e-mail me.

national novel writing month

2006-10-12T00:54:00.000-06:00

I must say, I take on too many projects. This is an established truth. However, I am completely intrigued by National Novel Writing Month, (NaNoWriMo, affectionately) which is November. The basic idea is that you write a novel of 50,000 words or more entirely in November. I am actually thinking about doing it. After seeing some things that get printed and sold as books these days, I'll bet I could spit out 50,000 words with some degree of coherence, even if most of my writing was done at 2:00 in the morning. Most of my writing on this blog is done at 2:00 in the morning, and it's completely coherent, right? Don't answer that.

Also, I think it would be good to have a similar event designed for musicians - say, a National Musical Writing Month, or a National Oratorio Writing Month, or a National Album Writing Month. Maybe I'll look into starting one of these after I finish my novel. And start it.

challenge

2006-10-11T00:13:00.000-06:00

David and I throw challenges back and forth. For example, several weeks ago, the challenge was to write a hymn with the following attributes:

In the meter 87887 (like Adam-ondi-Ahman)
In the key of F
Addressing some topic related to the Restoration

What came of it was Come to the Mountain of the Lord. Now, I've had another challenge on my plate for a few weeks, and I haven't done anything with it. David has challenged me to write a hymn

In the meter 7676D (like If you could Hie to Kolob)
In the key of G
Addressing the topic of Joseph Smith

My goal is to write this hymn within the next three weeks.

noisebox

2006-10-10T03:42:00.000-06:00

We just sent out a new Noisebox. It represents hours of labor - it took ages to get Finale to do what I wanted with this piece. It was really a good learning experience. Anyway, check out the piece. I'm going to bed.

By the way, if you want to subscribe to the Noisebox, details are here.

Grate Music Noisebox
Volume 1, Issue 12
10 October, 2006: Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing
_________________________________________________

Sheet music for Nathan Howe's new choral arrangement of the beloved hymn Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing is now available on gratemusic.com and LDSmusic.us. This arrangement is designed for more advanced choirs, and features optional solo sections for bass and soprano and an advanced piano or organ accompaniment. This is an updated version of an arrangement made in 2001 by Nathan Howe. Access it through our Choral Music page.

Sorry for the delay on this week's update - we have been ironing out a few technical difficulties and planning some excellent things for the coming months on gratemusic.com and LDSmusic.us. If you know of anybody who would want to know about our new music, feel free to forward this Noisebox.

just a visitor

2006-10-07T23:09:00.000-06:00

For the past couple of days, I've been listening to music from Ellis Hadlock's newest CD, Just a Visitor. I'll say up front that my listening preferences often have very little to do with my songwriting style. I don't think it's healthy to like my own work too much, and if I listen too much to other artists who have a similar sound to mine, I tend to get either jealous or annoyed. That, my friends, is human frailty. So that explains why I like to listen to other types of music in my recreational time.

Anyway, back to Ellis. He is a great guy and a great musician. Some of his songs sound like they belong on soundtracks. Some sound like they belong on Echoes from Public Radio International. I suppose people file him under Electronic Ambient, Light Rock, World, New Age, or one of those other titles that doesn't mean anything. I suppose if I were to file him in a category, I'd just put him under Instrumental Miscellaneous and leave it at that. Every piece has a different charater, most of them telling some kind of story.

Just a Visitor is full of well-conceived soundscapes. I was surprised at the changes in my mood and stress level as I listened to each track. As a musician, I liked the various synth effects combined with some live instrumentals. As a listener, I liked that it didn't require me to be a musician to enjoy it. There is something just likeable about this music.

I suppose that the best review I can give is this: Hadlock's Just a Visitor helped me forget about my pressing deadlines for a few minutes. That's saying something.

You can check it out at http://cdbaby.com/cd/ellishadlock5

the briefcase

2006-10-06T02:31:00.000-06:00

I've been struggling the past few days to finish Miracle of Faith, a newly commissioned recording. In the process, I have had ample opportunity to explore the struggles associated with the use of older recording equipment. I am truly amazed at the quality of recordings made before the advent of virtually silent digital recording devices.

I have been using a Yamaha 4-track cassette recorder - a very nice, fairly professional model at the time it was made. I have used this device several times, and I can always hear the hum of the motor in the background. Arrgh! So this time, I devised a plan.

The room in which I was recording did not afford the opportunity to set the recorder outside the door to minimize the noise, so I stuck the whole unit inside a leather briefcase I found at a thrift store. I pressed record, slammed the briefcase shut, and played my parts. It worked remarkably well, although it looked like I was smuggling a bomb or something - there were wires and cords sticking out three of the sides. Wearing the headphones attached to this contraption, I felt like someone in an old spy movie.

finally, a music post

2006-10-04T00:10:00.000-06:00

Today, I've been scrambling to get together a new piece for a promotional video. It's called Miracle of Faith, and it's about the legacy of religious pioneers. My current modus operandi for recording is to use a borrowed four-track recorder and a Radio Shack microphone, and then to import from that into Cakewalk on my desktop computer. The MP3s on gratemusic.com and LDSmusic.us were produced with more sophisticated equipment, but I'm hoping I can make this work. In a way, it feels great to start out small. That is, we can be small in capital without being substandard in the quality of music we produce.

So far in this project, I have written most of a song (by written, I mean scrawled a few words in a notebook), and I have made a lo-fi demo recording with a handheld digital voice recorder. However, the entire supposedly CD-quality project is due in 45 hours, so I'll let you know how the mad rushing goes and what the fruits are. I think Miracle of Faith may be the song for LDSmusic.us this week, but I'm not actually sure what we'll do.

what's in a name?

2006-10-02T21:57:00.000-06:00

I suppose that fluent in mumble is a stupid name for a blog. I suppose it would be an even worse name for a child, but that's not the point. fluent in mumble describes me fairly well, I suppose. I coach speech and debate (forensics) at a local high school, and in that position, I am quite well-versed in Mumble, the universal language of teenagers everywhere. Does it have anything to do with music, the ostensible focus of this blog? Not directly. Sorry.

what is this rubbish?

2006-09-30T23:08:00.000-06:00

It's my blog. fluent in mumble. It's where I talk a little bit about my life and what I'm doing, beyond what you may know from gratemusic.com and LDSmusic.us. The first entry on something like this is always stupid. That's why I'm getting it out of the way now. Then I'm going to quit while I'm ahead.