| Feature Article Six Easy Steps for Writing a Personal Wedding Song to Your Wife
Author: Dave Pipitone
Husbands can create a loving environment and successful marriage by showing their wives how much they are loved and cherished. In his ground-breaking book, "Women are from Venus and Men are from Mars," John Gray outlined the important differences between men and women. One of his key findings is that wives love to be touched and held. Wives love to be told, in a gentle and humble way, how important they are to their husbands. One of the most touching ways that a husband can show honor and respect to his wife is to write a personal wedding song for her. No matter if a husband has been married for a month or longer than 50 years, he can renew his marriage every day with a personal wedding song.
"What me sing? No way!" most husbands may say. "I can't carry a tune, let alone do a solo." While it may seem challenging, a personal wedding song is simply a love poem set to music. I know from personal experience of writing, recording and singing a wedding song to my wife, that it can be done. When I started, I had no guidance, just a gut intuition. All it takes to get started is to know what steps to take and then take the first step. Here are six steps every husband can take to show his wife what a treasure she is.
Step One. Acknowledge Your Wife
Write down five attributes that you love about your wife and admire her for. What five would you choose? Is she, an excellent listener, your best friend? Does she have a friendly and warm smile or a hilarious sense of humor? Does she love to surprise you? If you can list ten or more things, all the better.
Step Two: Write Down the Special Things She Loves
What does your wife treasure? My wife Cheryl loves purple, she loves to hold hands and be hugged, she is very action oriented, she is so thoughtful, she never forgets a family member's birthday. She loves greeting cards, music, plays, going out to dinner. She is very wise about relationships. A personal wedding song should focus on what is unique and special to your wife and your relationship.
Step Three: Put Yourself and Your Feelings into the Song
I wrote a personal wedding song for my wife after 14 years of marriage. I titled it "Song of Our Marriage." I wrote a touching refrain that honored her with a title, her role in my life and what that has done for me. The lyrics to the refrain go like this:
"Teacher of wisdom, you've shown me God's face, your strength is gentle and fine as white lace. You listen with heart strings that sing out a song, it's your love that makes me feel strong."
Using your list in Step 2, choose several of your wife's best traits and write down what they mean to you. If you need help with rhyming, you can get a Rhyming Dictionary. Or you can read books of poems or search the Internet through a Google Search to get a starter idea. Make sure to personalize your words, though, so that they come from your heart. You want to be authentic; a cheap copy of someone else passed off as your own may work against you.
Step Four: Make It Simple: Two Verses and a Refrain (more if you can)
Make your personal wedding song easy to sing, but unique to your wife. For example, remember the poems that start, "Roses are red, violets are blue?" You can expand that phrase into a verse, like:
"Roses are red, violets are blue,
I can't see myself living without you.
You are my wife, the crown of my life,
my life would be empty without you."
Step Five: Use a Familiar Tune for the Music
Did you know that is acceptable to "borrow" a melody (as long as you don't sell it or claim it as your own) for your personal wedding song? In fact, if your wife has a special song that she likes, you might learn how to write lyrics that go along with it. If you get serious, you could find a musician or studio to help. When I wrote "Song of Our Marriage," I figured out the melody by humming it, plunking out the keys on a piano and then finding a studio that produced the accompaniment. Use the Internet to find someone who can help. With downloadable MP3 files, you can actually produce a song on your PC.
Step Six: Sing the Song to Your Wife and Frame the Lyrics
Now comes the most important part – the delivery. Don't write a personal wedding song and then stick it in your golf bag. Perform it for your wife. Record it. Frame the lyrics and hang the song in your bedroom or kitchen. For "Song of Our Marriage," I created even a photo album with pictures of my wife in Lilac Park, in Disney World, with her friends, and more in several sections. Each section of the album reflected the verse and refrain from the personal wedding song.
There you have it, six steps to writing a personal wedding song for your wife. It takes work. If I can do it, you can do it too. Go ahead, take a risk. Your wife will be deeply moved by your touching gift and care for her. Article Source : http://www.articledashboard.com Dave Pipitone is a business owner, author, parent, husband and professional communications manager, writer and editor. Visit www.songofourmarriage.com ...
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| Feature Article Six Easy Steps for Writing a Personal Wedding Song to Your Wife
Author: Dave Pipitone
Husbands can create a loving environment and successful marriage by showing their wives how much they are loved and cherished. In his ground-breaking book, "Women are from Venus and Men are from Mars," John Gray outlined the important differences between men and women. One of his key findings is that wives love to be touched and held. Wives love to be told, in a gentle and humble way, how important they are to their husbands. One of the most touching ways that a husband can show honor and respect to his wife is to write a personal wedding song for her. No matter if a husband has been married for a month or longer than 50 years, he can renew his marriage every day with a personal wedding song.
"What me sing? No way!" most husbands may say. "I can't carry a tune, let alone do a solo." While it may seem challenging, a personal wedding song is simply a love poem set to music. I know from personal experience of writing, recording and singing a wedding song to my wife, that it can be done. When I started, I had no guidance, just a gut intuition. All it takes to get started is to know what steps to take and then take the first step. Here are six steps every husband can take to show his wife what a treasure she is.
Step One. Acknowledge Your Wife
Write down five attributes that you love about your wife and admire her for. What five would you choose? Is she, an excellent listener, your best friend? Does she have a friendly and warm smile or a hilarious sense of humor? Does she love to surprise you? If you can list ten or more things, all the better.
Step Two: Write Down the Special Things She Loves
What does your wife treasure? My wife Cheryl loves purple, she loves to hold hands and be hugged, she is very action oriented, she is so thoughtful, she never forgets a family member's birthday. She loves greeting cards, music, plays, going out to dinner. She is very wise about relationships. A personal wedding song should focus on what is unique and special to your wife and your relationship.
Step Three: Put Yourself and Your Feelings into the Song
I wrote a personal wedding song for my wife after 14 years of marriage. I titled it "Song of Our Marriage." I wrote a touching refrain that honored her with a title, her role in my life and what that has done for me. The lyrics to the refrain go like this:
"Teacher of wisdom, you've shown me God's face, your strength is gentle and fine as white lace. You listen with heart strings that sing out a song, it's your love that makes me feel strong."
Using your list in Step 2, choose several of your wife's best traits and write down what they mean to you. If you need help with rhyming, you can get a Rhyming Dictionary. Or you can read books of poems or search the Internet through a Google Search to get a starter idea. Make sure to personalize your words, though, so that they come from your heart. You want to be authentic; a cheap copy of someone else passed off as your own may work against you.
Step Four: Make It Simple: Two Verses and a Refrain (more if you can)
Make your personal wedding song easy to sing, but unique to your wife. For example, remember the poems that start, "Roses are red, violets are blue?" You can expand that phrase into a verse, like:
"Roses are red, violets are blue,
I can't see myself living without you.
You are my wife, the crown of my life,
my life would be empty without you."
Step Five: Use a Familiar Tune for the Music
Did you know that is acceptable to "borrow" a melody (as long as you don't sell it or claim it as your own) for your personal wedding song? In fact, if your wife has a special song that she likes, you might learn how to write lyrics that go along with it. If you get serious, you could find a musician or studio to help. When I wrote "Song of Our Marriage," I figured out the melody by humming it, plunking out the keys on a piano and then finding a studio that produced the accompaniment. Use the Internet to find someone who can help. With downloadable MP3 files, you can actually produce a song on your PC.
Step Six: Sing the Song to Your Wife and Frame the Lyrics
Now comes the most important part – the delivery. Don't write a personal wedding song and then stick it in your golf bag. Perform it for your wife. Record it. Frame the lyrics and hang the song in your bedroom or kitchen. For "Song of Our Marriage," I created even a photo album with pictures of my wife in Lilac Park, in Disney World, with her friends, and more in several sections. Each section of the album reflected the verse and refrain from the personal wedding song.
There you have it, six steps to writing a personal wedding song for your wife. It takes work. If I can do it, you can do it too. Go ahead, take a risk. Your wife will be deeply moved by your touching gift and care for her. Article Source : http://www.articledashboard.com Dave Pipitone is a business owner, author, parent, husband and professional communications manager, writer and editor. Visit www.songofourmarriage.com ...
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| Feature Article Can you find good gospel song lyrics online?
Author: Syd Johnson
You can get some gospel songs lyrics with mp3 songs from major commercial music services. The only problem is that you won't get a lot of the stuff by older, more established acts. Let's face it, the music industry is driven by what is new, hip and youthful. This applies to all genres including gospel music.
There are some free fan sites where you can find gospel song lyrics, but it can be difficult to tell if the lyrics are accurate. Your best bet is to try one the software applications that will scour the web for song lyrics and import it into your mp3 player. The larger lyrics directories will have gospel lyrics because they are user driven directories.
The lyrics can be submitted by anyone who has access to the text from the CD case, or by transcribing them from the radio. The open nature of the directories gives users the ability to create entire categories and update them if that genre is underserved.
Why do I suggest the software route?
The time factor. Since Christian music and gospel music in particular is still relatively underserved on the internet, a freeware application that searches for the lyrics while you are surfing the web, playing games online, or chatting on instant messenger is essential.
You don't have to wade through tons of spam and amateur collections to get the complete lyrics from your favorite songs.
Also, you want to have the lyrics available while you are listening to the songs. It's no fun to have the music playing on your mp3 player while searching your emails for the lyrics.
Where do I start?
Check with the music service where you are getting your mp3. If there is an option to search by genre, you can simply type in gospel song lyrics and wait for the software to update your files and save your changes. Look for discussion boards and user request services as well.
If you are getting your mp3s from a really large digital music site try to connect with other users who share your interest in gospel music and ask them if they have access to gospel song lyrics on their own or from a niche site.
About the AuthorThis article may be freely distributed as long as there's an active link to http://www.rapidlingo.com
Syd Johnson
Editor ...
People are Turning to Meaningful Songs for Emotional and Spiritual Relief:
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| Feature Article People are Turning to Meaningful Songs for Emotional and Spiritual Relief:
Author: Michael Alan
A New Breed of Aspiring Songwriters Is In The Making. What are the Sacrifices of the Solo Singer Songwriter in Today's Changing Culture? David La Motte and Michael Alan are performing musicians and singer songwriters who share their experiences and insights about the hard work required to earning a livelihood in the music business. It seems everyday is filled with frequent questions and emails from aspiring songwriters from all around the country who want to know how to get started as a singer songwriter. The interest of song writing is on an upsurge of popularity as noticed by book sales and courses offered on the subject. Clarification: The first question David and Michael would ask when folks approach them with a myriad of questions is "Do you mean getting started as a writer of songs or getting started as a playing musician for a living?" The two activities are very different from each other and the first should come before the second both chronologically and in terms of importance. Serious songwriters believe that a well crafted song, a harmonious blend of music and poetic lyrics, can change the world by influencing the way we think about each other. The emotional input involved with delicately crafting words and music together can help heal a wounded heart and may even help in the healing of others who feel sorrow. This could only be considered a sacred thing and worth pursuing. However; making money with music is altogether another issue which leads us to consider many other important questions. In today's music environment only a hand full of songwriters earn a steady livelihood as published songwriters. The streams of income, royalties, which a writer relies on, are an extremely delicate subject of negotiation and are forever under the scrutiny of the music industry. The Art of Songwriting: Where do ideas come from? Where does inspiration come from? For time tested songwriters the hard part isn't having ideas for songs, but keeping track of them long enough to scribble them down into a personal journal and coming back to them later. The process of taking a raw idea which may be a series of words and phrases will require much attention and rewriting to eventually develop the making of a suitable song. There are many ways to approach song writing and just about every songwriter does it a little different. Warming Up: Free Writes: In her excellent book "The Artist's Way," Julia Cameron notes that runners warm up every day. No serious runner goes out for a run and blows off the warm up because they warmed up yesterday. Writing, she argues, is no different. Julia recommends that every writer fill three blank pages in a notebook every morning. This is not WRITING, with all the baggage that comes with it. It's just a warm up drill. The warm up writing does not need to be compelling, well-reasoned or insightful. It doesn't even have to be in complete sentences. In fact, Julia specifically forbids us to read any of our "morning pages," as she calls them, for the first few weeks that we're writing them. The only rule with "morning pages" is that you can't let the pen stop moving. One caution, though; don't be disappointed if you're not swimming in song ideas at the end of this. Most of you will find that for the rest of the day you'll be in the creative side of your head, and this is the whole point of the discipline. Remember this is practice, no different than the piano. Keep the daily activity going and see if the seeds take root. Music as a vocation: Should I quit my day job? The word "vocation" literally means "calling." In order to play music as your job, I think you have to feel some sense that this is what you are supposed to do with your life. Otherwise it makes no sense. Long hours and hard work and lots of time away from family and friends balance against….well, very little money. On the other hand, if you stick with it long enough and work hard and things go well, you may get to see a lot of interesting people and visit some amazing places as part of your work. And if you're really lucky, you might get to touch upon people's hearts. It's incredibly rewarding to get a note from someone telling you that your song intersected their lives at a point when they needed it. Some performers have been able to support themselves with their music, which is a privilege, though not without its sacrifices. An important point about the "day job" question is that there is no superiority implied by not having one. Some of the best songwriters work construction, wait tables, and wash dishes. There's no shame in earning a steady paycheck. One traveling musician has a scissors sharpening business. He contracts with local hairdressers in towns where he is booked and sharpens scissors with fancy laser tools in the daytime and he performs in the evenings. It's been said that Mary Chapin Carpenter didn't quit her secretarial work in DC until after her first Grammy award. The most foolish thing that someone can do if they're trying to get a music career going is to quit their day job too soon. The time to quit is when you've got no time to do it, and there's enough money coming in from your performances to support yourself. The simple rule is to consider your music your primary job and work at another one in order to support it until the music is eating all of your time and paying you enough to let your second job go. If you quit your day job so you have time to work on music, you're likely to be short on the money you'll need to get your career started (You'll need to make demos, print press kits, shoot and duplicate photos, send out postcards, etc., but this comes later). Good luck with the journey…. David La Motte (author) is a musician, crafted songwriter, and performer in the US. Website: http://www.DavidLaMotte.com " http://www.DavidLaMotte.com Michael Alan (editor) is a published songwriter, with album & movie credits, who has lived and toured in the US & Europe. Website: http://www.MichaelAlanMusic.com " http://www.MichaelAlanMusic.com ...
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| Feature Article Musician's Survival was Truly a Miracle: Singer Songwriter Fights for his Life
Author: Michael Alan
Every morning when singer-songwriter Michael Alan looks into the mirror and sees the surgical scar across his chest he is reminded of how lucky he is to be alive. Three years ago he suffered a major heart attack and a year after the episode he was required to have open-heart surgery. The heart attack caused physical disability and the onset of severe depression. In perspective his life evolved around a course of different therapeutic modalities for several years. Looking back in time, it was the musical sounds in Michael's head that helped to keep him internally calm during the 911 emergency run to the hospital. He closed his eyes and concentrated on beautiful music and calming images to offset the immense pain and fear. In Michael's words, "When one experiences an event which threatens your life, leaves you disabled, or takes from you a loved one, the soul inside of you searches for understanding and it yearns for compassion from others. My wounded heart led me to the one thing which always nurtured my spirit". Michael's efforts to improve his emotional state led him back to singing and writing songs, a passion he had put on hold while making other commitments to develop a business career. The result of Michael's rebirth in writing and recording is the making of a new album release titled "Michael Alan – Searching for the Heartland." The recorded song tracks on the CD are a compilation of different time periods in Michael's song writing, performing and recording career. They include his works as a staff writer for a major music publisher in Los Angeles, his performance touring in Europe with the Esquires, and his most recent music projects since relocating to Seattle, WA. Several of the songs on the album have received grandiose broadcast results on regional College radio in the US. The songs "Rosary" and "Candy" have been placed onto "air-play rotation" schedules with several European commercial stations for weekly broadcasts. Michael Alan, who records with the label "Global Fish Records," is a rare artist who creates without a prescribed musical formula. His approach to writing is straight from the heart, lyrically poetic and honest, and void of any sound-alike comparisons. His songs create a myriad of lyrical expressions and images that move the listener through a musical experience of excitement, tenderness, passion, and sadness. His ability to write songs in a variety of musical styles reveals the fact that he is an avid listener of all types of music. Michael approaches the art of song writing with full emotional conviction. He expresses himself in a personal way sharing his deepest thoughts and feelings through his music. In a recent conversation he commented, "Sometimes on a rare occasion the music and words come together like shadows of light creating a warm sense around me. It's a feeling that you are not alone in the rhythm of life. It's in this moment that you know the hearts and souls of all people around the world are truly connected." Music and Healing: Michael has been blessed with a second chance at life. It is his desire to share his personal story in hopes that he might encourage people to become educated about heart disease. Cardiovascular disease is the leading killer of Americans today affecting people of all ages. The American Heart Association website, www.heart.org , offers a wealth of health information and discusses many options to make healthy lifestyle choices. Global Fish Records and Michael Alan are a registered third-party fundraiser for the American Heart Association. A portion of the revenue from the music CD sales is donated to the American Heart Association affiliate office in Seattle, Washington. To learn about the association's resources and programs call 1-800-562-6718. Michael spends his Saturday mornings handing-out educational literature about heart disease to people at shopping malls and grocery stores in Lynnwood. He is comfortable in sharing his experience with folks and he feels a responsibility to inform the public about the growing health crisis in America. As Michael puts it; a lot of people walk by and look at me with a silly grin on their faces while I'm standing in the rain and the cold in my efforts to chat and offer life-saving information. The highlight of my efforts is when a person calmly approaches me with a smile and says "I read the literature you gave me last week and I visited the website of the American Heart Association and now I am prepared to discuss my health concerns with my doctor in an informed manner." The music CD, Michael Alan - Searching for the Heartland, is available at the website: www.MichaelAlanMusic.com The website offers mp3 audio samples for all 12 songs along with insights and lyrics. The album's promotional song release "Rosary" can be downloaded for free. Additionally, the site includes links to several nationally recognized health-information websites. Michael Alan is a published singer songwriter, with album & movie credits, who has lived and toured in the US and Europe. Website: http://www.MichaelAlanMusic.com " http://www.MichaelAlanMusic.com He is also an active member of the American Heart Association. ...
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| Feature Article I'll choose rap over hip hop any day: Rap lyrics keep it real
Author: Syd Johnson
If you listen to rap music on a regular basic you will notice the stark differences between rap lyrics and hip hop lyrics. It is widely known that rap came up from the streets where the artists would use their rhyming skills to tell the world about their sense of isolation and not being part of the American mainstream.
Hip hop lyrics from the same place, but this time it was middle class children who did not like how they were treated as their families moved into the suburbs and edge cities.
So what happened?
Along the way, hip hop went mainstream as it was cleaner and dance friendly. Hip hop lyrics made their way from the streets, to the clubs, to MTV and finally to the top of the music charts. Rap lyrics remained where they began, as the music of the down trodden and this gives emerging artists the freedom to experiment without worrying about their best camera angle.
You can still get a good rap album onto the charts with very little time on MTV.
How do rap artists maintain such complete control over their music:
1. Rap lyrics are seen as more raw so the artists can get away with more explicit and sensitive subjects. Whether it's gangs, drugs, homophobia, or domestic violence, rappers have total creative freedom to address taboo subjects with out turning off their fans.
2. Rap lyrics are mostly created by individual artist and not song writing committees. An artist could free style in person or on paper. It doesn't matter because you don't get the huge song writing teams that dominate pop, country and even hip hop music.
3. Rap lyrics are not music reliant. They actually sound better without huge overpowering beats behind them. Most professional rappers do their best work when they have mike without any musical accompaniment
4. Rap lyrics are not easily recycled since they are based on personal rather than universal experiences. The original lyrics can touch the audience but it is not easily transferred from one artist to another. Rappers can inject pieces of their personality, family history, educational background and more into their songs.
Of course, you can put samples into hip hop or pop songs, but it is very different for a middle class thirteen year old to remake your song and not sound like an idiot.
In the end, I still listen to all types of music. It's just that when it comes to originality and raw musical styles, I'll take rap lyrics over hip hop.
About the AuthorThis article may be freely distributed as long as there's an active link to http://www.rapidlingo.com
Syd Johnson
Editor ...
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