Optimists Creed

I promise myself

To be so strong that nothing can disturb my peace of mind.

To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person I meet.

To make all my friends feel that there is something worthwhile in them.

To look at the sunny side of everything and make my optimism come true.

To think only of the best, to work only for the best

and to expect only the best.

To be just as enthusiastic about the success of

others as I am about my own.

To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the

greater achievements of the future.

To wear a cheerful expression at all times and give a smile

to every living creature I meet.

To give so much time to improving myself that I

have no time to criticize others.

To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear,

and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

To think well of myself and to proclaim this fact to the world,

not in loud words, but in great deeds.

To live in the faith that the whole world is on my side,

so long as I am true to the best that is in my.

By Christian D. Larson

Modified by The Secret 2007

Quote of the Week "Life is a song..."

"Life is a song. Love is the music."

~Author Unknown

Ode to Joy

Seeing this video has reminded me how much I miss watching the Muppets. One of my favorite characters besides the Swedish Chef is Becker. He could say so much with just, "meep, meep meep meep. Meep meep." Enjoy Becker's rendition of Ode to Joy!



Do you have a favorite Muppets character or sketch?

ChoralWiki

The Choral Public Domain Library or ChoralWiki as its also called, began in 1998 and is now one of the world's largest free sheet music websites. You can use this collection to find music scores, song texts, translations and composer information on thousands of pieces in the public domain. If you are like me and work with music organizations with limited music budgets this website will be an instant friend.

My current project has involved me spending hours on ChoralWiki looking for Christmas carols in the public domain. I plan to put together a concert of Christmas carol favorites for this holiday season and to make a CD for distribution for next year. If you only use public domain music for your recordings you don't have to pay additional copyright fees. This will be my first major CD project with a very small budget and I can use all the help financially I can get. I have realized after going through this site that the majority of the arrangements I have come across are of good quality. It does vary though, depending on the contributor. You do have to be willing to dig around and wait for outside websites to load to find the gems out there. Some scores also come with midi files or mp3's so you can listen as you practice. The quality of these recordings are not always the best. It's kinda hit or miss with that feature.

Knowing how to use the search function on ChoralWiki is essential to finding the music you are looking for. You can search by any combination of title, composer, era, genre, or language in the main page. You can also search in the score subcategory listings by voicing, accompaniment, secular and sacred music, and musical eras.

And don't think just because its public domain it has to be old and stale music that nobody is really interested in. Many new composers are choosing to share their music with the world through the use of the Creative Commons License which gives you the user the right to copy, use and record as you see fit.

So, the next time you are in need of a new piece of music to study and enjoy try the Choral Public Domain Library. I know in these hard economic times your wallet will thank you. Please share and let me know what great pieces you find.

Quote of the Week "The singer has..."

"The singer has everything within him. The notes come out from his very life. They are not materials gathered from outside."

~Rabindranath Tagore

Quote of the Week "A good teacher..."

"A good teacher is like a candle - it consumes itself to light the way for others."

~Author Unknown

One Woman Band

I just had to share this clip this week. This lady has some amazing coordination and I just love this song. It might even motivate me to get to the gym this weekend. Enjoy!

glumbert - One Woman Band

Quote of the Week "The dream begins..."

"The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called "truth." "

~Dan Rather