For more info check out http://www.neverstopsinging.org/
4.29.2011
Video of the Week: Never Stop Singing
Today's "Video of the Week" is the opening of the PBS documentary celebrating Minnesota's rich choral legacy. It explains the draw for singers everywhere to gather and share in song no matter the person's age or skill level. Enjoy!
4.27.2011
Great Egg Shaker Technique
I love playing auxiliary percussion instruments. I feel that they are unsung hero's in the percussion world. I have been working on some of my percussion technique lately and came across this video that sucked me and had me replaying it several times in fascination. Enjoy!
4.24.2011
Prayers and Songs: Easter Sunday, April 24, 2011
"Forever" by Chris Tomlin
Jesus, Son of the living God, you have conquered death and we rejoice! We celebrate the opportunity for new life for all in your sacrifice on the cross. May we live in the joy of this resurrection day!
"Lord I Lift Your Name On High" by Rick Founds
We are so blessed in the Risen Christ! Thank you Lord for giving us another day to worship you. Guide and nurture us this morning as we sing Easter’s Alleluia’s.
"Because He Lives"
by Gloria and William J. Gaither"Lamb of God" by Twila Paris
"Christ the Lord is Risen Today"
by Charles Wesley (words) and Lyra Davidica, 1708 (music)Contemporary worship music selections and original prayers written by Emily Elliott for worship this week at One Spirit United Methodist Church in Kansas City, MO
Quote of the Week: "The resurrection gives..."
"The resurrection gives my life meaning and direction and the opportunity to start over no matter what my circumstances."
~Robert Flatt
4.22.2011
Free Download: "May the Peace of Christ Be with You"
GIA Music is offering this beautiful Japanese blessing, "May the Peace of Christ Be With You", arranged by Lori True for worship services dedicated in memory of those affected by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
Check out the links below for this free download.
"May the Peace of Christ Be with You / Ki Ri Su To No"
A Japanese folk melody and blessing arranged by Lori True – MP3 / Reprint / Full Octavo
Windows Users: Right click on the links below and select "Save As".
Mac Users: Hold down the "Control" key while clicking on the link below, then select "Save As".
4.21.2011
Music Job Search Series: Special Requests for Worship Musicians
In a music ministry job search you still need to have a polished resume and cover letter but you also could be asked for a number of things that are truly specific to the job you are applying for. I have seen requests for “Worship Philosophy Statements”, A “Personal Spiritual Disciplines Outline”, a brief essay about your “Salvation Experience” or “Demonstration of Worship Leading Skills: Audio or Video” to name a few. In this post I want to focus on Audio or Video and creating your own worship philosophy statement.
Demonstration of Worship Leading Skills
I am kicking myself now for not video taping more of myself in worship. Not having video of yourself leading worship and sharing your musical gifts will not cut it these days when job searching. So, I encourage you to record whenever possible. Record rehearsals, worship warm-ups, band practices and entire worship services. Anytime you are sharing your musical talent in and around the church is a video opportunity. Pick your best stuff and make a DVD highlighting your work. Don’t forget YouTube either. That great solo you did last weekend would be perfect for a short online video and more and more search committees are asking for links of your work posted online.
Find out if your church records services and if they can give you hard copies of the services where you felt your skills really shined. You can then put together a CD of your best audio clips or a DVD to add to your resume package. You can also make those YouTube videos as well by taking a nice picture of yourself or a picture of something that compliments the song and have that be the background while your audio plays if you don’t have good visuals. This gives you another link that is available and a video you can embed on your website or blog.
So, one of my goals this year has been to work on making more recordings. I have a digital camera that takes pretty decent video when close to the subject so I have plans in the next couple weeks to record some of my piano playing and make short YouTube videos. I also have a few songs I would like to sing and make into videos. I found out that you can use Google’s Picasa program to make photo montages and layer music over it and then turn it into a video that can be posted on YouTube. So, now you don’t even have to have special video editing software. How cool is that?
In the past few months I have collected CD’s of the special music I have shared in worship so that I can begin to create tracks of individual songs and organize them for a sample CD down the line. I use the open source program Audacity to accomplish that with my husband’s help.
Think Traffic also shared a great video on how to create video when you’re not sure were to start.
Four Easy Ways to Create Video for Your Website from Corbett Barr on Vimeo.
Worship Philosophy Statement
Everyone feels strongly about worship in one way or another. So, when you are writing a worship philosophy statement it’s important to speak from the heart and share your priorities for effective worship. Once you have explored what your heart says, think about those that worship with you and what you would want them to experience and take away from your time with God each week. If you are feeling stumped by this process or have never thought about your philosophy before check out this Evaluating Worship Questionnaire to get some ideas.
Now it’s time to get some of your thoughts on paper. Start by making a list of words that describe your ideas about worship. Write down the first things that come to your mind. Here are some of the words and phrases that I came up with while brainstorming:
Dynamic Relevant Multi-Generational Multifaceted Welcoming “Traditional with an eye to the Contemporary” “Full of Life” Healing God-Centered Excellent Powerful Reflective Emergent Restful History Biblical Legacy Silence Participation Prayer Community Thoughtfulness Relationship Culture Story Celebration “All the Senses”
I then Googled “Worship Philosophy” and “United Methodist Worship Philosophy” and found a few examples to further get me started. Here are a few of my favorites:
- What is the Philosophy of Worship That Unites Us from Desiring God
- Philosophy of worship from The Complete Worship Musician
- Philosophy of Music Ministry from Argyle United Methodist Church
I also was able to take my resume objective statement and pull out a sentence that would then create a personal motto for worship. This motto can then be used to focus my writings about my worship philosophy.
“To strengthen personal relationships with God through dynamic worship and fellowship.”
This post is getting quite long so I will plan to share my completed worship philosophy in a future post. Join me next week as we continue our journey into job searching in the music world. Through out this series I will cover Job Searching, Resumes, Cover Letters, Special Requests for Worship Musicians, Selling Yourself to Prospective Employers, and what to do while you wait.
See you next week for Selling Yourself to Prospective Employers.
4.20.2011
Lenten Devotional: Week Seven
Welcome to the seventh and final week of this Lenten journey! For this Lenten season I have put together a weekly series of devotionals from the Songs and Prayers of the Taizé community. Each devotional in the series will include a Psalm, Songs from Taizé, a picture of the cross that I hoped will aid in your reflection time, Intercessions and a prayer. If you have just joined us and want to start from the beginning here's week one followed by week two, week three, week four, week five & week six.
So take a minute to reflect on this week's message.
Psalm from Psalm 143
Lord, make haste and answer;
for my spirit fails within me.
Do not hide your face
lest I become like those in the grave.
In the morning let me know your love
for I put my trust in you.
Make me know the way I should walk;
to you I lift up my soul.
Teach me to do your will
for you, O Lord, are my God.
Let your good spirit guide me
in ways that are level and smooth.
For your name’s sake, Lord, save my life;
in your justice save my soul from distress.
Rescue my life from oppression
for I am your servant, O Lord.
Song
"Lord Jesus Christ", The Community of Taizé
Silence
Intercessions
Jesus, Son of the living God, splendor of the Father, eternal light, we worship you.
Jesus, gentle and humble of heart, our help and our refuge, we worship you.
Jesus, God of peace, friend of all, source of life and of holiness, fullness comes from you.
Jesus, brother of the poor, goodness without measure, inexhaustible wisdom, we worship you.
Jesus, good shepherd, true light, our way and our life, we worship you.
Jesus, joy of the angels, master of the apostles, strength of the martyrs, we worship you.
Jesus, light of the witnesses to the Gospel, radiance of all the saints, you satisfy our longing.
Prayer
Breath of God’s loving, in each person you place faith. It is a simple trust, so simple that all can welcome it. Recognized or not, you kindle a fire in our darkness that never dies out. Amen
Song
"In God Alone My Soul", The Community of Taizé
*Special thanks to these online resources who helped me pull this together.
4.17.2011
Prayers and Songs: Palm Sunday, April 17, 2011
"Hosanna" by Carl Tuttle
Jesus, Son of the living God, eternal light, we worship you and give thanks and praise for this day. Hosanna!
You are the good shepherd, our way and our life. Guide us and help us to feel the awesome power of God’s presence in this place.
Jesus, gentle and humble of heart, our help and our refuge, we ask for You to dwell in us right here as we worship.
"Holy is the Lord" by Chris Tomlin
Thank you Lord for giving us another beautiful day to worship you. We are so blessed in Christ Jesus! His forgiveness and presence bring to light, trust and praise in all of us. Forgive us Lord for where we have fallen short and fill us with your Holy Spirit. Guide us this morning as we sing God’s praises. Amen.
"You Are My King (Amazing Love)" by Billy James Foote
"O Lord Hear My Prayer" by Taize Community
"Majesty" by Jack Hayford
Contemporary worship music selections and original prayers written by Emily Elliott for worship this week at One Spirit United Methodist Church in Kansas City, MO
Quote of the Week: "Where man sees..."
"Where man sees but withered leaves, God sees sweet flowers growing."
~Albert Laighton
4.16.2011
Musical To-Do List: April 16, 2011
Well, Things have not gone quite as planned the last couple weeks. I've had some family illnesses, taxes, and some changes at church in regards to the worship music that have gotten me a bit side tracked from my goals. I also had a birthday in all that. I am working on a better balance of life and work. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
So, here is an update and a few things on my list for next week.
-Continue to search for Music Jobs and add them to the Job List (This is an on-going task)
-Send out resume to friends and colleges with referral letter to network for music work.
-Follow-up with all interested students for summer lessons
-Organize my printed contemporary worship music into notebooks for better storage
(I just need to find the three ring binder hole punch
)
-Make a video recordings of my recent solo piano work and make a few videos for YouTube
(The house just hasn't been quiet enough yet for this one nor have I had the time. But I can't forget to accomplish this one soon.)
-Make final list of children's songs for recording consideration.
This is part of a new series here at the Elliott Music Studio called "Musical To-Do List". I am hoping that these posts will help me focus my actions and share with you what I am doing to achieve my goals for 2011. I need the direction, extra motivation and accountability this will provide.
So, here is an update and a few things on my list for next week.
-Continue to search for Music Jobs and add them to the Job List (This is an on-going task)
-Send out resume to friends and colleges with referral letter to network for music work.
-Follow-up with all interested students for summer lessons
-Organize my printed contemporary worship music into notebooks for better storage
(I just need to find the three ring binder hole punch
)-Make a video recordings of my recent solo piano work and make a few videos for YouTube
(The house just hasn't been quiet enough yet for this one nor have I had the time. But I can't forget to accomplish this one soon.)
-Make final list of children's songs for recording consideration.
This is part of a new series here at the Elliott Music Studio called "Musical To-Do List". I am hoping that these posts will help me focus my actions and share with you what I am doing to achieve my goals for 2011. I need the direction, extra motivation and accountability this will provide.
4.13.2011
Lenten Devotional: Week Six
Welcome to the sixth week of this Lenten journey! For this Lenten season I have put together a weekly series of devotionals from the Songs and Prayers of the Taizé community. Each devotional in the series will include a Psalm, Songs from Taizé, a picture of the cross that I hoped will aid in your reflection time, Intercessions and a prayer. If you have just joined us and want to start from the beginning here's week one followed by week two, week three, week four & week five
So take a minute to reflect on this week's message.
Psalm from Psalm 130
Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord,
Lord, hear my voice!
O let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my pleading.
If you, O Lord, should mark our guilt,
Lord, who would survive?
But with you is found forgiveness:
for this we revere you.
My soul is waiting for the Lord.
I count on God’s word.
My soul is longing for the Lord
more than those who watch for daybreak.
Because with the Lord there is mercy
and fullness of redemption,
Israel indeed God will redeem
from all its iniquity.
Song
"Let all Who are Thirsty", The Community of Taizé
Silence
Intercessions
Lord Christ, reveal the presence of your Kingdom in our midst.
O God, keep watch over the gate of our lips; may every hurt of this day be buried in your forgiveness.
Lord Jesus, show your light to the hearts that can no longer find the road to you.
O Christ, by your life offered to God, show us the road to life.
O Christ, remain alongside all who are undergoing a night of torment, the ill and the homeless.
O Christ, keep us from the snares of discouragement and worry.
Our eyes are turned to you, O Lord; our soul finds rest in you.
Prayer
Bless us, Christ Jesus; enable us to surrender everything to you. Amen
Song
"Jesus, remember me", The Community of Taizé
*Special thanks to these online resources who helped me pull this together.
4.10.2011
Quote of the Week: "Everything is blooming most..."
"Everything is blooming most recklessly; if it were voices instead of colors, there would be an unbelievable shrieking into the heart of the night."
~Rainer Maria Rilke,
Letters of Rainer Maria Rilke
4.06.2011
Lenten Devotional: Week Five
Welcome to the fifth week of this Lenten journey! For this Lenten season I have put together a weekly series of devotionals from the Songs and Prayers of the Taizé community. Each devotional in the series will include a Psalm, Songs from Taizé, a picture of the cross that I hoped will aid in your reflection time, Intercessions and a prayer. If you have just joined us and want to start from the beginning here's week one followed by week two, week three & week four.
So take a minute to reflect on this week's message.
Psalm from Psalm 90
O Lord, you have been our refuge
from one generation to the next.
Before the mountains were born
or the earth or the world brought forth,
you are God, without beginning or end.
You turn us back into dust.
To your eyes a thousand years
are like yesterday, come and gone,
no more than a watch in the night.
Make us know the shortness of our life
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
In the morning, fill us with your love;
we shall exult and rejoice all our days.
Show forth your work to your servants;
let your glory shine on their children.
Let the favor of the Lord be upon us.
Song
"The Kingdom of God", The Community of Taizé
Silence
Intercessions
O Christ, by remaining faithful till death, you show us the road to greater love.
O Christ, by taking the burden of sin upon yourself, you reveal to us the way of generosity.
O Christ, by praying for those who crucified you, you lead us to forgive without counting the cost.
O Christ, by opening paradise to the repentant thief, you awaken hope in us.
O Christ, come and help our weak faith.
O Christ, create a pure heart in us; renew and strengthen our spirit.
O Christ, your Word is near, may it live within us and protect us always.
Prayer
Christ Jesus, even when we can feel nothing of your presence, you are always there. Your Holy Spirit remains continually active in us, opening little ways forward to escape from our dead ends and to move towards the essential of faith, of trust. Amen
Song
"Dominus Spiritus Est", The Community of Taizé
*Special thanks to these online resources who helped me pull this together.
So, They Say it's Your Birthday...
Today, April 6th is my birthday. So, in honor of this momentous occasion I would like to share this family favorite with you! Feel free to sing along. I know my Mom will. Enjoy!
4.03.2011
Quote of the Week: "If we had no..."
"If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome."
~Anne Bradstreet
4.01.2011
Free Worship Together Easter Songs for Download
There are 10 free Worship Together downloads for worship available for Easter that I just had to share. They are all so good it's hard to find a favorite. Check out the free lead sheets and mp3 downloads. Quite a few also have videos to help speed your learning. Enjoy!
Christ Is Risen - Matt Maher
Savior Of The World - Ben Cantelon
Savior King - Hillsong LIVE
Jesus Paid It All - Passion Band
Stronger - Hillsong LIVE
Happy Day - Tim Hughes
Jesus Messiah - Chris Tomlin
Mystery - Charlie Hall
On The Third Day - Matt Maher
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