A Few Sweet Updates

It's been a few months since my last entry, so I thought I would take a moment to give a few updates. 

First, I want to give an update on a story I related in one of my September posts titled "Sweet Moments, Sweet Rewards".  In that entry I told the story of the 11-year old boy who had a desire to be baptized a member of the LDS Church but was unable to until he received permission from his birth parents.  Well, I was pleased to learn this week that this sweet boy is being baptized today!  This news is so joyous and is such a special treat, in and of itself, but there is a "cherry on top" for me, at least, because he has requested my tithing song, "The Windows of Heaven" to be performed at his baptism.  Could anything be sweeter?  I am so happy for this young man for the wise choice he has made to be baptized.  I know he will have great blessings throughout his life because of this decision.  I am truly looking forward to attending his baptism!

The second update I would like to give is regarding the song, "We Are His Hands" (referenced in my September blog entry titled "Songwriting Marathons") that was recently performed in Salt Lake at the LDS Church Relief Society Music Festival.  My husband and I attended the concert and it was a thrill and delight to be there in person to see and hear a full women's choir performing my song.  The choir did a wonderful job!  The Church recorded the concert and sent me a CD.  If you are interested in hearing the performance of this song, click the "Play Song" link just below this blog entry.   The sheet music is also available to download through the link "My Songs found on LDS.org" (located under "Favorite Links" on the right).

Marlene D. Bartlett 

"We Are His Hands", performed by the Fruit Heights Utah Stake Women's Choir,

October 26, 2012, in Salt Lake City, Utah

Play Song - Click Here

Sweet Moments, Sweet Rewards

Music writing can be a lot of work, but the experiences that come along with it make it all worthwhile, and often tenderly remind me why I am doing this.  There are definitely many sweet moments and sweet rewards. 

I have been blessed with a very supportive husband who enjoys informing the Bishopric in our ward (church congregation) whenever I have written a new song, or when one of my songs has been selected by the LDS Church as a winner in their music submission contests.  In addition, our Bishopric has always been extremely supportive and has asked the Primary (children’s organization) in our ward to perform some of the children’s songs I write.  Therefore, it has become a bit of a tradition for our Primary to sing one of my songs each year during the Primary’s annual Sacrament Meeting Presentation.  For those who may not know what this presentation is, it is an opportunity for the Primary to share with the entire congregation some of the things they have learned throughout the year.  The program includes a lot of music, and it is quite an honor and a special treat for me when they also sing one of my songs. 

By coincidence, I currently serve as the Primary Chorister in our ward.  I seriously believe I have the best calling in the church.  In addition to having lots of fun with the children each week I get to stand in front of them while they sing.  It is truly priceless watching so many innocent, bright and shining faces singing their hearts out, and hearing their sweet voices as they belt out such beautiful words as “I feel my Savior’s love in all the world around me”.   Standing front and center while they sing is truly “the best seat in the house”.   I know, you’re jealous, right?  J

This year, the Primary has been working on a tithing song I wrote called “The Windows of Heaven.”  The song focuses on Malachi chapter 3, verse 10, which explains that when we pay tithing the Lord will open up the windows of heaven and pour out blessings.  In writing the song, my desire was to help children understand that the blessings we receive from paying tithing cannot be measured and are endless.  I also wanted the children to know how the Lord uses tithing money.

Of course, as with any church song they learn, I always hope children understand the meaning of the words they sing.  Sometimes I wonder if they really get it, or if they are merely memorizing the words for the sake of memorizing and nothing more.  I recently found out that at least some of the time they certainly do get it.

One of the teachers in our ward's Primary is a foster parent.  She and her husband currently care for four foster children who are not members of the church; however, these children come with them to church each Sunday.  Two of these children are in Primary.  These children, along with the rest of the children in Primary, have been learning my tithing song.  Last Sunday as we were reviewing the song I happened to glance toward this particular sister who was sitting with her Primary class.  She was staring toward me at the front of the room, with tears streaming down her face.  I wondered what had sparked these emotions, but I immediately decided I wouldn’t interfere.  I smiled compassionately at her as I continued to lead the song.  Later, during a brief break in singing I stepped out into the hallway and this sister followed me out the door, wanting to talk to me.  She said she wanted to explain why she had been crying during the song.  She explained that one of her foster children, an 11-year old boy, has a strong desire to be baptized a member of the church.  Unfortunately, before he can be baptized, they must first obtain permission from the child’s birth parents.  In the meantime, he has been very interested in learning as much as possible about the church.  She then related to me this story:

Sunday morning this boy approached her and asked, “Is tithing really used to help build the temples?”   She assured him, saying, “Yes, it is.”  He then stated, “Then I want to pay my tithing, too.”  He then filled her hand with money and told her it was his tithing money and he wanted her to help him pay it.  She was very touched by his sweet gesture and generosity and told him she would help him do that.  After he left the room she sat and pondered, wondering what had prompted him to ask that particular question about tithing.  She couldn’t recall ever discussing it with him so she wondered where he had learned that tithing was used to build temples.  It then dawned on her that he had learned this from my tithing song.  So, later on that morning in Primary when we began to sing the song, she became overwhelmed with gratitude and emotion as she listened to this sweet child, along with the other children in Primary, singing these words: 

Tithing helps His gospel spread,

And builds temples on this earth,

I am so grateful tithing’s blessings

Are of eternal worth.

For me there is nothing sweeter than to know these song words have been pondered by at least one child.  Not only did he ponder them, but he took them to heart and made the decision to act on them and decided on his own that he wanted to pay tithing.  In my mind, if nothing else ever comes of this song it will have served its purpose.  How grateful I am to have played any role whatsoever in bringing these words to life so that a child could be taught this simple gospel truth.  Could there be any sweeter reward for me than this?  This is one of the many reasons why I continue to write music.  I am so grateful for the opportunities I have been blessed with to be an instrument in some way in helping to move the gospel of Jesus Christ forward, through music. 

                                                            Marlene D. Bartlett

Songwriting Marathons

Moments of inspiration in song writing, when they happen, often require immediate action on my part and often result in what I refer to as a “songwriting marathon”.  In other words, I may end up staying up all night, or until I am satisfied the song is safely on paper and I won’t forget it entirely.  After an all-night or all-day marathon I will often let a song sit for a few days, or sometimes months, before revisiting it.  I find this helps me gain a fresh perspective the next time I look at it.  I will often find errors I may have been too exhausted to spot as I was writing it.

Several months ago, while editing a children’s song I had been preparing to enter in the 2012 Church Music Submission contest for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I experienced the biggest songwriting marathon to date.  What resulted from this marathon was not the song I had intended to submit, but a surprise song and experience I had not even dreamed of.  In the six years I have been submitting children’s song entries to the Church, I have never submitted an entry in the Relief Society (women's organization) music category...until now. 

The night before the submission deadline I had been doing some final editing on my children’s song and was finding it very difficult to focus.  I kept getting a nagging feeling that I needed to do something with a tune that had been “haunting” me all week. In fact--no joke, as I would start to sing my children’s song, I would discover I was actually singing the tune of the new song with the words to my children’s song, even though the two didn’t quite fit together.  I was so distracted that I ended up setting aside the children’s song in order to do some serious contemplating on whether I needed to work on the new song.  As I pondered, I kept getting the distinct feeling that I definitely should, but there was a huge problem.  I had no lyrics! 

Admittedly, my biggest hang-up in writing songs is often over the lyrics.  The words need to be meaningful, especially with religious songs, and they should flow off the tongue easily.  Many lyrics rhyme--not all, but mine usually do, and they need to have the proper meter, timing and rhythm.  Therefore, when I start to work on a song if the words don’t come to me before the tune, the song will often take much longer to complete.  In the case of this new, surprise song, there was a melody with absolutely no words.  I had a feeling it was supposed to be a song about service, and the melody running through my mind felt right in three-part harmony, so I assumed it might eventually be a Relief Society number (emphasis on "eventually"…as in a few years from now). I was certain there was no way I would be able to write a song with three-part women’s voices complete with words and accompaniment in less than 18 hours.  It was already after 10:00 p.m. and I was pretty tired, but I decided to take the matter to the Lord.  I had to know what He wanted me to do. 

Afterwards, to be honest, I wasn’t really expecting anything to happen, so I was somewhat caught off guard by what transpired.  I had done something some people may consider a dumb move.  I had actually bargained with the Lord.  I told Him that if He really wanted me to write the song I needed His help with the words, and that if the words would come quickly I would stay up all night and would do everything I could to get the song done on time.  I figured that would be the end of it.  A word to the wise:  Be careful what you ask for and agree to do in your prayers!  Almost instantly, the words came.  In less than 10 minutes the lyrics for the entire song were completed.  At that point, tired or not, I knew I was definitely committed to staying up all night and fulfilling my end of the bargain!  I was completely exhausted the next day, but with the Lord as my partner the song was completed in time to meet the submission deadline.  Whew!  Talk about a marathon!

A funny story:  That morning, I was so exhausted and the notes were starting to become a blur for me, so I needed a second opinion to be sure the song was actually okay and wasn’t just my fuzzy imagination.  My college-aged kids were just starting to wake up and were getting ready for the day, so I asked two of them to come into the room and listen to the song and give me their honest opinions.  They asked whether this was the children’s song I had been working on and I explained it was an entirely new song I had begun the night before.  So I clicked the play button on my computer (the magic of using Sibelius for my music-writing software), and they listened to the song in three-part harmony being “sung” by an electronic, synthesized choir, complete with the piano accompaniment.  When the song ended, I turned to them and asked what they thought.  To my horror, both sat staring in silence at the computer monitor with awkward scowls on their faces!  This confirmed my worst fears that, due to extreme exhaustion, my senses had become impaired and I had royally messed up the song.  So I commented on their scowls and asked them what they didn’t like about it.  After a long pause, my son finally shook his head and said, “No…it’s not the song…I mean…it’s that I can’t believe you just wrote all of this overnight!”  Then my daughter said, “Yeah, it would have taken me months just to write half of the first page!”  Of course I then realized neither of them had actually paid much attention to the song because they had been stuck on the fact that it had been written overnight.  I laughed and said, “Never mind about that!  I really need your opinions because I have a deadline to meet.”  So I played it for them again.  Afterwards, to my great relief, they both offered positive remarks. 

This marathon experience definitely provided me with an opportunity for growth and taught me a great lesson in obedience and commitment.  It also reinforced my testimony of the power of prayer.  It was such a priceless and treasured experience for me that had this been the only reason for writing the song it truly would have been sufficient.  However, there is apparently more.  The song was in fact selected by the Church as one of the winners in the Relief Society category and will be performed at the Relief Society Music Festival in the Assembly Hall in Salt Lake City, Utah on October 26th, 2012.  The Church has also asked permission to publish the song on their web site.  This is "frosting on the cake" for me and I couldn’t be more delighted! (See Blog entry, "A Few Sweet Updates" to listen to the song).

I think about what I would have missed had I simply chosen to ignore the nagging feeling of working on this song and instead wrapped up my children’s song and merely went to bed.  Sure, that would have been the easy thing to do, but then I would have denied myself the opportunity for something greater; an experience that was certainly more worthwhile than anything I could have ever imagined.  I hope to be blessed with more of these priceless songwriting marathons in the future…as long as they don't happen all at once!

Marlene D. Bartlett

How Do I Begin a Song?

Many people ask me how I begin writing a song; whether I come up with a melody first and then think up words to go with it, or if I write the words first and then the melody, or if it all comes together at the same time.  For me, it is all of the above.  Sometimes a phrase or a thought will “shout out” to me in a way that I feel moved upon to do something with it.  Other times I will have a melody in mind that simply won’t go away unless/until I do something with it.  Often, the melodies are accompanied by at least a few words that help spark the melody.  I love the more rare moments when it all comes at once.  Those are the easiest songs to write.  

When I think of a melody and can’t get it out of my mind I refer to it as a “haunting”, for lack of a better term.   Song hauntings can be very distracting and when they occur I will often have a very difficult time focusing on anything else going on in my life until I sit down and actually do something with that tune. One of the most unusual examples of this is when I dreamed about a song and woke up singing it, complete with the words and melody.  That song haunted me for an entire week, day and night and during my sleep, until I finally stopped and did something with it.   By the time I finally put it down on paper I was nearly sick of the song.  Nearly!  I had to take a break from it for a few months before I could pick it up and make the final edits on it.   That was an interesting experience.

I hate it when I forget a good song that briefly goes through my mind and I think it might have potential.  If I’m in the middle of something important or just too busy when a song hits me and I don’t stop and jot down at least a few notes and/or words right then, I often find myself forgetting the song.  I wonder how many missed opportunities I have had because I didn’t act on a song when I should have.  For this reason, I try to keep a pen and paper handy all the time, just in case an opportunity arises.

One thing’s for certain, not one of my songs is ever completed without a good dose of prayer.  Prayer is definitely my “secret ingredient”.  I find that praying frequently brings about inspiration, and if I am in the middle of working on a song, making sure I understand the inspiration I am receiving is crucial.  So there is a lot of prayer taking place before, during, and after writing a song.  Prayer definitely results in wonderful opportunities for inspiration.  In fact, I’m certain I couldn’t compose a thing without it.  As a result, I struggle with taking credit for any of the songs I’ve written, or receiving recognition for them, and it is why I like to submit music to the LDS church.  It’s not really my inspiration that is writing them, after all.  I’m just the instrument putting them onto paper.  The inspiration for the music belongs to God.  When I pray for inspiration I am enlightened.  I firmly believe that any of the songs I’ve written could have been given to someone else.  Maybe I happened to be the one praying for inspiration at just the right moment.  If I hadn’t prayed, perhaps someone else would have done so and as a result would have received that particular song instead of me.  I definitely believe prayer is the key.  So if you want to write a song, the best advice I can give you is to pray!

Preparing myself to be able to write a song and receive inspiration is also important.  If I am getting pieces of a song running through my mind I will often go into a “zone”, where I tune out things that are distracting to me.  Basically, it means keeping the radio and television turned off and possibly going into a quiet room in the house, or even staying up late when everyone else is asleep and the phones aren’t ringing, etc., or getting up in the early morning hours.  I will also pull out scriptures or inspirational books or talks to read, especially if I know the topic of the song.  I like to study the topic in detail so I can be prepared to complete the lyrics with a full knowledge and understanding of that subject.  When I am well-versed on a topic, the lyrics come much easier and are more meaningful and the melodies flow much more readily and smoother.  I think combining all of these elements, mixed with lots of prayer, helps me in preparation for writing a song, especially as it pertains to being able to receive inspiration for a song.

A song will not write itself, meaning I have to actualy sit down and put it on paper, or in my case, onto a computer (so it can be printed on paper).  Either way, it takes time and effort and I have to allow for that time and even make the time to do it.  A simple one-page song can take hours, even days, of work.  Therefore, when I have a song in mind that needs to be put on paper I find that I really have to organize my time more efficiently to allow time to write it.  I often wish I had a USB port in my brain so I could just plug in a flash drive, upload the song I am thinking of, and ta-dah!  Instant song!  Wouldn't that be wonderful?  Well, until someone invents that for me I will continue to spend hours in front of the computer inputting notes and rests, etc. and making sure everything looks good on paper.  This can be tedious at times, but in the end I often look back at a finished product and have joy in the realization that I was successful in accomplishing the task.
 

Lastly, I wouldn't be writing songs if I didn't enjoy doing so.  This has been a fun adventure for me so far.  Each time I sit down to write a song I marvel at how many different ways a song could potentially be written, or how many different tunes can be sung using the same sentence.  There are endless possibilities, which means there are still billions of songs yet to be written.  I love it! 

So there it is, in a nutshell.  That’s pretty much how I write a song. 

Marlene D. Bartlett

Every Song (and Blog) Has A Beginning...

I am relatively new to the world of composing.  While on occasion throughout my life I have come up with simple tunes, the first song I composed in its entirety, with both words and music, was in 2005.  Since then, I have composed many more songs and continue to do so. 

I love music!  Music touches my soul so deeply and in so many ways that I struggle to find the words to describe the depth of its impact on my life, but I will do my best to convey my thoughts throughout this blog.  Where I may fail in the written word, I can only hope that the music I write may help to convey my thoughts and feelings in a manner that will also touch the souls of those who hear it.  Then, perhaps a full understanding of my love of music can be achieved.

In the coming weeks and/or months, I will be posting more about music here and will also leave some thoughts on how or why some of my songs came to be.  If you are looking for some of my music, you can find a few songs linked on the right side of this page, under "Favorite Links". 

This is my first attempt at blogging, so please forgive me if you notice my lack of understanding of the blogging world and of computer technology in general.  As I learn more, I will be making changes and updating things to look a little more attractive on this page.  Please bear with me!  Any constructive suggestions would be greatly appreciated!  

Also, if anyone has had any experiences relating to any of my music I would love to hear about it!

Marlene D. Bartlett