Sometimes life gets going so fast that I feel like I'm running a race and cannot keep up with the person at the back of the pack. Such has been my life for the past six years as I've enjoyed the adventures of a particularly busy church calling (Stake Young Women President), and becoming a grandma. Both have their strong points, and blessings (I have to add that I absolutely adore being a grandma!). Through it all, I've managed to find some time to write quite a few new songs, including some that I submitted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints for consideration in their future Children's Songbook and Hymnal (perhaps some future blog entries will be about some of these songwriting experiences). Unfortunately I haven't been able to update my music blog before now. My apologies.
Being a Grandma certainly has its benefits and music is definitely a large part of my grand-mothering. When our first granddaughter was born, I wanted to help instill in her a love of music. Naturally, singing to her was something our entire family did with her from day one. As soon as she was old enough to sit up a little and use her hands, I sat her on my lap at the piano and let her experiment with the piano keys. With my left hand wrapped around her I would use my right hand to play the melody of familiar Children's songs from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, or one of my own songs, or to start ad-libbing a new tune altogether. Often, she would stop playing and would watch with wonder as I played arpeggios and other fanciful-sounding things, mostly on purpose, to create something interesting for her developing mind and ears to listen to, and for her inquisitive eyes to watch and follow.
One day at the piano with her, I started playing a sequence of notes that she took a particular interest in. She abruptly stopped what she was doing with the piano keys and intently focused on my hands, appearing to really enjoy what she was hearing. So I kept playing the same sequence, over and over, and all the while she watched and listened, quite intrigued. As I continued playing, I began to notice there was a certain familiarity to what was being played, or that it seemed like a familiar melody should go along with the sequence of notes. That melody quickly came to light, and soon I found myself humming the tune of "I Have Work Enough to Do" along with the accompaniment I was improvising. It was a slower rendition, yet it was soothing and moving to me, and apparently, to our little granddaughter as well. I decided I wanted to try to pursue this a little more and see where it went. So, after my granddaughter left for the day, that's what I did.
As soon as she had gone home I sat down at the piano again and played the right hand as I had played it before. Then I added the left hand. Before long, I had formed a new accompaniment for the hymn. The melody remained pretty-close to the original hymn, with some slight variations, but the accompaniment was unique. I then went to my computer and got the basics of it all laid out so I wouldn't forget it. And then I set it aside for a few days to deal with other pressing responsibilities pertaining to my church calling.
Over the coming weeks I found a few moments at a time to work on this song. Each time I sat down with it I added a little more, beginning with a flute obbligato. Then, a women's chorus was added and the song suddenly became something rich and inviting. To me these new additions gave the song a certain sense of urgency of the message in the song's lyrics, to serve others. As I continued to work on the song I envisioned a sunrise, and me getting ready to get out of bed in the morning, thinking about who I needed to serve that day. I then envisioned the sunset at the end of the day and myself laying in bed thinking about who I served that day and how fulfilling it was. I then pictured getting ready to close my eyes to sleep, but then...wait...I still have work to do tomorrow! The work is never done! As my rendition of the song started to parallel this scenario, the meaning of the words became much more clear to me and I truly began to love the song.
By March of 2016, the song was mostly complete but my other obligations prevented me from fine-tuning the editing on it. So I sort of rushed through the editing of it, to the best of my availabilities at the time, and then whisked it off (via web upload) to the Church on the day of the music submission deadline, hoping it would be good enough.
Well, it didn't come as a huge surprise to me when my song was NOT selected as one of the winners. However, I was still a little disappointed. Each time I played through the song again I had a strong impression that it needed to be submitted to the Church. I assumed (correctly) that in my rush to submit the song I had made some mistakes. Therefore, I was determined to find some quality time to work on it some more and see what needed to be fixed so I could re-submit it the next year. I had a year to find that time, so I waited for the right moment.
Several months later I finally found a calm moment to look over the song again. This time, I looked through it more carefully, prayerfully, and more determined. Almost immediately, I found several glaring technical errors, including a missing time signature. Oops! I was quite embarrassed that those things had slipped by me before, and I was relieved to have the opportunity to make the corrections and try submitting it again.
I submitted it again in March of 2017 and was very pleased when it was awarded the Award of Merit (second place), in the Relief Society song category. What wonderful news! The song was performed in the Church Music Festival in 2018 and will eventually be added it to the Church Music Library.
It gives me great joy to think that this song arrangement basically came to light with a grandchild on my lap. I will always remember those sweet, inquisitive eyes watching my fingers moving up and down the keys, and her sweet ears, alert and in tune, hearing and feeling possibly what I was hearing and feeling at the same time. It was her curiosity and interest in what I was playing that kept me going forward with the song, adding more notes to keep her interested and attentive. If I hadn't been sitting at the piano with her that day, responding to her interest in what I was playing, it is possible this new arrangement of "I Have Work Enough To Do" may not have ever been written. One might even say that our granddaughter co-wrote the arrangement with me, and the Lord. This experience has been, for me, definitely one of the wonderful perks of being a grandparent. I truly love being a grandma!
I don't yet have a recording of this song but if I get one I will be sure to add it here for those who would like to listen to it.
Marlene D. Bartlett
