Music for teaching

I think that songs from the Primary Children's Songbook are some of the best ways to teach children. You can teach a child almost anything about their world or the gospel with a primary song. When I tell people that, sometimes I get a look like, "Yeah, yeah. That's nice."

Well, I'm going to prove it here by sharing a few really fun primary songs. I'll bet you hadn't thought much about the lessons in these songs since you were a kid if you even remember them at all!

I will follow God's plan (about the plan of salvation and our purpose on earth)
My hands (parts of the body)
Every star is different (how differences are good and help us serve our purpose on earth)
Healthy, wealthy and wise (healthy sleep habits)
We are different (how to embrace differences)
Hum your favorite hymn (self-discipline)
Friends are fun (how to be a good friend)
Because God loves me (ways to see that God loves us)

You can learn any important life's lesson from the Primary Children's Songbook. I dare you to try and see if you can't. :)

30 day song challenge: Day 30 ... I did it!

Well, this is fall, and Thanksgiving is coming up. I really love grateful songs and harvest songs this time of year. Last year I think I was singing the hymn "Come, Ye Thankful People, Come" a lot last year. Although I think I sing it a lot every year. :)

This arrangement that I'm sharing was done by Mack Wilberg, and it is performed by the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church Chancel Choir and Congregation. (Today is Guy Fawkes day ... so I suppose I had to pick a protestant performance!:))

I've heard it sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the BYU-Idaho choir, and I think I liked what they did better. But this version is a pretty close second.

Come, Ye Thankful People, Come

Thanks for bearing with me as I went through with this challenge! I hope you enjoyed the music as much as I did.

30 day song challenge: Day 29 ... almost there!!

This is the very first (or one of the very first) songs my mom taught me to sing when I was tiny. I have started singing it to Little Pink Girl in the mornings. It is such a fun song!

30 day song challenge: Day 28

Some of these writing prompts are a little weird. I don't think that I've ever heard a song that made me feel guilty. Sigh. What should I substitute this time?

Since I've shared classical music the last couple of days, I think that I'll share another classical favorite today. Bach, along with Vivaldi, Handel and Pachelbell, is my favorite classical composer. Here is a piece that makes the cello my favorite instrument for a few minutes:

30 day song challenge: Day 27

Besides the violin, I also play the piano. I think I like listening to the violin better, but I'm better at playing the piano. I also get a lot more opportunities to perform or accompany on the piano that I do on the violin.

But I'm still not very good at the piano. I think I would be considered an intermediate. Someday, I hope to play Mozart's Turkish March on the piano! I tried to learn once, but it was too far above my skill level.

So here it is for you to enjoy! (Happy All Saints Day!)

30 day song challenge: Day 26

I used to play the violin a lot, but the last couple of years my violin has been gathering dust. I've only pulled it out a couple of times. But I love it so much! One day I will start playing regularly again. I've been in the BYU-Idaho University Orchestra (the non-audition one), and I have a goal to play in a community orchestra. Playing an instrument has so much more meaning when you play in a group!

I'm going to share Vivaldi's violin Concerto in A Minor, but, just so you know, I can only play the first and third movements. And I certainly can't play it like this artist does.

I hope you enjoy it! Oh, and Happy Halloween!

30 day song challenge: Day 25

Wow! I'm in the home stretch! I was starting to wonder if I'd finish this challenge ...

I saw Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband do this act in concert at BYU-Idaho. It made me laugh so hard! :)

30 day song challenge: Day 24

I think there might be a lot of hymns I would like to have played at my funeral. But for our purposes today, I'm going to narrow it down to one. It's one that expresses my testimony of my Savior and can vaguely express all that the Lord has done for me in my life.

"I Know That My Redeemer Lives" is a hymn that I've heard since I was a very small child. The more I grow, the more I appreciate and understand that hymn.

30 day song challenge: Day 23

My brother played two country songs at his wedding reception, and I was a little jealous. I really liked those songs, but he had got married first so he got to use them. So I'm going to share one of them, because I still think it would be fun to play at my wedding reception (although it already happened).

I like this song because it's how Brian and I met: through Divine intervention. When I look back over my last semesters at school, it is incredible how everything worked out to lead me to be at the right place at the right time.

Heavenly Father really does know exactly what He's doing!

30 day song challenge: Day 22

I actually like to listen to Kenneth Cope when I'm sad. Listening to his CD that I have always makes me feel better. One song in particular, "Never a Better Hero," helps me remember that the Savior will always be there for me and that He loves everyone.

I hope you love it as much as I do!

30 day song challenge: Day 21

Enya is an artist that I like to listen to when I'm happy, especially "Wild Child" and "Caribbean Blue." Since I've already shared "Wild Child," here is the other:

30 day song challenge: Day 20

I am almost two-thirds of the way done with this challenge!

This is another tough one. I don't usually listen to music when I'm mad. I like to stew over things, and listening to music distracts me from that. (Although, maybe I should be distracted ...)

I can't think of anything that I specifically seek out when I'm angry, so I'm going to share my favorite Celtic lullaby. In fact, this is the very version of Baloo Baleerie that I have on CD.

30 day song challenge: Day 19

My favorite album, Consider the Lilies, is done by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Here is one of my favorite songs from that album:

30 day challenge: Day 18

One type of music that I really love is fiddle music. I used to want to play fiddle. If I ever do, it will probably be after my kids are grown up. :) But I still appreciate the incredible talent that goes into it. And I really wish they played good fiddle on the radio.

I first heard about Leahy when I went to one of their concerts at BYU-I. I absolutely fell in love! It's eight siblings that have formed a band, and they all play multiple instruments. The fiddle, of course, is pretty much their soloist.

Here is one of their songs that I really love! I'm pretty sure you'll be hooked, too. Oh, and did I mention they all can clog? Talent is dripping out their ears!

30 day song challenge: Day 17

Well, I don't listen to radio, so this is a problem. It's been rare that I have listened to the radio much. The only time that I consistently listened to the radio is when I was working in Jerome, ID for my internship. I ended up driving the 2 1/2 hours home most weekends, and 2 1/2 hours back. It was also a 20-30 minute drive from my apartment in Twin Falls to where I worked. So, needless to say, I got bored and ended up listening to the radio a lot.

This is one song that I heard a lot on the radio, and I really enjoyed it. I guess it's one of the few of Tim McGraw's that I like.

30 day song challenge: Day 16

This is a song that one of my roommates liked to play a lot. It was one of her absolute favorites. I really liked it because it seemed so soulful and I liked the music. I kind of overlooked the fact that it was an awful song about being angry.

But then she dated a someone for a while, and then they broke up. She kept playing that song and said it was how she felt about her ex-boyfriend. From my point of view, she was being silly and very unfair to him. There was no reason for her to break up with him. And she was characterizing him as the bad person in this song! He'd been so nice to her.

Anyway, it ruined the song for me. I only think of how ridiculous she was being when I hear it now.

30 day song challenge: Day 15

Whoo! Halfway done with my song challenge.

This is another tough writing prompt. I don't know if I've ever come across a song that I feel describes me. There are songs that describes aspects of me or feelings I'm having. But not a song that I identify with in that way.

But this is a song that describes what I like to think that I will be some day. It is a special favorite of mine. I hope you find it beautiful and inspiring too.

30 day song challenge: Day 14

Since I really don't like rap (with only a very few exceptions), it would surprise anyone that I actually like this song. Talk about ornery and mean! But I guess after watching Grue on Despicable Me, it's a lot of fun to listen to his theme music.

30 day song challenge: Day 13

How can a song be a guilty pleasure?!! It's not like it's chocolate. I don't listen to music that I feel guilty about. So I'm going share my favorite song from a musical instead. Or, one of my favorites, anyway.

30 day song challenge: Day 12

As I've said before, I don't go listening to music that I don't like, so this is hard. I don't care for Carrie Underwood, but I wouldn't say that I hate her. I just think that she always sings about arguments and bad men and being angry. I really don't think that she is very mature either. So, here is a song that is kind of an example of that.