“Music is the literature of the heart; it commences where speech ends.” Alphonse de Lamartine
“Music is a language that doesn’t speak in particular words. It speaks in emotions, and if it’s in the bones, it’s in the bones.” Keith Richards
I love listening to music. I’m a dabbler when it comes to playing music.
There’s a piano in our house, a keyboard beside my computer, a banjo, a couple of recorders, and several tin whistles. I also have a closetful of instruments not seen in a typical music store: a hurdy-gurdy, a harmonium, a half-set of uilleann pipes, an Anglo concertina, a mountain dulcimer, and a hammered dulcimer. I’m not very good at playing any of them. But, I was enchanted enough by the sound of each that I have spent some time trying to figure them out.
I’ve also dabbled in songwriting. When I first started, a few years ago, my focus was country music. Since then I have tried my hand at sacred music. I’d like to experiment with some EDM and pop ideas as well.
About a year ago, a song I wrote, “Lord, Fill My Heart with Thankfulness,” was published as a choral anthem by Augsburg Fortress (Minneapolis). The arrangement, by Walter Krueger, can be found here:
The song has lyrics about gratitude and a melody with sort of a Celtic feel. I recently finished creating a stop motion video for the song. Here are the lyric and non-lyric versions, as well as another video with some footage about how it was made:
Lord, Fill My Heart with Thankfulness (lyric version)