Posts Tagged ‘music’

So when I first heard about Guitar Hero years ago I thought the concept was SO COOL… not because this nerdy girl has really ever wanted to be a rock star, but because I thought it was pure genius to use a video game to really teach people how to play guitar.

But I was a bit disappointed to find out the guitar controller little more than a glorified toy. A very fun toy, mind you — remember those little plastic guitars where you turn a crank and out pops Mary Had a Little Lamb? It’s more FUN that that. And I’d imagine the same for RockBand. Wii Music also looks fun but it doesn’t even have instruments. But why not go the extra mile and make a controller that works like a real guitar, with buttons that match the chord positions, so people could really learn to play? And while you’re at it, why not make a Piano Hero with a keyboard controller that teaches how to play piano for real? How hard would it be, and why hasn’t anyone done that?

I’ve wondered for years, just not intensely enough to google it I guess, because this morning, I found out someone has.
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Those of you who know me know I love to sing at Christmas, but not everyone knows why. As a kid I could relate well to the Little Drummer Boy. Our neighborhood had a tradition of giving each other gifts as Christmas approached. And I remember several years where some unknown neighbors sent all sorts of goodies – oranges, turkey, clothes, and even toys for the youngest children. Being large family on an educators income, we didn’t have much to give back. But we could sing together, so sing we did, to as many neighbors as we could reach every year. (more…)

Lilacs Bloomed Every Spring, Just like before… I loved that eerie song about the Soldier Boy by John Rutter. We sang it in our SATB choir in either Highschool or Junior High. I’ll type the full lyrics if I can remember them. But more than the song I like Lilacs! Here are seven pictures, including my favorite: the six-fingered mutant lilac!

See anything wrong with this lilac?

Update: For anyone who found this page googling for the song Soldier Boy, I found a lovely recording of it here. And here is a sample of the recording — certainly the best I’ve come across!

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In case you didn’t know where to find it, here’s a list of all the Primary Program songs for 2006. (more…)

Now I know why Thompson called his primer “Teaching Little Fingers to Play” Check out Ethan and Mary at the piano:

Ethan and Mary playing Grandma Christensen