Thousand Years

I put together this video to celebrate National Adoption month.  The song is Thousand Years by Christina Perri covered by the trio I sing with, One Horizon.  I arranged the piano, violin and vocal harmonies.  I hope you like it.  Can you tell what well know song is being played by the violin???  Please comment below if you have any guesses and I will tell you if you are right.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lhb6kx0kz_k

"Glorious" Cover Video Contest

Wow!!!  I just had another music rush this week as I decided to just "go for it" when I found out about a youtube music video contest with the song "Glorious" from the Meet the Mormons.  I arranged a three part harmony of the song and then put together a youtube video of me singing the song in less than 5 days.  I have never walked out in the open, through a bunch of trees singing my own musical arrangement before.  Can I tell you how weird that was.  But I did it!!!  WOO HOO!!!  Who needs theme parks when I've got adventures in sharing my music with the world.  If you would like to check it out click on the link below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lomC7hcCkA

I would also like to give a shout out to my 11 year old son who helped with video taping of this "Glorious" music video using only a sony cybershot (point and shoot). He captured the footage used in this video in less than 30 minutes, came up with the ideas of how to angle the camera and where I should walk, touching the trees and nature... EVERYTHING!!!! One of my favorite parts of the video footage that he captured was the gust of wind that picked up for about 5 seconds. It was the only wind we had throughout the whole time we were filming. I don't think we could have timed it better. The wind rushing through my hair totally matched the lyrics of the song perfectly. I feel like it was the Lord letting me know he was with Dallin and I as we worked on this project and he was pleased with our efforts. That is the reason I put together this music in the first place, I really felt like it was important for me to try to contribute something to this beautiful collection of cover songs that were meant to uplift and bring people closer to Christ.

Believe

In anticipation of a very special event this weekend I have put together the following slide show.  I hope you enjoy it and most especially I hope you will join me in watching the October General Conference of 2014.

Click here to watch the "Believe" Slide Show:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ki94f83yjiuv23n/I%20Belive%20in%20Christ.mp4?dl=0

All pictures used in the video presentation come from a group still pictures that go along with a set of Bible videos called, "The Life of Christ Bible Videos".  To watch these videos go to lds.org or click the link below.

The link for the bible videos is:
https://www.lds.org/bible-videos/videos/shepherds-learn-of-the-birth-of-christ?lang=eng

To check out the October General Conference of 2014 just click on the link below:

http://bit.ly/1p8KEmB

Nothin' Better

I have just finished recording my latest song on garageband.  This song captures feelings I have had about the adventure my husband and I have taken ever since we first met.  I tried to find a picture that I could post with the song and fell in love with this one.   I hope you like the song.  It is called, Nothin' Better.

Image courtesy of panuruangjan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

https://soundcloud.com/catrinabaum-yahoo-com/nothin-better 

You've Got a Friend in Me

I just recorded my arrangement of the song You've Got a Friend in Me by Randy Newman. This is part of a project that I have been working on with a trio I sing with called One Horizon (onehorizonmusic.blogspot.com). One of the other members, Carolyn Brady, has arranged a version that is a little more country and we hope to blend the two ideas for our upcoming Summer Concert program. Enjoy! 
PS The image I attached to this post is a picture of the three of us.

https://soundcloud.com/catrinabaum/youve-got-a-friend-in-me

I Feel Good

I am so excited to tell you about how I had the privilege of having Jacob Lutrell listen to two of my original compositions and give me feedback on what he heard.  Jacob Lutrell is a songwriter who has worked with well known artists such as Justin Bieber and Enrique Eglasius (this mispelling makes me laugh...this is how I thought it was spelled before I looked it up).  The song that I am most familiar with, that he wrote, is "Fall" sung by Justin Beiber.

I was a little nervous to have Jacob listen to my songs because I wasn't sure if my music was something he would be able to connect with, but after much pondering I knew he was the person I wanted to share my songs with.  I suppose some of my nerves came from performing it live in front of him as well.  It was such a rush to be able to do that.  He was very complimentary.  He liked the way the lyrics were so conversational and, my personal favorite, he said the song just made him "feel good".  This also, by the way, was my number one goal in sharing the song with Jacob.  It was so rewarding to hear him say how he felt when he didn't even know that I wanted to touch him and his life even more than I wanted his feedback.  

Jacob also had some valuable ideas that I have tried to incorporate into my writing.  He suggested to change some of the lyrics, because although they were very conversational some words were not very "singable".  AND, he thought that I could rework my chorus so that I could develop more of a hook.  SO AWESOME, Jacob!!  Thank you.

The song I have worked on the most, since Saturday, is "My Better Half".  What I decided to focus on the most is developing a better hook.  As a result I have changed the name of the song to "We Will Always Be".  I am pretty excited about the changes.  I, of course ran over to my sister's house, who happens to live next door, to get her feedback first.  She was awesome as always and helped me eliminate any remaining unnecessary lyrics.  Once I finished there I came back home and was able to play it for the piano tuner who just happened to be working on my piano.  I asked him if he could identify the HOOK after listening to it one time... and he did.  WOOHOOO!!!  Mission accomplished.  He also suggested I get it copyrighted right away.  SO, I will be doing that first before I put the recording on my blog.

That is all I have time for right now.  Stay tuned for more songwriting conference details.........

Adventuring

I went to a songwriting conference at Refinement Records in Draper, Utah, over the weekend, and have so many different topics to cover about songwriting I think I will divide my thoughts into several different posts. But, first and foremost, I will start with a little personal introspection.

I found that this experience of preparing for and then attending the Refinement Records event caused me to dig deep and define who I am as a songwriter and why I do it.  The answers I came up with were surprisingly rewarding and valuable.  I am a songwriter because I have felt my God-given talents to creatively write words AND my love of music in all forms come together within me in such a powerful way that I felt it was my duty to share what I have with others.  More than just my duty, it is one of the purposes for my life to develop and share these things.  This process of sharing is not only for the enjoyment of others, but for the development and growth within myself.  I love that.  It causes me to feel such gratitude to God for giving me the life that he has.  The joy I get from each creative step is hard to put into words.  I think the title of this blog captures the idea well, though.  Songwriting is truly an adventure.

As much as I am enjoying my adventure, I equally enjoy hearing others' adventures as well.  So, I have a questions for any of you who read my blog.  Are you a songwriter?  If so why do you write music?  If you don't write music do you have some other creative outlet that just brings you joy and fulfillment and purpose?  Please comment on this post so I can hear about you.  

Fool Proof Closet Recording Studio

When I was getting the two songs "Fly" and "My Better Half" ready for auditions I found myself back in the bedroom closet with bedroom and connecting bathroom doors locked to prevent noisy interruption.  It was almost fool proof.  I even turned off all of the lights in the closet because I wanted as little noise as possible while recording.  The only drawback was when my son started vacuuming his room for his Saturday morning chores it sounded as if we were in the middle of an air show runway.  The main vent for the vacuum just happens to be right outside of my closet.  Ha ha.  It makes me laugh just thinking about it.  So funny!

While I was recording the song "My Better Half" I took pictures of my setup.  I wanted to remember my adventure.  My computer was enclosed in a towel padded cubby (not even sure if this helped in the least); I had a TV tray with homemade bongo drums (3 different sized plastic containers thanks to my sister.... YOU ARE AWESOME!!!) and a chair to sit my old aching bones down on while recording.
I really enjoyed myself.  I have always wanted to be a drummer.  It was fun to pretend I was one for just a few minutes.

I really captured the reality of the memory with dirty laundry baskets in the background... hee hee.  :)

TAKE A VOTE

So, if you had a chance to listen to the latest songs that I posted through podbean you will see that I wrote down that I entered the song I call "My Better Half" as an audition piece for a songwriting conference open mic fight.   I had a hard time choosing between that one and the other song called "Fly".   It was a hard decision, but that is where my heart was on Saturday, the final day that auditions were being accepted.  I would love to know what you think.  Please take a vote.  Which song would you enter into an audition?.....

 

Image courtesy of basketman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 "My Better Half"

OR

Image courtesy of think4photop / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

"Fly" 

?

Honest Confession

I confess that I have been avoiding this blog not only because of the holidays, but also because I have some fear about being so vulnerable on a blog that is available to anyone and everyone.  When I told one of my friends about my secret adventure in songwriting blog (I have only told a hand full of people) she was concerned about people "stealing" my songs.  I had to just sit on that thought for a while and return to my purpose in writing this blog.  I still have some much to learn about how to use modern technology, but when it comes right down to it, my purposes are really basic.  All I want to do is journal my experiences in songwriting and share them with others.  It is that simple.  There will always be feelings of fear and vulnerability tucked aways somewhere.  That is what songwriting is all about.  So, with that in mind, I am here to catch up on my "songwriting" experiences.

First, I have been sitting down and arranging all kinds of church songs from my congregational hymnbook.  It is so much fun to take well known songs, sit down at the piano and see what comes out of my mind.  I am looking forward to recording these and putting them on the blog.  As a homeschooler of a 5th grader and mother of two, though, time is limited.  As I get better at the technical part of recording and sharing I am sure I will be putting a lot more on the site.

Second, I went to a recording studio and made a scratch track of my song "Fly".  What an emotional roller coaster that day was.  The appointment was set for Friday December 27th.  Right in the middle of holiday chaos and in the middle of out-of-town visitors staying at our home for 10 days.  I found the emotional tension, inside me, building to quite a height as I woke Friday morning to head off to the studio.  Because it was a scratch track I only recorded the piano once and the vocals twice, but it was good to just get a feel for what it was all about.  This was my first time with this particular producer and I was slightly intimidated.  I hope to get the recording on this website so you can see how the song grows and progresses.  I would love to hear what your thoughts.  If you get the chance please do leave comments.

Third, I got an email from a local record company on Wednesday about a songwriting seminar coming up in a few weeks.  There is an opportunity to audition for an all-star open mic fight and I have been trying to get a few recordings together for that purpose.  When ever something like this comes up I find that my excitement tends to get out of hand and I am tempted to let go of other responsibilities in my life.  I did start my day with prayer and study, this morning, though, so hopefully I don't get too off track.

So, on that note I am back to homeschooling.  Time to wake up my son who would sleep all day long if I would let him.  Here is to happy songwriting.  :)

Here is Fly with an added drum idea.... http://catrinabaum.podbean.com

CROSS YOUR FINGERS

I have been so excited about what I am doing with my latest songwriting project I have neglected to update my blog.  I actually have another post I am not quite finished with and will post that right when I finish this one.  I just needed to see if I have finally figured out how to share my songs on this blog.  Here goes.  I hope this works.

Image courtesy of kibsri / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

http://catrinabaum.podbean.com