Recent comments
Author: Richard Schletty
Alex: And all the best to you and your wife. Thanks for telling me about your listening session after mass. You inspired me – we are both smiling. Drop back in when you get some time and inclination. I'll leave the pot of coffee on.
Author: Richard Schletty
Steve, this is absolutely stunning as far as being "in and with Christ" and top drawer as far as production. Is that you singing? I am in awe of your group's ability to create beautiful, inspiring music.
Author: Steve Byrne
What a great idea to have a songwriters forum such as the MAS. Haven’t seen any similar opportunities here in the UK. You sing with a lot of passion and conviction, Richard, and I went to listen for a couple of minutes before realising I was watching the YouTube clips for over half an hour! Very well done indeed.
‘Every blessing.
Author: Richard Schletty
Great, Steve. Thanks for linking us up with your sheet music. Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas to you and your group.
Author: Steve Byrne
Dear Richard,
Thank you so much for your feedback and kind words of encouragement. Very much appreciated!
Very happy to supply the sheet music for the song - different versions available here for anyone to use.
Thanks again, My prayers go with you.
Steve
Author: Richard Schletty
Aurora, thank you for shedding more light on this song. If you can find all the lyrics, would you be so kind as to post them here?
Author: Aurora
Hello! I graduated from Poveda Learning Centre (class of 1980), originally called Institucion Teresiana in Manila Philippines. We had annual Marian song competitions and I am told this version, which Povedans call "As the Rain Rushes Down" was composed by an earlier class. I think it has one verse as Maria sings it.
Author: Alexander John
Hi Richard,
Yesterday when my wife and I got back from church I checked in on this site for the first time in quite a while and saw the link you posted. We watched it together and it was a great line up of tracks and it was pretty cool to see our two at the end. Well done and thanks for using a couple of ours. Hope you have been well and I plan to come back to this site a bit more often, just life has been messy lately....
Author: Richard Schletty
Hi, Alex. Good to hear from you. Did you see the YouTube of my half-hour show which includes two of our song collaborations?
https://www.topcatholicsongs.com/songcasters-episode-13-schletty
Author: asiansa09
This song is also an inspiration from being an associate member of Sisters of Providence with the mission of Blessed Gamelin Emilly "Table of the King."
Pictures of Blessed Gamelin Emilly at Portland Providence Health & Services, Portland, OR, USA.
Author: asiansa09
Lately, I have to take my daddy to the Providence hospital for medical reasons. They always take pulse of his heart beat for each visit. I realize that it is very important that we all start with heart beat.
Author: asiansa09
I don't have melogy for this song yet.
I try to write the song lyric with 8 counts and 4 beats.
And also the chorus repeats 2 times or 4 times.
It is difficult to write 8 words per line for 8 counts, because English is my second languages.
Maybe Richard can co-write the song for better lyric of the song.
Author: Richard Schletty
I am glad you saw this post with our song "Our World So Beautiful." I was hoping you would. You have inspired several good songs and I thank you for that. Let's keep collaborating!
Author: Richard Schletty
Dan, thanks for sharing your song about the sanctity of life from the moment of conception. We must all respeact human heart beats – even the tiniest ones!
Author: Richard Schletty
Dan, thanks for sharing this song inspired by God's providence. Do you have a melody yet?
Author: asiansa09
I am thinking of writing a song lyric with 8 counts and 4 beats.
Chorus repeats 2 or 4 times.
This is just trial for song lyrics that I come up with, feel free to collaborate and edit.
Author: asiansa09
I am glad to see my song lyrics that I collaborate with you on here.
Author: Richard Schletty
Steve, welcome to our TCS community. I only have to listen to this song video to know that you and your group have much to bring to the table! Very fine songwriting, recording and imagery. A full spectrum of sound and very earnest song-praying. I sure am looking forward to additional songs – both for the Mass and for the masses (as inspirational faith songs). Bravo. Good to see that this one has the bishop's approval. Is sheet music available for Table of the Lord?
Author: Richard Schletty
Yes, I embedded the player. I saw that your permissions at SoundCloud allowed me to do that. I think it helps to give site visitors immediate access to the music – otherwise they might move on to the next article! They can always click your links for more info. I hope that's OK with you. - Richard
Author: stevdrak
Thank you for the positive feedback Richard, I will certainly pass it on to the rest of the group. Was it you who also went ahead and embedded the player? If so, Thank You!
God Bless. Please keep up your good work in music.
Audra
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Author: Richard Schletty
"The Joyful Mysteries, sung in entirety to contemporary Caribbean style music." Nicely done. Very easy to listen to and easy to understand. I like the alternating between female soloists, male soloists and the choral voices. Thank you for sharing this. I hope it will bless many. Looking forward to the other Mysteries of the Rosary.
You can embed the SoundCloud player here. Contact me if you would like help doing that.
Author: Richard Schletty
Very nicely written, played and sung. Thanks for sharing.
Author: Alexander John
Hi Richard, I think I'm starting to recover and thank you for having me in your prayers. I'm about to check out the new project you have done with Anthony Moran. I think this website is really cool the way people can network and collaborate for the glory of GOD. Great job running it! All the best. Alex.
Author: Richard Schletty
Alex, sorry to hear you are not feeling well. I hope and pray for your full recovery. Glad to hear about the couples group you are joining at church. May you be blessed by others and by God. I apologize for my long silence. I'm trying to stay afloat with graphic design jobs, family activities and church singing. Check out my new project with Anthony Moran: www.insong.org
Author: Alexander John
Hi Richard, sorry I haven't been in touch lately, I've been quite ill but just wanted to check in and say hi and hope your doing well. My wife and I are looking at joining s couples church group so that's pretty exciting for us. Anyway hope you and everyone here is well. Blessings. Alex.
Author: Holy Chorus
Thanks so much Richard for taking time to do what you did. I listened and have no complains whatsoever. Agree that everyone's ears are different but thanks to today's digital technology one is able to easily tailor preferences. Blessings!
Author: Richard Schletty
To Brin, Mich, Sola, Denzil, Shey, Shen and Hiru,
Thanks for your appreciation and encouragement. I do what I can with limited time and resources, and welcome those who can provide or suggest good content for TCS. Keep up the good resonance for Christ. – Richard
Author: Richard Schletty
Listen closely to the MP3 file I uploaded (the one in the rectangular MP3 player). I reduced the top end. I think the high frequencies in your original upload were way too "bright." I applied equalization to the MP3 to balance it out and bring out the mids and lows. I'd be most interested in what you think. Of course, everyone's ears are different!
Author: Holy Chorus
Thank you Richard. It sounded OK when checked soon after upload, but you know best.
Also, thanks so much for the appreciation. The upload was virtually hot off the press, so TCS had it almost before anyone. As always, it feels good to have a positive comment from someone such as you.
Blessings
Brin and the rest of the Holy Chorus.
Author: Holy Chorus
Thanks so much Richard. Although primarily done for the greater glory of God, it feels so good to have a comment - and its special when from you. Hopefully we will be able to share a more live video of this soon. Thanks for your great work with this site and prayers and blessings for achieving greater heights, with all you do.
Brin, Mich, Sola, Denzil, Shey, Shen and Hiru
Author: Richard Schletty
A very devout song. Nicely written and sung. The visuals support the song very well. Thanks for sharing this.
Author: Richard Schletty
Thanks for sharing this song. Sounds good. Sorry about the flaky MP3 player. It doesn't always start. Sometimes have to refresh the page. I uploaded your song to our alternate MP3 player.
A SoundCloud embed works much better.
– TCS editor Richard Schletty
Author: Alexander John
Hi Richard, Thankyou for helping me with so much info. Basically I was thinking of getting a half decent usb microphone as I have a pretty fast laptop running Windows 7. Also thankyou for all your suggestions. I think I will look into buying Cubase Elements for $99. Also I do have a smartphone (iphone 6) so I could try doing what you recomended. I am not a student or teacher so I won't be eligable for those discounts but what I'm thinking is a $200 usb mic and spend $99 on Cubase. I really...
Author: Richard Schletty
OK. Then I think we're set on this number. I'll try to get it "hiphoperated" (recorded) this week. Peace.
Author: Alexander John
Thanks for the suggestions Richard. I really like this line you suggested:
Let's be the people who bring love and light.
Author: Richard Schletty
Instead of this for the last line...
We are people that with love comes light.
...how about one of these?
When we love each other, we bring the light.
or
Let's be the people who bring love and light.
Author: Richard Schletty
Alex, I recommend starting with this free DAW (digital audio workstation):
T6 DAW (by Tracktion)
www.tracktion.com/products/t6-daw
There are newer versions of Tracktion that cost money (Waveform or T7) but you should start with T6 to see if you like it. Get it installed and then drop me a line.
Next question: Do you have a good smartphone? I get very good voice recordings on my iPhone 6s Plus. I email myself a voice or guitar recording and then bring it into Apple Logic X for...
Author: Alexander John
Hi Richard, I have a laptop with Windows 7 but my budget is very small (about $500) and I'm not sure if that will cover the cost of a basic setup. I was thinking of going to a cheap studio to record it but I'm not sure how to go about it. I recorded non-catholic songs when I was much younger on friends setups but I don't speak with them anymore. Any tips or advice would mean a great deal as I'm also not that tech savvy. Cheers Richard.
Author: Richard Schletty
Hi, Alex. I can try to help you decide what to get for basic recording hardware and software but a lot depends on your budget as well as whether you have a Mac or Windows computer. So, let's start with your computer. Let me know what it is. I have had a busy year. Sorry that I've been offline so much. I promised I'd voice a couple more of your hip hop narratives.
Author: Alexander John
Hi Richard,
Hope you have been well. I am looking at recording my mixtape soon as I have just finished all 14 tracks in written form. I don't own any equiptment and was just wondering if you have any recomendations for a cheap basic setup? Hope your well and it's pretty cold here down under but hey that's Melbourne for you. Hope to talk soon. GOD Bless. Alex.
Author: Richard Schletty
I found two recordings of this song.
Hail Mary, Queen of flowers by Magpalacir Choir with lyrics
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuTEbSFWkRo
HAIL MARY QUEEN OF FLOWERS at Calape, Bohol
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vrsmfnr6XY
Hail Mary, Queen of Flowers, to you we offer
our love song filled with colors with so much splendor.
Your beauty, it lingers. God's blessings please shower unto us.
Hail Mary, Queen of Flowers, you're sweet as roses,
red roses, pink and yellow, white and scented....
Author: Richard Schletty
Glad you took a second pass at this. Now I will voice it. Talk soon.
Author: Alexander John
Hi Richard,
I just edited this track. I didn't realise how rushed this one felt until going back over it. Thankyou for your suggestions, definatly needed a bit of tweeking. I hope this version reads easier. Thanks for taking the time to help me with editing suggestions. God Bless. Alex.
1st Verse:
I try not to judge
But still cry when I love...
Author: Richard Schletty
Hi, Alex. I tried recording your hip-hop poem but got stuck at the last two lines:
Let's phase out evil cos it's dynamite
To the people I hope in your lives there's light.
I am not sure what that means and how to speak it. Evil is dynamite? Evil is dynamite to the people? To say something is "dynamite" can mean explosive or destructive. In other contexts "dynamite" can mean good or attractive. "Your speech was dynamite." "Your dress looks dynamite."
Thanks for looking at this...
Author: Richard Schletty
Hi, Linda. You can order a piano sheet music arrangement for Gary Ault's "All That We Have" from OCP:
Downloadable version: https://www.ocp.org/en-us/songs/11072/all-that-we-have#keyboard
OCP sample PDF here: http://cdn.ocp.org/shared/pdf/preview/30106344.pdf
"All That We Have" also appears in these GIA hymnals (which have piano book editions):
Gather 2nd Edition
Gather Comprehensive
Gather Comprehensive 2nd Edition
Catholic Community Hymnal
If interested in a full...
Author: Linda Villegas (not verified)
Good day,
I am a member of the Open in Spirit to God Prayer Group based in the Holy Spirit Parish located in Barrie, Ontario, CAnada.
I would deeply appreciate if you can advise how I can order on line a copy of the piano music sheet for Gary Ault's "All That We Have" music.
Thank you and God bless.
Linda Villegas
Bradford West Gwillimbury
Ontario, Canada
Author: Richard Schletty
Alex, I'll take a look at it. Good to hear from you again. Blessings on your and yours.
Author: Alexander John
Hi Richard,
I meant the church as a crutch in a way that it can help you walk through life even if you feel wounded. However in case it is misinterpreted by the listener I can change it.
Author: Richard Schletty
Hope is what we all need. You express it well – the gifts that God gives us all.
"Let GOD be the bandage and the church your crutch..."
I prefer to think of the church as a strong support for a person. I hope you meant it that way. "Crutch" can have a negative connotation.
RCS
Author: Alexander John
Hi Richard,
I have just added lyrics for a track I wrote called "Stronger Together" which I think your voicing would do the words great justice. Good to hear from you again. Alex.
Author: Alexander John
Hi Richard,
Thank you for taking the time to download and read my lyrics. I'm really glad you liked them and thank you for your kind words. I added a new link to Amazon.com where it's the same content just structured a bit better as the link I originally posted is the unedited version. I would love for you to do more voicings but I realise your a very busy man. So great to hear from you and GOD Bless to you and your family....
Author: Richard Schletty
Alex, I downloaded your free anthology of hip-hop poems. Nice to see them all in one place. You pour your heart out in these, giving strong testimony to the power of Christ in your life. Best wishes to you and your loved ones. Let me know if you want more voicings. Sorry that I faded away for awhile. I've got too much on my three spinning plates.
Author: Alexander John
Hi Richard,
I was thinking of recording a album with my own voice and beats. Once it's done I would like to share it online (here especially). I guess I just slightly doubt my ability to do good catholic hip hop by myself completely as my past experience with hip hop has only been the mainstream stuff before I was baptized last year and started changing things in my life including what I protitized. Thanks for everything...
Author: Richard Schletty
Alex, it's been real busy here but I'll try to find some time to voice a few more tracks for you. I hope my recordings provide not so much a "template" for styling as they do an inspiration. I hope you or your friends will give it a go soon with your own hip-hop voicings. I'm excited to hear what you come up with. Be yourself!
Author: Alexander John
Hi Richard,
I have some more written rough tracks that I was wondering if you wanted to voice once I have gone over them and fixed them up? Hope you have been well. Kind Regards. Alex.
Author: Richard Schletty
Happy New Year to you, too, Alex. I also hope to see more sharing and engagement here at TCS. I've been real busy with work, family and Christmas season music. But I want to get back to our Hip-Hop project. Expect word from me soon.
Author: Mike Sotiroff (not verified)
Ken;
The songs on your Adoration CD are beautiful. I play classical guitar solos as meditation pieces during our Catholic Masses here in Decatur, Illinois. I'm always looking for new arrangements to play especially ones that speak to me as yours did. Do you have the sheet music for your arrangements available for sale?
Your parish is fortunate to have you in their music ministry.
Thanks for your help and may 2018 bring you many blessings.
Thanks, Mike
Author: Richard Schletty
Lumen Hilare sings with voices of angels. A nice, balanced blend that calms the soul. I went to the internet to read more about St. Louis de Montfort and Maria Boguslawska. Hardly anything in English can be found about Maria. I found this at Wikepedia about St. Louis de Montfort:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_de_Montfort
"While the saint is best known for his spiritual writings, he was also a poet and during his missions managed to compose more than 20,000 verses of hymns....
Author: Richard Schletty
Jack, thanks for your kind comments, my good friend-in-music. Too bad we can't get this joint hopping the way macjams.com used to hop. Best to you.
Author: Guest (not verified)
Gotta say, the country (soft rock?) version grabs me. That said, both hit the right note. Wonderful lyrics. Sung and spoken spot on by Richard. Really nice guitar work on V2, Richard...
Jack
Author: Richard Schletty
Yes, it is a song sent from on high. Both the organist and the vocalist on this recording are very good. Have you recorded pieces before?
If you don't mind, I'd like to post the credits and lyrics here (which you have in the YouTube video):
Love is Patient
Composed by: Margaret Hoar
Vocals by: Andrea Leluika
Lyrics from Corinthians 13 4:8
Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no...
Author: fitz
Song was written by our late Mother who died this year which was very divinely inspired! and being a musician recently recorded it for all to enjoy for free!
Author: Richard Schletty
Yes, I did see that in your description. I just wasn't sure if you had paraphrased anything. I should have listened carefully with my New Testament open to Corinthians. What is your goal with the piece? Is the sheet music for sale anywhere?
Author: Bob Young (not verified)
I agree...
Lovely and interesting words.
Bob Young
Author: Richard Schletty
I'd like to redo some of the tracks I posted based on the things I learned along the way trying to do "God Hop" or "Hip Chant." Call it what you will, I think there are some particularly good moments. I'd like to replicate that groove consistently to create for you a resonant album of 10-12 poem-songs.
Author: Richard Schletty
Alex, let me get back to you soon. I'll give you my ideas and recommendations. Thanks.
Author: Richard Schletty
Thank you for sharing this song. Voice and organ are nicely composed and performed. It would be nice to see the lyrics. Is sheet music available?
Author: Richard Schletty
Congratulations, Mark! That's good news, indeed. Your band lives on.
Author: Living Waters
Update! This song just won an award! Read about that here on our blog:
"An Award for Living Waters!"
Author: Richard Schletty
Hi, Jim. Send me a note via the Contact form and I'll try to connect you. Thanks for the photo!
Author: Jim Lee (not verified)
In the 1960s we lived in Shrewsbury MO. Bob was a family friend and frequent guest in our home.
I have been trying to track Bob down. When he lived in Shrewsbury his roommate was "Rod"...I don't remember his last name. I was about 15.
I have a grainy photograph of Bob playing a piano for my brothers and sisters.
any help would be appreciated.
Author: Alexander John
Hey Richard, sounds good. Very old school hip hop feel. For somebody fairly new to the delivery of hip hop I'm very impressed. Hope you are well. GOD Bless.
Author: Richard Schletty
Keep posting your lyrics the way you have been. I’ll rap them as they are (with slight adjustments, as needed). Plus, I enjoy taking your seeds of inspiration to another genre, as a songwriting lesson for all of our viewers here at this website. I want to teach the craft of songwriting, but I’m best at Liturgical, Inspirational and Folk-Rock genres. So that noise you hear occasionally is me stretching beyond my comfort zone.
Author: Alexander John
Hi Richard, I agree that Love 101 would be the most fitting tittle for our project. I just listened to the recent uploads of our songs and they sound great. I do struggle to write in forms other than hip hop but if you are happy for me to continue posting lyrics in that form I will. I guess its because my whole life i have been into it and there is alot of great catholic hip hop artists I have been discovering this year in particular. Peace.
Author: Richard Schletty
I just posted a revised version of the Folk-Country version of Love 101. I felt that some phrasing was either too complicated or a bit hard to grasp. I am trying to make the song accessible to many. Let me know what you think. The two versions of Love 101 should be the model for the rest of the songs. I'd like to suggest that the name of the album be Love 101. - Richard
Author: Alexander John
Hi Richard, we definitely have alot of good material to choose from and I look forward to seeing and hearing the lineup of songs that we choose to use. Thankyou for collaborating with me and bringing so much life to my lyrics and also adding your own style. Its been alot of fun and I really hope that what we have done touches peoples heart and soul. Were you thinking of putting the album up online for people to download and/or doing physical copies. If we decide to put it online you can put it...
Author: Richard Schletty
Alex, I'd say we're about halfway toward completing our album. Now we're at the stage where we should decide what the best tracks are. Some of the recordings I did were very rough and I'd like to redo some of them. There are a couple standout tracks that have exceptional clarity, emaotion and/or artfulness. We should try to bring all tracks up this level. I need to master all the tracks so they have the same volume. I am going through all the tracks now and will give you my recommendations soon...
Author: Richard Schletty
Alex, please check out the revised Country and Hip Hop songs. I uploaded them here. I added some extra voices in the Country version and adjusted the volume of my voice in the Hip Hop version.
Author: Richard Schletty
Maybe I should do another version of Love 101. How about Gregorian Chant? :-)
I'm glad you and your better half like what I'm doing here. Thank YOU for the inspration. My friend, poet Bob Young, also likes both versions. See his poetry here: www.jesuspoems.com
Author: Alexander John
Hi Richard, my better half loves the country version and I dig both versions. I love how you can cross over my lyrics to different genres and make them sound as good as you do.
Author: Richard Schletty
Hi, Alex. I liked the title of your lyrics so much that I thought it should be folded into the refrain and repeated throughout the song. The lyrics below are an adaptation or paraphrasing of your thoughts – but put into a fairly strict and uniform rhyme and meter. As my version develops, I will be demonstrating how "prosody" can make the lyrics compelling. I'll post the lyrics this evening, then slowly work at a melody and chord progression over the next few days. I think this song could turn...
Author: Richard Schletty
Alex, I laid down your Hip Hop lyrics over some drum loops in Logic Pro. I hope you don't mind that I changed a few things. It's very close to your original. I added the audio file to your original post entry above. Enjoy.
Love 101
Hip Hop version by Alex John
Slight revision by Richard
1st Verse:
The cold weather followed me all around town
But I never sold my soul even though I was down
Then I got to know the lord
That's when I knew it was time to put down my sword
My frown turned...
Author: Alexander John
I like the fact you are crossing over the hip hop lyrics into other genres and I think it takes alot of skill to do that. I was just letting you know that the hip hop lyrics I write and the way I write them may sem a bit messy and a bit over the place but when it comes to hip hop that sort of thing is common. But I really like what we have been doing and the track God Is On The Scene is a great example of what we can both do with our skill sets. Love 101 I think will turn out just as nice. Alex.
Author: Richard Schletty
It would help to hear some samples of your hip hop songs. I don't mean to push you into a structure that is not your style. My preference is for structure so I'm just showing you options that are inspired by your lyrics. With the above rewrite, I envision a Country styled style of music and singing, a genre that I have not explored. All for the glory of God!
Author: Alexander John
As far as the hip hop structure I am using it differs very much from the structure of all other types of genres. I have been writing and performing hip hop for over 10 years and am very confident in my ability to write "a good rap song". However i'm very new to all other forms of song structure and am willing to learn. I like what you do with some of my lyrics and the way you put them into other genres. It's all for the glory of GOD. Alex.
Author: Richard Schletty
It'll be a rather eclectic album. I explored a lot of different ways of approaching your lyrics. We need to do more work on all the lyrics. But things are shaping up. Thanks.
Sorry about the delayed approval of your comment. You forgot to sign in. Guest comments had been set to "require approval by admin" but I wasn't getting notices. I set guest comments back to automatic approval. However, I'll be at risk again for spam. It's a delicate balance.
Author: Richard Schletty
Alex, I sang your lyrics but they need some work. Think of lyrics as structured in couplets and stanzas.
Your lyrics should tell a cohesive story that progresses from "problem" to "solution" or some other construct.
I may start all over with different chord progressions, melody and beat. Maybe I'll try it as a God Hop tune. Don't know yet. Just going with the flow. I really like a lot of your "thought-flow".
Author: Joe Benco (not verified)
Were You There (When They Crucified My Lord)
is a protestant song and should never be sung in a Catholic Church.
Author: Alex John (not verified)
Thank you Richard for the nice comments. I also really like what you did with "Pieces of Peace". The melody makes it very soothing along with the vocals. Also very original the way it is put together. A cross between hip hop, spoken word with a very relaxing instrumental which makes it very memorable. Lookimg forward to hearing the other two and its looking like we have a full album on our hands. Alex.
Author: Richard Schletty
I like your Love 101 verses. There are some particulary poetic and "dig-deep" expressions in there. I'll try voicing this, along with the last two. Good job.
Author: Alex John (not verified)
A very nice song sung very well. So good to spread the word through good music at the church.
Author: Speakslike
Thank you for the feedback and I pray that our music changes people or at the very least gets them to become more aware of the way we Catholics see the world.
Author: Richard Schletty
Speakslike, you have an interesting song here. You have definite thoughts about the way some people live their lives without being grounded in faith and morals. I hope this sends a good message to people and encourages them to examine their lives. Thanks for sharing.