Recent comments

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.
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: Guest (not verified)
My mom and I both love this song.
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.
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.
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. 
Author: Speakslike
Thank you to all that are giving this song a listen. Please leave a comment telling what you think of this song. Thank you and God bless you all.
Author: Andrew Joyce (not verified)
Hello there, I've been looking for the sheet music for Mary Most Holy for piano accompaniment. I'm wondering if you have had it at all? 
Author: Nina Bewcyk (not verified)
About 10 years ago I was given a cassette with a beautiful song for children to sing and say the Rosary.  I all I remember is the  verse "Mother Mary, take my hand and teach me how to Pray.  Help me learn to love your Jesus More and more each day".  Does anyone know of this song or where I could find it?
Author: Alex John (not verified)
No worries Richard, I look forward to hearing them. Hope you have been well. Alex.
Alex, I'll be doing the voicings soon. Peace, Richard.
Glad you are back on the scene. Post more songs!
Mark, I remember when you first posted this. Did you remaster this? It sounds different in some way. Seems to have more presence and better instrumentation. The voices are better, too. Is it my imagination? This really rocks the house.
Author: MTR
I updated the Playlist by Uploading each of the Tracks in .mp4 format with a Bitrate of around 4096 kbps to make them play easier on a slow Internet connection.  Also, the original channel I published this playlist on was Hacked, and unfriendly messages were inserted for the viewer to see, so I had to take that channel down, and publish it on a new channel where the playlist was Unlisted to prevent that from happening again.
Alex, I'll be happy to voice your last two submissions. I do think your idea of trying out different structure, rhyming and symmetry in lyrics is good. I fully encourage that so you can expand your songwriting skills and genres. As always, I am willing to critique lyrics in a positive, constructive way. I gave you a sample of an optional song format/approach with "God Is on the Scene." I really like how that turned out. A couple fellow members of MAS (Minnesota Association of Songwriters) dig...
Author: Alex John (not verified)
Hey Richard, hope you are well. Just wondering if you like the two latest song lyrics I posted and if you would be interested in voicing them? I am going to explore different ways of lyric/poem/song structure for my next song I think. All the best. Alex.
Author: Mark Lajoie (not verified)
Only a year late, I noticed that you had re-loaded the song, and wanted to express my gratitude!
Author: asiansa09
It is not easy to come by and that we are able to come up with a beautiful song "Our World is So Beautiful" like this in everyday life.  I really appreciate to work with everyone.
Our World So Beautiful is finished. I have posted both an audio demo and sheet music. See original post at top of this thread. 
Thanks, Albin, for listening and commenting. Glad you like it. Needs more work but maybe it's headed in the right direction. I'll also do a hip hop version. 
Alex, I can also rap your lyrics the way you wrote them, as an option. Just wanted to stretch and try something a little different. The rough demo needs work – I sing flat on some of the high notes. Thanks for being flexible in our collaboration. Having fun!
Author: Albin (not verified)
A wonderful composition and performance. The voice, lyrics and music work beautifully together.
Author: Alex John (not verified)
Hi Richard,                     What you have done here by editing and re-constructing has worked well! As I'm so used to writing hip hop my song formations do jump around a lot and that's mainly because if you listen to rap it tends to jump all over the place unless it's a story telling track. But you have done good here and I very much enjoyed it.  Kind Regards, Alex.
Alex, I decided to do a rewrite of your lyrics to snap it all into a regular meter and rhyme. Check it out. No problem if you'd rather not have me rearrange your words. But I do want to show you the possibilities with using a "near-Nashville" formula approach to songwriting. I say near-Nashville because this rendition is my own self-styled flavor of Folk-Rock – I'm not following all the "rules," including the way I sing in my baritone register. This is a story that does not jump around as much...
Thanks, Alex. I just wish there would be dozens of people collaborating. Maybe there are connections and interactions happening of which I am not aware. 
Author: Alex John (not verified)
Hi Richard,                     Hope your doing well. I forgot to write back on the chat app but just wanted to say that you running this site is a great way for people to collaborate and get their words and music brought to life with the help of one another. Blessings to you. - Alex.
Glad you like it. I made some adjustments to the song this afternoon and uploaded the new version. I did pitch correction to my voice, corrected a few notes, and added a little bit more reverb. The song is in the key of D. Now I have to figure out the chord progressions. The next thing I will upload will have a gentle guitar added to my voice.
Author: asiansa09
I feel so peaceful when I listen to the song.
Yes! I plan to make this a very beautiful song, complete with piano, guitar and flute. Who knows, maybe viola, too!
Author: asiansa09
Will you prepare the piano sheet arrangement for this song too. I plan to share with others at Providence meeting during Christmas season.
Thank you for your lyrics and your reflections. Yes, we must be attentive to the divine mysteries that miraculously touch our lives each day. 
Author: asiansa09
That is why I ask people to pray for me and others whom I know throughout my life upon Christ and Sorrowful Mother Mary. 
Author: asiansa09
When I go out to explore the world, the only thing I realize the different between me and others is that I baptism vs. others.  God bless me!
Author: asiansa09
I visited China and Thailand 10 years ago in 2007.  Hope that my quiet prayer upon Sorrowful Mother Mary and Christ on the land is the seed that I sowed.
Author: asiansa09
I really like your voice for the song lyric.  Keep it that way is good enough.
I am attaching to Dan's original post a rough exploration of a melody for this song. 
Please note that I may have to upload a new version of the piano sheet music again (it will be v9). There needs to be a key signature change from Bb to Gmaj in the chorus.
Author: asiansa09
Please let me know when you submit songs to OCP so that I can follow up with you to see what is going on.
 Note that I just uploaded version 8 of piano-voice score. Now we can submit to OCP.
Author: asiansa09
Thanks for posting the lead-sheet and piano arrangement sheet.  That is really help to share with others to sing the song. Also, I hope that you submit to Oregon Catholic Press soon to see if they accept our work.
I'd like to do more with the soundbeds on your poems. The one where I used orchestral brass was pretty cool. Something to think about. 
Author: Alex John (not verified)
Hi Richard,                     I just read the interview with you friend and not only does he seem like a fantastic musician but what a prolific one at that. Also he seems very nice. I will listen to some more of his work throughout the week. An extremely inspirational man indeed. I hope to get some more writing done soon to post here and I think the EP is pretty good. Regards, Alex.
maddenmargie: Here are some songs to get started. By "upbeat" do you mean uptempo or a positive message? Will the songs be led by piano, organ, guitar, or sung a cappella? I will keep adding to the list. God Has Chosen Me (Farrell) https://www.topcatholicsongs.com/god-has-chosen-me-farrell God's Gift to All the World (Nguyen, Schletty, van Haren) https://www.topcatholicsongs.com/gods-gift-to-all-the-world Enchristment by Nguyen-Schletty https://www.topcatholicsongs.com/enchristment...
Alex, glad you think that Hip Hop project might be a good connection. Not sure if the project has a faith component to it. Let me know what you find out. By the way, you might think about doing a post that has a compilation of all our tracks to date – an EP (extended play playlist). I just sent links to all our tracks to Tobin Mueller, a friend and a great post-bop/jazz artist. See this article that just came out about his life with music: www.alsothat.com/home/2017/7/16/part-of-his-dna-...
Author: Alex John (not verified)
Hey Richard,                        I will check out the link soon and get back to you. They might be intrested in our little projects. - Alex.
Alex, check out this Instagram user and let me know what you think: http://instagram.com/gotchecked_records  I just ran across them today. 
Alex, I am just being your mouthpiece. I have no idea what you would sound like telling your story, so I just use my own "voice" and attitude and whimsy and gravitas to lay it down. No formulas, no constraints. Mostly, just letting it flow. I do redo a few phrases here and there until it sounds "right." Nashville or LA won't be able to judge these tracks! Thanks for putting your heart and soul on the line. We both hope it causes at least one person out there to think and feel and love a little...
Author: Alex John (not verified)
What you have done with both these tracks is amazing and what's best about our collaborations is it's GOD's work and I feel by doing this in a small yet positive way we are praising the lord aswell of giving believers and people in general something to ponder over and hopefully be touched by in some way. Blessings to you Richard and Thankyou for bringing life to my words better than I ever could.
Alex, my soundtrack is attached to your original post. It is a spoken voice and ceramic drum rendition. Enjoy.
Alex, I uploaded my vox track to your original post. Check it out. It is half-spoken, half sung.
Author: Guest (not verified)
Thanks Richard,                              Look forward to it. Blessings to you.
Good words here. I'll try to speak your soul. Talk soon, Alex. – Richard
Yep, I can lay a bead on this. Soon.
Very good. I see your lyrics are back up. Onward. 
Author: Alexander John
Hi Richard, I just took the tracks down for a little while as I needed to edit and change them a little. Look forward to hearing you bring the words to life. GOD Bless. 
Author: Maria7Steps
Wow 7 children - indeed they are blessings from above! True inspirations for song writing.  Thank you for sharing!  
Thank you for your kind and awesome reply! So good to know the details of your music ministry. I hope and pray your words will be an inspiration to others. What a blessing to have 6 children. We have 7 children – and 6 grandkids! We sacrifice much for them but receive much in return. Our concern for their welfare as well as our rejoicing in their "moments of achievement and goodness" are often the inspiration for our original songs. And as you rightly noted, God is the prime source of...
Author: Maria7Steps
Hello, Richard!  God works in mysterious ways indeed.  My husband and I have been serving in the Music Ministry of Couples for Christ since our children were babies.  I believe their exposure to charismatic, contemporary Catholic & Christian, and traditional music plays an important factor for us being a family band now (more of ministers really).   FOREVER (for the sacrament of marriage) was composed by our two elder daughters on one of our anniversaries.  SONG OF...
Maria, I explored your website and your songs at iTunes. I posted this story for you, based on the member profile you submitted and some images I found on your website. I look forward to your participation here. We'd love to know more about your journey in music. How do you write and record your music? Where does your family band play? What have been your challenges, solutions and rewards with Catholic music? - Richard
Providence Health & Services sounds like a very good organization. I visited their website. I can see how your lyrics were inspired by their mission statement: "As people of Providence, we reveal God's love for all, especially the poor and vulnerable, through our compassionate service." Thank you for reminding us of the words of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew: "For I was hungry and you gave me food, and I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you took me in. I was...
Author: asiansa09
My inspiration to write this song lyric is through the services of Providence of God. https://phsoregon.giftlegacy.com/
Some Catholic songwriters have achieved publishing deals with GIA, OCP and WLP. I would hope that there is always room for newcomers. A very good songwriter and musician. Paul F. Page, has been largely ignored by the leading Catholic music publishers. See Paul's bio here: https://www.topcatholicsongs.com/paul-f-page-free-music Paul's "solution" has been to give away his music for free. I am inclined to do the same. I will endeavor to create here a professional service that will help...
Yor EP lineup looks good. Please publish as free offerings. Thanks for letting me share your good introspection with others. And best of luck with your hip-hop studio!
Author: asiansa09
I have never submitted songs for publication, however, do you think that the only way for people to accept songs for publication is when the song are become popular.  Do you have any experience submitting songs for publication before?  How does it work?
Author: Alex John (not verified)
Hi Richard,                     I arranged the songs in this order that we did: 1. Raw Faith 2. Blessings 3. Time Watch  4. What's Left Is Beauty 5. Blessing - Remix (your favourite one). I think that is a good enough EP and I listened to them in that order and I think it works out a nice little project. Would you mind if I shared them with the church (for free distribution) and credit your name as the voice? Also if you would like to...
Good to know a bit about your music experience. Really good to know about your studio and album plans. May that all happen in a way that gives glory to God. – Richard
Author: Alex John (not verified)
Hi Richard,                     When I was younger I used to play the drum a bit but I wasn't very good. Then I rapped for a few years for fun but didnt realy record anything that I was completly happy with. However I am planning to write and rap/record a full Catholic hip hop studio album.
Alex, have you recorded your voice narrating, rapping or singing? Do you play an instrument?
Author: Alex John (not verified)
Sounds like an interesting idea doing a folk pop song with some of my lines. Looking forward to hearing it. 
Not sure about the number of tracks. Maybe 5. I am thinking about taking your best phrases and doing a Folk-Pop song with traditional structure and styling.  You are the one telling your story. Be careful of too much repetition of certain phrases. Each song should tell a specific story about your journey. I could offer suggestions for tightening up lyrics and such, but then it wouldn't be so much you. I am normally quite formulaic, following songwriting prescriptions such as even line...
I'm carving a bit of new territory here and that's all good. Thanks for the latitude to experiment. I like Blessings (with the music bed) best so far. Sure, an EP.
Author: Alex John (not verified)
Very nice work Richard. You are really bringing my lyrics to life! How many tracks do you think we should do in total for this project?
I added my audio file to your original post, Alex. Hope it's OK.
Author: Alex John (not verified)
Hi Richard,                     I really enjoyed both versions of "Blessings". So far I think we are doing really well. You mix it up a bit which is great and each recording is unique. I almost have another song written too. Once again great stuff! Were you think an EP or Album we could put together? Kind Regards, Alex.  
Alex, I have attached my recording to your original post. Let me know how you like it. - Richard
Sorry, I have not yet submitted our two songs. André van Haren did finish the piano music score for "Enchristment" last week. We needed this engraved score in order to submit the song. We already have what we need for "God's Gift to All the World." I'll get back to you soon, Dan. I will post the piano-guitar score for Enchristment later today. I need to add the guitar chords above the voice staff.
Author: asiansa09
Is there any news about our submitting songs to Oregon Catholic Press.  Are they accept or denied our songs?
Thanks for sharing this. I like it. 
Author: Alex John (not verified)
The acoustic remix is also very nice. 
On my laptop, the percusssion in Remix was sounding a little too loud and sharp, making the voice hard to understand. I remixed it in Logic Pro X to tamp down the high rat-a-tat sounds. I have added Remix version 2 to the player. I also decided to post the narrated version I did the other day with gentle 12-string guitar strumming. Both Alex and I would like to know what other listeners think.
Author: Alexander John
Hi Richard,                     I created a seperate blog post for "What's Left Is Beauty" and also added the remix to it and credited you as the performer. - Alex
Author: Alex John (not verified)
Hi Richard,                     I will do that today. Also feel free to share our tracks where ever you would like to. Perhaps on your website? - Alex. 
Alex, please post "What's Left Is Beauty" as a separate blog post (as opposed to being buried in comments here). Then people can listen with the MP3 player. Then I'd like to direct a friend to your new blog post. Thanks.
Enchristment is now on the lineup at CME Radio (Catholic Music Express). catholicmusicexpress.com/cme-radio/
Author: Alex John (not verified)
Hi Richard,                     Sounds good. It's quite a bit of fun and I think we are getting some pretty good results. - Alex.
Alex, I do plan to run those other two lyrics you wrote. Gimme a couple days. Fun stuff. Hopefully will resonate with some. 
Author: Alex John (not verified)
Hi Richard, hope you are well. Just a quick message to ask you if you think the other two songs I have posted are worth recording? (Raw Faith and Blessings). If you want something else fresh let me know and I should have another track written by tomorrow. GOD Bless. - Alex.
Author: asiansa09
I keep thinking that this song is perfect for confirmation class for prayer.
Author: asiansa09
here is website of Providence that you might find interested in take a look at it  http://www.providenceiscalling.jobs/
Author: asiansa09
This is so wonderful opportunity for us, please follow the direction of how to submit the song according to their website.  Please let me know if there is anything I can add for the cover letter. Look like we still need the music sheet (piano arragement) for the song Enchristment.  
Here is the quick reply from OCP: Thank you for contacting us with your request and giving us the opportunity to serve you.   We would be happy to review your submissions. You can see the details of the music submission process at this link: https://www.ocp.org/en-us/submit-music   Please let me know if there is anything else I can assist you with.   Sincerely, Paul Senz Customer Service Representative Oregon Catholic Press
Dan, I just sent an email to OCP. We'll see if they bite! I sent Enchristment and God's Gift.
Author: asiansa09
I was going to ask you about it too. I saw the website https://www.ocp.org/en-us/missals-and-hymnals-education I have the same question as you ask too.  I was thinking about it a few days ago too.  But I never submit anything for publication yet.   Will you make a phone call to them asking about the license of how to submit new song for publication. https://www.ocp.org/en-us/submit-music
Yes, I encourage everyone to share the song freely – both the recording and the sheet music. They are not for sale anywhere and I do not have a publishing contract with anyone. My songs posted here fall under a Creative Commons public sharing agreement. In other words, share freely but always give credit to the writers/arranger (me, you and André). Let me know how the community in Providence likes it. Do you live in Oregon? I appreciate their prayers. I wonder if we should submit the song to...
I had the same thought. Maybe use both in a project. Thanks for letting me explore like this. 
Author: Alex John (not verified)
As I thought it would be the narraration is spot on and I dig the hip hop style - especially since it's your first attempt. Which do you feel is better? I was thinking we could use both in our project (with the hip hop track being a "remix" or something. Great job! I will get to work on more lyrics. - Alex.
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