Sunbeam Waltz

Sometimes people ask how long it takes me to make a mashup for my YouTube channel.

I've had a little trouble answering because there are a few steps. I have to come up with the idea of combining two or three songs with the same theme, throw them together, tweak them, practice them, and then find the time to record them.

But I think I have a minimum answer now of start to finish: one week.

Last week I was thinking about how it would be nice to do a mashup with a nice calm Chopin piece. But then I thought, what if I did it with an upbeat Chopin song instead?

So I started playing the Minute Waltz and realized Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam could possibly work with that. But what if there was one that worked better? I opened up my big Chopin book and right on the first page was his Grand Valse Brilliante, better known as the Flamingo song at our house thanks to Sesame Street.

And bam! They worked together so well! And Joseph and Matthew let me practice! So within a few minutes I had a skeleton of what I wanted. Over the next week I found a few minutes here and there to practice, and by Saturday I figured I ought to just throw the whole thing together (it was hard enough that either I had to do it then or practice it for another month to get all the tricky spots) while everyone was playing outside.

So here you go.

A few interesting side notes;

• It is sort of fitting that I was able to play this piece with my cute Sunbeam and his cute friends in mind, because the first time I really tried to play Grand Valse Brilliante was right before he was born. Over the next almost 4 years, I've practiced it here and there, which was a huge help to me this week.
• I have played the real song through just a handful of times. It takes a lot of stamina for me. The first time I played it through was for our Airbnb hosts in Paris. I'm not sure how that happened, and I still wish I had picked something else to play. Ha.
• This was one of the few times I wish I had a real piano with real action and better dynamics. Someday . . .

Another reason why my mom is great

During Christmas break in 2010, my mom, then Primary chorister, enlisted my help one afternoon in putting together binders with new Primary songs for all the parents in the ward with Primary kids. Since the current Children's Songbook is older than I am, I guess they've started using lots of newer songs in Primary Programs, and she wanted parents to know them. She also decided to make a binder for me, though I was in the middle of my married student ward and could scarcely conceive of a time when I'd be back in Primary. In a letter at the beginning of the binder, she warned, "Sometime you'll be in Primary and want to know them."

Well, that day has come. I am now the Primary pianist.

So far, it's been pretty fun. I haven't yet mastered the art of biting my cheek when the kids say something funny, so I'm laughing kind of the whole time (but at least I'm hiding behind the piano, right?). The problem right now is that I laugh at things that I know I shouldn't because the kids are just looking for attention, like when a kid in Senior Primary asked, "Are we singing about Aphrodite" during Joseph Smith's First Prayer ("It says 'the God of love' in the song . . . isn't that Aphrodite?"). How does a 10-year-old even know who Aphrodite is anyway? (Also amusing is that some of the kids thought that the prophet before President Hinckley was President Bush. Ha.)

But I digress. Back to the binder. It has already saved my life a few times already. Like today when I remembered I was accompanying someone in Sacrament Meeting and didn't know til 8:20 this morning what song I was even playing. "Life is O'erflowing with Beautiful Things"? Good thing I had the binder with that song in it, otherwise I would have been totally lost. Or how they sing Scripture Power every week? Good thing I have the music for that.

So thanks again, Mom, for being awesome and organized. I'm happy to be yet another Sister Moon serving in Primary music. Even if it still feels like that name belongs to you.

More on Primary songs

I mentioned a little while ago that we listen to lots of Primary songs. Between those and the "you're okay" song (it has the melody from Jingle Bells), we are usually able to calm Joseph down. So we like them.

Even so, we still shudder sometimes at how out of tune the kids can be, and sometimes the songs bring back interesting memories from childhood. For example:


(During "Oh What Can You Do in the Summertime")
 Kevin: I never liked this song. I spent my summers outside working in the heat, so I never got to do any of these things.
(As the song progresses): "Do you fish in a stream"
Kevin: "No!"
"or lazily dream"
"No!"
...
"or drink lemonade"
"NO!!!"
Poor guy.

(During "Shine On" or some other song)
Kyra: I didn't like this one so much. It didn't have a good picture.
Kevin: good picture?
Kyra: You know, the picture on the page. Didn't you judge the Primary songs based on their pictures?
Kevin: . . .
Turns out not every kid looked at the Children's Songbook regularly.

(During "Popcorn Popping")
"Spring has brought me such a nice surprise, blossoms popping right before my eyes"
Kevin: Blossoms? Did they change the words?
Kyra: No, it's always been blossoms. We all just sing it wrong.
Kevin: No wonder I never understood that song. I just thought it was a stupid song. Why would popcorn grow on apricot trees?
Thanks, Mom, for bringing apricot blossoms to Primary when you were chorister. I think it cleared up a lot of confusion.

(During "When My Mother Calls Me" or "Pioneer Children Were Quick to Obey" or "When We're Helping We're Happy")
Kyra: My mom used to sing this to me a lot.

(During "Fun to Do")
"Cleaning my room is fun to do, fun to do to do to do . . ."
Kevin: These songs are full of propaganda.
Another time . . .
Kevin: We're going to make sure this is Joseph's favorite song.

(During "My Flag")
Kyra: This was my favorite song. I used to do that one thing with the translucent pegs where you would stick them in a screen and make a flag and sing this (I know this from family videos).
Kevin: Lite Brite?
Kyra: yeah!
Kevin: I always wanted one of those. Also Power Wheels.
Kyra: I wanted Easy Bake.

(During "You've Had a Birthday")
Kyra: This was also my favorite song. Also, it was the only birthday song I really liked. The rest were weird.
Kevin: Yeah, I didn't like them either. Did you not like them because they had weird words like "zippidy"?
Kyra: Yeah, or "children." You know, "Happy happy birthday, children dear." It was so formal sounding. We were kids, not children! Also, "Feliz." Why did they make us sing that song? The chorister would just mutter some gibberish and we would repeat it, but then we'd forget it.
Apparently we're opinionated about our birthday songs around here.

Anyway, those are some of our reactions to Primary songs these days. Do you have any memories or strong feelings about any songs? Also, did anyone else care about the pictures?

Other one month tidbits

-We've been listening to lots of Primary songs since Joseph was born. He seems to like them and I hope that if he hears them daily then he will learn them. He might even like them enough that he'll sing them right, and not have the snowman grow in the sun or frown that smile away like every other little boy does and thinks he's a genius. (Admit it, guys, you all did that. Girls were way too mature for that, though.)

There is a downside to him listening to the CDs, though. They sing out of tune so much! (I know, I'm being petty.) There are times when Kevin and I cringe at the singing, especially during the rounds. Ah well. He'll learn to sing in tune from me. The church isn't in charge of teaching your kids everything, after all.

-Speaking of teaching your kids, Kevin is a fabulous teacher. We'll be on a walk and smell a barbecue, and Kevin will say to Joseph, "That smell is meat. Meat is good. You'll like meat."

Or while folding laundry, "Joseph, this is the most fun thing ever. You will love to fold laundry."

Or, "Joseph, this is broccoli. You will love broccoli." Or vacuuming, or fruit, or reading, or playing piano. I hope that he remembers these lessons years from now.

-Besides giving birth to Joseph, my proudest accomplishment for the past month is managing to nurse him while playing the piano with both hands. I only tried it once, and I really couldn't play very well, but I still felt really cool.

-Fetal habits die hard. Compare this:

and this:

It's kind of hard to see, but he has been sticking out his pointer finger for months now! (It's right in the middle of the ultrasound picture.) Wonder how long he'll keep it up.