Music Lessons CD

In 2019, I made a very simple and crude recording for my Mom as a Mother's Day gift. The videos I am posting will reveal many aspects related to this project. I selected the title of the project/CD/album to be "Music Lessons". The CD I gave my Mom contained these notes: "Music Lessons is a recording to express my thankfulness for my piano and organ lessons, as well as all the early influences of music and the life lessons I have learned from it. " My desire for music sprang from listening to vinyl albums on my Mom and Dad's huge Victrola stereo. The quartet records consumed me with the vocal harmonies, and the majestic, powerful pipe organ album with "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" drove me to want to play the organ. These were the "early influences" that I recall.

My Dad used to lead the singing for Sunday evening services. When I was around 13 years old (circa 1976), I was the pianist for Sunday night. I did what I could to suggest songs that I could play, for there weren't many at that point...and heaven forbid they take requests!! Burdens Are Lifted - had only 1 flat, my favorite key at the time. I don't think I even was aware of the actual key (F). So I am pretty sure we did this song many times, but it was strictly because I could play it at the age of 13, in public!

"And Can It Be" is the last track on the 'Music Lessons' CD. I placed the song at the end, because it was what I always understood to be my Mom's favorite hymn. Now - I don't mean I moved it to last instead of first to prove any point! Save the best for last, right? Well, this is not what I consider the best recording on this CD, but meant it to be a special ending for Mom. As a young child, it was my parents' vinyl 78 record of a pipe organ ("A Mighty Fortress... an album of hymns for organ; Porter Heaps at the organ) that literally propelled me into music. I wanted to be able to play such a majestic, powerful instrument! However, starting piano lessons at the age of 6, I was not able to take organ lessons until I was 12 - until my legs were long enough to reach the organ pedals! In 1982, I altered the arrangement a bit of "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" off this very album to play for competition, placing 2nd at State and 1st at Nationals. I have been blessed to play many great church and pipe organs in my lifetime. This song was recorded with a mix of pipe organ settings from both my Hammond XK-2 and Kurzweil PC-6 keyboards, using various pipe organ sounds. "And Can It Be" deserves an enormous pipe organ sound, as did my Mom on this track.