Acrostic on C Major Scale
Creative living is the key to life
Delighting in the special path you take
Emotions, effort, energy, or strife
Fulfillment of your goals despite mistakes
Go on, in grace and gratitude to strive
Amazing, awesome gifts are all your own
Bring balance with the best you have inside
Creating body, mind, and soul a home!
One last nod to St. Patrick’s Day and the theme of Irish music–at least, for now.
Here is a medley played on zither, alto recorder (called treble in the UK and elsewhere), and lyre. It contains “Star of the County Down,” which is a traditional Irish tune, and “Carolan’s Dream,” written by
Turlough O’Carolan.
I call this “I Dream of County Carolan,” as a way of bringing the titles together. There is really no such county in Ireland. 🙂
“Star of the County Down” is played on zither. “Carolan’s Dream” begins with recorder and is then played on lyre. This is great for relaxation, stress relief, and meditation.
I hope you enjoy this, and feel free to download and share the mp3 above!
I wrote this song in 2002 as part of my Senior Graduation Project, a CD of 12 songs in 4 languages. My original version had lyrics in German and English, with guitar, pennywhistle, and hand percussion accompaniment.
Here’s an instrumental version on zither. Look out, it goes by quickly!
Also, check out my dream of writing a round (a musical round, that is),
here.
Here is a beautiful, traditional Irish air, played on zither (also called a lap harp or plucked psaltery).
The melody was first published in 1775. In 1808, the poet Thomas Moore wrote the lyrics that give this tune its well-known title.
As the story goes, his young wife was afraid of losing her looks (Can you say vanity?), and he wrote the lyrics to reassure her that, even if all her “endearing young charms” faded, he would still love her.
The melody is also used for the alma mater of Harvard University, “Fair Harvard.” You can hear this below, and I hope you enjoy my zither arrangement as well!
I wrote “Spirit Bright” for a songwriting challenge in 2014 and posted a ukulele version with lyrics and chords
here.
I feel this song is just as important as it was when I wrote it. Perhaps it’s even more timely now.
This lyre arrangement is in C, instead of A. And with a nod to this month’s Irish theme, it has some Celtic musical elements.
May this be an encouragement as you remember to “Follow your spirit bright!”
I wrote this song in about 2002, on a small harp. I wasn’t in a relationship at the time, so it was more of a wish or a prayer, than something I had. I share it now, nearly 18 years later, with the encouragement that dreams do come true!
Sunny, my Lynda Lyre, has the same range as my first harp did, so this is the original accompaniment for the song.
1. Let me lay my head upon your shoulder;
Let me tell you all the things I feel.
I won’t hesitate to say, “I love you,”
For the bond between us two is real.
2. Let me place a kiss upon your sweet lips;
Let me hold you in my loving arms.
You know that, no matter what, I’ll love you.
Never do I want to cause you harm.
3. Let me be the one, your one and only;
Let me be the one to whom you turn.
You can tell me anything you want to;
You can come to me when you are worn.
Repeat 1.
Eternal Love
Wedding Prayer
My husband (I call him Freddy but you may call him Frederick 🙂 ) and I got married a year ago today. There’s so much I could say about what lead up to it, what happened when we moved, preparing for the wedding with no sight and no outside help, and what it’s been like since then! But it’s just after breakfast, so I’ll leave you with this.
We walked down the aisle together, to a flute and piano playing “Over the Rainbow.” Here is a different version, equally beautiful, played on a double strung harp.
During our wedding ceremony, I played two original songs. I’ve posted them here before, but “Wedding Prayer” was missing a verse. In the audio player above, you’ll here the live recordings from our wedding ceremony.
Please enjoy! And whatever your relationship status, my wish for you is that you are happy and fulfilled!
“Be Thou My Vision” is a popular traditional hymn, especially in the United Kingdom. The melody is an Irish folk tune called “Slane,” which dates back to the 6th or 8th century. Here is my arrangement of this beautiful hymn played on lyre.
Feel free to click the following link, download, and share the mp3:
“Be Thou My Vision” Mp3
In this tutorial I teach the melody and several harmony options by ear. I tell you all the notes and chords, and demonstrate the melody and each harmony part separately. Though I’m playing a lyre, you can use this arrangement for other instruments, including zither, small harp, piano, or keyboard. You can also use the melody tutorial for any C tuned melody instrument.
Click the following link to download a .zip file of the entire tutorial. When you unzip the file, you will find 13 mp3 files.
“Be Thou My Vision” Tutorial
If you have any questions or feedback, don’t hesitate to
contact me.
I hope you enjoy this arrangement and tutorial, and the lovely sound of this lyre!
This is related to my Valentine’s Day post:
On Love, the Greatest Human Experience
Click the following link to download the mp3:
I Am Here for You – Lyre Mp3
Meet Sunny! This is a beautiful instrument I will introduce properly soon. Suffice it to say, it sounds like a harp, but it is a lyre, a modern take on one of the oldest stringed instruments.
I hope you enjoy this song. I wrote an early version in 2005 or so, and added a verse and revised the refrain for this arrangement. It feels more complete now.
1. Living in this world is so
Uncertain at times.
So hold fast to me!
In my Presence know the Love
That you seek to find;
I will never leave.
Refrain 1:
As sure as years pass
And as the sun sets;
As sure as tides change,
Like there’s east and west…
As sure as night comes
In the Spirit of Love
I Am here for you.
2. When you have a problem
That seems too big to solve,
My Spirit helps you through.
When you’re feeling weak,
And you can’t handle it all,
I Am holding you.
Refrain 2:
As sure as years pass
And as the sun sets;
As sure as tides change,
Like there’s east and west…
As sure as night comes
As below, so above,
I Am here for you.
3. Love for each and every one,
Love within yourself
In my Spirit free.
Build it up and bring it out
As I show you how.
I Am All you seek.
Refrain 3:
As sure as years pass
And as the sun sets;
As sure as tides change,
Like there’s east and west…
As sure as night comes
In my Spirit of Love
I Am here for you.
Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!
Maybe you’re in a good love relationship, and you like Valentine’s Day. If so, congratulations and keep reading!
Or maybe you hate Valentine’s Day, because 1. you’re not in a relationship, or 2. you’ve been in a bad one. If this is you, you have my sympathies, and keep reading!
Love is the highest of all human experiences. But what is love?
Falling in love is euphoric. Getting married is supposed to be wonderful, but is also, in reality, extremely stressful. Being married? Well, it’s both. And the reason is, expectations. Yours, your partner’s, and to a lesser extent, other people’s.
The only expectations you can control are your own. So let’s talk about those.
If you expect too much, you will be disappointed. If you don’t expect enough, you’ll still be disappointed. But what does this have to do with love itself?
In a word? Everything!
The most important, and therefore also the hardest thing you’ll ever do is to love without expectations. Practically speaking, there are things you expect from any relationship. But spiritually, in order to love truly and fully, and to be loved truly and fully, we must release all expectations.
We must love, even when we receive nothing in return.
We must love, even when we receive negativity.
We must love, even when we’ve already given all we can.
We must love, even when we’re asked to give something we feel we don’t have.
We cannot be everything to another person. But we can love, even when we can’t provide what they need.
How do we pull this off?
Well, personally, we don’t. In fact, we can’t. It’s impossible.
But universally, with the help of God-within, we can love as the Spirit does: Fully, truly, and unconditionally.
In order to have love in our lives, this greatest and highest of human experiences, we must seek spiritual love first. And as the Bible says, “All these things will be added unto you.”
Seek the Presence of God, of Universal Consciousness, of Love. It is not outside you, not in a religion, not even in another person, though you can certainly see it through another. It is right here, right now, within your soul and spirit. It is the Essence of you. God is Love, and therefore, so are you. Seek this Love within you, and you will find Love in many forms!
Mystical Strings 
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