Editorial: What If We Did This Every Day?

Editorial: What If We Did This Every Day?

"What's the best thing that happened to you today?" I asked over coffee last week. He thinks for a moment before answering.

The reply is usually as simple as the question itself:

A moment of creative inspiration
A feeling of accomplishment
A kind word

It's a simple question and a meaningful daily practice. One that tilts our perspective toward the positive. It's an invitation to recognize those small moments that may be too easily forgotten, dismissed as too small or insignificant, lost in the shadow of something bigger and more dramatic.

(Because we all have those moments in our days.)

But what's really important? What do you want to remember?

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How to Accompany Hymns with Piano 4-Hand

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How to Accompany Hymns with Piano 4-Hand

A few months ago, I received an email from a friend:

“Hi Ashley! I am looking for hymn accompaniments for four hands at the piano. Not arrangements, but the actual hymn. We will be without our organ for some months and I want to beef up the piano sound by adding hands. Do you know of any books with this? Or websites? I guess we could just play in octaves, but maybe there is something interesting out there."

Can anyone relate?

Whether the organ is undergoing repairs, that F# is in need of a good tuning, or you show up one morning and the power is out…

Sometimes, you need to use the piano to accompany the hymns.

But if you’re in a large space, the piano may not be enough on its own to really support and lead the congregation in song. What’s a church musician to do?

15 More Singing Games for Children's Choir

15 More Singing Games for Children's Choir

In the book, How We Learn: The Surprising Truth About When, Where, and How It Happens, Benedict Carey stated, “Games are the best learning tool.”

It’s true, isn’t it? Games often have a way of teaching us something new without us realizing we are learning. We’re concentrating on the rules, listening, observing, interacting, and in the end, playing.

Learning is simply embedded in the process.

The Dos and Don'ts of Directing a Church Choir

The Dos and Don'ts of Directing a Church Choir

It’s true with anything in life: There are some things you should do and some things you probably shouldn’t do.

It’s like the Goofus and Gallant comic strip that appeared in my monthly Highlights magazine growing up (classic Enneagram no. 1 here—I’ve always had a strong sense of right vs. wrong).

In the comic, two panels compare and contrast the actions of two brothers: Gallant's actions were kind and morally good while Goofus’s actions were thoughtless and disrespectful. It’s a classic example of right vs. wrong, good vs. bad, dos and don’ts.

We can relate, can’t we?

How I Save Time by Batching Tasks (and How You Can, Too!)

How I Save Time by Batching Tasks (and How You Can, Too!)

It’s an age-old paradox:

How to get more done in less time.

We buy new planners. We sign up for new digital task organizers. We keep a notepad handy at all times and have a running to-do list on our phones, in our inboxes, and in our heads pretty much all the time.

And yet, we’re still trying to find ways to be more productive. To stay on top of everything and keep all the plates spinning.

One thing I’ve found to be helpful in the past few years is batching.

Editorial: Lost and Found

Editorial: Lost and Found

A few weeks ago, I pulled out one of my old piano scores:

”The Italian Concerto” by J.S. Bach

It's a piece I played for my Eastman audition, a piece I knew almost backward and forward at the time. I've come back to it at various points in my career when I want to reconnect to the art or remember why I started.

I was thumbing through the pages one night after dinner, admiring all the markings my teacher added into the score—a different colored pen for every lesson. I stumbled through the first reading, my fingers stiff, struggling to remember how the notes go.

But then, something surprising happened.

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How to Use Choral Service Music in Worship: A Few FAQs

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How to Use Choral Service Music in Worship: A Few FAQs

There’s something to be said about the power of music in worship: the ability to imbue an experience with meaning, inspire the hearts and minds of those listening, create space for personal reflection, and offer an opportunity for transcendence.

Yes, it’s functional and it provides a nice contrast to the spoken word, but music has an inherent ability to create meaningful, shared experiences, as well.

This is why service music is such a powerful tool in worship planning.

Today, I’m delving into a few FAQs about choral service music, specifically: what it is, why it’s important, how to use it, and where to find it.

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17 Cumulative Songs for Children's Choir

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17 Cumulative Songs for Children's Choir

Do you remember those songs we used to sing as kids that went on and on and on? That had what felt like a hundred verses, each one longer and sillier than the one before it?

This is the joy of a cumulative song.

From music class to road trips, playgrounds to choir rehearsal, cumulative songs are fun to sing, engaging for children of all ages, and an effective teaching tool.

For those of you who may not know what I’m talking about, a cumulative song is a song that adds a new phrase of text with each repetition.

Usually, the lyrics are a list of some kind, getting progressively longer as the song goes on.

A Mighty Fortress & Other Favorites: New Anthems for Fall

A Mighty Fortress & Other Favorites: New Anthems for Fall

I love discovering new anthems, don’t you?

I love seeing how composers come up with new ideas or reuse existing material - creating something new from an old hymn tune or setting a hymn text to an original melody.

Over the summer, I shared my “Reading Session Picks” for adult choirs, youth choirs, and children’s choir - new (or new-ish) anthems I encountered in choral reading sessions at Music and Worship Arts Week and liked enough to recommend to you here.

Today, I want to share a few more recommendations, perhaps well-suited for an adult or youth ensemble or an intergenerational group of some kind.

The anthems on this list would be perfect for Fall, either Thanksgiving season or during Advent.

Life Lately: Summer Edition

Life Lately: Summer Edition

Summer has been sweet and full. We’ve traveled to new and familiar places, stretched our creative muscles in new ways, and reaped the rewards of gardening and old house projects. We’ve tried new recipes, read new books, and took time to rest and unwind.

This is life lately:

Follow along with my creative work and daily adventures: @ashleydanyew

What’s the biggest challenge you’re facing in your music career? Here’s what I hear most often: “I don’t know where to start” “I don’t know where to put my focus” “Not sure which path to ta
Sending you love and warm wishes this season! Here’s to another year of teaching, writing, creating beautiful music, and building community wherever we are. 💛🎵🥂 Love, Ashley, Steve, and Rory