Melinda Mills

Good thing you don't live in the Caribbean - that would be accepted as lyrics for a double entendre calypso for the carnival season.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Yes, I remember those times when  song 212 (We Thank You) used to be sung at all conventions. It was indeed a favourite for most persons.
When I am preparing for the meeting I usually check all the songs.  (I still can't sing some of the new ones without the recorded music.) I review them just in case the music does not play at the KH.  It is sometimes problematic.  Even in "raising" the song one has to know what pitch to start at so the song won't be too high for most persons. This is important as most brothers don't know vocal music.  I also check to see if one of those songs I know the alto for is going to be sung, especially "We Thank you Jehovah".  I also look forward to singing No.3 in the new Book - "Our strength, Our Hope, Our Confidence". This makes me look forward to the meeting even more when a favourite song is going to be sung. Participation by commenting and singing makes the meeting more enjoyable. It is like bringing a gift for Jehovah and everyone there.  And we should not appear before Jehovah empty-handed (unprepared).

This is a reference to a Caleb and Sophia video which would be seen as praiseworthy were it for any other cause.
If Sophia had had an epiphany and donated her ice cream money to the ‘world hunger fund,’ or the ‘world peace fund,’ or the ‘save the planet fund’ or the ‘animal rescue fund’ or almost any charitable fund, the video would be lauded. It represents training a child that not everything is about her, and that used to be seen as a good thing.
It is only because the malcontents here despise the Witness organization dedicated to the relief of ‘spiritual hunger’ that this video is so attacked. Were it for anything else, it would be lauded.

Looking forward to hear what is going to be said about animals/pets at the assembly.

Used to be sung at the close of every assembly /convention years ago. Made me tear up.

True. It hurts when one sees people paying scant attention (or passing notes or giving instructions) during singing which is a big part of our worship. Our music culture needs to be improved - even our vocabulary, e.g. the chairman frequently says we will "use"  song No. so and so.  We have to sing the song and sing it well. We are doing better but we can still improve our singing and participation in music as part of worship,  The general culture now is listening to music rather than playing and singing.
The smaller keyboards can suffice, as well as guitars.  My keyboard could hold into my car trunk.  I don't know much about the wind instruments but I like the sounds, especially the horn and the euphonium.   I love the sound of your harmonica also.                                       
I always had a keyboard since in my twenties. I now have an electric piano, which is too large to move around with.  It was easy to move  with the small Yamaha  PR 30 keyboard  which I had.  It had many features including recorders, but no pedals, and less than 88 keys which made playing certain things difficult. But the the present electric piano (Privia) has all those features and more, and with all the keys and pedals. The piano can be moved but in a large van but I think to move it around would damage it, so I don't intend to move it. 

I was going to mention this song, and you got to mention it first. This is one of the songs for which the little choir was taught altos.  I can still remember that alto after all these years but I think this song was missing from the book in recent years, if I am not mistaken. I am glad it is back in the book.  I just looked it up. The old one was in the key of D, but this one is in C and just  about three accidentals in the bass. I will add this song to the ones I want to practise on the piano as well as the two you mentioned above. 
 "We thank You Jehovah" is another. The bass is even more beautiful than the alto. I sung the alto the other day and a sister looked back and said, "that was beautiful, Melinda". I think there is one or two more songs for which the alto was taught for that occasion but can't recall them now.   (That brother is deceased now and I am glad that I can still remember these altos - that his work lives on.)  
It is so  good when we have the same appreciation for these things.
 

Very portable instruments:
I brought up the harmonica because it is a very low-cost instrument that can present quite a bit of versatility. The human voice is another instrument like that, and it can be modulated so that "humming" for example, will bother very few people around you if quiet enough. For many of us, myself included, the voice is not as accurate at hitting the right note. The human whistle is another low-cost instrument that one can bring almost anywhere, although it's often more annoying to bystanders. The flute-style "recorder" is another very low-cost instrument, and I keep one in the car, for use while I'm waiting for parking in NYC. I find that most of these tend to flatten the higher notes just a bit, and unexpectedly provide very harsh "harmonic" tones even when you are sure the right holes are pressed. A guitar is not so portable, but obviously much more versatile for all types of music. A good keyboard is the least portable, although I find a smartphone can suffice as an alternative. iPhones can include a free version of GarageBand that is an amazingly versatile piece of software that includes many simulated musical instruments. My daughter and one son played viola and violin in school. Small violins are portable, but expensive and delicate. I can't get a good sound out of one. I can't think of any more truly portable instruments that one could carry with them anywhere. In Missouri a few people had some odd instruments that you don't see very often. I have a simulated Ocarina on my iPhone that I play by blowing air (not whistling) into the microphone while pressing combinations of only 4 buttons pictured on the phone. Of course, there are pencils and spoons and "saws" and tin whistles, but I can't think of any other really good ones to accompany Kingdom Songs.
But I mention these ideas so that anyone who hasn't joined in this kind of fun might realize just how easy it is to make some music. I also find that if you take more interest in the music, you will pay more attention to both the lyrics and the music when it's played at the hall or conventions.

That's amazing. As soon as you said you were already thinking of "Bless Our Meeting Together" I also wanted to mention "We Thank You Jehovah" because it has exactly the same features. It has no accidentals in the melody, and almost none in the bass or tenor either, but the alto is where a lot of the best harmonic action is found, although the bass bounces nicely through a greater range than usual (full octave intervals). Of course, they put it in a slightly harder key to play in.
That's part of it, but doesn't explain why 140 of them don't sound alike at all. Nor why "Beethoven's 5th" sounds nothing like "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star."

When singing with her sister, my mum would always sing second voice, and she still does that at the KH with some of the songs. I can't do it....

That must have sounded nice, with the parts in a real choir. True that the old harmony doesn't work so well with the new melody on parts of the first portion.
The easiest song to learn harmony on (for me) was the old song 5 (pink) now 93 "Bless Our Meeting Together." Most of words have remained intact, too. The tenor and the alto could easily be memorized by others in our service car group. And now the new version is even easier because it's in C with no "accidentals" in the melody.

"Ave Maria!, (Latin: “Hail Mary”), original German title Ellens Gesang (“Ellen’s Song”) III, song setting, the third of three songs whose text is derived of a section of Sir Walter Scott’s poem The Lady of the Lake(1810) by Austrian composer Franz Schubert. It was written in 1825. Probably because of the song’s opening words, Schubert’s melody has since been adopted for use with the traditional Roman Catholic prayer (in Latin) of the same name.
Although the song is a prayer, Schubert’s “Ave Maria!” was not written with religious practices or the Catholic church in mind. "   Taken from Internet.
Yes, quite a few of these compositions were taken over by the church but were not written for religious purposes as can be seen in the quote above.  However, I won't sing this attractive song because "Ave Maria" means Hail Mary and one could think we are worshipping her like the Catholics.   There is also a pop song with those words in the chorus which I don't sing either.
On Handel's Messiah,  I can play a small part of the Hallelujah chorus which is in one of the piano tutor books, but I have not had time to listen to it although I have a CD with it, which was given to me. Handel, like Schubert, developed it without the church, but it later came to be required agenda in Christmas services, although it is not really about Christmas.  They say Handel wrote the music but one of his friends (Jennings) wrote the words, part of which were taken from a church prayer book but the majority were from the Bible books prophesying about the Messiah.

That's a shame that your father had to keep them under wraps.  It was still able  to influence your taste in music and interest in playing music. Reminds me of what happened to people like Galileo and others who had to hide beneficial beliefs from others because of the ignorance of some in authority.  My take is that these gifts are from God, and that they were allowed to come about to uplift mankind when things were especially dark in the world; e.g. lack of human rights, slavery, inquisitions, concentration camps, etc. There was even a period called the "Dark Ages".  Some pieces of classical music are so good that you feel you were transported "out of this world" for a few minutes. ( Look at the comments under these videos of classical music.  Also look at he attendance  at some of these concerts and what people pay to attend.)  Many people in their comments say it is a shame such good music is in the world and few people know about it. Look at the quality of the music that is played daily - cannot even compare.
Look at the Jewish lady (I think she was from Poland) that survived the concentration camps because she could play music to a very high level and they let her live, though other members of her family perished. 
Also a lot of the music written by Handel, for example,  was written for the enjoyment of mankind but the church, being powerful at the time, hijacked it for themselves and called  it church music.
All brothers are not unappreciative. In the seventies on the occasion of a new Kingdom Hall dedication, classical music  was played in the background before the start of the dedication service. We have so much theocratic music now that that  won't be needed now,  that but that is just to show that all brothers are not prejudiced to classical music. 
I have just remembered that Mozart was introduced to me through the high school I attended. Every morning before the school prayers, it would be played on the school stereo until the headteacher came in to start prayers.  Afterwards I got the LP with some of his Concertos.

About the colour of the song books, I saw my parents with the red and green one, but I was not aware of these things at that age. Only knew that I used to sing from the green one, but the red one was  hanging around as well.  Thanks for clearing that up.  Will save those pictures.

My 1944 is red. My 1950 is green. 1966 is pink/magenta. (Not shown with correct proportional sizes)

Here is a list of the "simple" TOP 40 (45) songs from the current 2017 songbook. There are a few that might not seem so simple, but they are here because they have a long history in Witness memories, especially for the slightly older ones among us. But even the most complex from pre-2009, are still much simpler than the more complex ones since then. (Although the more complex ones are generally much prettier.)
I have tried to include EVERY current song that goes back at least to the 1966 songbook, and a few of these also go back to the green 1950 and some to the grey 1928 songbook.
These are the "TOP FORTY-FIVE" 2017 songs that go back almost unchanged musically to at least 1966:
Note that some have the same title, and almost the same words, but the music is completely changed, and they won't be included. Some have completely different words, even a completely different topic, but the music is almost identical to a prior song, and they will be included. Some have nearly the same melody but with only a very few adjustments, and they will be included. Some have similar music, and the melody is different, but it's close enough so that the previous version could still harmonize with it, or even match it in several places, and if enough similarities are there, they will be included. Some of the new songs were known only through songs repeated since the 1970's in convention "dramas" (72, 110, 149, etc.) and will not be included.  
4. “Jehovah Is My Shepherd”   6. The Heavens Declare God’s Glory 7. Jehovah, Our Strength 8. Jehovah Is Our Refuge 9. Jehovah Is Our King! 13. Christ, Our Model 14. Praising Earth’s New King 23. Jehovah Begins His Rule   29. Living Up to Our Name 31. Oh, Walk With God! 32. Take Sides With Jehovah! 33. Throw Your Burden on Jehovah 34. Walking in Integrity 36. We Guard Our Hearts 42. The Prayer of God’s Servant    46. We Thank You, Jehovah  48. Daily Walking With Jehovah  55. Fear Them Not!   59. Praise Jah With Me 61. Forward, You Witnesses! 63. We’re Jehovah’s Witnesses!   66. Declare the Good News    71. We Are Jehovah’s Army!   78. “Teaching the Word of God”   82. “Let Your Light Shine” 85. Welcome One Another 90. Encourage One Another   93. Bless Our Meeting Together 94. Grateful for God’s Word 98. The Scriptures—Inspired of God 99. Myriads of Brothers   105. “God Is Love”  106. Cultivating the Quality of Love 107. The Divine Pattern of Love 108. God’s Loyal Love     113. Our Possession of Peace 114. “Exercise Patience” 115. Gratitude for Divine Patience 117. The Quality of Goodness   120. Imitate Christ’s Mildness     125. “Happy Are the Merciful!”   128. Enduring to the End     133. Worship Jehovah During Youth  144. Keep Your Eyes on the Prize!  146. “Making All Things New"      Others that at least partially match 1966 or 1950 songs are here:
21. Keep On Seeking First the Kingdom  (First part harmonizes, second part matches.) 37. Serving Jehovah Whole-Souled (music matches an older 1950 song)  40. To Whom Do We Belong? (First half harmonizes, second part matches.) 50. My Prayer of Dedication (Music harmonizes with 1950 song "Dedication," with many of the same words.)     62. The New Song (An old 1950 song.)  75. “Here I Am! Send Me!” (Only harmonizes, although words nearly the same.)   83. “From House to House” (Only harmonizes, although words nearly the same.)   86. We Must Be Taught (Only harmonizes with a previously known song, words completely different.)   116. The Power of Kindness (Second part was removed - tho removed part partially included in different new song.) I think of the above as "easy" because they are so well known for so long, but some of the newer ones are very easy, too. These following two, are just a couple examples, and both are in the Key of C, with no additional sharps or flats in the melody:
 3. Our Strength, Our Hope, Our Confidence  28. Gaining Jehovah’s Friendship

I agree. It makes me also think of the amazing artists from the Renaissance period, all of them heavily influenced by the church. But then there was nothing else at the time was there? They didn't know any better.....
I also love Handle's Messiah and Schubert's Ave Maria. And Gruber's "silent night" is beautiful when sang by a professional choir. Of course I would never sing it in front of anyone for fear of stumbling them.
 

I like Mozart the best as well, but I believe I was partial to his music since I got a gift of a long-playing LP with quite a few of his concertos when I was at high school.  I used to listen to them over and over again; my eldest brother also became an enthusiast and used to borrow it from me often.  Recently I fell in love with Andante from Mozart's Concerto No. 21.  I also discovered Rachmaninov,  one of the composers from the Romantic period (just after Mozart, Lizst, Chopin, etc)  I think he was a Russian. The pop song, All by Myself is derived, from his Concerto No. 2, Adagio Sostenuto.  I also love singing and was fairly competent at it, but ageing affects one's lung capacity, I believe. 

I'm happy for the discussions about appreciating music. My father moved us from California to Missouri in 1964 to 'serve where the need was greater' and he was often looked at very suspiciously for all his classical records, and a few other styles, too. Mozart, Bach, Beethoven etc., were generally considered to represent false religious church music by other Witnesses. He had to keep most of these records under wraps, and kept about half of them at his lab where he worked.

I like Mozart the best as well, but I believe I was partial to his music since I got a gift of a long-playing LP with quite a few of his concertos when I was at high school.  I used to listen to them over and over again; my eldest brother also became an enthusiast and used to borrow it from me often.  Recently I fell in love with Andante from Mozart's Concerto No. 21.  I also discovered Rachmaninov,  one of the composers from the Romantic period (just after Mozart, Lizst, Chopin, etc)  I think he was a Russian. The pop song, All by Myself is derived, from his Concerto No. 2, Adagio Sostenuto.  I also love singing and was fairly competent at it, but ageing affects one's lung capacity, I believe. 

That also works for famous movie star frogs, and bears.

That mutt has a lot more artistic and business savvy than I was aware of.

Don't apologize about the babblings, we are not one-dimensional, we are complex people and music comes from the whole person and his experiences. More likely than not you are multi-talented. It just has to be cultivated. In fact we are all musical.  Look how quickly the brothers learned the new songs in 2009 and 2016 and they sing from screens with just words. In the new system we will have time to discover lots of things about ourselves.   I enjoyed what you wrote. People, I believe, are changing because they are distracted by technology. Persons who stick to what humanity is about will always have rich lives and people will always enjoy having  them around. Look at a few videos on Youtube and see how people enjoy singing, playing music, and sincere expression of the human spirit.  They want to clap forever. 

Good thing you don't live in the Caribbean - that would be accepted as lyrics for a double entendre calypso for the carnival season.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Excellent playing! Thanks for that.  I love that one too. That one is fairly difficult and you performed it well.  The one I was practising is No. 43 in the new song book- "A Prayer of Thanks" in key of C. 
My favourite song though among the newer ones is "Beauty in Grayheadedness" - No. 138.  Just realized that grey is spelled 'gray' in the song heading. Maybe a US thing.
Also thanks for the background information on the harmonica and the chromonica.  Getting an education already.  Off to a good start. 
Also like the rules you laid down int he penultimate paragraph.  (Check messages)