I MENTIONED HOW THERE HAVE BEEN INVENTIONS MADE, THAT HELP MANY PEOPLE, BUT SOMEHOW IT SEEMS TWEAKED, OR HAS 1 FEATURE THAT IS NOT SOMETHING THAT SEEMS LIKE A FEATURE THAT IS NEEDED FOR EVERYONE, BUT IT HELPS ME TREMENDOUSLY! FOR INSTANCE, I HAVE AN APP CALLED “VAST SONGS” THAT MODELS HOW TO SING FAMILIAR SONGS (MY FAVORITE SONG TO SING W/IT IS “HAPPY BIRTHDAY.”) CONSIDERING HOW WELL I SPEAK, & THAT IT’S DIFFICULT FOR ME 2 ACHIEVE DIFFERENT PITCHES, I ACTUALLY DO OK SINGING W/IT (I MADE SOME VIDEOS 4 MY THERAPIST, SO I HAVE SOME VIDEOS OF ME “SINGING” ON MY YOU TUBE CHANNEL…THOUGH I DON’T THINK IT’S PRETTY 2 HEAR—W/MY MUSICAL BACKGROUND, I’M PRETTY PICKY, I GUESS…BUT IT IS A SOUND ON PITCH, WHICH MAKES IT COOL!)

I’VE LEARNED IN MUSIC THERAPY HOW FAMILIAR SONGS SORT OF “DRAW OUT” YOUR VOICE (A “CLASSIC”SONG, LIKE “OLD MAC DONALD,” “TWINKLE TWINKLE,” “HAPPY BIRTHDAY,” & SEVERAL OTHER CHILDHOOD SONGS, OR CHRISTMAS SONGS). IN ADDITION, FOR ME, DISNEY SONGS, THE PRIMARY SONGS FROM CHURCH (I FIGURE BECUZ I SANG THEM AS A KID, & TAUGHT THEM RIGHT B4 MY STROKE, SO I KNOW THEM SUPER WELL!), SEVERAL MUSICALS (“THE SOUND OF MUSIC,” “ANNIE,” OR “MY FAIR LADY” ARE AS FAMILIAR 2 ME AS THE PRESCHOOL CLASSICS), & “THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER” (WHICH I SANG ALL THE TIME, CUZ IF I EVER JUST FELT LIKE SINGING, I SANG THAT!), ALSO HELP ME.

12/4, I ATTENDED A DOUBLE BIRTHDAY PARTY (SO THERE WAS A LARGE CROWD), AT A PLACE FILLED W/BOUNCE HOUSES (SO IT WAS LOUD). I HAD BEEN PRACTICING SINGING ALONG 2 “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” SO MUCH, THAT WHEN THEY SANG “HAPPY BIRTHDAY”, W/O EVEN THINKING, THE SONG “POPPED OUT,” & I JOINED IN—W/MY VOICE! & IT WAS SO LOUD, I NOTICED THAT I COULDN’T BE HEARD (& PART OF ME WAS SO EXCITED!), SO I DID MORE (THOUGH THEY SING TOO FAST 4 ME!)

EVER SINCE THEN, I TRY, BUT USUALLY NOTHING HAPPENS (SOMETIMES, I GET OUT A LINE IN A HYMN ATCHURCH, IF I KNOW THE HYMN REALLY WELL)! I SWEAR MY BRAIN GETS IN THE WAY–IF I THINK ABOUT IT (LIKE WHEN MK OR SOME1 TELLS ME 2 SING), I CAN’T DO IT! BUT IF I’M AT HOME, & THE MUSIC IS PLAYING IN THE BACKGROUND, I CAN SUDDENLY SING (ANGIE HEARS ME ALL THE TIME)! IT’S STRANGE, BUT WHEN I STARTED TALKING, IT WAS THIS WAY TOO, SO I HOPE THAT BY NEXT CHRISTMAS, I CAN SING ALONG 2 ALL THE FAMILIAR CHRISTMAS CAROLS!

WHEN I SING, MY BIGGEST PROBLEM IS THAT I CAN’T ALWAYS TAKE VOLUNTARY BREATHES, SO SOMETIMES THERE’S A LONG, AWKWARD PAUSE AS I WAIT TO TAKE A BREATH (LIKE THE DISABLED BOY W/ASTHMA ON THE TV SHOW “MALCOM IN THE MIDDLE”) SO I LOVE THAT I CAN NOW PLAY A SONG ON THE PIANO, & SING ALONG, SINCE THAT MEANS THAT I CAN MAKE THE PIANO PAUSE W/MY VOICE!

THEY JUST MADE “VAST APPS 2,” & AN UPGRADE FOR THE 1ST APP, & THEY ARE WORKING ON SOMETHING WITH CHRISTMAS CAROLS, SUPPOSEDLY. IRONICALLY, THE NEW APP HAS SEVERAL FEATURES THAT WILL ASSISST ME IN ACHIEVING THAT GOAL, 2 SING ALONG NEXT CHRISTMAS.

“VAST 2” ALSO HAS THE ALPHABET SONG IN A GOOD TEMPO, & PITCH 4 ME (WHICH IS SO IMPORTANT—I CAN’T SING IF IT’S TOO FAST, TOO HIGH, OR TOO LOW). I HAVE BEEN SEARCHING 4 THAT VERY SONG (THE ALPHABET SONG)—BUT IT IS ALWAYS TOO FAST OR TOO HIGH OR TOO LOW 4 ME!
YET ANOTHER WAY GOD HAS SEEMED 2 INSPIRE OTHERS 2 DEVELOP SOMETHING THAT CAN HELP ME & OTHERS 2 BECOME WHO WE SHOULD BE:

AS U KNOW, I TAKE MUSIC THERAPY…WHICH HAS BEEN A BIG PART OF MY RECOVERY! I AM NOT SUPPOSED 2 BE ABLE 2 SPEAK, BUT I CAN, & MY MANY YEARS OF VOICE LESSONS (10?) HAVE MADE A HUGE DIFFERENCE, SINCE IT TRAINED MY BREATHING, VOICE PLACEMENT, ETC. IT IS SAID THATT MUSICAL PEOPLE ARE “WIRED” A LITTLE DIFFERENT, SO MUSIC THERAPY SEEMS 2 AWAKEN PARTS OF MY BRAIN THAT SHOULDN’T WORK!

WHEN MY KIDS FACE ADVERSITY & THE CONSEQUENCES LIFE (INSTEAD OF PARENTS) BRING INTO OUR LIVES, MY HUSBAND LIKES TO SING A SONG ABOUT “LIFE LESSONS” TO OUR KIDS (HTTP://WWW.SELFGROWTH.COM/ARTICLES/DEFINITION_LIFE_LESSONS.HTML HAS A GREAT DEFINITION OF “LIFE LESSONS.”) HOWEVER, THE SONG DOESN’T REALLY EXIST, SO, HE REQUESTED THE KIDS WRITE THE SONG 4 HIM, 4 CHRISTMAS. (OUR FAMILY HAS A WONDERFUL TRADITION AT CHRISTMAS-TIME, WHERE WE MAKE EACH OTHER GIFTS.

MY YOUNGEST CHILD HAS ALWAYS ENJOYED WRITING LYRICS & COMPOSING SONGS, SO IT WAS ONLY NATURAL THAT SHE SHOULD JUMP AT THAT GIFT IDEA! THERE WAS A SLIGHT PROBLEM THOUGH—SHE DIDN’T HAVE THE MUSICAL BACKGROUND NEEDED 2 WRITE THE SONG DOWN, AND WITH MY LIMITATIONS, I WASN’T SURE IF I COULD HELP…IN THE PAST, MY VERY MUSICAL FAMILY HAS HELPED, BUT I WENT ON A SEARCH 4 A COMPUTER PROGRAM THAT WOULD LET ME HELP HER.

I FOUND THE MOST AMAZING PROGRAM: “SONGWORKS 3.” I AM SURE IT IS A WONDERFUL PROGRAM FOR MANY PEOPLE, BUT IT HAS SEVERAL FEATURES & I HAVE BEEN BLESSED W/TALENTS, THAT MAKE IT IDEAL 4 ME–INCLUDING THE THE WAY U CAN ENLARGE TEXT, & THE VARIETY OF WAYS U CAN ADD THE NOTES (SHE SANG THE SONG, THE COMPUTER GUESSED THE NOTES, & I MADE SURE THE NOTES WERE IN THE RIGHT PLACE—I HAVE BEEN BLESSED W/A MUSICAL EAR, & AM ABLE 2 RECALL MELODIES QUITE WELL, BUT IF I HAD TROUBLE, MY DAUGHTER COULD SING 2 MY I-PAD, & USING THE “PITCHBOT” APP, WE COULD FIND THE NOTE!).MY SON—WHO HAS ALSO BEEN BLESSED W/A MUSICAL EAR–ADDED A BASE LINE. I COULDN’T BELIEVE HOW THE LYRICS & MELODY SEEMED 2 FLOW FROM MY DAUGHTER, & HOW IT SEEMED 2ND NATURE FOR MY SON TO ADD THE ACCOMPANIMENT!

I HAVE NEVER CONSIDERED MYSELF AS A COMPOSER (I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN THE SINGER/PERFORMER!), BUT THIS SURE WAS FUN, AND I LOVED HAVING A WAY 2 AGAIN EXPRESS MYSELF MUSICALLY! & THE PROGRAM’S CUSTOMER SERVICE WAS AMAZING: AS WE WORKED ON IT, IF I HAD ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PROGRAM, I’D EMAIL MY QUESTION, & GOT A HELPFUL RESPONSE USUALLY WITHIN THE HOUR! (THAT’S A BIG DEAL 2 ME—WAITING THE USUAL 24 HRS. OR MORE, CAN SEEM LIKE FOREVER 2 SOME1 WHO’S OFTEN ON THEIR COMPUTER!)

I AM SO GRATEFUL 2 GOD 4 REMEMBERING MY NEEDS, AS HE INSPIRES OTHER PEOPLE 2 CREATE NEW THINGS!