Recently I have been learning some new music. I am always trying to improve my music and wanting to grow. Here's my store with the whole music thing.
When I was young, I went to school and ever since kindergarden I took music lessons, in piano, recorder, and choir. So I was pretty much surrounded by music. Not only that, but at home too. My dad plays guitar a lot, and my brothers started as well as they seen my dad playing guitar. So right from Kindergarden to even High School I was involved in music.
I can remember there were times at home where we had a little kiddies singing stereo with the mic on it and I would sing along with whatever was playing. I remember one time when we got a karaoke machine from our cousin. I remember the music that it had on there. My first favorite song "The Power of Love" by Celine Dion. Another time I even recorded myself singing the Tina Turner song, "Proud Mary" Yes. lol That song. lol I was singing along with that and recorded it, and later my brother, my mom, and my brother's friend were listening to it and my mom said it was good.
Back to school: Yes I took choir and piano all my school years. Year after year in school we'd prepare for a concert and learn new songs. Sometimes I didn't like singing, and sometimes I was too shy. I remember one year I was about 13, my choir teacher asked me to go sing with the little kids because she and my teacher agreed and said that I had a nice voice and that I could help the younger kids out. I didn't appreciate it then, but now as I look back, I appreciate it now, and I am honored to have been asked to sing with the little kids. I also know that almost every Christmas, my parents would buy me a keyboard, and as I think back, they were proud of me, and to remember that, that keeps me encouraged today.
Even in high school I took choir lessons with selected other class mates. Piano I took since Kindergarden to Grade 9. I should have been top piano player now but I'm not because I didn't have an interest in it then. But I know that now that I think of it, God was preparing me for the future. That is happening now. So yes. In grade nine, I dropped out of piano just so I can join cheerleading. When I dropped out of piano, I also neglected it. Time went on a couple years in grade 11 I was at home playing the piano again, but I only played it occasionally, I was trying to play by ear with some songs that I liked and several times my dad would peak at the door. So I started playing by ear even though I still somewhat neglected the piano.
As I became an adult, my love for singing grew even more. My parents went away, I'd blast up my stereo and sing with Celine Dion's sky high notes. I still love doing that now but I sing onto the Glory of God now. I'll talk about that later. So I would jam with the music. When I moved out into my own place, I started recording myself on the computer with the mike to my favorite music and I would also record myself on tape. My biggest dream would to become a huge singer like Celine Dion. lol So I even started downloading some karaoke songs and recording myself to them which was even better. I started going to bars to sing at karaoke. I didn't like to drink too much, but I mainly went to sing. I would have a pop while I was there, and I would sing song like;
At Last, which use to be my favorite song
Crazy
Celine Dion songs
Norah Jones songs
and many others.
But lets back up to a couple years before I started going to karaoke bars. I remember with a friend we started singing together and practicing music and dreamed of starting a duet group. So we practiced and it landed us a place to sing at the "Take Back The Night" even hosted by the Sexual Assult of Brant. My friend was getting counseling from there so that's what opened the doors. After that I would run into people at grocery stores and other places with people saying how great I was. I started to think if I did get my dream of becoming a singer, this is what I'll get even more. And in a way when people came to me to tell me how much of a good job I did and how much of a beautiful voice I had, I felt like a start. I also did another performance at "Take Back The Night". This is when my friend had left and we were no longer friends, I called and asked if they needed any singers. I sang the song "Up Where We Belong" and "Hero" by Mariah Carey.
We had a High School Reunion one year at my school and they had a concert, and I sang a couple songs there. "Have You Ever Been In Love" Celine Dion and "I'm Alive" Celine Dion. My mom supported me where she asked me to see if she can come and watch. I got the ok so both her and my Aunt came to watch me sing that night. Little did I know I had a couple past teachers that were there watching me singing that night. My 8th and 9th grade home room teacher Mrs Harris was there and my Choir teacher was there that was with me since Kinderguarden up to grace 7. They both came and gave me a hug and said they were blown away. Especially my choir teacher. She was surprised and proud of me. That made me happy. Not only that, but another staff at school came up to me with his daughter that is in a wheel chair that can hardly talk and the teacher told me that his daughter loved me and that she does certain hand signals when she loves something. She loved my singing. That night when they came up to me, I felt like a hero.
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The New Me and The New View of Music
August 29, 2004 I cam to the Lord. It was on a Sunday, my cousin Rosilyn took me to church. It's funny how I met her. I met her 2 weeks earlier at the food bank. Then she came to visit, I went for supper and the next day, August 29, 2009, I went to church with her at Braeside Camp and that is when I got saved. I shared a lot of my aches and pains with her, that I went through periods of depression, in fact when I met her I was still in a depression and when I came to the Lord, it lifted. So I shared my aches and pains with her and I also shared my joy for singing and my dreams of becoming a singer. She told me that there is something better for me. That I don't have to sing for the world, but sing and bring glory to God. At first I didn't know what she meant, but I later found out and I can say that I'm honored and excited that I can sing onto God and bring glory to Him which brings even more joy to me than singing to the world.
As time went on in my Christian walk, actually, I started going to church a month later in September after August 29, 2004 when I got saved. I started going to Evengel Church. I found out that they had a choir, some Singing Christmas Tree. I didn't know what type of choir I was getting into, but I just wanted to sing. So I joined right away, and when I joined, and learned the songs and met the people, it blew me away. It blew me away because of the songs we sang and the beautiful soloists that sang some of the songs. Heres are the songs that touched me;
We Are The Reason
Jesus, O What A Wonderful Child
Halilujah Amen.
O Holy Night and many others.
So fore the last six years, I have been singing in the singing Christmas tree and in 2007 I got to sing a solo in the tree as well. I shared the solo with 2 other people and the song I sang as a solo was "Do You Hear What I Hear"
I later started to sing in our group called "Young Adults" I did some solo music there at Evangel, and later landed my position on the Worship Team. I was so thankful for Vicki letting me sing on the Worship Team at Evangel, and by then, I really learned about what it meant to Sing onto the Glory of God. And how much more joy it really is than singing to the world.
I entered a contest for Blind Idol within our city. I sang 3 songs each time I entered, the first time I won second or third place. How awesome is that? Not only that, but I also volunteered to sing at the Cancer Relay For Life fundraiser for Breast Cancer. I sand some secular songs and a couple Christian songs. "Amazing Grace," "The Greatest Gift of All" "Lets Talk About Love" "I'm Alive", and "You Raise Me Up" actually was suppose to sing "You Raise Me Up", but before I was on someone else was singing it. lol. That's ok though.
So I wasn't on the Evengel Worship Team for very long, maybe a couple years, but I did enjoy every second of it. Not only that but a cousin of Rosilyn's asked me to sing at the Friendship House to do a 1 hour concert at the Coffee house. So I sang 10 songs and shared a bit of my testimony, and I really felt blessed to have been able to share my music.
Going back a couple years, I got the piano back out after it's been almost 10 years. I started to learn again by ear remembering the basics of piano, then from a friend at church who plays guitar, she wanted me to play a song with her on the piano, so she gave me a sheet that had chords on it. So that was when I was first introduced to the chords and thought, "this looks easy" so I started looking on the internet for chords and I found some in the search engin for Worship music, then I found some through www.e-chords.com. That is now where I get everything. I started printing a bunch of music off and making a Praise and Worship Binder for all my music. Over the last couple years I've learned some songs using chords and find it's so much easier than trying to read music notes. I also started playing and leading worship for Bible study at my place. So I was kinda doing both. Bible Study and Worship at Bible Study. When you do stuff like that, you feel good that you can bring others into the realm of worship and the foot of the cross. In fact, that is my dream now is to become a worship leader. If its' God's will, he will open the doors. But right now I'm just happy to be able to sing onto Him at home and with friends. My piano skills went from that not sounding too good playing by ear to chords and learning the tricks to making it sound even better. I know a variety of songs but yet still need to learn a lot more. I know now that this is the gift that God has given me. Little did I know he was preparing me right from Kindergarden up to this day with the singing and piano.
My desire now is to keep playing and singing, but also to maybe learn to play guitar.
My desire is mostly to bring Glory to God!
