Continued Explorations~ Soul Searching Melodies

In this blog post I will be analyzing two pieces of music by the same composer that I find to be incredibly "soul searching" in melody. They are so forlorn, sorrowful, mysterious, deep, and mystical. Be careful not to listen for too long or you might be pulled into some deep emotion that will be…

Music and The Fictive Dream~ The Long Road Back

Introduction I will be analyzing a piece of music from a film called "Spirit: Stallion of The Cimarron." This piece has no lyrics or words but it is a part of a film that has many songs with words. I chose to use a piece that did not have lyrics because this piece has always…

The Role of The Performer ~Hillary Hahn

Introduction I am going to be talking about Hillary Hahn, one of the most amazing violin performers alive today. Her hard work and dedication to music is greatly noticed and expressed through her performing. I will be explaining a bit about her early years and where she is today. Then, we'll be digging into two…

Take a Musical Trip~ Traditional Korean Music

For this blog post, I will be delving into a bit of the history and sound of traditional Korean music. There's a lot to cover so lets get started. First, lets start off with a recording of a traditional Korean folksong, called a "minyo" in Korea . Listen well and then I'll address some of…

Musical Innovations and Evolutions~ The Nyckelharpa

Introduction I am going to be exploring a little bit of the history and evolution of the instrument called the Nyckelharpa. The nyckelharpa is a Swedish instrument. It is related to the English Hurdy Gurdy and the French vielle. In other words, “It is somewhere between a type-writer and your grandpa’s old crackly fiddle.”"A nyckelharpa (Swedish: [ˈnʏ̂kːɛlˌharːpa], "keyed…

Musical Analysis #2: Assassin’s Creed Revelation Song

Introduction I will be analyzing "Assassin's Creed Revelation Song", composed by Lorne Balf and Jesper Kyd in 2011. There is very little information available about the development of this song and I struggled to find any reviews or references for it. I searched endlessly to find out where this song was composed at, what specific…

“This is Berk”- A Musical Analysis

This is Berk         “This is Berk” composed by John Powell on March 23, 2010. I wanted to do some research and discover why I gravitate towards this particular song out of all John Powell’s scores from the How to Train Your Dragon movies. The rest of his compositions are wonderful but this one is…

College Music Class Introduction

My name is Callie and I live in the beautiful state of Alaska. I have lived in Alaska my whole life and I don't plan on leaving. My roots are here and here they will stay unless God calls me to another place. I live on a farm nestled on a 19 something acre patch…

~Summer 2020: All The Things~

This summer has been so good. Hard things. Sad things. Happy things. Color. Laughter. God's provision and unwavering grace and love. I am in awe. Hard and sad things consisted of losing a dear friend and pastor. It was sudden and many of us were in denial but God took him home. I cried at…

~God Amidst My 2020~

2020 has been a really interesting year so far. Like, there's so much to talk about but no one really wants to talk about it. And that's fine with me. I'm eluding the big 2020 topic and I sigh with relief as I do so. We're just gonna skip that part of the craziness. (I…

A Little Sweet Fiction Piece

(Something I wrote for a college class. Entirely fictional. Enjoy my scrawlings 🙂 ~Feelings from Two~ The morning was cold. Snow had been falling for the past 3 days, almost nonstop. The plow trucks had already plowed all the roads several times in an attempt to keep up. Out of the corner of my vision…

One Day at a Time

Here in Alaska, the entire ordeal of being stuck at home is beginning to drive us crazy. With gyms closed, friends far away, and in-person church services canceled, we realize just how much we value friendships and the time we spent together with those friends. Am I going crazy? Maybe. Just a little. Being cooped…

A Whirl Wind of Things

It has been two months since I've been on this dear blog. Life just kind of catapulted me into a new schedule and I'm honestly quite content. God has been teaching me a lot of new things lately and I've been trying my best to accept them. I'm at home now and finished out a…

Sharing Truth and Hope Amidst my University

Zoom. Screech. The airplane wheels touched the runway with a resounding zing. I was here. College. It was real. With my dorm room all cozied up and my stack of books and sketch journals stashed on my shelves, I was ready for learning. Little did I know that the few days ahead of campus touring…

A Short Story: Etched

I mentioned at some point this year about a writing contest/challenge that I entered called symphony of words. Rosalie Valentine of the blog Penprints made the announcement of a new challenge/contest. While I didn't win or anything and had no prospects to, I did enjoy the lovely writing time I got in and the creativeness…

Life Update: Art and Fall Photos

I'm already six weeks into my music education degree and wow. It is so overwhelming. I'm exhausted. I've made many new friends, gotten into some delightful Bible studies and youth group circles, and tried out aerial silks! I'm super into the silks now. I'm even considering buying my own I love it so much! With…

College News & A Writing Contest

I'm at college now, and wow. It's been an adventure this past week. Classes start tomorrow and I'm really excited to jump into my music classes. With my major being a music ed degree, I just loaded up on fun music classes for the semester. They may be difficult but I'm glad that I have…

New Adventures & Summer Photos

I have some new adventures peering at me from down the road. And I mean it's really close. Like August close. I have chosen to attend a college in Alaska and I will be pursuing a music education degree where I will learn voice along with heavy focus on my chosen instruments. I play violin…

Jesus Has a Plan~ A Flash Fiction

Rosalie Valentine, author of the blog Penprints, has been hosting an annual writing challenge called "The Flash Fiction Dash". It's not a contest. It's just a challenge. A flash fiction is a 1000 word story. You can find out about the challenge and all the details at her blog. I participated this year, and made…

Summer Blooms~Photography

Summer is going well for Alaska, aside from the raging wildfires that threaten our dwellings. Other then that, we are content with the summer weather. 85 degrees some days and that's lovely. I've been away working at a youth camp for three weeks so my blogging has been on hold. But, I have been taking…