Categories
Church Congregational Songs Psalms

Psalm 135: Praise the Lord!

I’m planning a recording project and realized I needed a setting of Psalm 135 to fill in the sequence from 120-136. You’ll remember that Psalms 120-134 are the Psalms of Ascent; 135-136 are often considered addendums to the collection.

Like many of the Psalms that surround it, Psalm 135 is a call to praise, pointing to creation, the calling of Israel, and deliverance from enemies as reasons for praise. It was a trick not getting bogged down in details like the killing of Og, king of Bashan, while still retaining the overall sense of the Psalm. As often happens, the discipline of trying to find rhymes and rhythms that express the Psalm in modern language led to some fresh imagery and phrases. “Dwell” and “Hallel” for the win!

Praise the Lord,
all you servants of the Lord.
Praise the Lord,
those who serve in the house of God.
Praise the Lord,
for God has claimed us as his own.
Praise the Lord!

1. Our God has done as he has pleased.
For joy he formed and filled the seas.
The mountains grandeur and the heaven’s expanse
all leapt to life at his command.

God’s breath blew clouds into the skies;
lightening and rain made their reply.
And then God carved a path upon the earth;
called us and led his people forth! [Chorus]

2. Your name endures forevermore.
Each generation joins the song.
Our God is known for his unending love.
His tender mercy covers all.

Some trust in idols made of gold,
but we will trust a living God
who leads us on to where his glory dwells,
where we will join the great Hallel. [Chorus]

Categories
Jazz Live Rock and/or Roll

Christmas in Michigan (Sax & Violins Edition)

Beer City Saxes and St. Sinner Orchestra joined forces for a Night of Sax & Violins on November 8, 2024 at The Stray. One of the songs we played together was a brand-new tune celebrating the magic of the holidays in the Mitten State: “Christmas in Michigan.”

Categories
Jazz Live Rock and/or Roll

Broken (Sax & Violins Edition)

On November 8, 2024, the St. Sinner Orchestra teamed up with Beer City Saxes for an Evening of Sax & Violins at The Stray. It was an amazing evening of traditional jazz, rock and roll, and a bunch of stuff in between. I want to call it a “historic” or “ground-breaking” collaboration, but I’ll settle for “unprecedented” or “highly unusual.” The 22 musicians involved played beautifully and went home content.

Here is one of the five songs we played together: “Broken,” from our 2024 release, Synonyms for Goodbye.

Categories
Art Music Commissions Live

Cannon

I was commissioned to compose a new piece for The Northwest Iowa Christian Schools String Orchestra Festival. The result is Cannon, which premiered on October 31, 2024.

It was a lovely performance featuring over 100 student string players. Here are the notes about the piece that appeared in the program:

I’ve always joked that I continue composing because I want to have my Pachelbel’s “Canon.” Though Pachelbel wrote hundreds of pieces, most of us only know his ubiquitous “Canon in D.” Not bad for a “one hit wonder”! As an homage to Pachelbel, I named my piece “Cannon in D Minor” and began composing. However, I soon ran into a problem: the orchestra would sound a lot better in a key like G or D. I transposed my draft to G and shortened the title to “Cannon” (this music is explosive in any key!) and got back to work. 

What emerged is a composition that is full of rhythmic energy and surprises. The piece begins with a bang, a fanfare that sets the tone for what is to come. Suddenly, the bombast stops and a stately canon begins. (You’ll remember that a canon is another word for round, where a musical theme is repeated in each section. Think “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.”) After a brief reappearance of the fanfare, we enter an extended rhythmic section that has hints of Irish Jigs, African rhythms, and Rock and Roll. Once again, we hit the brakes for a canon, but this time it is a quote of Pachelbel’s “Canon”—with a twist. The orchestra has barely finished the first eight measures of Pachelbel’s theme when a solo violin interjects a theme of its own—a double-canon mash up of Pachelbel and Scheer that takes us to the final fanfare. 

Astute music connoisseurs will notice a unique feature of the “Cannon” orchestra: the addition of Acoustic Guitar, Piano, Percussion, and Drum Set. The idea of adding a rhythm section was suggested after the conductors heard some songs I had written for the St. Sinner Orchestra, a symphonic rock group I lead. I quickly agreed, being a composer who loves combining styles and timbres in fresh ways. 

Who knows? Maybe “Cannon” will be my Pachelbel’s “Canon”!

Categories
Demos Rock and/or Roll

The It and I

You’re likely familiar with Freud’s theory that the psyche is structured in three parts: the Id, Ego, and Superego. The Ego is the you you think of when you think of you. The Id is your animal nature: the part of you that wants immediate gratification with food, sex, and violence. The Superego is the angel sitting on your shoulder reminding you to have patience, plan ahead, or take the high road.

What you might not know about Freud’s theory is that the German words he chose were everyday words, rather than Latin: Das Es, Ich, and Über-Ich. That is, “The It,” “I,” and “Over-I.”

From Jekyll and Hyde to Nick Lowe’s “The Beast in Me” to St. Paul’s “For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do,” people have been trying to figure out what this thing is that rears its ugly head when we least expect it. Freud would call it The It.

With that in mind, I wrote “The It and I.” The song laments the shadow side that accompanies us all our days. Neither the song–nor I–have come to any conclusions about this ugly part of ourselves. Make peace with The It, my friend–It is you.

1. The It and I.
The It and I.
By night or in the day,
I cannot get away;
my shadow never leaves my side.
The It and I.

2. The It and I.
The It and I.
I feed it or I starve
this beast inside my heart
and yet it seems he’ll never die.
The It and I.

3. The It and I.
The It and I.
Why won’t it let me be?
Oh, will it ever leave?
Or will it hound me til I die?
The It and I.

I’m starting to believe it’s me.

Categories
Demos Jazz

Outside Looking In

This jazz-pop tune has been languishing on my hard drive for months. A few things kept me from finishing it:

The first was that the recording simply wasn’t gelling. I imagined the song to be an understated, funky tune driven by electric piano. As you know, my keyboard abilities are woeful. I just couldn’t get my fingers around the complicated chords and extensions in a way that pushed the recording forward.

The second reason it remained dormant for four months was my doubts about how good it was as a composition. I liked the angular melody above simple chords and the sudden shifts into new tonal areas every 8 or 16 measures. But did it have a spark?–that je ne sais quoi that I want for each of my songs?

Finally, I felt insecure about releasing a song about my insecurities. We all want to curate an image of ourselves that makes us look good. Even a song about being bad can put the protagonist in a positive light: “I’ve changed for the better,” “I was wronged but heroically rose above it,” “I’m a tragic genius or a mysterious bad boy.”

One of my commitments here at my musical diary is to forego the posing and the polish, simply releasing music in its raw form. The Musical Diary of Greg Scheer: what music looks like when it wakes up in the morning!

How did I overcome my deficiencies, doubts, and insecurities to finish the song? First, I moved away from my mediocre piano playing to my less mediocre guitar playing. Eventually, I’ll record this with a real pianist, but for now, the repeated electric guitar quarter notes get the job done. I also put the bass way up in the mix; play to your strengths and all that. I had left room for a solo in the middle of the song, but once again decided I wasn’t up to the task. Instead, I found a graduation speech from Jon Batiste that addressed the very kind of musical outsiderness that the lyrics talk about. It was encouraging to hear such a fine musician discuss the resilience it takes to be your own person and how rejection can strengthen your vision. Thank you, Jon! I ended the song with a rising chorus of harmonies–simple, but cool.

So there you have it: a song that has overcome adversity to make its way into the world. I don’t know if it will be a colossal failure or a runaway hit, but it’s part of the exploration that is invaluable to my growth as a composer.

How many times am I going to try
before I just give in?
How long can I find
the strength to begin again?
How many doors have I knocked on
and still not been let in?
How long will I stand
on the outside looking in?

Where can I find the keys to this gate?
What do I have to do?
So far I haven’t had any luck.
I haven’t got a clue.

So I knock and I call
and I pound and I shout
and I do it again and again.
And I scratch and I dig
and I walk all around
and I’m looking for any way in.

Oh, I knock and I call
and I pound and I shout
and I do it again and again.
But it’s always the same
and I always end up
on the outside looking in.

Categories
Arrangement Church Commissions Congregational Songs Demos Global

與主合 / One with the Lord

A friend sent me this lovely Chinese communion song and a literal translation by a missionary/translator. There is no better way to procrastinate than to translate, arrange, and record a new global hymn, so I set to work!

The key to translating a song is to get the spirit of the song, rather than just the words. Is the song highbrow or heartfelt? What is the rhyme scheme in the original language–or is there one? Is the music simple or complicated? All these questions come into play when “transplanting” a song from one culture to another.

“One with the Lord” is a simple chorus with no surprises or sophisticated nuances. And yet, in its simplicity it is lovely and immensely singable. You’ll notice that the lyrics are all in first person. I’m not always a fan of “Jesus and me” communion songs, but I’ll make an exception for this authentic expression of personal prayer. One of the difficulties was that meter is 6.6.6.4. With lines that short–and distinct breaks between each line–it’s hard to fit all of the Chinese lyric’s meaning into so few English syllables. In cases like this, I always choose singability over correct grammar.

I would love to hear from anyone who has sung the song in its original language or know where the song originated!

1. Christ gave himself for me–
body and blood for me.
The bread and cup I see
come from our Lord.

Christ broke the bread of life,
poured out salvation’s wine.
I eat and drink and I’m
one with the Lord.

2. I have been crucified.
My sin is dead in Christ.
And yet I am alive–
alive for God.

I am made new in Christ.
Darkness gives way to light.
Christ has become my life.
Glory to God!

Categories
Church Congregational Songs Demos Psalms

Psalm 26: Upheld

Psalm 26 is like the prayer version of Psalm 1. Whereas Psalm 1 states “Blessed is the one…” (who does not walk, stand, or sit with the wicked), Psalm 26 makes it personal: “I do not…” (sit or associate with evildoers). On the one hand, it is not flattering to hear someone extol their own virtues. On the other hand, the Psalmist is praying an honest prayer many of us have prayed: “God, I really try to do the right thing–please save me from the trouble I’m in!”

What drew my attention most as I poured over Psalm 26 is the final verse: “My feet stand on level ground.” Many Psalms talk about God putting them on solid rock, but only this and Psalm 143 use the phrase “level ground.” It echoes the words of Isaiah 40: “Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.” To me, the image says that God is making a way, clearing a path for us. I like that.

This “level ground” image seemed to ask for confident, relaxed music. I chose a 6/8 gospel groove which allows for a bit of crooning while still having some twists and turns that keep things from getting schmalzy. I especially like how verse 4 shifts harmonically, mirroring the impassioned cry for mercy, then returns to the level ground of the final chorus.

You have set my feet upon steady ground.
I am standing firm in my refuge strong.
Let the saints join in, let their praise resound.
We are upheld by our God.

1. Uphold me, O God, for I’ve trusted in you.
Test me, for my faith has not faltered.
You know me, and my heart is forever true. Chorus

2. Uphold me in your love, for I’m living in you.
You’re faithful and you keep me from evil.
It beckons, but you always have led me through. Chorus

3. Lord, cleanse me again and your wonders I will tell.
I’ll praise you in the midst of your people,
proclaiming your great love where your glory dwells. Chorus

4. Lord, don’t leave my soul to strangers
who scheme throughout the night.
Lord, redeem me, keep me blameless,
have mercy on my life! Chorus

Categories
Choir Church Congregational Songs Contests Demos

The Nicene Creed

The World Council of Churches recently put out a call for musical settings of The Nicene Creed for their 2025 conference which will commemorate the 1700 years since the gathering at Nicea that produced this creed.

How could I say no?

I composed a setting of the Apostle’s Creed years ago but have never tackled the much longer Nicene Creed. Writing a song based on a text like this is daunting: there are no metrical patterns or rhymes to guide the music–just words.

I started by composing a very simple refrain of “We believe” to be sung before and after each section of the creed. This gives a congregation an easy way to engage the song right away. Each section–God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit–uses the verbatim text of the creed.

To shape this prose text into something singable I utilized lots of melodic sequences that are easy to follow even upon first hearing–this is no time for clever melodies with wide intervals! Music coherence is achieved by chains of harmonic progressions that give the music forward motion and repeated harmonies that give the ear some structure. Even though the setting is based on repetition and simplicity, I was able to throw in some interesting twists and turns that keep things fresh.

Who knows? Maybe this will be my big hit. I’m sure no one expected Malotte’s “Lord’s Prayer” would be so successful!

We believe in one God,
the Father, the almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is,
seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation
he came down from heaven;
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Categories
Church Congregational Songs Demos Psalms

Psalm 41: Blessed Are the Weak

Unlike its neighbors, Psalm 40 (“I waited patiently”) and 42 (“As the deer”), Psalm 41 has no memorable catchphrases or popular songs based on it. But that doesn’t mean it should be ignored!

Psalm 41 is a prayer for healing. It seems even the Psalmist believes the illness is due to sin. The dire circumstances cause the Psalmist to pray fervently, trusting God to forgive and heal. Unfortunately, others use this as an opportunity to kick him while he’s down. You can almost feel the Schadenfreude as enemies wait for him to die, cheerfully gossiping and expecting even the Psalmist’s memory to vanish. Even his friends take part in the hate-mongering. Still the Psalmist trusts, announcing a miraculous restoration even on what appears to be a death bed.

My setting of the Psalm focuses on the weak: “Blessed are those who have regard for the weak; the Lord delivers them in times of trouble.” This strikes me as very similar to Jesus’ words in the Beatitudes: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” God has always sided with the poor, the weak, and the outsiders. Psalm 41 indicates that God will care for those who help the weak when they experience their own time of need.

1. Have mercy, O my God!
I’ve sinned, but you can heal.
My enemies encircle me
to watch me disappear.

Blessed are the weak,
and those who care for the weak.
God will care for them in their time of need.
God bless the weak.
God bless the weak.

2. I hear them whispering now:
“He earned this grave disease.
He’ll never rise from where he lies.”
And even friends agree.

3. But you, my one true friend–
you’ve heard and will restore.
You’ll raise me up in power and love
and keep me evermore.

Blessed be the One
who hears our deep lament.
Eternal, everlasting God:
Amen. Amen.