Author Archives: Greg Scheer

Brush Your Teeth

On Thursday, I’ll lead an assembly called “Help Me Write a Jazz Song” at a local elementary school. I’ll tell them what a composer does and what it takes to write a song. Then I’ll tell them about my plan … Continue reading

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Psalm 28: My God, the Rock (tune: ROCKY)

As I explained in a previous blog post, Kate Bluett’s rendition of Psalm 28 was so good that it needed two musical versions to bring out the nuances of the text. I named this hymn tune “ROCKY” because of its … Continue reading

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Psalm 28: My God, the Rock (tune: SANDY)

I asked Kate Bluett if she would be willing to write a new Psalm text on one of the Psalms I haven’t yet set to music. She came through with skill and style! Psalm 28 is a three-part prayer. It … Continue reading

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Judah’s Jam

In honor of Judah Guerra’s inaugural Jazz Jam at the Rez, I wrote a little tune called “Judah’s Jam.” As you can hear from this video, he assembled a stellar group of musicians who slayed it all night long! I … Continue reading

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Psalm 119: Gimel

A quick refresher: Psalm 119 is the longest Psalm, an acrostic poem with 22 sections, one for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This third movement is “Gimel.” As with the previous two movements, the music is all about transformation. … Continue reading

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Psalm 119: Beth

Continuing our series from Psalm 119, here is Beth. Beth is not only a woman’s name and the title of a ballad by Kiss; it is also the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet. In this second section of Psalm … Continue reading

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Psalm 119: Aleph

For the last three years, I have been quietly chipping away at a composition of behemoth proportions. It is now time to release it. And I mean “release” in two senses of the word: Over the next few days, I … Continue reading

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Psalm 21: The Coronation of the King

This is the Psalm that almost ended my relationship with the Psalms. I mean, I’ve made songs out of some pretty difficult Psalms, but this one almost did me in. No, it didn’t have hateful imprecations. (I’m looking at you, … Continue reading

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Your Soul Lives On

This is the last of the demos I recorded with Steve Talaga on an afternoon in September. While most of these tunes fall under the umbrella of jazz, this one…doesn’t. And that’s okay. I just want to write good music, … Continue reading

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The Gospel Truth

I have a certain ambivalence about this tune. It is So. Freaking. Happy. And happy can easily be trite. I will let you, dear listener, decide if this little bonbon of a tune is happy, trite, or both. (Or neither?) … Continue reading

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