Category: Demos

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Church Congregational Songs Demos

Jesus Lives, and So Shall I #1

As Easter rapidly approaches, many worship planners are simply trying to survive Holy Week. But Sundays will keep coming, and you need to have a plan for Eastertide! Don’t Worry. I have you covered. Over the next three days I will be unveiling my new Eastertide song(s) “Jesus Lives, and So Shall I.” “Why ‘song(s)’?”, you ask? Because I have actually written three different versions of the same song. Here’s how it happened:

I was searching for songs for Easter and beyond and noticed how many songs are perfect for Easter Sunday but don’t fit the week after. (“Christ the Lord Is Risen Today,” for example.) Practically half of the New Testament is devoted to understanding the implications of the resurrection for the believer, so where are the songs about dying to self and living for Christ, etc? Then I came across the hymn “Jesus Lives, and So Shall I.” Loved it. I printed off the words, headed to the piano, and wrote a new melody for the text. Then I tweaked the text fairly substantially. Then I had doubts about the melody. Then I composed a new melody. Then I decided I liked both. Then I thought it would be fun to write a third melody and let people choose which version they like best.

Little did I know that my humble trio of melodies was up against such formidable competition: Crüger, CPE Bach, Green Carpet Players, ChurchFolk, and Nathan Partain. Feel free to check their fine renditions, but make sure you come back over the next few days to hear my other two versions of the song. I’ll give you a chance to vote on your favorite in a few days.

1. Jesus lives, and so shall I. 
The sting of death is gone forever. 
Jesus lives—the One who died  
the bands of sin and death to sever. 
God has raised me from the dust: 
Jesus is my hope and trust. 

2. Jesus lives! My soul revived 
when Jesus called. I was awakened 
from my sleep to glorious light; 
the shroud of death my Lord has shaken. 
From the grave God raised me up: 
Jesus is my hope and trust. 

3. Jesus lives! New life begins 
within this heart so long in slavery. 
From the crushing weight of sin, 
my God’s strong arm reached down and saved me. 
Each new day brings grace enough: 
Jesus is my hope and trust. 

4. Jesus lives, and nothing now 
can separate me from my Savior. 
Earthly pain nor Satan’s power 
could never cause his love to waver. 
Those he’s found are never lost: 
Jesus is my hope and trust. 

Awake, my soul.
Awake, my soul.
Your Savior calls—
calls you to rise with him this dawn,
calls you to life within God’s love:
Jesus is my hope and trust.
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Church Commissions Congregational Songs Demos

Come Praise, Be Cradled

Update 1/10/22: Sheet music for this song is now available at gregscheer.com.

For this latest collaboration with TL Moody, I took a different tack. I often match her texts with folk songs. The organic nature of the subject matter often feels like it should be matched by the string and wood of traditional folk music. And the reference to the lark in the first lines of the hymn almost lured me to follow Ralph Vaughan Williams ethereal “The Lark Ascending.” But I didn’t follow either of those muses.

Lark Bunting, Calamospiza melanocorys

Instead, I took my cues from the chorus, which is about joy welling up in the soul in praise of the Creator. What emerged was a Renaissance-style hymn with a persistent pulse underneath.

Bonus? You get to hear a chorus of Greg trombones!

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Church Commissions Congregational Songs Demos

The Meadow Sings (TL Moody)

Update: 1/10/22: Sheet music for this song is now available at gregscheer.com.

The collaborations with TL Moody continue!

What I love about this song, “The Meadow Sings,” is that the text wraps nature and doxology together so tightly and beautifully. Many environmental hymns are so heavy-handed they make you want to hop in your SUV and go eat a burger just to spite the starry-eyed, idealistic poet. But this text knits together nature, music, and the Creator so beautifully it makes all three seem part of the same chorus.

The organic nature of the text led me to compose a folk song with Celtic overtones. Of course, we’re all trying to recapture the beauty of “Be Thou My Vision” and “Morning Has Broken.” On the other hand, you could do worse…

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Church Commissions Congregational Songs Demos Psalms

Psalm 84: Blessed Beyond Measure

I’m currently working on a big choral commission for the centennial celebration of Trinity Lutheran Church in Owatonna, MN. (“Big” as in, youth and adult choirs, handbells and handchimes, woodwinds, brass, strings, timpani, harp, and praise team.)

While it is relatively easy to write a festive choral piece that would add to a centennial celebration day, it’s a lot harder to write something that will continue to be used by the church for years to come.  With that in mind, I wanted to do a reality check, creating a demo that would strip back all the instrumentation to reveal how well the song itself sings. I’m glad I did because the very act of recording the song showed me places I should leave space for breathing, words that tripped the tongue, and parts of the melody that could be streamlined. What remains is smooth as butter.

My study of Psalm 84 revealed a Psalm full of wide-eyed wonder about God’s temple, but also trust in God’s presence on the journey of life. Most commentators break the Psalm into three sections: 1. The beauty of God’s temple. 2. The blessing of the journey (to the temple and the journey of life). 3. God’s presence in the heart and life of the faithful. What a beautiful theme for a church that has journeyed for 100 years and is looking to its future! I followed this same three-part structure in my song.

The song is what I often call a “blender.” That is, a song that can live comfortably in both traditional and contemporary settings: think “In Christ Alone,” “There Is a Redeemer,” etc. This demo leans toward the contemporary with guitars and drums, but the full arrangement (to be completed any day now) leans more traditional, as it will be premiered in a large hall with lots of reverb. Ultimately, I think it will be right at home in both Trinity’s weekly traditional or contemporary services.

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Choir Church Commissions Congregational Songs Demos Hymn tunes

Speak Sabbath O’er My Soul (TL Moody)

Update 1/10/22: Sheet music for this song is now available at gregscheer.com.

My second collaboration with TL Moody is a tune for her text “Speak Sabbath O’er My Soul.” What I love about this text is that positions Sabbath as something life-giving that God does for us rather than a teeth-gritting discipline we do for God.

I went with a serene, stately setting of the text, which I think creates quite a lovely, mystical mood. The piano provides a steady pulse, and the vocals feel like inhaling and exhaling on top of that. (Yes, there are echoes of Sibelius’ “Be Still My Soul.”)

Fortuitously, the day I wrote this was also choir rehearsal day at Fuller Ave CRC. My choir didn’t know they were showing up for a recording session!

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Art Music Demos FAWM 2019

#4 (piano miniature)

In the past few years, I’ve played through almost all of Scott Joplin’s piano music. His music is intelligent, full of life, and simply fun. I wish I was more of a pianist, because I really don’t do his compositions justice. Given my love of Joplin’s work, it made total sense to me that piano miniature #4 (in 4/4 time) should be an homage to him.

You can hear a bit of Joplin in the left hand stride pattern and the melody’s syncopated spring. Of course, mimicry is not my thing; I had to put my own stamp on it! The most striking feature of #4 is that the left hand lays down a march in 4/4 time while the right hand waltzes in 3/4 on top of it. Oil and water? You bet! Check out the PDF of the score.

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Choir Demos Hymn tunes Quirky

A New Year’s Carol

A New Year’s Carol

As the year draws to a close, one has to take stock and observe, “That sucked.” Yes, 2018 was about the worst year since 7th grade. Worst. Year. Ever.

The good news? It can only go up from here. To commemorate the enormous sinkhole that was 2018 and the great hopes for a brighter future, I’ve written “A New Year’s Carol.” On the surface it may sound a little bleak to sing “it’s been a terrible year,” but there is hope embedded in the music of this carol. You see, the key rises a whole step with each repeat of the carol. Crazy, huh? You want to really geek out? I double all the tracks at the octave so that I could create Shepard Tones–the effect that the song continuously rises without actually going out of range. (Although I’m singing nearly four octaves all told.)

By all accounts it’s been a terrible year.
As the days dragged into months,
there was little to cheer.
Sing “Oo la loo ley!”
when there’s nothing to say.
Sing “Oo la ley loo!”
for what else can you do?
But next year cannot be worse,
so it’s all up from here!

You want to sing along? Here’s the music: PDF.
You want to hear the Shepard Tones more clearly? Here’s an instrumental MP3.

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Demos Rock and/or Roll

Love

The members of the St. Sinner Orchestra often point out that our repertoire leans toward dark themes, with song titles such as “Die Alone,” “Idiot,” and “Sinking Like a Stone.” But this new one, “Love,” is all sunshine. My change in tone surely has something to do with a new love and the accompanying hopes, fears, and butterflies. No, I’m not plowing new ground in writing a love song–or even in writing a song about not needing another (silly) love song–so sue me.

The idea for the song started when I texted my friend Steve “I’ll be in Ukraine in the middle of May. And also, I might be in love,” and he immediately responded, “You are not in love.” After some good-natured banter, we agreed to disagree with me stating, “I’m totally not taking your advice. I’m really into her,” and him admitting that “Long distance relationship advice is even worse than long distance relationships.” (Steve, in case you’re wondering, no, you don’t get a co-writing credit.)

This is just a demo–a musical shakedown cruise, as it were. I’m working up a full string arrangement that will likely be premiered at the St. Sinner Orchestra’s gig on January 24, 2019 at Schmohz. Be there.

1. Steve says that I’m not in love:
“It’s too soon—blah, blah, blah…”
But I didn’t listen to a word he said.
Maybe I will never learn
the thousand ways that love can hurt you,
but I’d rather die learning than live just avoiding pain.
So I’m jumping back in it.

Love—could anyone hope for more than
love?—Isn’t it all we want?
Love—who wouldn’t give it all for love?

2. Lovers have come and lovers have gone;
they’ve spilled their ink and they’ve sung their songs.
God only knows I’m not the first one to feel this way.
Love, from a distance, is cool and remote
like the moon seen through a telescope.
But now I’m in your orbit, under your sway.
And I can’t get away from

Love—could anyone hope for more than
love?—Isn’t it all we want?
Love—who wouldn’t give it all for love?

3. Does the world need another love song
with the hopeful lift of ii, V, I chords
and a “love, love, love” that comes back again and again?
We might get tired of the same refrain,
the pop cliches, deceptive cadences,
but we all hope we’ll find love that never ends.
And so we keep singing:

Love—could anyone hope for more than
love?—Isn’t it all we want?
Love—who wouldn’t give it all for love?

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Church Commissions Congregational Songs Demos Hymn tunes

Is It I, Lord?

Christopher L. Webber,
collaborator extraordinaire and completely unaware

My third collaboration with Christopher Webber is a new tune for his social justice hymn, “Is It I, Lord?” The meter of the text is 8.5.5.5 D, which is very unusual. (Unusual, as in “I don’t think it exists anywhere else in the world. Ever.”) It was quite challenging to compose a tune that matched this unusual meter and fit each verse of the tune. But every musical challenge has a solution!

Christopher and I work together remarkably well. Our collaboration is so seamless that we barely need words. I’m joking, of course. I’ve never met the man. Maybe someday I will and he’ll either hug me or punch me.

I have a piano score for this song and would be glad to email it to you if you ask nicely. I will let you know when all these songs are released by World Library Publications.

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Arrangement Church Commissions Congregational Songs Demos Hymn tunes

Many Fields to Plow, piano/organ

Update: Sheet music for this song is now available at gregscheer.com.

It seems that people are clamoring* for a keyboard arrangement of “Many Fields to Plow.” Who am I to say No?

What I like most about the keyboard version is that it brings out the flowing nature of the melody in a way that my voice and guitar demo doesn’t. Above is the organ MP3, but it also works well with piano. If you ask nicely, I’ll send you the score.

*At least three people have clamored: Tammy, me, and one other.