New York City in Black & White

I love visiting the city at Christmas time: the lights, the tree, the hustle and bustle - I love how these pictures turned out.

We took the train in for a day between Christmas and New Year's and saw all the sights: Times Square, Rockefeller Plaza, and M&M World (naturally).

We also saw "Once" on Broadway - have you seen it? We saw the film several years ago and loved the music. The theme song is "Falling Slowly" by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova. Listen to it here. :-)

The show was really great. All the actors and actresses are musicians and when they weren't playing as part of the scene, they sat off to the sides as "the band."

If you have the chance, I definitely recommend the Broadway version of "Once" but a Netflix-night-in is also a good option!

Goal-Setting for 2014 - Part II

*Disclosure: I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

It's been a great first week of January!  I had a chance to spend some time this week really thinking about my goals for 2014 and planning for what I'd like to see happen.  Here's where I am:

Based on the things I learned in this post (I even added a few things to the list since I published it — take a look!), I decided to choose goals that are a little more broad — lifestyle ideals rather than things to attain or cross off a list.

I want to live a purposeful life this year. I want to spend my time doing things that are meaningful and add value to other people's lives. I want to be intentional about the things that get my time and attention. I want to live a life that reflects peace and joy.

So without further ado, here are my goals for 2014:

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Smarter Business

• Schedule more emails (thanks, Boomerang!)

• No checking email after dinner

• Streamline the workflow of my business

• Start a new mini blog series

• Read The $100 Startup

Better Teaching

• Less planning before lessons, more discovery in lessons

• Set monthly goals for the studio — things to focus on in each lesson

• Think of ways to send formal communication home to parents at the end of the year

• Plan a year-end recital

Professional

• Present my research at Eastman

• Finish my coursework and pass my qualifying exam

• Teach two workshops

• Find ways to add value to others through writing or mentoring

Living

• Take intentional time off on weekends (and times off of social media)

• Plan adventures and trips with SD

• Plan 90 minutes of intentional exercise per week

• Read Margin

• Write more

• Create an Artifact Uprising book for our first five years together

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January Goals

• Finish reading Entreleadership and choose a new book

• Research online invoicing and workflow organization

• Research and donate to a birthday party mission organization

• Plan studio goals for January + February

• Create presentation and materials for my first workshop!

• Set new budgets + investment plans

This is a work in progress, y'all. I may edit or add to this list as the year progresses but for now, this is where my head and my heart are. Each month, I'll be sharing a few of my more action-oriented goals, to keep me accountable, and to help bring this list into a living reality.

What are your goals for the year? Feel free to post them in the comments below or, if you blog your goals somewhere, please share the link — I'd love to read them!

Here's to a wonderful 2014!

Goal-Setting for 2014 - Part I

*Disclosure: I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

Happy New Year, friends!

This has been such a peaceful week for me — back home after a week of traveling, time with good friends (old and new), cooking, and yes, doing a little planning for the New Year.

I must admit that goal-setting has been a little bit more challenging for me this year than last (read more here, here, and here). 

I started off 2013 super motivated and ready to take on my ambitious goals (not that ambitious goals are a bad thing...). That lasted a few months but once summer came around, and the pace of life slowed a little bit, my action-oriented goals felt a little more like things on my ever-present to-do list. By the time fall came and school picked back up, I barely looked at my goals.

Granted, I did make progress. 

A lot of good things happened, in part as a result of setting thoughtful goals at the beginning of the year. But before I set standards and expectations for what I want to see happen in 2014, I want to make sure I spend time reflecting on the things that worked well and the things that didn't work last year.

This is how we learn, right? We try things, we experiment (like that vegetable casserole I made for dinner tonight, right, SD?), but it's only in the reflection that follows that true learning really takes place. Here's what I learned:

Things that worked:

1. Rest and space on the weekends. This made such a difference for me this year. It gave us something to look forward to each week but I also felt like my working hours were more productive.
2. Setting professional goals. I made significant progress on my degree this year, in part due to some goals I set for myself early in the year.
3. Goal-setting in January. In general, this was a great way to start the year with focus.
4. Blog calendar. I started using this free printable in November and loved it! Thanks, Em! Planning to use it again this year.
5. Monthly duty days. I first read about "duty days" here and loved the idea. Now, I use part of the day on the first Friday of each month to catch up on paying bills, depositing checks, and miscellaneous home and business to-dos.
6. Afternoons to work at home. I am such a home-body that taking time to occasionally work from home for part of a day is actually refreshing. I can't and don't really want to work from home all the time right now but every once in a while, it's a good thing.
7. Getting up on time. Yay me! We did fairly well with last year's goal. I'm not much of a morning person but my day always feels more productive when I get a lot done in the morning.

Things that didn't work:

1. Lack of monthly action steps for goals. I lost motivation over the summer when my schedule changed and it was hard to get back on track with my goals come fall.
2. Letting distractions in while working. Especially checking email and social media.
3. Complaining. Especially complaining to people who couldn't help! This is fruitless.
4. Writing on two separate blogs. I decided to do all of my writing on this blog in the coming year.
5. Comparing myself to others. As Lara said, "comparison isn't just the thief of joy, it's the thief of everything."
6. Choosing goals that became more things to do. Trying to come up with a better way to choose and write goals that are meaningful, things that center and focus my life rather than adding to my schedule.
7. Consistent exercise schedule. It's always the first thing to go when things get busy. I walk to school most days (a mile each way) but I want to find a more consistent time to exercise in addition to that a few times per week.

Good things that happened:

1. This post pretty much sums it up but here are a few others:
2. Started teaching piano at Harley
3. Traveled to new places with SD
4. Made time for 30+ runs in 9 months
5. Had my writing featured on the Clavier Companion website
6. Received two grants
7. Wrote a hymn arrangement
8. Recorded two songs for SD
9. Made time for writing (outside of academic writing - blogs, poetry)
10. Read four books: The Go-Giver, 7, The 4-Hour Work-Week, and EntreLeadership (almost finished!)
11. Got all of my inboxes to zero
12. Purged negativity from my social media feeds
13. Started volunteering with RAIHN, a hospitality organization for homeless families
14. Paid off one of my student loans ahead of schedule
15. Invested more in our Roth IRAs than in past years

I really have so much to be grateful for. 2013 was a good year, a fun year. I am ever grateful for God's "immortal love, forever full" (one of my favorite hymn texts) and His grace that covers all. I am so grateful to be married to SD and for the blessing of our marriage. I am humbled by the people I work with at Eastman and am honored to be part of such a community.

Y'all, I love our little neighborhood: our daily walks (when it's not 5 degrees outside), cozy restaurants with waitresses that know what we want before we order, and happy hours on the roof overlooking the city.

I am grateful for people who truly listen and love extravagantly. I am grateful for opportunities to make music and share it with others in meaningful ways. I am humbled by the ways God provides for us. I love our everyday adventures and the joy that we find in the little things.

I am thankful for intentional rest and quiet days to be home. I am grateful for opportunities to do new things with SD (like bowling!). I am grateful for the promise that each new day holds because of His great faithfulness.

2014 is going to be a good year.

2013: A Year in Review

For the past few years, New Year's Eve day has been, for me, a time of looking forward to the promise of the New Year but also reflecting on the year past: remembering the good, acknowledging the challenges, and feeling immense gratitude for all that we've been given. 2013 was a fun year!  Here are a few of my favorite memories:

Skiing in Utah

We went skiing in Utah with SD's family right after the New Year.  Highlights include part skiing/part walking down an Olympic Women's Downhill trail (I thought I might die), learning to ride the Poma lift, and seeing a tiger at the zoo.

Niagara Falls in March

We spent a weekend in Lewiston, NY and took a day trip to Niagara Falls (don't let our smiling faces fool you - it was freeeezing!).

Musical Pairs concert

We organized a concert at church in April called "The Art of Song: Musical Pairs".  SD and I performed two settings of "Mondnacht" (Schumann and Brahms) and we invited a few friends of ours to choose, present, and perform a pair of songs that had something in common (composer, text, theme, melodic material).  To tie the whole thing together, we played our game of "Musical Memory" (first seen in the 2011 WCMW!).  Great fun!

Lilac Festival in May (yes, May)

We attended many of Rochester's festivals this year - the Lilac Festival, the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival, the Corn Hill Arts Festival, the Festival on the Green, the Park Ave Summer Arts Festival (on our street!), the Rochester Fringe Festival, and the Hilton Apple Festival (with the largest apple crisp I've ever seen - 5' in diameter!).

Lake Junaluska, NC

We played music together, cooked together, and vacationed together this summer and enjoyed many-a #weekendadventure.  One of the highlights was our week at Lake J with dear friends.  Here we are cooking dinner on the grill one night (I actually just stepped in for the photo - the boys were the real chefs!).  We also enjoyed our share of barbecue, fried green tomatoes, and hush puppies.

The Bean in Chicago

I presented a research poster at the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy outside of Chicago in July - it was my first time in the city!

Dinner at Frog Pond in Rochester

We shared spontaneous dinners out at our favorite places (like the above picture snapped one summer evening at Frog Pond), leisurely strolls through the neighborhood at dusk, and lots of time up on the roof (watching the city fireworks show on the 4th of July was definitely a highlight!).

Apple-picking in Upstate NY

We traveled around New England, ate lobster, saw the horses race at Saratoga Springs, and went apple-picking (followed by an afternoon of pie-baking!).

Handbell choir planning

We became the Interim Handbell Choir directors at church and led a group of seven (ages 9-81!) for a fun six-week session with everything from how to pick up a bell to playing together in worship (read more about our adventures here, here, and here).

"This World Alive" at Nazareth College

My parents came up for a weekend visit in November.  We were all thrilled to attend a performance of SD's new wind/film consortium project, "This World Alive"!

Outtake from our Christmas card shoot

Somebody may have turned 30 this year.  Just sayin'.

Thanksgiving weekend

We spent Thanksgiving in CT (SD's parents hosted dinner for the first time this year - we were responsible for the stuffing, cranberry-orange relish, and corn pudding).  On Friday, we drove down to NJ to visit my grandparents and spread a little Christmas cheer.

Dinner in NYC

We spent Christmas in VT (including a brief walk through our favorite town - Woodstock) and enjoyed seeing both sides of SD's family.  We took a day trip into the big city with SD's parents and brother to see "Once" (amazing!), M&M World, the big tree, and the original P.J. Clarke's (in that order).

Our Christmas card picture

2013 - the year that brought me new professional and teaching opportunities, the year SD received not one but two letters of acceptance from publishers, the year I learned how to make deviled eggs, the year the President stopped and had lunch across the street from our apartment building, and the year I learned (again) that I really am a terrible bowler.

Happy New Year!

Previously: 2012 2011

Happy Holidays!

Wishing you and yours a wonderfully merry Christmas and a happy 2014!

Adventures in Bell Ringing: Free Handbell Acclamation!

As you know, Steve and I have been directing a beginning handbell choir at church these past two months. 

We've been working on a few reading pieces but we've also enjoyed doing some improvising (read more here) and teaching a few things by rote.

Last week, Steve wrote this acclamation for our bell choir to play in worship. 

I thought it was too good not to share and he was gracious enough to let me share it with you as a free printable!

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An easy-to-learn introit for ringers of all ages.

Free resource

A short, festive acclamation or introit for 16 bells. Perfect for your beginning bell choir (the piece is built on simple, repeated rhythmic patterns - no music required!). Works well as a processional (if your group can ring and walk at the same time!).

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About Glorioso

The piece is designed for a smaller group (16 bells) and is simple enough to teach without notation.  Each player has a rhythm pattern that is repeated throughout.  The piece is gradually built from the bottom, with two parts entering at a time.

Since we had been practicing rhythmic reading in our rehearsals, I wrote out index cards for each player with their rhythmic pattern and bell position to help them keep track of their own part.

This piece works really well as an introit—something short but joyful to begin worship.  It was well-suited for the third Sunday in Advent but it really could be used any time of the year!

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Get your free copy.

Download "Glorioso" for Handbell Choir (16 bells) and
print as many copies as you need for your choir.

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See more music for small handbell choirs here. Enjoy, and happy ringing!

I'd love to hear from you:

If you end up using this with your bell choir, please leave a comment below or email me and let me know how it goes!

More in this blog series:
Starting a Bell Choir
Improvisation Activities

Our Christmas Card - 2013

So happy to be sharing a sneak peek of our Christmas cards today! SD came up with this year's Christmas card theme and I love how it turned out!

Sending our warmest wishes for a happy, healthy, and joyful Christmas season!

xo,

Ashley & Steve

P.S. See our 2012 Christmas card here.

Recipe: Old-Fashioned Gingerbread Cookies

If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I baked a batch of these gingerbread cookies a few weeks ago (well, part of a batch - the recipe below makes six dozen!).  I felt like baking something Christmasy and old-fashioned and these were just perfect (just ask SD).  So good, in fact, that we decided to make another part of a batch to give as gifts to friends and colleagues this week.

Plus, our heat hasn't been working that well for the last week, or so and we were happy to huddle around the oven for a few hours on Saturday!

One of our cookie gift baskets, ready to go!

There's something so special about giving to others at this time of the year.  Whether it's the gift of time or patience, or something more tangible, I am convinced that showing our love and appreciation for others at any time of the year makes the world a better place.  Enjoy the gingerbread cookies!

P.S. Don’t forget: I'm hosting a holiday giveaway!

Read the details and enter here.  Hurry!  The giveaway closes the day after Christmas.

Old-Fashioned Gingerbread Cookies from Southern Living

Ingredients: 1 cup butter 1 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup molasses 2 tablespoons white vinegar 1 large egg 5 cups all-purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1 tablespoon ground ginger 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground cloves

Directions: Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add sugar and salt, beating well.  Add molasses, vinegar, and egg, beating at low speed just until blended.  Combine flour and next four ingredients; add to butter mixture, beating at low speed until blended.  Cover and chill 8 hours.  Divide dough into fourths.  Roll each portion to a 1/8-inch thickness on a floured surface.  Cut with a 3-inch cookie cutter.  Place on lightly greased or parchment paper-lined baking sheets.  Bake at 375° for 8 minutes.  Cool on pans 1 minute (this allows cookies to lift easily off of pan); then place on wire racks to cool.  Decorate as desired.  Yield: 6 dozen.

For a twist on this traditional favorite, see this recipe for Gingerbread Sandwich Cookies!

The Season of Giving + A Giveaway!

A few weeks ago, I found out that my Grampy needed semi-emergency foot surgery.  All went well but he has a long road of recovery in rehab ahead of him (prayers appreciated!).  SD and I had already planned to visit my grandparents in NJ over the Thanksgiving holiday (and surprise them with a short holiday-themed saxophone/piano concert) but given the recent events, we ended up with the opportunity to spend part of the day visiting with them in the rehab facility... and we brought our music with us.

Love is something we do, something we show with our actions, not just our words.  Love does things.

The facility was thrilled to feature us as "special guests" and at 2:00 p.m., they wheeled residents from multiple floors into the Dining Room to hear us play.  We had a 30-minute program prepared - a mix of art song transcriptions, holiday classics, and more modern reflections on the season.  I thought some of the residents might know some of the things on our list so we encouraged them to sing along!  And they did.  Melt my heart.

For those of you who are interested, here is a list of what we played:

Danyew 2013 Holiday Program

Simple Gifts (arr. Copland) Dank sei Dir Herr (Ochs) Ave Maria (Schubert)

Silver Bells (Livingston/Evans) White Christmas (Berlin) The Little Drummer Boy (Davis)

Listen to Christmas (Hayes) The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting) (Tormé/Wells)

This is what it's all about, y'all.  Sharing what we have with others.  Giving of ourselves, our time, our talents, our resources to others.  Loving on others.  This is what matters.

Christmas is two weeks away (TWO WEEKS!) and in the spirit of love and giving, I want to challenge you to go and do something this season that shows someone you really love them.  Bake cookies for your neighbor.  Write a note to a loved one who lives far away.  Be a good listener to someone who needs a friend.  Dust off the hymnal in the piano bench and gather friends and family together for an evening of singing around the piano.  Hug your loved ones a little tighter.  Writing this post made me realize that it would be fun if we shared some of the meaningful ways that we are sharing our love and gifts with each other.  To help encourage this sharing, I'm hosting a... drumroll...

Holiday Giveaway! Win a set of eight hand-lettered note cards with matching white envelopes for thank yous, love notes, or thinking of yous (two of each design: "love," "joy," "thanks," and "hello" with blank inside).

Enter any (or all!) of the following ways:

1. Leave a comment below with one of your favorite holiday memories or traditions or a way that someone has blessed you this holiday season. 2. Follow me on Instagram, post a photo of your sharing/giving/loving in action, and tag me. 3. Follow me on Twitter, share your story, and tag me.

Giveaway runs from today, December 11, 2013 through December 25, 2013.  Winner will be chosen at random and announced here on the blog.  Yay!

Improvisation Activities for Handbells

*Disclosure: I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

We've had three rehearsals with our little bell choir now and they're doing so well! As you may recall from my last post, SD and I tried to plan a variety of music for the first few weeks — pieces that called for a flexible number of bells and covered a range of playing and reading levels.

The first night, we had several new ringers and a few that were new to reading music entirely. 

(Side note: I was thrilled by this — it's so exciting to me to have new people come out to learn and make music together!). 

With this scenario in the back of our minds, we also planned a few improvisation activities that wouldn't rely on music notation. This way, we could start making music right from the beginning with whoever came that first night. 

Getting Started with Handbells

We distributed pencils and pairs of white gloves to everyone as they arrived and made temporary bell assignments based on the pentatonic scale. We used a C-based pentatonic scale (C-D-E-G-A) but you can easily transpose it to another key of your choice. Each person had 2 bells.

Random Ring

We introduced and demonstrated the basic techniques of ringing and damping and then let everyone try it for a minute or so, freely and in their own tempo. (This was the perfect setup for our improvisation activity because, essentially, they were already creating a "random ring" effect without even realizing it!). 

Once everyone had a good feel for ringing, we started the activity formally, this time with the lowest C (C3 or C4) chiming three times to start us off. Everyone was free to ring as frequently or infrequently as they desired and since we were only using the notes of the pentatonic scale, we told them not to worry about damping for the time being.

The goal was to create a sort of "wind chime" effect that would become the backdrop for the familiar chant melody, "Of the Father's Love Begotten." The first two weeks we did this, I played the melody on the piano with plenty of space in between phrases. The third week, SD played the melody on the saxophone (the way we hope to play it in worship later this month).

Pros

The great thing about this activity is that there are no wrong notes. The pentatonic arrangement ensures that even if everyone played their bells at the same time, the resulting sonority would be a pleasant one.

There is no real sense of rhythm involved, as it is determined at the individual level, so those with lower levels of musical intuition won't feel self-conscious about not ringing in time with everyone else. Also, there is no reading involved! Those who are new readers don't have to worry about following the "third line and fourth space" while keeping track of the beat — they can just play, uninhibited.

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Help those you teach learn the language of music.

This printable collection of six rhythm pattern card sets features a total of 192 different patterns made up of quarter notes, half notes, eighth notes, sixteenth notes, and quarter rests in duple and triple meters (32 cards/set).

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Rhythmic Canon

Another activity we introduced the first week was a rhythmic canon. The inspiration for this came from Michael Keller's Developing Coordination Skills. Instead of reading through the examples in the book (which involves an explanation about ignoring the lines and spaces that are notated and just ringing what you have in hand), we created three shorter examples and notated just the rhythm patterns on a large whiteboard at the front of the room.

Each pattern was two measures long (4/4 time) with a repeat sign marked at the end. The patterns were numbered, "1, 2, and 3." We were still in the pentatonic arrangement but we let everyone choose whether they wanted to read the rhythm with one or two bells. Some opted to alternate R and L, others changed bells every measure, and others played everything with only one bell. The goal here was to introduce a little bit of notation and get everyone used to reading together (in rhythm) as a group.

First, we read each pattern together (with repeats). Then, we asked each person to choose one of the three patterns to play and surprise us (the goal was to hear all three patterns at the same time). Finally, we asked them to again choose a pattern from the list but this time, cycle through all three patterns (with repeats) like a canon (the goal was to have each player read all three rhythm patterns independently).

There are obviously a number of ways to do a rhythmic canon-type activity in rehearsal — I'll leave the creative variations up to you!  Happy improvising!

Previously:
Starting a Bell Choir

Image credit: This work, "Improvisation Activities for Handbells," is a derivative of "handbells" by Joe Lewis, used under CC BY-SA 2.0. "Improvisation Activities for Handbells" is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 by Ashley Danyew.