Mountain Musings

Pickin' and Grinnin'

Yes, that's right, I have expanded my musical instrument repertoire to include the banjo!

I received this five-string banjo as a surprise Christmas gift from Granny and have been pickin' away ever since. 

It was fairly easy to pick up the basic "feel" of the instrument, since I've been playing guitar now for several years. Of course, the way one approaches tunes is completely different on the banjo than on the guitar.

There seem to be two distinct styles of banjo-playing: Scruggs style and clawhammer style. Scruggs style is probably what most people think of when they think of the banjo and is named after its developer Earl Scruggs. It's used predominately in bluegrass music, and it is very fast. The player also uses finger picks on the index, middle, and thumb fingers to strike the strings.  Clawhammer banjo, on the other hand, does not use finger picks. The player uses the back of his fingernails to strike downward on the strings. This style tends to be more laid back than the Scruggs style and is used in old-time fiddle tunes rather than bluegrass.

I've gravitated toward the clawhammer style, mainly because I haven't bought finger picks yet, and I like the mellower sound of using my fingers instead of picks. I think right now, my playing is kind of a hybrid of both! I would like to gain exposure to both styles though and see what best suits me.

A little sound file to liven up your Saturday:  The Red-Haired Boy (720KB). This is a fiddle tune that came from Scotland and Ireland and is now also played by old-time musicians as well. It was one of the first tunes I tried picking out when I started playing the banjo. I recorded myself the other evening on banjo, then accompanied it with guitar. Enjoy!

~Jonathan

Encyclopedia of Me ~ G is for...

Guitar

I started playing guitar close to five years ago, an old nylon-string of Dad's. The neck seemed sooo thick, and the strings were placed sooo close together, and the chords I played were more clunks and plinks than musical tones. I have recordings of those days--I was simply awful. But with my handy Mel Bay instruction book, some tips from Dad, and a lot of practice, I gradually got better.

My next big leap came when I received a Martin steel-string guitar--it sounded wonderful compared to the out-of-tune nylon. Of course, this naturally started a family feud in which I maintain Martin guitars are best while Dad says that Taylors are the best.

Content-wise, I have branched out slightly from "Hot Cross Buns" et. al. from Mel Bay. Fingerpicking is a favorite style of mine, great for playing hymns from the hymnbook as well as Irish airs. More recently, in the past year or so, I have concentrated on developing flat-picking. This is great for American fiddle tunes, "gospel"-style hymns, and some Irish reels as well (though I can't get very good speed yet for the Irish stuff).

I thank God for this gift; it is a relaxing way to spend an evening. Who needs to buy CD's when you can play it yourself? :) I am often bombarded at work with ungodly music which utilizes guitar-playing that is more noise than music. I pray that I can be used to further God-honoring music in some small way.

~Jonathan

Horatius At The Bridge - Radio Drama Winner!

Imagine my surprise when I received an email on Saturday notifying me that I had won the Homeschool Radio Drama Contest!

Sure enough, my entry, "Horatius at the Bridge: A Tale of Ancient Rome" took first place.

Thanks to my family for helping out with so many of the voices and suggesting ideas for sound effects. Thanks also to my friends, the Wagner Family (pictured above with us), for voicing some parts--"He's mad!"

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.--I Corinthians 10:31.

And that includes making radio dramas. I give thanks to God for giving me the needed creativity and strength to complete the drama. There were many times, especially during the music composition, that I thought I would not be able to finish. I prayed a lot, and God gave me much grace!

Thanks for listening and look for more radio dramas in the future!

-Jonathan

*See earlier related post: Radio Drama Complete!

Homeschool Radio Drama--Complete!

Recently I posted about the audio drama that I was working on for the Homeschool Radio Drama Contest.  I am happy to say that I have completed it!  After two solid weeks of hard work, recording sound effects, recording script, composing the soundtrack, and editing vast amounts of audio, I finished "Horatius at the Bridge" this week.  I made the finishing touches on Monday, the 9th, and the show was due on Tuesday the 10th.  Talk about a close shave!

I've dabbled in radio drama before but nothing that I was completely satisfied with, quality-wise.  This time, I was fairly pleased with the result; the multitrack recorder helped out a lot and made the quality a lot better.  I got some superb voice-acting from Dad, Micah, and Hannah as well as me and my alter-egos. :)  I was also able to get our friends, the Wagner family, to play some roles as well.  Very fun!

                                                   To the left, you can see me in the role of director, telling Dad how to say his lines.  Recording him was probably the most entertaining part of producing the drama.  We got many hilarious outtakes that may work their way onto a "Behind-the-Scenes" edition in the near future...

By far, the most challenging aspect of putting "Horatius at the Bridge" together was composing the soundtrack.  I've learned that no matter how good the actors are or how good the sound effects are, what really "makes" a scene for the listeners is the music.  Music, since God created it to affect us emotionally and spiritually, is the prime way that audiences know how to feel during a scene.  Thus, since I am no John Williams or Howard Shore, I had my work cut out for me!  I spent all Friday afternoon and evening, as well as ALL Saturday composing, which consisted of sitting in front of the keyboard-synthesizer and trying to capture musical phrases that sounded good and fit the timing of the scene.  Since the drama was set in ancient Rome and thus had warlike battle sequences and characters, I had decided early on to focus the orchestration on the brass, low strings, and percussion.  I was praying very hard all Saturday that the Lord would help me finish the music on Saturday.  And He did--while the rest of the family got to travel to beautiful Lexington, I stayed home and finished up the last of the music.

Sound effects were great to record, too.  Micah brought over two swords that he owns, and we battled it out to create some neat sword clashes and sword draws.  I had to replicate catapults, crashing bridges, crumbling walls, shouting armies, etc., etc.  I got some great ideas from family members, too, on how to make stuff sound.  I even have a hilarious recording of Dad, Hannah, Sarah, and me grunting and yelling like deranged apes in order to sound like enemy soldiers.  So when you hear them in the drama, you know where it came from! ;)

The contest entries are being judged now, and the results won't be released until May.  I am greatly excited and hoping that I will at least make it into the top three.  The good thing is, every contestant, no matter where they place, receives a free copy of all the other entries.  So I'll get a bunch of other families' radio dramas in return!  I believe that Homeschoolradioshows.com does make all the audio dramas available for purchase after they announce the results, so if you are interested keep watch on that site.

However, if you want to listen to my radio drama for FREE you can download it HERE!  It's 17:37 long and 16.1 MB large, so dial-uppers may have a hard time downloading it.  But there it is, I hope you enjoy it!

~Jonathan

The Answer to the Photos--Radio Drama!

On Wednesday, I posted some pictures of me engaged in a curious-looking exercise. Some of you had some great guesses of what I was doing, but I think Mrs. O had the closest answer. I am recording sound effects for a new radio drama!

That's correct; I am in the middle of producing my very own radio drama. I am entering it as part of a contest hosted by the Erskine Family of Homeschool Radio Shows. For the past few years, they have sponsored a radio drama contest where homeschooled students and their families make a drama and send it in. You can read the details here.

This is my first time participating in the contest, and I am extremely excited about it. The contest rules stated that I have to choose from a list of stories to dramatize. I chose "Horatius at the Bridge," a half-historical tale, half-legend set in ancient Rome. I based my script on the story outline but expanded on it, fleshing out characters and events.

Now the time for sound design and sound effects is at hand. The pictures on Wednesday were of me recording the sound of boots on sand/gravel. Earlier, I had recorded boots on our concrete garage floor to get more stepping/scraping sounds. To get the sound effect of a heavy fortress door clanking open, I recorded myself opening an old iron woodstove door that we have out in the garage. Very interesting to listen to!

I have to finish the entry by April 10th, so I'll have my plate full for the next few weeks! I'm also having to recruit some people to do the voices...

~Jonathan

Has He Gone Mad?

Has Jonathan gone completely crazy or is there a method to his madness?  These photos were taken yesterday by an enterprising photographer who captured the family's third-born in action. Wait, is that a digital recorder I see?

Guess what I'm up to!

~Jonathan

(Cross-posted from Eugraphia)

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year from the Girotti family! We have seen God work a lot in our lives this year, and I hope you have also seen His providences in your lives as well. 

To celebrate the rapidly vanishing old year and the rapidly approaching new year, we have put this audio clip together for you all.  We finally got around to recording our voices on the computer after Lydia at Renewed Day by Day recorded her voice and challenged others to do likewise. We thought this would be the perfect time!

We hope you enjoy the clip (2.31 MB). Those with dial-up, please be patient. Even Pepper was able to sneak her "voice" in near the end! Do our voices sound like you imagined?

Once again, have a Happy New Year!

~Jonathan

Invasion of the Books!

The Serven Clan recently tagged us for their delightful book meme, and I was elected to post my favorite books.

1. One book that changed my life

I would have to say that John Thompson's God's Design for Scriptural Romance (which technically speaking is a series of articles, not a book, so I'm cheating a little, but bear with me) changed my thinking drastically.  Ironically, the change was not about the theme of the title, scriptural romance; due to the sound exhortation and teaching of my father, I had already come to convictions like those set forth by Mr. Thompson.  Rather, Mr. Thompson included an article on God's will, and how to discern it.  This section really challenged my thinking on God's will in many ways and revolutionized the way I discern His will not just for scriptural romance, but for every decision I make.  If you have not read God's Design for Scriptural Romance I strongly encourage you to do so.  I don't think the full text of the articles is available online anymore, but I believe some parts are still floating around in cyberspace somewhere.  Fortunately for us, Dad printed off a hard copy for the family.

2. One book that I have read more than once

The Swallows and Amazons Series by Arthur Ransome.  A delightful set of books about four brothers and sisters who, along with their friends, camp on deserted islands, sail around an English lake, and generally have a rousing adventurous time.

3. One book that I would want on a desert island

I'll answer that one with alacrity: the Bible.  I'll have to agree with my sister..."Any other book would soon grow old..."  The Scriptures are God's revelation to man and should be the supreme authority of our lives--even if we are marooned on a desert island.

4. One book that made me laugh

I've actually only read it once, and that many years ago, but The Phantom Tollbooth was quite hilarious. Norton Juster's dry wit, clever plays on words, and ability to poke fun at the English language all make for a humorous read.

5. One book that made me cry

My tear ducts have never been activated while reading.

Well...maybe. :)  Anyways, while I certainly didn't cry over it, the classic The Count of Monte Cristo, is a sad tale about the unjust imprisonment of Edmund Dantes. 

6. One book I wish had been written

John 21:25 says, "And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books which were written."

With all due respect to John, I wouldn't really care if the world couldn't contain the books--it would still be an incredible privilege to read all the details of Jesus' life that the Gospels don't give.

7. One book I wish had never been written

I'll heartily agree with the Serven Clan on this one: The Origin of the Species.  However, I'll go one step further: Principles of Geology by the evolutionary geologist Charles Lyell had a large impact on Darwin and was a major propellant for his eventual decision to believe in and propogate evolution.  These two books have been used as scientific and philosophical justification for rebellion against God and have caused unimaginable spiritual damage.

8. One book that I am currently reading

The problem with this question is the phrase "one book."  I am currently reading a deluge of books that includes, but is not limited to: "Inside Al Qaeda: Global Network of Terror," "Great Lives Observed: Edmund Burke," "The Federalist Papers," and "The Assassins: A Radical Sect in Islam."

9. One book I have been meaning to read

Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage, one of my Dad's books which details the heroic expedition to the Antarctic by Sir Ernest Shackleton.

I hope you have enjoyed this post and learned a little bit about the books I like to read, and perhaps even discovered a book that you would like to read yourself!

Cross-posted on Eugraphia.

~Jonathan

Music Man

My final exams are OVER! Now I can relax and play some music.

~Jonathan

We Get to Answer a Question!

Randi asked the questions below in a comment earlier today. We thought the subject was important enough to have each of the kids weigh in with their thinking. They post their insights below.

"Did your kids ever want to attend public school? We have gone back and forth with our older girls and have explained that homeschooling is what God wants us to do. But we do not have very many homeschooling families in our area who go through high school. This means that our girls are surrounded by people who go to school--causing them to feel left out. My hubby and I still feel strongly that this is the path for us, but I don't want my girls to resent this decision. Have you had this struggle with your kids? Any suggestions?"

Sarah (19) says...I've never wanted to go to public school! :) For as long as I can remember, I've known my parents' convictions and held them myself. Added to that, I have had no desire to be in the public school atmosphere. I've seen and heard the types of things that go on there. I had to go to the local high school to take the SAT test...the desks in the classroom had stuff carved and written on them; the bathrooms were likewise defaced, and the whole atmosphere just seemed oppressive. I was so glad to get out of there - and grateful that I hadn't had to spend 4 years of school in that building.

Something that may have helped me was that I was in the same grade as my brother Jonathan. It was nice to have someone else doing the same things with me. I liked having some "competition." :) Anyway, I've always enjoyed homeschooling and wouldn't trade it for anything!

Hannah (22) says...I, too, never felt "left out" being homeschooled through high school because I wasn't attracted to what the public school experience had to offer. The benefits of being taught at home, to me, outweigh any misconceptions of losing out. For me it was especially important to enjoy and be content at home as a young lady, learning what it means to be a godly woman, instead of spending most of my waking hours around those who would not share these same goals. I'm thankful for the wisdom of my parents in following God's plan for our family.

Jonathan (20) says...Boy, I can answer that question quickly!  No, I have never, ever wanted to attend public school. Even when I was fairly young, I could see the attitudes and character (er...lack thereof) of many non-homeschooled kids. I have not been impressed, to put it simply. That feeling has only grown as I have become older. I see that my parents have protected me from the decidedly anti-Christian influences that so devastate impressionable children. 

Homeschooling acts as a strong "glue" between family members. Thus, I have grown up in a setting where siblings and wise parents were more important than peer-oriented relationships.  When this mentality was instilled in me at a young age, I had no trouble being homeschooled through high school; in fact, it was normal and natural! I had no desire to leave my family to be taught hours on end by a teacher who probably did not share my worldview. I was more than satisfied to be a part of my parents' vision to fufill God's commands in Deuteronomy 6:6-7, and I hope to do the same with my children if and when God gives me a family.

Deb says...Randi, I think most of the articles I found that write about this subject assume that the parents themselves have to be talked into homeschooling through high school. Most of what I found when I searched my files were articles dealing with encouraging parents to realize they were qualified..."yes, you can do it!" type of articles.

From your comment though, I see that's not the case. Since it's your children you need to convince, your tactic could be to get your children to realize all the benefits to them and to your family by continuing to homeschool and not to focus on what they're missing by not being with their friends. In fact, even when children are homeschooled but spend vast amounts of time with their friends and separated from you and family activities, it will affect their relationship with you.

We've seen teens who have spent time in youth groups and are constantly with their friends, and they start pulling away from their families and start trying to "fit in" with the group they're with. They are thrown into situations like boy/girl preoccupation, focus on clothes, and pressure to conform in appearance and music.

We feel that family unity is one of the most important "by-products" of home education. Teens need to feel that they are a necessary part of the family and need to support and encourage each other rather than being ashamed to be seen together as a family. Planning occasional family activities and possibly including your daughters' friends (one or two at a time) will help them to see being with a family and doing things together can be fun! I would encourage more and more "family and friends" times rather than "teens with their friends without the family" times.