My Love of Music

I think my love of music started at a very early age as both my Mum and Dad were always very musically minded.

My Dad is a big fan of jazz/big band music and as a keen musician has played in many bands over the years. He also spends a lot of time arranging/composing music for some of the bands/soloists he knows.

On the other hand, my Mum's side of the family grew up attending the Salvation Army and as such were heavily involved in both the singing groups and the bands - My grandfather having been the leader of the first singing group (Songsters) at Rutherglen corps!

I remember when I was very young, climbing up on the piano stool beside my Dad while he "tried out" some of his arrangements/compositions - Apparently I was a "great help"!

As soon as I turned seven I started piano lessons and continued this for a number of years, going through the exams up to Grade 8. It wasn't always easy but thankfully I stuck at it.

Although having been taken along to the Salvation Army at Rutherglen from a very early age, and giving my heart to Jesus at age seven, I never joined the junior band (Young People's Band) until I was about 11 or 12 as my piano lessons were the same night as the learners class! Even when I did initially join it was to play percussion!!!

After a short while I was given a trombone, a short lesson on how to hold it, blow into it and the various slide positions for the notes and the rest is history as they say! That was my one and only trombone lesson (and yes I know that explains a lot!) - My Dad and one of my cousins both being trombone players, then became the source of the rest of my trombone training.

Between learning the piano and trombone, I also learned to play clarinet, although I did continue to play my clarinet for a number of years, I'm afraid it's now been a while since I last played it.

After all this while I was still at Rutherglen Salvation Army, age 18, I became a uniform wearing Salvationist - during this time still in the Singing Company (junior choir) and  YP Band (junior band), but also joined the Songsters (senior choir) and Senior Band. Not long after becoming a Salvationist I became pianist for the Singing Company (junior choir), and then also for the Songsters (senior choir). A little later I took on the roll of Deputy Songster Leader and a little later again followed in my grandfather's footsteps by taking on the roll of Songster Leader for about two and a half years. After a short break from the Songsters I took on roll of Songster pianist for the second time. I also following in my Dad's footsteps, by composing several songs for the songsters and arranging music for several soloist.

In 2002 I transferred to Bellshill Salvation Army where I'm a member of the Senior Band.

So there you go, that's my musical background! Having had a grounding in music from an early age, I've also found music to be a very important part of my life and especially my Christian life. I've found over the years in so many situations that a piece of music or a song can say more to me than anything another person can say. Music seems to be able to touch my heart and emotions to a greater extent than anything else, so I do treasure the times when I get to just sit and listen to music.

So what's my favourite music?

That's very hard to say, because I often find it depends greatly on how I feel at the time I'm asked! I love a very wide variety of music and style, however it may not surprise you when I list several Christian or Salvation Army songs/pieces of music as my favourites:

- Lord I Come To You (The Power of Your Love)

- The Light of the World

- Just As I Am

- Milestone


I've used it before but here's an video of Lord I come To You which I find inspiring and emotional from the start of the video:

Kingdom Triumphant

A wonderful piece of Salvation Army brass band music The Kingdom Triumphant, with a fantastic presentation and a great message....Enjoy!

Share My Yoke

Last night at our band practice we practiced the cornet solo "Share My Yoke". It's a beautiful arrangement of the Joy Webb song.

Ever since I first heard this song many years ago, I found the words and music very moving, the words themselves are very powerful and are very personal to the listener.

Given how I've been feeling lately it was no great surprise that I felt very moved by the music last night, and fell apart yet again! I was quite please though that as this was just a band practice, everyone (except the bandmaster) were playing, so I don't think anyone noticed I had got upset again.

Please listen to the cornet solo (played by Philip Cobb) and follow the words of the song. I hope you are blessed by them.

Share My Yoke

Music and lyrics by Joy Webb
Arranged for brass band by Ivor Bosanko

When I'm tired and nothing's going right for me;
When things I've counted on just do not come my way;
When in my mind the thick grey folds of doubt arise,
It's then I seem to hear him say:

Share my yoke and find that I am joined with you.
Your slightest movement I shall feel and be there too!
Share my yoke and come the way that I must go!
In our "togetherness" my peace you'll know;
The world beholding us will see it so!

When I'm perplexed and no one's understanding me;
When even safest thoughts collapse in disarray;
When I've lost the things that always seemed so sure,
It's then I need to hear him say:

Share my yoke and find that I am joined with you.
Your slightest movement I shall feel and be there too!
Share my yoke and come the way that I must go!
In our "togetherness" my peace you'll know;
The world beholding us will see it so!

When I'm alone and nothing's getting through to me;
And isolation that increases day by day;
When closest friends can seem a thousand miles away,
It's then I long to hear him say:

Share my yoke and find that I am joined with you.
Your slightest movement I shall feel and be there too!
Share my yoke and come the way that I must go!
In our "togetherness" my peace you'll know;
The world beholding us will see it so!

Isn't it amazing to know that there is someone there when everything's going wrong and we can't see how things are ever going to improve for us.

Isn't it amazing to know there is someone who there for us when no one else is.

Isn't it amazing that someone can know and feel our every movement, no matter how small.

God is amazing!

It's Thursday Night!

...and for me that means band practice night. No I'm not in a rock band, I am in fact a member of the Bellshill Salvation Army Band, where I play trombone. So today I thought I'd tell you a wee bit more about me and the Salvation Army.

My Mum's side of the family has always been in the Salvation Army so I was taken along to the services at Rutherglen, from a very early age. When I was 7 I gave my heart to Jesus. I joined the Singing Company (which is the junior choir), and about 5/6 years later I joined the Young People's Band (the junior band) playing percussion for a few months before moving onto trombone.

When I was 18, after a number of years of doubt and soul searching, I decided that I wanted to continue serving God through the Salvation Army, so became what we call "soldier" - I wear Salvation Army uniform. From then I sang in our Songster Brigade (senior choir) and played in the Band.

I continued to attend the Salvation Army in Rutherglen until 2002. Since then I have been attending Salvation Army in Bellshill where I play in the band and also look after the band's website (www.bsab.co.uk).

I have been very priviliged to travel with the band to a number of place in Scotland, England and further afield. Our Easter Tour in 2003 to the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium was a particular high for all of us in the band. You can read more about all the places we've visited in the band's website.

The band has recorded 4 CDs, the last of which we just recorded a few weeks ago and has not yet been released. It was really hard work recording the CDs but I'm sure those who have listened to them will tell you our hard work has been well worth it! Again if you want more details please visit the band's website.

So there you go, that's a very brief history of my time in the Salvation Army. If you want to know more, I have two testimonies listed on the band's website, plus if you keep reading the blog I may tell you more about me in the coming weeks. :)

Today I've been thanking God for the allowing me the opportunity to play in the band again - for several years I was unable to play much due to some health issues. Music has always been a big part of my life and so I find it a great way of expressing my faith and praising God's name.

I'd ask that today you say thank you to God for the wonderful music that He has inspired many to write, and for those use their musical talents to share God's message by singing/playing the music.