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Falling Rain – Original Piano Composition

/ Janeen / 2 Comments

Hey all!!

Oh my gosh… I am recording New Beginnings in 4 DAYS!!! I cannot wait to have this completed!!

Today I’m sharing the very last song out of the 12 for New Beginnings. I have now officially shared them all with you, although I can’t wait for you to hear the professionally recorded versions (I do love my ol’ piano but the videos I record can never make the song sound AS GOOD as if it were live or professionally recorded). SO, I’m super pumped for you guys to hear the finished product!!

OK, so the song I’m sharing today is Falling Rain. As the title implies, this is a song for a rainy day! When I started writing this song, I was inspired by the thought of myself as a child, watching the raindrops falling down the windowpane on a rainy day. This song has a fun section where I cross my right hand over my left & play with my arms crossed. It has a descending pattern throughout, mimicking those falling raindrops I watched as a child. You will hear that the quiet, eerie feel of the song is broken up in the middle with a thunderous storm, then fades back to quiet rainfall to the end.

I hope you all enjoy my rainstorm song! I’d love to hear your thoughts! Thanks for tuning in and for all your encouragement & support throughout the creation of this album. It means the WORLD to me!!!

Love, Janeen

Website: janeenarens.com
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Taking Flight – Original Piano Composition

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Hey all!!

Just a few more songs to share for the New Beginnings album!! I have moved my recording date up to October 29 so it is just around the corner! The song I’m sharing with you today is called, “Taking Flight.”

I specifically remember this melody coming to me on a beautiful day while I was out on my daily walk. Something you may not know is that I come up with almost ALL of my song ideas when I am away from the piano… walking, driving, getting ready, showering, watching TV, you name it. It is very strange how it happens honestly, because I am almost never thinking about trying to come up with a melody or write a song. It’s like God just plants the seed in my head & says, “OK here it is. What are you going to do with it now?” When this happens, I try to minimize all distraction & spend some time with that melody idea. I take the headphones out, I turn off the TV, I turn off the radio in the car, & I spend some time with that “seed.” Most of the time, I have almost the whole song composed & playing in my head before I even sit down at the piano.

In this particular case, I was out on a walk listening to podcasts, when God gave me “Taking Flight.” I remember not being able to get home fast enough to try to bring it to life on the piano!! Soon my “flying” song was born. It has a soaring, freeing feeling throughout (with just a little turbulence in the middle).

I’m not sure why God decides to give me these melodies at random moments, but I’m always glad when he does.

Thanks for listening!! Hope you all have a wonderful day!

Love, Janeen

Website: janeenarens.com
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Liberation – Original Piano Composition LIVE

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Hello hello!

First of all, an update. I have moved my recording date up a week to October 29, which means that I will hopefully be able to get some new music in your hands sooner than my original goal release date of December 1!! 🙂

The song I’m sharing today will be on my upcoming “New Beginnings” album & is called “Liberation.” This clip is from a concert I performed back in June here at my home parish in Valentine, NE. I wrote this song early this year while going through a big decision to change jobs. I had also just released my first CD. Throughout this process, I was doing a lot of thinking & soul searching to figure out how to best honor my priorities & live God’s call for my life. When I really listened, I knew in my heart that a change was needed so I took a leap of faith, made the difficult decision to change jobs, & I never looked back. It was definitely the right decision for me & has allowed me to be able to spend more time on my love for the piano. I feel like my life is now in alignment with my priorities & it has made me SO happy, fulfilled, joyful, & LIBERATED (cue Liberation).

I hope you enjoyed this song!! Thanks for listening!

Love, Janeen

Website: janeenarens.com
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New Beginnings – Original Piano Composition

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Hello hello!!

Today I’m sharing a video of me playing one of my first compositions I wrote for the new album, “New Beginnings.”

New Beginnings was the VERY FIRST song I ever shared a video of me playing on social media!! If you want to check that out, see my first music blog post here. This song really was my “launch off” point as far as finally having enough courage to decide to finally record my music on a CD & also share my music on the internet (gasp)!

This song was written shortly after my husband & I decided to become homeowners!! We had just moved into our new home & one evening, Brandon was out officiating a basketball game, & I found myself home alone with nothing in our living room yet but my piano. I sat down & inspiration hit me like a lightning bolt. In less than an hour, I had composed this entire song (might be a record for me)! It was just my piano & me, in an empty room in a new house that we were about to make our home, full of new memories, new challenges, new happy times, a new piano journey for me & new beginnings.

Hope you enjoy this one!! Thanks for visiting my blog!!

Love, Janeen

Website: janeenarens.com
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Calling Us Home – Original Piano Composition

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Hey guys!

Today I thought I’d share a video of me playing another one of my new  original songs, “Calling Us Home,” which will be included in my upcoming album, “New Beginnings,” set to release December 1.

I wrote this song shortly after getting a shot of inspiration from another solo piano artist I was listening to. The song had a very “heavenly” feel, with some key changes, & an uplifting mood. It made me want to write a song with that same feeling. I had actually been thinking about writing a “God” song for awhile but just didn’t quite have the right inspiration. For some reason, listening to the feel of that song opened up this whole melody in my mind & I knew how I wanted the song to sound before I even sat down at the piano. Easier said than done though! This was one of the most challenging pieces I’ve ever written. I’ve never been the best at key changes in general anyway & this one has THREE (what was I thinking? haha) It took a lot of hard work & repetition to make the vision in my head for this song come to life, but it was very rewarding when I did finally accomplish it.

“Calling Us Home” starts out a bit somber. In this part of the song, I picture someone in a difficult situation reaching out to God for help, almost questioning whether or not He will answer, unsure if He’s really there or not, but reaching out in desperation with their one last sliver of hope they have left. During this part of the song, I specifically think of that person saying, “God, do you hear me?” As the song builds, I picture the faith of this person building & building until God answers their call at the key change. This is when God is calling that person to Himself, He is drawing them closer to Him, & lovingly inviting them to their heavenly home. The rest of the song has a feeling of great joy & rejoicing & I picture the very end being when the person is finally joined with God in Heaven & has said YES to God’s call home.

I feel like this song can apply to so many different occasions in our lives, whether it be the very minute daily occurrences of doubting whether or not God is really there for us, like when someone we love has done something very hurtful to us, OR whether it be the very big moments like at our time of death or death of a loved one. This is a constant cycle for everyone. We fail, we doubt, & we sin… but God always calls us back home.

 

Hope you all loved this one!! 🙂 Thanks for listening & visiting my blog!

Love, Janeen

Website: janeenarens.com
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Gardener’s Waltz – Original Piano Composition dedicated to my MOM

/ Janeen / 2 Comments

Hey all!!

More music to share!! This one is called “Gardener’s Waltz” & will be included on my upcoming album, “New Beginnings,” set to be released in December 2016!

I try not to play favorites too much with my songs, but I must say, this one is toward the top. I wrote this song in dedication to my beautiful mother, Carla Wintz. She is my #1 role model. The best compliment I can get is when someone tells me I remind them of my mom. She is who I am constantly striving to be like. Not only is she a beautiful person on the outside, she is the most beautiful person I’ve ever met on the inside. Her joyful spirit is infectious & radiates to everyone she meets. She loves her Catholic faith & her closeness with God & her faith is something that is obvious when you meet her. She’s always the one I turn to for everything I need. She’s the most kind-hearted, wonderful, loving woman in the world & I can’t believe I got so lucky that she’s my mom. I’m crying as I write this because I am just so grateful.

I thought about my mom throughout the entire process of writing Gardener’s Waltz. I knew a song with a waltz beat would be perfect for her because, growing up, whenever a waltz would come on her CD player while we were doing dishes or cleaning, she would stop everything & grab one of us kids & waltz around the room. She often talked about how she would dance with her dad like that when she was growing up. This is a perfect example of my mom’s beautiful joyful spirit… that beautiful spirit I tried to capture in the form of a song. I hope she waltzes around her kitchen while listening to Gardener’s Waltz once it’s on my next CD! 🙂

This one is for you Mom!! I LOVE YOU!!!

P.S. The day I am posting this (September 7, 2016) is my mom & dad’s 42nd wedding anniversary. Another great example set by them to strive for! 🙂

P.P.S. I hope you love this one!! Let me know what you think of it by leaving me a comment. Thanks all!!

– Janeen

Website: janeenarens.com
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Happy Heart – Original Piano Composition

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Hey all!!

Here’s another song that will be included on my upcoming New Beginnings Album! This one is called Happy Heart.

I wrote this song shortly after I had started my new job. It was a big decision to change careers, & definitely not an easy decision to make, but in hindsight, it ended up being the BEST decision for me. It’s difficult making a big change like that… so much uncertainty at the time, & lots of unknowns. However, I realized very quickly after starting my new job that I was going to be a lot happier. I learned that it’s a very freeing feeling to take charge of your own life & make those tough decisions that are going to better serve you & your priorities, even if there are some costs involved. Making this job change has allowed me to focus on more of those priorities in my life: time with family & friends, my health, & of course, my PIANO passion!! (just to name a few)

The overflowing happiness & contentment that I felt (& still feel) came bursting out of me in the form of this song. I just love how lighthearted & carefree this song is. It truly is a reflection of the overwhelming happiness I have in my heart. I’m so grateful to God that He has given me a joyful heart. Hopefully this happy song can bring a little bit of happiness to your heart as well 🙂

Ohh and one last fun sidenote, I also wanted “Heart” to be in the title as a nod to my wonderful town that contributes so much to my happiness, Valentine, Nebraska AKA “The Heart City.”

Hope you enjoy!!!

– Janeen

Website: janeenarens.com
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The Weary Traveler – Original Piano Composition

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Hey everyone!

Today I’m sharing the full version of “The Weary Traveler,” which will be one of the songs included on my New Beginnings album (goal release December 2016).

This was one of those songs that I wrote from start to finish in a couple hours. I remember that it was the same day that I finished another song, Gardener’s Waltz. For some reason, after I finished that song, my mind went in a completely different direction & I ended up playing around with this droning sequence in the left hand. I put a melody to it & in just a few hours, this song was born.

That droning sequence in the left hand is the continuous theme throughout this song. It reminds me of a wanderer, someone traveling through the desert, unsure when they will reach their destination, growing weary but continuing on, determined to press on until they get to their final destination.

I remember this story coming into my head early on in this song’s writing process. I had the title in mind before the song was finished, which was a different approach than songs I had written in the past. Usually, I wouldn’t come up with a name until it was all finished. This song taught me that focusing in on the song’s inspiration & naming it early on in the writing process helps me come up with a work of art that is completely congruent with that story & title.

 

Hope you all enjoyed The Weary Traveler! Thanks for listening & visiting my blog!

– Janeen

Website: janeenarens.com
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Love In The Wind (Full) – Clip from Concert

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Hello everyone!!

I’m beyond excited to share this FULL song with you today as it is the song that has touched my heart more than any other song I’ve written. I won’t say too much in this blog post as I do give a little description of the song in my video & also wrote a full reflection in a separate blog post, which you can find here, after I played this song at my little brother’s wedding.

It’s a special one, guys! Hope you like it!!

Love, Janeen

Website: janeenarens.com
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Road to Triumph – Original Piano Composition

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Hey all!

Here’s a video of me playing the full version of Road to Triumph. I wrote this song in early 2015 but it is part of my collection of my most recent songs to be included on my 2nd album, “New Beginnings” so I wanted to reshare!

This song just makes me so pumped up every time I play it & it’s one of my most fun songs to play! The triumphant key change ending gets me every time 😉 It gives me the feeling of being able to conquer anything. This one was tough to write/teach myself, but that feeling of finally conquering it was one of the best.

If you’d like to see another video of me playing this one & some more insight into this song, check out this blog post that I posted when I first wrote this song last year.

Enjoy all!! I’d love to hear what you think of this one. Can’t wait to record album #2. Recording date is set for November 5!!

 

Love, Janeen

Website: janeenarens.com
Facebook: Janeen Arens Piano 
YouTube: Janeen Arens
Instagram: janeen.arens