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Waves of Change – Original Piano Composition

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Hey hey!!

This is the 2nd last song on the docket for the songs that I’ll be recording on “Reflections of Joy” in a week & a half …. eeeee!! Almost there!!

This is a song that I REALLY like but strangely do not share that much! Even my closest family members might be unfamiliar with this one (poor thing!)

This song went unnamed for quite awhile (ok now I’m feeling really bad for this song…haha!) In the meantime, I always referred to it as “The Black Key Song,” because it is in a key with 4 flats, so most of the song is played on the black keys. I remember wanting to come up with something really different when I wrote this song, which is why I focused on mostly black keys. I also played around with different tempos & rhythms & time signatures. The result was a song that’s very interesting & ever changing. When reflecting on all of these factors, we (Mom & I, of course, my song-naming buddy) finally landed on a name … “Waves of Change” … although, I still like to refer to it as The Black Key Song from time to time. 😉

Hope you enjoy this one! I’d be happy if you could give this neglected song some love & let me know what you think of it 😉

Thanks for listening!

-Janeen

 

Quick Craft to Make Use of All Those Christmas Cards!

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Hey guys!

I came up with this super quick craft last night (seriously it took me like 5 minutes) & I just figured I’d share, since it’s a really great way to display all of those Christmas cards that we all get in the mail without cluttering up your fridge or just getting lost in a stack somewhere.

Although most of my creativity is applied to my music, I also LOVE paper crafts. I really don’t do it enough, but I just think it’s so fun to play with scrapbook paper & ribbon to make pretty signs, banners, calendars, etc.

So, here’s the step by step on how to make this quick Christmas Card Craft 🙂

1) Buy your supplies! I got everything I needed from my FAVORITE store here in Valentine, Cherry Blossom Paperie. You can get these items at any craft store. You will need:

– Ribbon (I used a thin red sparkly ribbon but you can use whatever ribbon you like!)

– Teeny tiny clothes pins (aren’t these the cutest things you’ve ever seen?)
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– Merry Christmas sign/ornament (optional).

2) Cut your ribbon to the length you desire. Now, we just bought a new house this year & there has been this hook in the ceiling in the corner of our kitchen that we haven’t done anything with. SO, my idea for this project was to hang it from the ceiling & make it vertical. HOWEVER, you could totally do a horizontal version & make it “banner-style.” Just depends on the space you have!

3) Tie the ribbon to the hook (OR tie/tape/fixate to wherever you’re hanging your project if you’re doing a horizontal version).

4) Hang the Merry Christmas ornament at the top. This is optional but I think it just really finishes off the look!

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5) Use the clothespins to fixate your Christmas cards to the ribbon.

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Bonus Tip: Since I don’t have a lot of Christmas cards yet, I just filled out the strand of ribbon with these extra cute little cards I found at the paperie store 🙂  When I get more Christmas cards, I’ll replace these little guys with the new ones.

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So there you have it!! See, I told you it was super easy. And here is what the finished product looks like! My husband even loves it & gave me a huge compliment when he got home last night 😉 Yay!

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Hope you can all put this craft idea to good use! It really has already freed up so much space on my fridge & I’m still able to display all of these cards without the clutter! 
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!!

– Janeen

Spanish Dreams – Original Piano Composition

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Hello everyone!!

This week’s song that I “relearned” for my big recording date was “Spanish Dreams.” This song is one of the original 12 that will be included on my album “Reflections of Joy” to be released in early 2016.

When I wrote this song, I remember wanting to compose a song in a minor key. A lot of my music that I create is bright & happy & in major keys…. so I mixed it up a bit with this song. The result was a very Spanish sounding arrangement, still upbeat but in a minor key. It provides a bit of a contrast from the other music on my album, but in a good way I think! 😉

Had a good time re-learning this song this week… this is one that I hadn’t played in awhile, so it was nice reconnecting to it & practicing up for my recording date, which is now less than 3 weeks away!! Eeee!

I hope you all enjoy this one! If you do, it would be the best compliment if you could stay connected with me by following this blog (click follow button on right side of page), subscribing to my YouTube Channel or liking my Facebook page 🙂 Until my website is launched in a few months, that’s the best way to stay up to date with album release updates, new music, etc.

Thanks & Happy Listening!!

– Janeen

Days on Grandma’s Farm – Original Piano Composition

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Hey guys!!

This week’s song that I’m practicing up for my big recording date (now less than a month away!) is super special to me. It’s called “Days on Grandma’s Farm” & is one of the original 12 I wrote when I was pretty young (14 years old) & it definitely carries a youthful, happy-go-lucky tone, which, of course, brings me back to those good ol’ Days on Grandma’s Farm 🙂

This song is dedicated to my dear grandmother, Geraldine Bruening, who had since passed away at the time of writing this song. Growing up, she lived on a farm place only about 20 minutes from my childhood home. Those memories that I have of days on the farm are ones that I truly cherish…. I cannot put into words how much (although I will attempt), but I guess a song might be the closest I can get! 😉

The consistent pattern of the lower hand in this song depicts the “hum-drum” of the wonderfully simple, everyday life on the farm. Looking back, I realize even more how great of a gift those days on the farm were to me. There was no better feeling than being outside with all my cousins & loved ones, experiencing pure freedom, a sense of adventure as we explored, a creative & playful spirit, & a deep-rooted appreciation for nature & getting your hands dirty sometimes 😉

This is another one of my beautifully simple songs. I hope this song takes you back to a place that has a special imprint on your heart. It honestly makes me tear up when I play this & reflect on the meaning behind it (happy tears of course!). This one’s for you, Grandma B!

– Janeen

Also find me on:
– Facebook: Janeen Arens Piano 
– Instagram: janeen.arens 
– YouTube: Janeen Arens 

My Sweet Country Home – Original Piano Composition

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Hello hello!!

My Sweet Country Home is a simpler song, but that is really the theme of it…. finding beauty in the simplicity. This song is a reminder for us to slow it down & enjoy the simple things in life …. your home, time with family, blue skies, green grass, smiles, laughter, rest, relaxation, & so much more! What simple things are you grateful for today? These are things that we need to pay attention to… slow down the hustle of our lives from time to time & soak in the beautiful simplicity of life that is easy to take for granted.

This song is one of the original 12 songs that I composed & that I will include on my album “Reflections of Joy” to be released in early 2016 (more details on that here).

I hope you all find some peace in this song & recognize the true blessings that are all around you.

Thank you for listening & following my journey!! If you enjoyed this song, it would be a HUGE compliment if you would support me by subscribing to my YouTube channel, following this blog, or following me on Facebook. I’d also love some comments & feedback on what you thought of this simple tune 🙂

 

Until next time,

-Janeen

Unknown Passage – Original Piano Composition

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Hi all!!

I’m continuing to put my nose to the grind & master some of these older compositions that I haven’t played in awhile. Need to get all practiced up for the big recording day in a month!

This week’s focus was on one of my favorites … “Unknown Passage.” This one gave me a bit of a challenge, but eventually I was able to get the speed up to snuff… I actually think now I’m playing it a little too fast so will try to slow it down a bit for the album! However, I do remember that the name of the game when starting to compose this one was SPEED! I had just got done composing several slower songs, & I remember thinking to myself that I wanted to write one that was fast & intense. The result…. “Unknown Passage.” It’s a shorter song that’s a bit dark & twisty, packed with intensity, mystery, & speed…. hence the title 😉

Hope you all enjoy this one!! If you do, visit my Music page on the blog to hear more & follow my blog or subscribe to my YouTube channel for new videos each week!

Thanks for listening!

– Janeen

I’m Recording an Album! “Reflections of Joy” to be released in 2016

/ Janeen / 2 Comments

Hey there!

So, you might have heard the news already but I’m just SO excited about it, I decided that it deserved its own blog post 🙂 I’ve got a recording date set for December 23, 2015 & will be releasing my first official album, “Reflections of Joy” sometime in early 2016 (make sure you follow the blog or my Facebook page for updates!)

In my very first blog post back in March of this year, I got a little personal & described “My Melodic Journey,” which basically explains my piano journey, my motivation for the blog, & why I am where I’m at today (check out that post here). In that post, I had explained my hesitancy about going to a professional recording studio again. I was worried it would put too much pressure on me & make me lose my composition “spark” again. However, since that time, I have been researching like a crazy person & trying to figure out the best route to go. After months & months of research, self reflection, & advice from loved ones, I have decided that the best route to go is to record professionally. Let’s face it, I don’t want to do all that work myself & would rather outsource to the professionals who know what the heck they’re doing (and do it 100 billion times better than me). Plus, I decided that, hello …. I’m a different person than I was when I was 14. I’m a grown-ass woman with a passion & a mission. No one is pressuring me to do this, except me 🙂

So, there began my hunt for a recording studio semi-close to me (which is a huge feat, considering my location in Valentine, NE where the nearest bigger town is over 2 hours away). Long story short, the stars aligned & God sent me an answer. A lady from Seward visited The Prairie Club who records her piano music professionally & she gave me the name of the place she records, which is Power Base Studio in Wisner, NE. Wisner is only about 3 hours from us in Valentine & only about an hour away from my hometown in Hartington! I looked up some of her recordings, loved them, researched the website, read all his fabulous testimonials, called Dan, loved him, got great info, & scheduled the recording session for December 23 when we’ll be traveling home for the holidays. PERFECT!!

Now, after some thought, I have decided that I want to keep my original 12 songs separate from my new ones. I just think of them as representing 2 completely different stages of my life & I want to keep them separate. Therefore, I will be releasing just my original 12 songs on the album which I will name “Reflections of Joy” (who knew that would be so fitting now when I named that first song!) My newer songs (3 and counting) will be released on a 2nd album when I have more to add to the collection.

Now that I’ll have professional music recordings to share & sell, I’ve been putting my nose to the grind, researching & figuring out the best way to get it out there! There’s lots to learn & all this technical stuff is kind of hurting my brain, but it will be well worth it 😉 I’m currently working on setting up a website (which will be janeenarens.com), so that I’ll have a one stop shop for all my stuff! Just for fun, here’s a little sneak peak of what it will look like.

website preview updated

I’d be thrilled if you could support me by following this blog (just click the “Follow” button on the right side of my blog page) or liking my Facebook page. Right now, those are the best ways to stay up to date with my music stuff & also the best way to learn about when my website is live, which will then be the best place to stay connected with me 🙂

THANK YOU for following & supporting my journey!

Much love,

– Janeen

*Facebook: Janeen Arens Piano 
*IG: janeen.arens
*YouTube: Janeen Arens

Springtime Melody – Original Piano Composition

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Hey guys!!

So, I’ve officially scheduled a recording session to record my songs!!! The recording session is next month, & I will be releasing the “original 12” in my first album, “Reflections of Joy,” sometime in early 2016 (stay tuned for exact date!) This album is A LONG time coming, so I’m beyond excited to have a plan in place to get this done & start sharing some professional recordings of my songs with you! I’ve also been working on scoring my music, so will have sheet music available for anyone who plays piano as well 🙂 Exciting things happening in my piano world!

Since my recording session is a little over a month away, I need to buckle down & re-learn / master some of my older songs that I haven’t played in awhile. Some of them I have let fall by the wayside so I need to spend some time with them so they’re ready to record on December 23! I’ll be practicing & releasing a video of one of my originals each week leading up to the big recording day 🙂

First song on the chopping block is “Springtime Melody.” I know, it’s a strange one to share right when we’re heading into winter & the coldest days of the year, but maybe this will give you some happy thoughts of Springtime & nicer days to come 🙂 This song is a tribute to the wonderful season of Spring, the re-awakening of life after the dead of winter, the re-emergence of all things green, the energizing feel of warm sunny days, & the overall joy & happiness that comes with the arrival of this season.

I hope this one brings some happiness to you all! It was fun spending some time with this song this week & rediscovering my love for it. Enjoy!

P.S. If you liked this, it would be awesome if you could support me by following this blog, subscribing to my YouTube channel, or liking my Facebook Page 🙂 You guys are great!

Thanks for listening!

– Janeen

My Piano Cover Version of Wildest Dreams by Taylor Swift 

/ Janeen / Leave a comment

Hey guys!!

I have been having lots of fun experimenting with cover songs lately & this is my favorite one that I learned by ear recently 🙂 such an awesome song & fun to play. Hope you enjoy my version!

If you want to hear more music subscribe to my YouTube channel or visit the music page on the blog.

Happy listening!

Thanks for visiting!

-Janeen

Storm At Sea – Original Piano Composition

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Hi All!!

Today I thought I’d share with you my most requested piano composition to play for my friends & family 🙂

Storm At Sea was the 3rd piano composition that I wrote when I first starting writing music at 14 years old. I remember wanting to come up with something big & strong sounding, so the low octave baseline was born, melody followed, & Storm At Sea instantly became my “crowd pleaser.” I’ll NEVER forget the moment when my 3 older brothers (who are all around 10 years older than me & were in their early 20’s & in college at the time) heard me play this song & they were fist-pumping around the room & high-fiving each other. Haha!

I knew I had something special with this composition & it continues to be the most requested song for me to play for my friends & family to this day. I’m extremely proud of this one. I used to dream of this becoming the theme song of a movie with orchestra added to it. Hey, it could still happen right? 😉 Ha! I don’t think an explanation on the title is needed as the melody speaks for itself (at least I hope so anyway!)

Hope you all enjoy Storm At Sea! If you’d like to hear more of my music, subscribe to my youtube channel, or visit the music page on the blog.

Thanks for listening!

– Janeen