Blue Skies

I know, I know - it’s hard to believe, but it’s Monday again! Part of my job at Peakland UMC is listening to Praise and Worship music, trying to determine what songs would work well in our Horizons service - that’s the Contemporary service we offer on Sunday mornings. Thee are sooooo many songs out there, and a lot of them are really appealing, but won’t necessarily work for us. That’s another story another time. Recently, I ran across this song and it immediately appealed to me. I didn’t even have to listen all the way through to decide that it would work for us. In the course of writing a vocals chart, and making a sound track, I also thought this might be a good song for Music Monday. So we have used this song twice in our Horizons service and it has been well received. So I turned my attention to how this might work for a Music Monday, and in the process, it took not one, not two, but three different turns I had not anticipated. It’s not unusual for me to have different thoughts on something I have

Song Only, No Narrative

Hey, it’s Monday again! It’s the 23rd of October 2023. You ever lose something - search everywhere and just can’t find it? That’s what happened with today’s Music Monday song. I found the part of the recording that my flugelhorn friend, Lynn Nash, had recorded, but could not find the original file I had started with. I liked it, for the most part, but there were a few things I wanted to change, actually need to change. I couldn’t find that original file, so I started over. Just my original parts, that is. I had Lynn’s and a sample track I had sent him to record against. So, I recorded against it to follow how I had originally had recorded the song. I did make a few changes, though. Well, I made a lot changes - not to the Flugelhorn part, but to pretty much everything else! I guess that’s the advantages of starting over! And in today’s Music Monday, you will actually see the song playing from the software I used, which happens to be Apple’s Logic Pro. This is an older song, but timeless in it’s me

Track Only Series

Song Only, No Narrative

So yesterday, which was Sunday the 15th of October, I was sitting at the piano in the Fellowship Hall going through the songs we were going to use in our Horizons service in a few hours. I usually get to church on Sunday mornings around 6:30 AM - it gives me an opportunity to prepare, rehearse some and just collect my thoughts and spend some quiet time with God. As I was getting ready to run through the last song, the thought slipped into my mind that this would be a good song for a Music Monday. Like today! I thought I might start a little more quietly today, to give you an opportunity to tune out the distracting thoughts in your mind, and give you an opportunity to spend a quiet moment or two. You’re listening to Music Monday with Linwood. You can find this song, and some others on my website - linwoodcampbell.com. At the end of November my flugelhorn friend Lynn Nash and I will be releasing our Christmas album for you to enjoy during the Holiday Season. Songs like “Deck The Halls”, “O Holy Night”, an

Song Only, No Narrative

Wouldn’t you know it - it’s Monday again! I took the day off yesterday - that being a Sunday. I don’t like to miss for a number of reasons, but sometimes you just have to take a break, so thanks to all who covered for me! I spent a little time yesterday getting ready for Music Monday, and in the search for something to share with you, I remember this recording my friend Mike Petrikonis and I made of the Matt Redman song, 10, 000 Reasons. Mike took ownership of this song, and I believe what follows is quite the extraordinary interpretation of this song. It’s not complicated, or overloaded with instrumentation - it’s just, well, it’s just there. You may have heard me play this arrangement before in past years, but it bears playing again. Mike plays guitar and sings, 10,000 Reasons. Song plays You’ve been listening to Music Monday with Linwood. You can find this song and a lot more on my website, linwoodcampbell.com. And before you know Christmas time will be here and my flugelhorn friend, Lyn Nash, and I

Song Only - No Narrative

Back in the day, my Flugelhorn friend, Lynn Nash, and I spent a lot of time together playing in our High School Band, the Pep Band, and then afterwards we played in a rock band for a number of years. He played trumpet and I played trombone, and our friend W. B. played sax and hammond organ. We had a lot of fun, back in the day! I remember, back in the day, sitting at the piano and playing some of the really classic rock songs from Bread (If A Picture Paints . .. ), Chicago (Color My World), James Taylor (Fire and Rain, which we recorded and used as a Music Monday a few weeks back). One of Nash’s, favorites was the horn song, “Grazin In The Grass” A year or so ago we did an arrangement of that song and I wanted to play it for you today. We had way too much fun with this tune and I think you’ll see - hear why as we get into the old classic - “Grazin’ In The Grass”! Video Plays You’ve been listening to Music Monday by Linwood. Today, you saw the software I use to record our arrangements. I’m a Mac guy and the

Track only - no vocals

Song only - no narration. Original Artist is Tommy Walker. This arrangement features some of the singers at Peakland UMC, Lynn Nash on Flugelhorn.

When I start setting up my computer and keyboard to start working on a new arrangement, a lot of times I have no idea where it’s going. In fact, there are times when I don’t really know how it’s going to start! Now I’ve been making sound tracks for a long time haha. Way back in the day I worked at a music store right at the time when the MIDI communication system and keyboards were just developing. So as it grew and developed, so did I. It’s amazing what one can do with a keyboard, a computer and the right software. So I start an arrangement. Sometimes it sort of just flows out of my fingers - sometimes I have to restart a number of times. The real message here is that I really can’t take credit for what comes out of these fingers. The inspiration all comes from above and most of the time I don’t know where I’m going until I get there. So today’s Music Monday, from one of my favorite Christian Artists - Tommy Walker, is from the COVID years here at Peakland UMC. I brought singers in one at a time to re

Song Only, No Narrative

All my life I have been a church musician. I’ve played piano, organ or some kind of keyboard, and on the rare occasion trombone bak in the day. I’ve never considered myself a singer, though. I mean I have sung in various groups through the years and do sing along with the Praise Team in our Horizons service, but still, not a singer. Until Covid. Then everything changed. We went from a very low online presence as a church, to a 7 day a week presence. 6 days were devotions but day seven - that would be a Sunday - was a full blown Sunday service - well as much as we could make it full blown. Which meant music. Now providing instrumental music was my forte! Been doing that all my life, but I was getting request for vocal music. Hmmm.. Couldn’t really bring singers in at the time because Covid was just so deadly and no one wanted to come out to record. Eventually I managed to get one person at a time to record, and then I would mix all he parts together afterwards. But that was later on. So I decided to b

From the album project, Blue Skies, recorded by Linwood Campbell and Lynn Nash

I was out walking our dog, Joey, this morning and noticed that the skies were blue - not a cloud to be seen! In years past I would take advantage of a day like today and hop on my motorcycle and head for the Blue Ridge Parkway. There are several Overlooks that have absolutely amazing views - especially on blue sky days! Irving Berlin wrote a song that my flugelhorn friend, Lynn Nash, and I recorded a few years back. In fact it’s the title cut for an album we released. I thought of that this morning while walking Joey. The song makes me think of those days riding the Parkway, and of the peace I find communing with God in His creation. The name of the song, you say? Why of course - Blue Skies!

A few weeks back I shared with you the majestic version of the Doxologies we use in our church services. It was an arrangement I played on the organ, which is in our sanctuary at Peakland UMC. Sometimes you just want to shout out praise, and that is certainly a wonderful way to do it. At other times, though, you might just want to offer that same praise in a little more laid back fashion. I enlisted my flugelhorn friend, Lynn Nash, to help me with this. Here is our laid back version of the Doxology - Praise God To Whom All Blessings Flow.

The theme music for Music Mondays

It’s the 21st of August, 2023. While I was out working our dog, Joey, this morning, I was remembering that it is our daughter-in-law’s birthday today. And it occurred to me that it was a Monday, and I needed a Music Monday! So why not honor our birthday gal, and give the rest of you a birthday song to play whenever it’s your birthday, or someone else’s birthday! So happy birthday, Bri! Thank you for being you! And we all hope you have a wonderful birthday!