Friday Fave: Kristin Chenoweth

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You may or may not have heard of this Broadway-turned-TV star, depending on if you’re a fan of Wicked or the television show Pushing Daisies (her most well-known endeavors). I actually became aware of her almost ten years ago, when she starred as Sally Brown in the Broadway production of You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown. Since then, she has gone on to star in the made-for-TV versions of Annie and The Music Man, and she’s also done a couple movies, including RV and the upcoming Four Christmases.

Kristin has made several solo albums, including her latest, a Christmas CD called A Lovely Way to Spend Christmas. I am a huge sucker for holiday tunes, so of course I had to buy it, and I’m very glad I did. Her voice really is amazing. Check out this video of her singing one of her best and most impressive songs, “The Girl in 14G”.

Well that does it for this week’s Friday Fave. I will be absent over the weekend (I’m off to Orlando as you read this!) but be sure to check back in on Monday. Have a great Friday, and a wonderful weekend!

Friday Fave: Wedding Music

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Zach and I have dubbed November as “Wedding Month” due to the fact that we’ll be spending the next two weekends traveling the country for the nuptials of our friends and family. Next Friday we’ll be jet-setting to Orlando for the wedding of my friend (and former bridesmaid) Vanessa and her fiance Luis. Then the following weekend, we’ll head to Connecticut to participate in the wedding of Zach’s brother Rob and his fiance Shannon.

I’m extremely excited about both events – I love weddings! And one of my favorite aspects of the special day is (no surprises here) the music. I love it all: the instrumental (Pachelbel’s Canon in D, Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desire, The Wedding March), the vocal (Ave Maria, The Prayer, Sunrise, Sunset), and of course the dancing (American Pie, Sweet Caroline, and Hey Ya! are always fun).

I am singing at both of the weddings we’ll be attending this month, and both brides have discovered that choosing the selections isn’t as easy as one might assume. I got married last summer (08/08/08 to be exact) so I know firsthand that planning the music can be an overwhelming responsibility. Luckily, I had a wonderful advisor (aka my mom) who not only helped choose the music, but actually wrote one of the songs that was performed at the ceremony. She named it “Child of Mine” and asked my good friend and bridesmaid, Victoria, to sing it at the wedding. Listen to a recording of it (sung by me!) below:

Isn’t it beautiful? It was such a special and amazing day, and hearing a song written especially for me by my mom made it even that much more spectacular.

Friday Fave: CD Baby

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A random google search several weeks ago led me to a site called CD Baby, which is an online music store for independent musicians who want to sell their albums. Intrigued, I did some exploring and came to the conclusion that this site may be one of the greatest resources out there for musicians who want to share their talent while earning a little money at the same time.

Any regular person (like me!) can sign up with CD Baby and have their albums sold on the site. All you have to do is sign up, provide information about yourself and your CD, and then send five copies of the CD you’re selling. For a one-time fee of $35, CD Baby will set up a page to display your CD, handle all sales, and ship your CD to customers who buy it. The best part is that the company only keeps $4 per CD and a measly 9% per digital download. Oh, and CD Baby makes your music available to iTunes, Rhapsody, Amazon, and the like.

I’m in the process of compiling my first CD, and CD Baby seems like the perfect market for it. I came across some great children’s music while perusing the site, so mine would be in good company. I will keep you posted as to my progress on this project – it’s very exciting!

So that is this week’s Friday Fave. I’ll be enjoying a mini-vacation in Florida for the next couple of days, so look for a new song right here at Listen & Learn on Monday. Have a great weekend, everyone!

A New Friday Tradition

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In the spirit of Friday fun, I’ve decided to begin a new weekly post: Rachel’s Friday Faves! Since I mostly write posts about my songs and my music therapy work, I thought this would be a good chance for you to get to know me better. So each week, I’ll choose a “fave” thing, activity, person, website, anything…as long as it relates to music in one way or another. After all, that is the theme of this blog :)

So today, my “fave” is my brand new Ibanez Troubadour analog acoustic amp. I bought it for my guitar, since my hope is to start reaching bigger audiences, and I couldn’t be happier with it. Here’s the little beauty in all of its glory:

Ok, so it’s not the prettiest thing to look at, but the sound is wonderful, and that’s all that really matters. It also has two channels, so I can plug in my guitar and microphone at the same time. Plus, it makes practicing a lot more fun. And as if that weren’t enough, here’s an added bonus: my fingers are thanking me for not strumming as hard as usual!

So that’s my inaugural “Friday Fave” – stay tuned for many, many more. And, of course, check in daily for new songs and activities. Have a splendid day!