Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing

I think when it was originally penned, there were some additional lyrics, but this is how it appears in most hymnals today. My third verse is my personal favorite, reminding us all that we can't possibly save ourselves because we owe such a great debt. Our only hope is for God, with His amazing grace, to bind and seal our wandering hearts.

Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing
-Robert Robinson (1758)

Come Thou Fount of every blessing
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it,
Mount of God's unchanging love.

Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Hither by Thy help I'm come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood.

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I'm constrained to be!
Let that grace now like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here's my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

Deal O' The Month

Alright, I know we're only a few days into Feburary but I'm going to go ahead and declare my latest purchase the best deal o' the month. Heck, after you hear about it you'll probably think that it's the greatest deal o' the year and you'll rush out and pick up your own. I was in Wal-Mart the other day and I saw the usual display of Garth Brooks box sets, The Limited Series. Now, these have been out since Christmas two years ago. Garth Brooks signed some new deal with Wal-Mart and they are the exclusive carriers of this 6 disc set which was originally on sale (for pre-order and the day after Thanksgiving special) for $25. I'm not sure what happened, but no one really bought them and they've been stacked on the shelves for a few years now as they continually have marked down the price. Here's where it gets good. The other night I saw that this box set, this 5 cd, 1 promotional dvd box set had been marked down to $9.92. And right above that on the shelf was Garth Brooks, The Entertainer, a 5 DVD set containing 4 different concerts and one disc of music videos- also $9.92. So I walked out of walmart Sevens, Scarecrow, The Lost Sessions, Double Live (a personal favorite), and hours of live footage for about $20. I highly recommend that you go check it out- especially if you're a Garth Brooks fan, a country music fan, or even simply a music fan- either way, you won't be disappointed.

Blog Title

As you may know, I've gone back and forth with different titles ever since the creation of this blog. It started out as musings of a reformed bassist, transformed into chronic congnitions of my consciousness, then I had a few random titles for a few days before settling on Derek's blog... which morphed into derekhughes. After I grew tired of that I added (musings of a reformed bassist) to derekhughes and that's where I've been the past few days. Now, notice the top of the page and you'll see I've changed it once again to read derekhughes (student). When trying to choose a blog title, I wanted something that would accurately describe me and the nature of this blog.
First off, I've decided to change it from musings of a reformed bassist because many, many people use the word musing in blog titles and using it in mine makes me feel like a big ol' copycat. Second, although I do hold to the five solas of reformed theology and the five points of Calvinism, I don't want that to define my blog, or me for that matter. There are many blogs out there devoted to these doctrines of grace, and that isn't the kind of blog that I want to claim as my own. I have absolutley nothing against any of these blogs, in fact, most blogs that I visit deal with reformed theology, I just want to maintain a different kind of blog. Thirdly, sometimes I feel restricted whenever I think of myself as a bassist. I do play bass and it is probably the instrument that I enjoy playing the most, but sometimes I feel as if I shut myself off from the rest of the musical world and try to focus too much on the bass. I forget that I still need to keep up my piano chops and that if I don't practice singing, Dr. Lugo will shoot me. I'm not exaggerating. Ok, maybe slightly, but she would still be very angry. But the point is, I need to stop thinking of myself as purely a bass player, because it has started to hinder my growth as a musician... wow, I'm a huge geek.
So my new title, derekhughes (student) describes my current state. I am a student of theology, not formally (at the moment) but, in my spare time, I try to soak up the word as much as possible. I'm a student of music, currently notating my way through UK's theory department and trying to keep up in my intense voice lessons. And, I'm also a student of whatever else they force me to take at UK, right now it's Psychology and this class called Dinosaurs and Disasters (all about prehistoric times and the extinction of Dinosaurs... Bert, I'm sure I'll have a lot of questions about this one).
So, there you have it- my blog's new title. I hope that I haven't lost any readers in the process, but if so that's quite alright. I don't blog to gain popularity- this is more or less my online journal. If you want to read it, feel free. My mother says it makes it possible for her to keep up with my everyday life. Thanks for all of your dedication and continued faithfulness. Until next time...

oops

Youtube has been acting really funny recently whenever I try to post videos on my blog. A few days ago I blogged about Coldplay's "Fix You" and tried to post the music video so you all could see what I was talking about and experience the great moment with me (complete with fist pumping). When one video didn't work, I went and tried to post another. I tried this for a couple of days and then finally gave up. Much to my surprise, I signed into my blog a few minutes ago and discovered that youtube had finally posted all of the videos- I think 6 in all! I took care of them and left only one for you to enjoy. I guess I'll have to start planning my video posts ahead of time so they show up when I want them too.
Oh, I picked up a few new cds yesterday- Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours" and "The Dance" and The Beach Boys "Pet Sounds". I haven't gotten a chance to listen to any Fleetwood Mac yet because I'm so blown away by Pet Sounds. I highly suggest that you give it a shot. It just may be the most perfect album I've ever heard, no exaggeration.

An Epic and Inspiring Musical Moment

I've got to say that the song "Fix You" by Coldplay has got one of the (if not the) most inspiring musical moments that I've ever heard. About 2:10 into the song, after the 2nd chorus, he sings "I will try to fix you" and on the next downbeat the guitarist comes in with the eighth notes rocking with this 8 bar phrase that repeats over all of the chord changes as the band builds intensity until they comes in with 4 part harmony ("Tears stream..."). Ahh, this gives me goosebumps every single time I listen to the song. I've got to see it live. If you haven't heard the song, I suggest you do yourself a favor and listen to it. If you pump your fist in the air as the band builds at the end it adds to the intensity, I swear it does. I'm working on posting the music video on my blog but, for some reason, youtube isn't cooperating right now. I'll keep trying, though.

Who are these people?: Neil Diamond and the lasar guns

Do you ever have a moment where you suddenly feel utterly and completely out of place? All of a sudden you don't know the person to your right or left, the people you thought you knew from last semester throw you for a loop with some comment and you don't feel like you belong anymore. Welcome to Written theory, January 12, 2007.
The topic for class today was non-chord tones, or notes in a melody that don't fit into the chord which is accompaning them. Sounds fun right? Well, we started out with an example from Carl Orff's Carmina Burana and this particular song only had one chord. So just about every other note was a non-chord tone. We moved on to a different aspect of non-chord tones and he put our next example in the cd player: Neil Diamond's Song Sung Blue. Now, to be completely honest- this was a welcome change in my mind. We usually analyze "classical" music written way before this century, so I was thinking that good ol' Neil brought the whole lesson together very nicely. We only listened to about half the song and then the professor took the cd out, and laughingly appologized for exposing us to this inferior music (my paraphrase, not his exact words).
He then said he would make up for it by using Wagner's Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde as his next example. My inner groans were drowned up by the rejoicing emerging from the very souls of my classmates. What? They actually would rather listen to Wagner than Neil Diamond? The man wrote Sweet Caroline! I quickly realized that I am quite different than my peers in the school of music and while they savor their Filet Mignon, I am much happier eating a chili dog and fries. I'm not claiming to be better than them, and I'm not saying that they are better or smarter than me (most of them are smarter), I am just realizing the differences in musical taste and my great appreciation for my musical past and upbringing.
As I sat there and pondered these differences, my stomach began to tell me that it was hungry and proceeded to growl. However, this wasn't your everyday, average, run of the mill growl. No no. I have never heard this sound come from my stomach before (or anyone elses for that matter). It sounded, no lie, like a lasar gun preparing to fire. I'm not even sure I've ever heard a lasar gun preparing to fire, but that is exactly what it sounded like. It scared me a little, to be honest. I know that this last story about my stomach isn't quite as interesting as some other anecdotes, but I was pretty amused so I felt like sharing it. Back to class.

Sleeping-in is the way to go

Since my 9-10:50 am Psychology lab was cancelled today, I don't have class until 11! The sleep was quite nice. And in other news, I went to the audiologist in Louisville last night with my dad and we tried out our new custom molds for our in-ear monitors. They fit perfectly and I really can't wait to try them out in the JMB setting. They sounded great plugged up to my iPod but I haven't gotten a chance to hear any live music in them yet. Hopefully within the next month or so, JMB will be practicing out at Cedarmore and leaving all of the equipment set up (for the live DVD) which will make it much easier to get a good monitor mix set. Anyway, I'm off to class now. Have a great day and remember, whether you think you can or you can't, you're right.

My Playlist

Andrew posted his on the JMB blog, and I felt the need to do the same. However, since some of you don't read that blog very often, I figured I might as well post mine on my own blog.

1) This World (Caedmon's Call)- Caedom's Call is my absolute favorite band and this is one of my favorite songs from them, if not my favorite. They have so many great songs that it's near impossible for me to pick just one. Which is why number 2 is...

2) Not The Land (Caedmon's Call)- Hey, it's my list, I can feature as many artists as I want! This is one of the most rocking songs I have ever heard, especially when the chorus kicks in and Derek really adds the growl to his voice. Ahhh, musical bliss.

3) When He Calls (I'll Fly Away) (Gold City)- That looks a little confusing- Gold City is the artist, not I'll Fly Away. I have to have at least one southern gospel song on this list, and chances are it's going to be about heaven. The studio version is pretty good, but it's amazing live. The tenor singer finishes the song with a note that would make a dog's ears bleed.

4) Callin' Baton Rouge (Garth Brooks)- Oh man, oh man. This song pumps me up every single time I hear it. My favorite version is from his Double Live album- when every thing drops out but the drums in the chorus, I can't help but pound my fist in the air and belt out those lyrics at the top of my lungs... "Hurry up won't you put her on the line, I gotta talk to the girl just-a one more time"

5) For The Love Of God (Andrew Peterson)- This happens to be the most played songs in my itunes. Andrew Peterson is one of the greatest songwriters I've ever heard. He uses the lyrics and music to paint masterpieces in the minds of his listeners. This is a great song about his family and love.

6) Washin' & Wonderin' (Stroke 9)- I can't stay away from that catchy, 90's, power-pop rock. (I'm not sure if that's a real genre, or if I just made that up). Sam (ex-JMB drummer) and I used to jam on this song back in 7th grade. Man, those were the days.

7) Dance (Derek Webb)- Although not one of his more deep, theologically challenging songs, Dance is a great tune nonetheless. Derek wrote this song after a conversation with his grandmother as she told him her entire life story.

8) Take It Easy (The Eagles)- I love when the banjo kicks in about half way through.

9) Tiny Dancer (Elton John)- I used to play and sing this song all the time (don't ask me to now, I've already retired it... a few times) so whenever I hear it, it brings back many fond memories. I remember playing this song once at GSP for Mary Beth... it's probably why she digs me so much.

10) Cruel Kindness (Inside Out)- I love a cappella groups and this is the best one I've heard. If I had to pick a favorite song from Inside Out, it would probably be this one for the great background harmonies in the chorus.

11) Friend Like You (Big Daddy Weave)- If I ever get in a good bass playing mood, this is usually the song I want to hear. Each bass line on the album is solid, interesting, and downright fun to play. This song always gets my blood flowing and my fingers itching to groove.

12) God Only Knows (The Beach Boys)- I feel that the Beach Boys are too often unappreciated in the music world and the genius of Brian Wilson was too easily forgotten. I especially love the end of this song when the vocals start layering on top of each other.

13) Piano Man (Billy Joel)- Here's another song I have played many times, but I still never get tired of hearing it. This was the first song that Mary Beth heard me sing and play so it has some special meaning to me. I love the line "And the piano it sounds like a carnival and the microphone smells like a beer." On the word "carnival", he sings it more as a shout and slightly out of tune... I'm not quite sure why I like that part so much, but I do.

I'm back

Well, as you may have guessed from the title, I'm back in town. Christmas in ETown was nice, a little hectic, but a lot of fun. We got to spend time with both sides of her family and caught a couple of movies in the evenings. Charlotte's Web was a fantastic movie, every bit as good as the classic 1973 animated film, but The Good Shepherd was quite a disappointment. I'm sure it could've been a lot more enjoyable if I understood the plot of the movie but with so much history in it, I felt lost the entire time. I think Dustin enjoyed it, but then again, he actually enjoys history.
Oh, I guess you all may be slightly intested in the presents that I received this week. I got a few new cds (David Crowder, Chris Tomlin, Andrew Peterson, Derek Webb) and a lot of new books (I'll have to get a lot of reading done this year so I can get some more next Christmas). I'm sure I'll keep you updated with my current reading selections and my own insight on this literature, no matter how meaningless that insight may be. Later

Guitar

Here's the guitar I bought a few weeks ago. I love this thing and it has definitely served me well thus far in my own noodleing around the house and in leading worship. For those of you gearheads who care- here are the specs:
solid mahogany back and sides
solid sitka spruce top
rosewood fretboard
mahogany neck
nickel tuners
dovetail neck joint
bone nut
rosewood bridge
open-back sta-tite tuners with 18:1 ratio

Oh, my dad and I went to an audiologist in Louisville today and got our ears injected with some awesome yellow stuff that hardened in about 8 minutes. These nice molds are being sent to sensaphonics so that some custom sleeves can be made for our in-ear monitors. It should take a few weeks for them to get shipped to us and then we have to go back and make sure they fit correctly. Hooray!

Finally...

It took me many hours, but I finally finished my bass pod editing. I'll spare you the boring details (because no one really wants to read those anyway) and I'll just say that it was some very tedious work. However, I did enjoyed it because I rarely get the chance to play bass if it isn't Sunday or a JMB concert. I went through and set all of the levels so they match up, edited about half of the settings for my Rickenbacker, and went through and renamed everything so that I understand it better. I'll be ready to try out some different sounds at the next JMB concert or maybe in church on Sunday- depending on which songs we are playing. I'm about to leave shortly to pick up Mary Beth in E-Town and before that I need to get some food... so I'm going to cut this a little short, post a new video, and head out. I'll see you all later.

Bass Pod

I sat down for about an hour tonight and did something that I've been meaning to do for quite some time- I made a nice chart of all of the factory bass pod settings. I went through all 48 presets in my bass pod and made a chart with columns for the modeled amp, cab, mic, and effects. This will be a great help in my quest for the right tone for each song. I'll be able to look at all of my choices for sounds right in front of me whenever I'm changing settings instead of going through hours of endless scrolling. Tomorrow I am going to wake up early and hook my bass pod up through my computer recording program and regulate the volumes on all of my presets (or at least the useful ones). I've been having a problem in switching sounds during our shows since the volume differences are so noticeable- at times I have almost dropped completely out of the mix from one song to the next. It's been quite frustrating. I'll let you know how it all goes tomorrow. Tomorrow I'm also going to pick up Mary Beth who's been spending the last few days at home doing some cleaning and shopping with her sister. Yessir, tomorrow is going to be a good day- bass pod and Mary Beth... could I ask for anything more?

Christmas Program

Do you ever have a huge moment of reassurance that you're doing exactly what God wants you to do? I had one of those tonight while watching Buck Run's Christmas program. As I listened to the songs and monologues, I felt God telling me that I'm doing just what I'm supposed to be doing. Not in ever aspect of my life, but in the path towards music ministry and becoming a music minister. There have been moments of doubt since God first called me to the music ministry, but He has often used moments just like these to pull me out of the valley of doubts and into His assuring hand. I can't wait to see where God is going to take me in these next few years as I strive to follow His plan and listen to His voice.

It's a no-go

Alright, so the ear thing isn't all worked out yet. Apparently, they were confused over the phone, or perhaps when we went to see them and weren't really sure what we were talking about. Once we explained it to them, they weren't even sure if could do anything like that. So, we shall do a little more research and hopefully get the molds made soon. Mary Beth and I are to leave and head to spend some time with the gang from GSP. I got the chance to see everyone over the summer but Mary Beth hasn't seen everybody since summer of 2005! We're both excited- see you all later.

2 down, 2 to go

I got my "real" finals out of the way today and also finished both of those papers that are due at the end of this week. Tomarrow I'll turn those in. So, today I had my geology final in the morning and then my math final earlier tonight. I think I did pretty well on both of them- well enough to pass the class. The only things I've got left are my two theory finals and a short matching test that will take 15 minutes in my honors class tomorrow morning. So far finals are going quite well.
Thursday, I'm going to go to a hearing-aide place here in town to get molds made of my ears so that I can get custom fitted ear-pieces for my in-ear monitors. I've got some Christmas money that I must spend so I figured this would be a great way to spend it... ok, actually it wasn't my idea... Mary Beth thought of it, thanks babe. But it's still a great idea and I'm very excited about getting this done. That's about all I've got for tonight, I just realized that I'm very tired. Goodnight.