sumMARIzed: About Music

About Music

oh well, yeah. It took me four months before I have updated my SoundCloud account, again. :P

Since a part of me is a fan of Taylor Swift, I decided to do a cover of one of her songs, which is entitled Blank Space. Well, I just hope that you enjoy listening to it! :)

Follow me on SoundCloud! :)

soundcloud.com/mari-de-jesus

Since I wasn't able to post last week, I'll make it up this time. :)

The week's featured song for On-Track is WE CAN'T STOP by Miley Cyrus.

SONG LYRICS:

It’s our party we can do what we want
It’s our party we can say what we want
It’s our party we can love who we want
We can kiss who we want
We can see who we want (2x)

Red cups and sweaty bodies everywhere
Hands in the air like we don’t care
Cause we came to have so much fun now
Bet somebody here might get some now

If you’re not ready to go home
Can I get a hell no
Cause we gonna go all night
Till we see the sunlight alright

So la da di da di, we like to party
Dancing with Miley
Doing whatever we want
This is our house
This is our rules

ON-TRACK
This blog segment will be featuring songs every week. It will tell about everything about the song like its release date, singer, music video and cover video. What will make this blog series unique is that, I will post my own version of the song. :D

So, let's start with our very first featured song..

"And we'll never be royals...."

Familiar with the lyrics, right? Well, it came from the famous song, Royals by Lorde. This will be the week's featured song for ON-TRACK.

Song Lyrics:

[Verse 1]
I've never seen a diamond in the flesh
I cut my teeth on wedding rings in the movies
And I'm not proud of my address,
In the torn-up town, no post code envy

But every song is like gold teeth, grey goose, tripping in the bathroom
Blood stains, ball gowns, trashing the hotel room
We don't care, we're driving Cadillacs in our dreams.
But everybody's like crystal, Maybach, diamonds on your time piece.
Jet planes, islands, tigers on a gold leash.
We don't care, we aren't caught up in your love affair.

Being a Christian is hard. How did I say so? It is because, a Christian is faced with a lot of struggles to strengthen his faith. It is a continuous process of repentance and acceptance. Living as a Christian also means living by the examples of Jesus. One way of doing this through Praise and Worship.

"So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it for the glory of God."

--- 1 Corinthians 10:31, NIV

Just as what the scripture says, we are to do everything for Him. Meaning, we are expected to live our lives with constant attitude of worship. Through this, we draw our lives closer to God. Christian music isn't just about singing songs for the Lord in our church. It is about singing our praises to Him--- regardless of whether we are with our church mates or just alone. It is singing our desires that is pleasing to our God.

I grew up living with Christian music. My mom used to be a worship leader in their church. Even after she got married, she never forgot to instill on us the importance of praising Jesus. At pre-school, I was enrolled in a christian school. There, I was more exposed to praise and worship activities. I remember, every Thursday was our Worship day. I was an active worship singer even if I was only roughly five or six then. I enjoyed singing worship songs because I feel like it was the most precious gift that I can give to Jesus. I get to utilize God' given talent to me by praising His Name.

What is great about Christian Worship is, it is expressed through music. Music affects our emotions. Every line from a song touches our hearts. Through Christian Worship, you are turning yourself to be the servant of God.

"Praise the Lord !

Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty heavens!

Praise Him for His mighty deeds; praise Him according to His excellent greatness!

Praise Him with trumpet sound; praise Him with flute and harp!

Praise Him with tambourine and dance; praise Him with strings and pipe!

Praise Him with sounding cymbals; praise Him with loud, clashing cymbals!"

--- Psalms 150:1-6

Aside from singing, I am fond of listening to christian music. It feels like my day would be incomplete without listening to, even one, christian music. From Don Moen to Hillsong United, I sing their songs. They strengthen my spirit when I am weak. They put a smile on my face when I am sad. They give me hope when I'm losing it. They light my way when I'm alone in the dark.

Well, how many times I have already said that I love singing? A lot. Singing is my passion. That is why I am always looking for ways on how to, at least, "store" my talent.

Soundcloud. This site is my best friend. Because of this, I was able to record my covers without having myself videotaped. I really don't like posting videos. I mean, it feels awkward for me. It feels like I don't look good on videos.

I started recording on Sound Cloud about six months ago. My first cover was the song When You Say Nothing at All by Allison Krauss. It turned out good, with just minor glitches in the sound background. Then from there, I continued recording more songs. As of today, I have recorded eight songs and I am planning to add more as soon as I found a perfect song to cover.

I would say, my music inclination may be credited to my parents. Both of my parents are good singers. During my childhood, I can still remember, I used to sing in every part of our house. Kahit saan ako abutan ng kagustuhan kong kumanta, mapharap ng salamin, harap ng electric fan, o kahit pa sa loob ng C.R. Wala akong pinipiling oras, pag gusto kong kumanta, kakanta at kakanta pa rin ako. That is how I utilize my talent (Yeah, you heard it right. That's what I call TALENT UTILIZATION. :P)

Anyways, back to the topic. During my elementary days, I became more active with my singing career (hahahahaha. career talaga eh noh?). This is also the time that I started joining singing contests. Oh well, despite of me being mahiyain (ehem. kumo-conyo na naman ako. hahahaha), I was encouraged by those people who appreciate my talent. Also, when I was in Grade 5, I joined the school chorale. In high school, I've been a part also of the choir group.