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Merry Christmas to you! Yes, it's that time of year again when we spend time with loved ones doing things like: eating, shopping, and listening to music! It's also a wonderful time to spend with family and friends looking for a special tree to display or some new ornaments to hang on it. This is also one of my favorite times of the year for music. So many grand pieces of music have been written for this season over the centuries. You may like Classical Music as I do. The Bach Christmas Oratorio and Handel's Messiah are two that come to mind. Or, you may like some of the older Christmas hymns. Hark the herald Angels sing, Joy to the World, and It came upon a midnight clear are a few that my family has sung for years. You may also enjoy newer versions of traditional songs by Artists like Harry Connick Jr, Mariah Carey or Trans-Siberian Orchestra. (You may even listen to some singalong tunes with Mitch Miller in the closet where no one can hear you!) Whatever you enjoy, I've recorded some new music and released it onto this website. It's a combination of two old classics - Away in a manger and Silent Night. I've also re-released some older Christmas music that I did a few years ago. It was fun to do and hard work at the same time. I started working on the new track in the Spring of this year and finished it late in October. Until I started to do home recording, I never really knew how much time and energy it took to make a decent track. Feel free to share this with your friends or family and download it if you'd like to. It's my gift to you. It's the least I can do since the Savior who gave me new life, Jesus is His name, freely gave it for me and for you. Blessings this season and always, Matt Goolsby #Christmas #Music #Holidays

We're moving into the Holiday Season for 2019 and I must admit: I'm not ready - Yikes! If you're honest with yourself, you may not be ready either. In fact, the first Christmas commercial I've seen was displayed yesterday - November 3rd. We've barely gotten past Halloween and now we're assaulted with gift buying and Black Friday. Sheesh! Can we slow this down and celebrate Thanksgiving first? For those of you over the age of 50, you understand what I mean. There was a time when Thanksgiving was a major holiday. Halloween was relegated to a more sedate celebration with candy and treats. There were no such events as: Trunk and Treats, Harvest Festivals, and City sponsored 'block treating'. Now, I'm not criticizing these events, I'm only pointing out that times have changed. What used to be a small, fun celebration in neighborhoods has been marketed into a multi-billion dollar holiday that only runs second to Christmas in sales. For those of you under the age of 50, I hope that you had fun with your family. It's good to spend time together and that in itself makes it good. My message here this week is to point out that we all need to slow down a bit and enjoy where we are. Let's celebrate Thanksgiving and the wonderful traditions it brings. One of the best ways to celebrate Thanksgiving is to ask yourself what giving thanks means. Let's take a look at what we can give thanks for: For those of us who live in what are termed 'developed' countries, our life expectancy is upwards of 80 years. In less 'developed' countries, the life expectancy is as low as 43 and up to 57 years. Most of us who have been or are in the workforce have made more money in 1 year than many people who live in some countries will make in a lifetime. In fact, many 'developing' nations' workforces make $1 to $2 a day. Many countries have oppressive and corrupt governments that treat their people as commodities to be used and thrown away. In spite of our current political climate, most of us live in a free country that has a constitutional republic. The majority of us in the United States don't have to worry about what we're going to eat or drink. There is food aplenty here. But, for those who live in 'developing' countries, they often go without food or clean water on a daily basis. (Some of this data was taken from: https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/population-human-wellbeing.htm) With all of that said, we all have much to be thankful for. My challenge for you is to find something to be thankful for and think about that for the entire month. That way, you'll have a thankfulness footprint in your heart and mind that won't easily go away. I also want you to know that I give thanks for you! I give thanks that you've come to this website and spent some time reading my writings and hopefully getting some encouragement and inspiration. I'd also like to mention that I've arranged and recorded some new music to be released soon. But, not until we all give thanks! #Holidays #Thanksgiving #blessings

Hello out there and welcome to a new installment of 'Musings from a Musician'. This has been a fun and warm summer this year with lots of activities. That means something for everyone. Growing up in SoCal (Southern California), I spent a lot of time at the beach. In fact, one summer I was there every day! My friend and I took his 1970 Volkswagon Beetle to Zuma Beach where we surfed on boards and our bodies all summer long. It was awesome and I thank God I have those memories. There are no doubt as many remembrances of summer as there are people since we're all so uniquely designed. What gets you 'amped' up to enjoy the summer? It is a exciting sporting event? An active swimming pool? Or a quiet place to read? Whatever gets you going during the summer is probably not too different from your friends, family or neighbors. What gets me going during the summer is good music. Many other folks get excited by it too. Music is a universal language. Every culture has its own type of music it enjoys. The Caribbean people love the laid back rhythms of Reggae. The people of Hawaii love the Hawaiian lap steel guitar and Ukulele while the people of Mexico love Polkas with Mariachi bands. I've been to all of these places so I know firsthand. Music speaks to us all. Each of us has a place in our heart where we treasure the memories that meant something to us. We often associate a song with a special moment or a place. I can still remember the exact place I was when I was eleven years old and heard a song by a famous group of the day. There's just something in our subconscious that's meant to remember and treasure those times. Would you like to create a way to move somebody in your own special way? I'm really talking about the kind of art that moves people in a positive way that creates great memories. If so, take a look at my friend Randy Stoltz's new website: Randy Stoltz Art And by the way, enjoy your summer! #Travel #community #Creativity

Upon writing this post, we've recently finished playing at a Summer festival close to my home called Red, White, and Boom. It was a lot of fun with friends, family and visitors. We rocked it as much as we could for an outside venue. Our sound man did an excellent job considering how hot it was and how long of a day he had. This blog is going to discuss one of the things we worked on before performing at the festival: the fine art of singing. First, let me admit that my primary instrument is a guitar, not my voice. Having said that, it seems that the need for backup harmonies and lead vocals has grown in my life in the past 15 years. That means I've had to work patiently and deliberately to get my vocals in a performance-ready state. Since I did go to music school and had two excellent vocal instructors, it wasn't as hard for me to get it back in shape. But, and this is important, the singing that I did in music school and what I do now are drastically different. Also, music changes with the times so I had to be flexible and adaptable to new challenges. I will be the first to admit that my voice is pleasant, but not necessarily a standout. It's enough for me to be able to use it for the venues that I need to and also glorify my wonderful savior, Jesus! I have learned a few tricks and tips to sing better and will share a few of them in this article. Tip number 1: Find a vocal coach, mentor or fellow singer who can help you. I can't stress this enough. We all have 'blind spots' that make it easy to think how good we sound despite what's coming out. Or maybe it's how bad we 'think' we sound. Many people like we've seen on 'American Idol' or 'The Voice' have assumed they have what it takes to be an instant celebrity until they suddenly flame-out in front of the judges. A vocal coach or mentor can help be honest with you and give constructive criticism. It's not easy, but it helps! Or would you rather get in front of a group of people to try to sing and find out that you weren't trained and prepared? Yikes! Tip number 2: Work on your voice! Nothing in life comes without practice. You can't expect to be good at anything without working at it. I'll give you a couple of names that you can look at on YouTube of vocal instructors who are reputable AND honest. The first is Ken Tamblin, a lead singer and vocal instructor: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6x5NRBmotXDEvLDDFWlLvA Ken has some good, free instruction about singing without tension and also how to use your diaphragm as the 'engine' of your vocal strength. The second is Anna from the United Kingdom, a former cruise ship singer turned vocal coach/instructor: https://www.youtube.com/user/verbalessons/featured Anna has some excellent warm-up exercises you can use before a rehearsal or performance. You can even learn from her warm-ups how to specifically sing better by gender. I use both of these channels for warm-ups and tips as I need them. Tip number 3: Record yourself! Yes, record yourself! Unless you'd like to sound like one of these people: You may not have been able to make it through all of these, so I rest my case. Now that you have a few tips to work with, get out there and sing your heart out. Just make sure you like what you're hearing! #Practice #Vocals #Music

Welcome to the June edition of my blog, Guitar Artistry. For this entry I'd like to start off by saying that I had a very well written email from an editor who works in New Zealand on the site: https://www.jenreviews.com/, talking about an article that he'd recently worked on. The article had several famous 'shredders' and other legends mentioned. He especially had been doing research on Yngwie Malmsteen, one of many Rock Guitar Legends. A couple honorable mentions not listed in the article would be: Steve Vai and Richie Blackmore. As with any good writer, he was doing his research. Now, I don't know too much about Yngwie, but I do know about 'shredding' the strings. Typically the term shredding has come from players who are lightning fast and hopefully musical at the same time. The reason I say hopefully is that sometimes faster is not better. For example: Al Diemola is an excellent guitar player, but if you listen to his early recording days, all you would take away is that he plays fast and 'shreds' not in a good way. In all fairness, shredding can be exciting to the player, but may not be as pleasing to the listener. The article that the editor sent me a link to is titled: "How to play like famous guitarists". What starting player doesn't want to do that? It's a well written discussion of many famous guitarists who you may or may not have heard of. This begs the question: How do I start? Well, that's where this blog is going to journey. Ever since I started playing guitar, I've always been fascinated by the coolness of an electric setup. It started when I first listened to SoCal surf music by the Ventures and got more robust when I heard that beautiful 'Strat' sound in James Bond movies. I wanted to be able to do what the guys I listened to did, but where to start? Here's where the good news-bad news reality comes in. First the good news: If you like to learn and you have your heart set on learning the instrument, then you've already got what it takes to get going. The next ingredient you need is a desire to work at it no matter what and some simple, yet challenging math ability. Yes, math ability! No one ever learned an instrument without analyzing how it works and how best to make it work. The third thing you need to learn this beautiful stringed-wonder is a good guitar teacher (Hopefully private), and time to practice. Now for the bad news: It's going to take time, perhaps a long time, to play well. You can learn how to play somewhat fair in a matter of months or even weeks if you practice enough. But, and here's the big but, you need to PRACTICE! Forgive me for shouting, but there's no easy way around it. All of those legendary singers, keyboard players, brass players, and yes guitarists, have spent countless hours working on and improving their craft. That means time, sweat, and sometimes tears. But, it will be worth it when you finally get to do that gig you always wanted to, play for your relatives or friends at a party, or just entertain your significant other. You now have a reality check for learning guitar. Guess what - I've played guitar longer than a lot of people have been alive, and I'm never really satisfied with it. I always feel like I can do better. That's what drives me and it can you too! If this sounds interesting to you, let me know in the comments section below. And remember to tune that guitar before you play it! #Practice #Music #guitar

I've been reading a lot of books and articles this year on the topics that interest me. I must admit, I love westerns. There's something about the lone gun riding on the range who runs into trouble at every corner of the wilderness he goes to. It can also be a frontier woman who's tired of the big city life and just wants a piece of land or a store filled with wares to sell to passers by. Many of these stories give the reader a sense of self-sacrifice, struggle, and finally victory. They also present some sort of nemesis or antagonist to the protagonist of the story. Often times we can identify with the main character of a story since we go through daily struggles ourselves. This begs the question: What's your inspiration? Are you the type of person who sees a challenge and makes a goal to overcome it? Or, are you one who enjoys watching someone else achieve a goal? Maybe you're one who wants to help a friend overcome a challenge? Whatever your role, you and I both know how challenging life can be. We often must overcome family issues, financial pressures, work difficulties or health challenges. Any of these can be debilitating in and of themselves. But, challenges and struggles can be a blessing in disguise! Let me explain. When you first learned to walk or helped your child to learn, did you or they get it right the first time? Did you sprint when you first got on your feet? No, of course not! You struggled up, walked a few steps and then maybe fell flat on your face. Or your child did. However, you or they got back up and tried again, And again, and again. Until it finally happened, walking! Just like learning to walk, life is full of difficult challenges. My wife and I volunteer to drive a hospital van once a week locally to pick-up people for their medical appointments. Many of these folks have had very difficult circumstances happen to them in their lives. They ARE an inspiration to us though! They haven't given up despite the difficulties they've had. There's a certain level of motivation that these people give me to keep going. Sometimes doing something new or challenging requires a little blood, sweat and tears. But, the end result is worth it. This blog entry is meant to inspire you to look into your heart introspectively and find what inspires you. Here are a few of my inspirations: Runners - Seriously, someone who runs and endures through a marathon is inspiring and crazy at the same time! Missionaries - Anyone who's willing to give up their comfortable life and go work in a foreign country is someone who inspires me! Teachers - Probably the most maligned group of people in the U.S., who have one of the most difficult jobs, deserve our gratitude and respect, period. Street Pastors - This group is probably not a very large community, but they dedicate their lives to seeing the homeless, drug-addicted, and desperate find meaning and hope! These people are some of the group that inspire me to do my best. What inspires you? Why don't you share it with me... I'd love to hear it! #community #inspiration #Creativity

Have you ever heard the term, 'Hitting the wall'? If you've ever done sports, especially running, you know what this term means. If you haven't, then let me explain. In my younger days I ran 10K races and relay marathons. When training for these events, I had to eat a healthy diet, train by running at least 25 miles a week, and get enough rest to ensure my mind and body were ready for the endurance I was going to put it through. As if that weren't enough, I was working a full-time job and carrying on the typical responsibilities of a grown adult. Do you know what happens to your body when you run long distances? It basically operates like a car. The fuel that's been stored in your body through the food you've eaten is burned at a very rapid rate. That's why most athletes stay away from heavy meals before an event. They usually focus on small amounts of protein and heavier amounts of carbohydrates. When running, carbs are your friend. At some point during an endurance race or journey as I like to call it, your body does this strange thing. Or maybe it isn't so strange. Like a car that's gotten low on fuel, it begins to consume the fumes left. In other words, instead of burning the highly concentrated fuel that you had, it now has to consume whatever is left. That's pretty much the protein left which is muscle. This is called: 'Hitting the wall'. It's very unpleasant. The same thing happens with creativity or the creative process. We can be humming right along and suddenly or not so suddenly hit the proverbial wall. That's happened to me recently. How do we get past this wall? Well, similar to running races, we have a couple of choices. Give up and go back to the status quo Forge ahead and push through this temporary roadblock When you're running and hit the wall, your body is telling you, 'Stop, stop, stop. I said STOP!' If you listen to only that response, guess what? You will stop! But, if you've trained and learned to go beyond the pain, you will keep on knowing the goal is in sight. It's the same thing with creative roadblocks. Authors call it 'Writer's block.' I just call it a temporary road-stop during the journey of life. Here are a few things you can do when you find yourself 'stuck'. Take a nice trip. There's nothing better than getting away to give one clarity. Plus you can take some great photos of a place you haven't been to before. Rest and recuperate. Sometimes our minds and bodies are just burned out from doing too much. Like sleeping at night, our mind, body, soul, and spirit need some rejuvenation. Think holistically, not just one dimensionally. Put everything away for awhile that's not of importance. The book of Ecclesiastes 3:1 says: "For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven." The time may not be best to pursue your creative pursuit. Perhaps another season would be better. Pray for help. God is always listening. In fact, He wants us to ask for help. The bible says in James 1:5, "If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking." There are other coping mechanisms for this struggle, but these are the best and the ones that I personally use. Sometimes life can just throw all sorts of stuff at us. It can come from many different directions and can be frustrating as well as cumbersome. Let's throw off those things that are just 'noise' or minor 'annoyance' and get back to enjoying our creative experience. If this has helped you in any way, I would love to hear about it at the email address below. #Creativity #God #artistry

This month's blog post sounds a little daunting but is really a probing question to ask those of us who write and arrange music. Those of you who have other interests would also be wise to entertain this thought for your artistry. One time many years ago my Mom asked out loud: "How do people come up with new melodies? I would think there has to be a limit of how many different ideas people can come up with." That is a great question! As I've thought of that question over the years, I've realized there really is no end to what one can come up with. Let's probe the question at the start of this article a little more with some background. When I was growing up, there was a revolution of new music. One could listen to the Motown sounds like Dianna Ross and the Supremes or the Temptations, hard rock like the Doors or Steppenwolf, Acid Rock like Pink Floyd or the Grateful Dead, Heavy Metal like Deep Purple, Folk music from Peter, Paul, & Mary or John Denver, or New Age from the 5th Dimension. There were also the Pop icons the Beatles and Elton John. Some of these groups are still performing to this day. Others have even expanded their playing horizons. Look to Elton John who performed with Lady Gaga as an example. My point in asking this question is: How do you as a composer come up with a tune that you can put to music? Or maybe you could ask: What's your motivation? The motivation I have is my love for Jesus Christ. He is the reason I compose, arrange, and play the music I do. Without that love from Him, I don't know where I'd be. So what is your motivation and how do you express it? Let's then talk a minute about tools. Every musician needs to be familiar with modern day tools that are available through various distribution outlets. One of the top notation tools that I use is called: MuseScore. MuseScore is by far the best tool that I've seen around and was developed by musicians for musicians. It's also free! Like any tool, it takes time and effort to get the hang of it. But, if you chip away little-by-little, you can learn it. Next would be a music recording tool or digital audio workstation (DAW). Of all the tools used for recording these days, the one that I use is Studio One by Presonus. Studio One version 2, 3, or 4 Professional has A LOT of features and takes a long time to get to know. Once you do though, you will thoroughly enjoy its ease of use. Like all DAWs, you can add on instrumentation or buy plug-ins. There are other DAWs. One that's very good is from Steinberg and is called CuBase 10. Disclaimer: These are NOT endorsements; they're merely examples of what I use or am aware of. The final thing you'll need is a website. You must have a distribution channel to get your music out there. If you notice above, all of the legacy and modern performers have a website. It's just the way we expose the world to our music. It's the best way to get noticed. For a better understanding of web hosting, read my blog post titled: Hosting is the mostest from January, 2019. It may not answer all of your questions, but it can provide some food for thought. Let me know if you have any questions about this or if Gentle Haven Music Web Design can help you. Blessings, - Matt #Music #Musicrecordingsoftware #composition

This time of year, many people think about how they're going to celebrate Valentine's Day. Many couples go to dinner, a movie, or do something innovatively romantic. If you're not in a relationship with a significant other, this blog posting is still for you. Why you may ask? Well, read on and I'll explain. What is love? Some would say it's a feeling you get. It could be a feeling you get when you're with a favorite pet or a close friend. Others will say that love is an action you take once or twice a week like washing clothes. A mundane chore. Still others will say love is some sort of cosmic mysticism that no one really understands, but that you can become one with if you try hard enough. So what do you say love is? Let's look a bit at the word itself and where it comes from. The Free Dictionary says love is: "A strong feeling of affection or concern for another person, as that arising from kinship or close friendship." There are also another 8 definitions of love that I won't go into. But you must ask yourself, what really is love? The ancient Greeks had four definitions of love. Agape is the term used for God's love for man as a Father loves His children. The second word is Eros for what we would think of as sexual love. Cupid is often mistaken as Eros, but was the Ancient Roman interpretation of the same desire in their mythology. The third word Philia means affectionate regard, or friendship. We often equate brotherly love with the City of Philadelphia. I'm not sure Philadelphians would consider their city that brotherly or loving! The fourth word is Storge. This means affectionate love especially of that for parents to children. When we say the word love, it's filled with multiple meanings. No wonder we get so confused! To add to the confusion, we hear marketing geared to us about how to 'love' your car again or we hear from 'religious' types that you're only supposed to love God but it's sometimes said in a judgmental way. And while it's true that we need to love God first and foremost, we must also love others. All of these different voices defining love can leave us with a lot of uncertainty about what it really is. There is someone who cleared up the confusion for us. His name is Jesus Christ. Jesus stated very plainly what love is in Mark 29-31: Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The LORD our God is the one and only LORD. And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.” He also showed us that love is an action word by dying on the cross so that we could be reconciled to God. If you're like me and have ever felt alone, forsaken, abused, or discarded, there is love for you. It's unconditional and it never fails. It's the love that only God can provide and is there freely. There is no cost to this free gift, God's love. My desire for you this Valentine's Day is that you would know how deeply loved and treasured you are. It doesn't matter what you've done or where you are, God loves you. The heavens declare His love for you, and me! #love #blessings #God

There's been something stirring in my heart lately that I need to share. It kind of happened at the start of this year. You see, last year was a very difficult one for my friends and family. There were numerous situations involving people we love who went to be with the Lord. We even lost our beloved Rottweiler, Roxie. While I'll skip going into details, let's just say that it was a challenge or as we used to say, a 'drag'. At the end of last year we breathed a collective sigh and said, "I hope 2019 is better than last year!" Well, so far it's started off well. If you read my previous blog post called: A New Year means New Possibilities, then you know that the flip of the calendar gives us a new start. We could also call it a reboot, restart, or mulligan if you play golf like I do. I recently heard a song that said, "How could I know joy if I had never known sorrow?" (My paraphrase) There's a lot of truth to that statement. How could we ever know the joys of life if we didn't experience sorrow? How could we ever know wholeness if we didn't have a broken heart? Life just throws a lot of stuff at us. Some of it's good and some of it's not. How do you deal with it? One of my ways of dealing with it is by using the outlet of music and writing. I enjoy these artistic outlets. They help me to process a lot of difficult things that just don't make sense. While I would like to say that it's easy to execute these outlets, that's not true at all. Let's look at an example. One of the popular movie sequels last year was: Mama Mia! Here we go again. The movie is based on music by the 1970's group Abba. Regardless of whether you saw the movie or not, you've probably heard the music of the group Abba at some point in your life. The interesting thing about the group is that: "ABBA were perfectionists in the studio, working on tracks until they got them right rather than leaving them to come back to later on." The conclusion I come to is that anything worth doing requires work. Does this mean that you can't do something just for the fun of it? Or course not. But if you're serious about an artistic outlet and have decided to take it to the next level, it requires effort. I've been writing a series of articles about 'Nurses in war' after being inspired by visiting the battlefields of Gettysburg a couple of years ago. You can find the latest of my articles at the following website link: historyisnowmagazine.com. You can also read the fine stories that the drummer for our band Wrecknciled wrote and that I edited here: Dabblings from a Drummer. These are great ways for me to outlet my creative side and also to inspire others. My encouragement to you is to outlet your creative side. Do you dance? Or sing? Or work puzzles? Whatever it is, enjoy it! You may just find you have company! #community #Creativity