I’ve chosen this title for medleys of my newest song creations because my songs truly express deep emotions from my heart. Opening up to share my feelings has been incredibly healing.
When I first rediscovered my music in 2010, I hired other musicians and that resulted in many beautiful creations. But for the past year, I have enjoyed creating new arrangements. The older versions of my songs are lovely, but many of them were too fast. After playing live performances now for several years, I feel that something more authentic to how I actually play the song is best.
I have a wonderful pianist, Devin Farney, whom I am working with. Unlike years ago, I am directly involved with adding instrumentation to my songs.
I’ve worked with Devin for almost four years now. We added piano to my guitar tracks, and Devin helped created solo piano versions of all 52 of my songs. Everything together has been done remotely until a few weeks ago. It was such a lovely surprise when Devin told me he would be in Los Angeles and we could have an in-person session.
It was a thrill and hearing him play on his keyboard while sitting next to me was indescribable. Before he left, my son took a picture of us together.
Guitar is always the basis for my recordings. I’ve been exploring ways to add additional guitar parts. It has been a joy experimenting with harmonics and nylon guitar riffs. There’s little technical skill involved, but improvising while I play can be magical. This has all been a new experience that I’m quite proud of!
Once the guitar parts are finished, I add my vocal line and then work with Devin on instrument additions. It’s incredibly fun for me to edit everything and decide upon the sounds and placement. I am no longer a musical bystander for my songs’ arrangements.
I plan to continue working on more songs, but at this time I am releasing medleys of them. Insight Timer is a wonderful platform, and they are free to listen to. The first two medleys are named “Guitar Songs From My Heart” and “Vocal Songs From My Heart.”
The eight songs for this first medley are: Alabaster Seashell, You Were There, Memory of Love, Watching You Grow, The Key, Someone to Love You, Set You Free, and Take My Hand.
Later on, I’ll be sharing the arrangements – with and without vocals. I’m so thankful for my passion and appreciate my wonderful listeners!
I plan to continue working on more songs (hence the #1), but clicking on the image below is a link to my Insight Timer page with the medley list, as well as links:
I’ll lift you up – I am your hope, I’m here for you
Take my hand, hold me close
You’ll make it through; you’ll make it through
You’ll make it through
My injured pinky is the one on the right. The laceration is hardly noticeable, but it will probably always be a plumper pinky.
It has been almost six months since I fell and dislocated my right pinky. My finger may never feel “normal” again, however I see my healing as remarkable. My pinky does not limit me in any way. The first hand surgeon told me I would be “forever limited.”
I was elated that I could play my guitar a few days after my fall (off an electric scooter). Even with a splint on, I was able to use my other fingers to play. I called my pinky “my hero,” because it took the fall and spared my other fingers. My injuries could have been devastating.
Currently, I am back on the tennis court and playing well. I have completed several new mazes and paintings.
My two newest paintings.
I began composing “Take My Hand” during the pandemic. It didn’t move me, and I put it aside.
But during the time I was recovering from my fall, I found myself fiddling with that unfinished song. I hadn’t looked at the chords for at least two years.
On that day, I was in a lot of pain. I had hurt a lot of other body parts besides my pinky and hoped I could somehow get through this ordeal quickly. I clutched my guitar and prayed.
And then something miraculous happened.
It was as if someone took my hands – I began to play a new part for my song. The new chords were incredibly beautiful and I played them over and over.
I realized that my song had expanded in a wonderful new direction. The new lyric line that grabbed me the most was “I hear your voice answering my prayer!”
Songwriting has always been incredibly spiritual for me. My prayers were answered!
These lyrics were written over two years ago.
I had many title ideas for my newest song. But the lyrics “take my hand” really called out to me. This title was a perfect way to honor the comfort my song gave me when my hand was throbbing in pain. Maybe what I meant to say was, “Don’t grab my hand too tightly – just heal it for me!”
“Take My Hand” was my first new song in seven years. I contacted my piano arranger, Devin, and he added instrumentation to my guitar tracks. Devin also recorded a solo piano version.
The arrangement for “Take My Hand” had me swooning. I would never tire of listening to it.
A medley of those versions can be heard on Insight Timer by clicking the image below.
“Take My Hand” is definitely a song of healing and hope. I believe that reaching out is courageous. It represents a willingness to trust the person we connect with.
What is truly profound is the contrast. We can reach out to seek comfort and we can reach out to offer comfort. We can reach out to follow (show me the way) and we can reach out to lead (follow me).
Now I’d like to share the many ways I relate to my song:
Take my hand embodies reaching out for a physical connection.
During the Pandemic, I missed hugs and longed to be held.
Take my hand represents reaching out to comfort anyone suffering with grief.
Lyrics related to “taking my hand” are in several of my songs. In my song “Hang On” I say these words:
“You have no hope, is this the end? Just take my hand – I’ll be your friend.”
My life’s mission has been to comfort and give hope to anyone grieving. I’ve kept my son’s memory alive this way. Jason lives on through my words and music.
In my song “Angel in the Sky” I express how I will see him again with these words:
“And when I die, you’ll take my hand. My lovely light, just not in sight.”
Take my hand symbolizes being open.
I am open to helping people I’ve never met and when I am able to comfort them, I feel blessed. I love making new connections and have recently developed some beautiful new friendships because of this.
The flip side is that I am willing to be pulled in new directions. Next month, I am taking an ocean swim with a former classmate I haven’t seen in over 40 years. I am excited about my bravery. The water will be very cold!
Take my hand epitomizes friendship.
When I was 19, I wrote my song “Never Gone Away” for a dear friend leaving on an extended trip. I expressed my appreciation for her with the lyrics:
“Whenever I was down, your hand was the one holding mine.”
Recently, this same friend told me how grateful she was that I was able to metaphorically take her hand during the difficult period when her mother was dying.
We both continue to support each other, by reaching out and being there during our 40+year friendship.
Take my hand guided me spiritually.
I allowed myself to express vulnerability by praying. I am so grateful that I made it through the Pandemic. Recovering from my nasty fall became the catalyst for me to finish my song. I am completely in awe of the comfort it has brought me. It was truly a gift from God.
I am excited to share my newest venture of collaborating with a professional vocalist!
Since my fall in early April, I have continued to follow a creative path. Despite terrible pain in my pinky, I drew several new mazes. I worked with a wonderful hand therapist, and watched the miracle of healing unfold for my “pinky hero.”
I cried with joy when less than two months later I was able to play tennis again. My game was as good, or even better than it was before my fall!
I wasn’t sure if I could hold the racquet well, so I first went out to hit against a backboard.
My post title is a lyric line from my newest song named “Take My Hand.” I spent a lot of time recording the guitar tracks and a vocal. I’m especially excited that a good friend (who was a former Vegas back-up singer) is going to explore harmony for it with me.
Recording the guitar arrangement was definitely an artistic exploration. It took me three separate sessions to capture the lower guitar. I was completely inspired as I layered that track with nylon lead melodies, harmonics, strums and high finger picking.
Below is my guitar arrangement for “Take My Hand.”
I hear your voice” is a beautiful way to describe another vocalist singing one of my songs. I’m glad that I was open to collaborating with Tina Brunk, who is another Insight Timer teacher. She did a gorgeous rendition of my song “My Shining Star.”
Ironically, the line “I hear your voice” is also repeated in “My Shining Star.” Until I wrote this post, I didn’t realize that. Sometimes such coincidences are hard for me to believe!
It’s a little crowded in my bedroom when I’m recording!
I continue to perform live on Insight Timer every week. Having such a loving community of listeners is truly a blessing for me.At this time, I am planning to share more about new song once I’ve explored working on it with a new arranger. Stay tuned!
When I first began my rediscovery of the music I loved as a young girl, I hired an arranger to orchestrate my songs. It was a joyous and truly educational experience for me, as I had no idea about all the music programs available. My talented arranger created lush arrangements and later on instrumentals of my songs.
The authenticity of these tracks came into question for me – as I wanted to embrace music where I was much more closely involved in the creation. Since 2015 when I separated from this arranger, I’ve created mostly guitar and piano music. (I did work with a few other talented musicians briefly).
At the end of 2022, I decided to expand the existing arrangement and instrumental medleys that were already on Insight Timer. I could have created a new medley, but decided the songs were more likely to be played if I revised my existing tracks.
I am excited to share some of my newest paintings. My “Water Lilies” and “Hummingbird and Hydrangea” adorn two of these medleys.
Wishing everyone a magical year ahead in 2023!
Love, Judy
CLICKING ON THE IMAGES ARE LINKS TO HEAR THE INDIVIDUAL SONGS.
Clicking on this image is a link to hear my piece on Insight Timer.
The 4-chord melody for Guitar Tides was composed last year. I put it aside when I couldn’t seem to expand it beyond those chords. Instead, I found myself energized to work on “Autumn Hope” so I discarded those 4 chords in the key of A.
Once “Autumn Hope” was finished, I wondered whether I had another guitar instrumental in me. I went back to play those 4 chords and felt inspired to add a few more bars. As more and more passages were revealed, the song expanded beautifully. I didn’t have any idea what to name it, so for 6 months, I called it my “new piece in the key of A.”
It took patience for me to decide when my song was truly finished. Eventually, it felt complete and I recorded the main guitar part in August. But it still wasn’t done. I wanted to explore guitar additions. In the past, my other guitar part usually consisted of light finger-picking and an occasional soft strum.
I went ahead and recorded those additions by transposing and using a capo, but then I improvised and came up with some catchy lead guitar melodies. With my last piece “Autumn Hope,” I had discovered the beauty of adding harmonics, so I recorded lots of tracks with those, as well.
Culling the best parts from all the additional guitar recordings was a monumental editing task. But I loved it! The finished piece even benefited from a creative introduction, which had the guitar additions playing first without the main guitar. I faded it in and the result was fun. And of course, once I chose the name “Guitar Tides” – I thought adding some ocean sounds for the intro and the outtro would be soothing.
I had a lovely beach outing this past summer, which inspired me to take some pictures of my guitar on the sand. My good friend, Joni, accompanied me and also took some pictures of me. Everything came together and I’m so happy that I have finished and released my latest guitar creation.
I am planning to add a portion of Guitar Tides to an existing track named “Healing Guitar Dreams.” The moon on my song cover is very dreamy. I’m going to use a different view and change the name of that track to “Guitar Dreams.” It will consist of 5 guitar songs. That will be coming soon.
The process of working on piano songs has been musical glue in my life. I love exploring the beauty of each song’s melody. The creative versions (that come before the melody) are fun to create. They utilize my songs’ chords and the vibe is unique for every single clip.
Credit has to be given to the wonderful pianist I work with – Devin Farney.
My next Magical Piano Medley is almost there. After this medley, I have no plans to do any more piano songs. I am wondering what music I will create next!
I am posting songs here that I haven’t yet shared. Please enjoy them.
Last spring, I illustrated several varieties of fruit blossoms. Many of those same trees have already begun blooming again.
In January, I completed a complicated painting that I named “Pomegranate Tree.” Technically, pomegranate blossoms are long gone by the time the fruit appears. However, I used artistic license to add them back in.
On the topic of seasonal change, my newest meditation track “Autumn Hope” is now live.
The various guitar parts for this instrumental really spoke to me. Each one was composed during the course of a year. The sections that were created months apart had different rhythms, but I was amazed how everything flowed together once it was finished.
Clicking on this image plays my track on the meditation app, Insight Timer.
Utilizing my Autumn Hope painting as my instrumental’s song cover was especially satisfying.
This past fall held many challenges for me; I honestly felt like my last blog post was a downer. But my instrumental “Autumn Hope” perfectly embodies my beautiful catharsis back to positivity. On the Insight Timer description, I wrote “I found a way to conquer my sadness,” and that line alone was very empowering.
I recorded the solo guitar part over a period of two days. Editing those guitar recordings took weeks. When I finished, I wasn’t satisfied with simply one guitar. My song felt like a recipe – there were many flavors within the passages that called for another guitar part.
So I went back to recording again and transposed all the chords into another key. That way, I could play a higher version using a capo. I created many choices of sounds – light finger-picking, strums, and oodles of delicate harmonics. Just learning the harmonic part alone required a lot of notation and practice.
The actual composition of Autumn Hope is about 16 minutes. I repeated it and added more guitar additions to the second half. I especially loved the ending.
My recent painting of passion fruit shows that passion is definitely part of my life!
I continue to work on piano songs for a new medley. In keeping with the theme of seasonal change, last week I completed a new solo piano clip for my song “Every Season.” The title of this post is taken from a line of lyrics for that song.
When my son Jason died in 1992, grief was exquisite torture that ebbed and flowed with the seasons. I remember the pain, but do not experience it anymore the way I used to.
Because Jason died in the fall, “Autumn Hope” has even more significance. Hope is a driving force in my life and my energy is devoted to uplifting anyone struggling with grief. Never let go of your hope!
As the smell of blossoms surround me this spring, I’m grateful for so much in my life.
More about my song can be found with this link: EVERY SEASON
Even though it was gray outside when I took the picture above, I still marveled at the beautiful shapes of leaves holding on. I walked while listening to my latest instrumental “Autumn Hope.” Music continues to inspire me!
Every week, I perform 8-10 songs live on Insight TImer. Although I am not feeling confident about singing much these days, opening my heart to such a warm and loving audience has been a blessing to my life. It’s also wonderful that I am playing my songs regularly so that I don’t forget them.
I am still in the process of finishing my latest guitar instrumental to release soon. It consists of almost 30 minutes of solo guitar, which I gleaned from over 4 hours of recording. My last post has been updated to share a better recording of this new song. I’ve decided to name it “Autumn Hope.”
Although I finished solo piano renditions for all 50 of my songs, I’ve decided to redo 10 of them. My first 20 songs were created working with another pianist. They were much simpler and I am eager to hear them fleshed out with my current piano arranger, Devin Farney.
I will have 10 songs with creative and faithful versions. I plan to name the entire medley “Every Season Magical Piano.”
I really enjoy the process of creating piano songs for this new medley. The songs I’ve chosen are very special ones. Two are already finished and I am sharing them here: So Real Magical Piano and Set You Free Magical Piano. Please enjoy them!
My newest painting above is named “Autumn Hope.” I have included close ups of it with a slide show at the end of this post.
I am excited to share that last month I heard a new song forming! Exquisite guitar passages enveloped me and my heart swelled with joy. Just when I needed something to uplift me, this new music appeared!
It has been at least three years since I last composed anything new. I plan to record my new song, but am still exploring the multitude of passages and combinations.
I played my new guitar instrumental live on Insight Timer and tentatively named it “My Hopeful Heart.” It felt like a perfect title to describe my optimism about the New Year.
I share a solo guitar recording excerpt of the meditation that will soon be released on Insight Timer. My final decision for the song’s title was “Autumn Hope.” It seems that title for my painting was lurking in my subconscious. I share also an introduction for my song during a live session when I was composing it.
This is another version that I’m sharing, which was recorded a week before my Insight Timer performance. It’s much faster and I haven’t decided the speed for my new composition yet.
Judy Unger Music 