Words On Screen

For a long time now we've talked about harnessing the power of video and making it an integral part of our website (www.outoftheark.co.uk). Videos have such creative potential and we have all sorts of schemes and dreams up our sleeves to pursue in coming months.


Some of our more innovative products and publications are pretty difficult to communicate clearly within the confines of a written page - as text in a catalogue, for example. So we are looking to compile a number of videos to open up the doors on Out Of The Ark! (Watch this space).


Last week we had the pleasure of working with Gemma Hunt (she's off the telly!) to produce video number 1. Filmed in our new offices, Gemma did a fantastic job - and we are really pleased with the results. She truly is a 'Gem'! It was great visiting a few schools to interview some enthusiastic teachers and to see our songs in action, using our Words On Screen™ technology! 


We're now busy working with the team on our new Autumn Catalogue and a FREE Words On Screen™ resource to be made available with an upcoming issue of an educational magazine. Like you, we're tying up all the loose ends of deadlines that have to be met before the start of the holidays.

Happy and Healthy

Yesterday saw us finalising a few details for the new songbook/CD publication - a couple of pages of text highlighting specific features of each song - and also choosing the running order for the CD. We heard all 15 songs a good few times (and pretty loudly) in order to do this. Still love 'em!


There are certain criteria that have to be considered when you choose the track order. Some songs lend themselves more naturally to 'opening' or 'closing' a project, and everything that comes in between has to be reasonably balanced, in terms of style, pace, theme, keys, time signature etc. We also have to consider minimising page turns in the song-book, which can also impact what goes where. With all that in mind though, it's a decision-making process steered more by the ears than by analysis. Some songs just 'sit' better placed alongside others. 


It's been 4 years since we produced the popular 'Songs for EVERY Singing School'. This new collection is the long-awaited number nine in the 'EVERY' series, and it's a positive values-based project. We are confident it satisfies our core vision very well, 'putting life into songs, and singing into schools'. Here's a taster of some of the song titles you can look forward to: (Spot any clues for the overall title?)

• It's Good To Be Me!
• Put On A Smile
• Happiness Is Not....
• We're In It Together
• The Lord's Prayer
• Change And Grow
• A Healthy Life
• A Little Bit Of Kindness

("Can you tell what it is, yet?!)


No prizes for guessing.......

..... 'Songs For EVERY Happy, Healthy School". Coming soon!

Songs for EVERY......?

We've just received the rough mixes from our weekend's recording session. What a treat! Finally, we get to sit down - with the essential cup of frothy coffee in hand - and listen to all fifteen tracks. We're really pleased with how they're sounding, and are confident that these songs are definitely going to be scratching where schools are itching! 


One particular strength of this new project lies in the thematic and lyrical content of the songs. We've got some invaluable themes covered in this collection. That said - the melodies are not in a hurry to leave our heads, so we're happy they are definitely of the 'ilk' that you would expect from a 'Songs for EVERY... ' project. The question is, 'every' what?! This will be the ninth publication in our flagship series that has become so well established in tens of thousands of school assemblies up and down the country each year. 


Big thank you's to all of our fantastic team who make it possible to produce the quality songbook/CD/Words on Screen  resources that Out Of The Ark Music has become known for. 


Watch this space for the new, definitive title, coming soon.....

Nearly Done and Dusted!

We're very happy to say that we managed to write the last few lines of the final song in the project (see below), 'A Brighter Day Tomorrow'. It's not unusual for the first song we write to be the very last one we finish:

                           There’s no telling

                                 What a difference we can make.

                                 This world’s waiting

                                 For the colours we’re yet to create.

Hats off to the 'Out Of The Ark Choir' whose hard work and great singing made last weekend's recording such a brilliant success! Andy, our arranger/producer has worked his usual magic in 'dressing' our songs in a great variety of styles and colours. We really think schools up and down the country are in for a real treat once they got their ears around the finished album.

With the songs recorded, our wonderful publishing and production team can now get going with piano arrangements, mastering, design, printing and words-on-screen. And then it's over to marketing, customer services and despatch to pick up the baton.

Being able to step back and look at all fifteen songs from a bit of a distance has given us a great sense of satisfaction. We believe the issues we've tackled and themes covered in this collection contain invaluable truths, with the potential for bringing significant change in the way we think about things. Thankfully, they're also great fun to sing! 

It's Good To Be Me!

It seems our blog-writing has been rather less productive than our song-writing! Apologies for the gap.... We actually managed to get a few 'away days' to write, before the long school holiday set in. It was a real treat to be away from it all - none of the normal responsibilities. No computer, no deadlines, no telephone calls. Just three days, two guitars, a keyboard and one beautiful spot in the country - with a good dose of sunshine and fresh air. 


Sometimes when we're in the middle of a project, a new idea will appear, almost effortlessly, from nowhere. Sometimes we'll have to do a fair bit of  'digging'  to unearth fresh melodies. Occasionally, however, we'll revisit our deep-freeze of creative ideas. We both record seed ideas on dictaphones (kept by the bed or in a handbag), which, if they're not used straight away, get stored until they're ready to be defrosted at a later date. 


We found an absolute gem in the 'freezer' while we were away. Lively, up-beat, unashamedly happy, it was the perfect melody for the theme we wanted to tackle: 'It's good to be me!' The lyrics themselves are very simple - the concept of self-acceptance often seems a good deal more difficult. Why is it we are so prone to compare ourselves unfavourably with others? This song is all about being "happy to be the 'me' I am" - flaws included - and learning to avoid the crippling comparisons:

"But if I try to compare myself with you,

And all the things you do,

I'll never see all the qualities

That make me the 'me' I am!"

Looking forward to hearing this one arranged and recorded!

The Lord's Prayer

Songs have a funny way of staying with you. The songs we learn as children tend not to go away, even into later years. Some of them we might prefer to forget! 


Using songs as an educational tool to aid the memorising of important material has a long-standing and successful record. The Bible tells us that Moses was given instructions to give to the people in the form of a song, specifically so they wouldn't forget. There were plenty of us, no doubt, who learned the alphabet, or times tables - or even the books of the Bible, through songs.


Today we decided to add our names to the long list of song-writers who have set the Lord's Prayer to music (Matthew 6). Probably, a couple of hundred years ago, children would have all been able to recite this passage as a matter of course - not that that was the point for it being given to us. But these days it's unlikely many children have even heard the Lord's Prayer, let alone know or understand it. A retired Head Teacher was recently bemoaning his experience at a funeral, when children were unable to join in the Lord's Prayer because the words weren't included in the order of service.


In an assembly project that considers healthy living - whether physical, spiritual, emotional or social well-being - the prayer Jesus taught as a model is an invaluable one for us to learn and consider. So, should we keep to the original King James? Or paraphrase it in a way that could be more accessible, but might not be recognised as the Lord's Prayer? We decided to steer a route that navigates, as deftly as we could, through both paths! Two lines of the original, followed by a couple of lines that seek to unpack something of the heart of those words. 


It's a been a good day - challenging for sure, but hopefully this song will go somewhere towards teaching and facilitating some creative thinking and fresh understanding.


This landmark song sees us two-thirds of the way through this exciting new project!

Don't Go Listening...

It's very satisfying when tunes just pop into your head. Our latest melody arrived before we'd even sat down at the piano. Without knowing quite how, we have been able to make a simple melody say something potentially important. "Don't Go Listening To Lies" is a song which carries an invaluable message. How do we react when people say things, either to us or about us, that are neither kind nor true? The power of the spoken word is immense - but we have the ability to choose what to do with what we hear. If children, through singing, can recognise their ability to choose how they think about themselves, they will have mastered a skill many of us - even as adults - are sometimes slow to grasp. 


So that's song 9 ready to roll. Just six songs to go. Maybe a change of scenery would inspire the next few? (Watch this space!)


After yesterday's stint at the piano, today we drove to the BBC Surrey Radio Studios, for a brief interview about our involvement with Red Nose Day. It was a pleasure meeting Nick Wallis,  presenter on their Breakfast Show. Then it was back to our offices for various team  planning and publishing meetings. There are definitely exciting things afoot....

Red Noses and Good Causes

It's less than a week now until the Big Day! Red Nose Day 2011 is this coming Friday - 18th March. We're thrilled to be partnering with Comic Relief by providing this year's Schools' Song. If you've not yet seen or heard it, check it out on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHw1UtOKCoE

Seems strange that we wrote this song nearly 9 months ago. It was huge fun working with local schools on the video shoot and the studio recording. As ever, we were blown away by the talent flying around the place. The video footage was directly shaped by the song lyrics - the idea being to fuel some creative and quirky approaches to raising money: "Can you raise a lot of money doing something really funny?" - whether it's juggling with bananas, singing in your pyjamas, doing the moonwalk (just like Michael) or riding a unicycle, the opportunities are endless!

This is the third time we have worked with our friends at Comic Relief, and they are as pleased with the results as we are. You can download the song and video by visiting the Comic Relief website and following the teachers/assemblies links: 

http://www.rednoseday.com/teachers/assemblies

You've still four days to learn the song, and join the thousands of schools who will be singing and performing the song this Friday. 

"Make a huge amount of money, a bucket load of money,

A lovely lot of money while you entertain!"

These Simple Things

On a previous blog, we talked about the process of song-writing. Given that serious writing generally requires a certain amount of crafting, technique and perseverance, just occasionally a melody drops into your head from nowhere. 


Yesterday, before we'd even sat down to write, a four-line melody, within half a tone of the right key, arrived, unannounced and ready to roll. Initially, it posed as a Christmas or Harvest song - not something we were planning to write just now. Two hours later, when the song was still hanging around like an uninvited guest, we decided it might have something to say to us. Given time for interrogation, this little tune turned out to be a most welcome visitor. Verse by verse, 'These Simple Things' considers different aspects of what brings us peace. This simple song takes us over the half way line on this new project. 


PS If you had five verses to fill, what would you include as the things that bring you that sense of peace and satisfaction? (We'd be very interested to hear your thoughts).

Spring Chickens and Cappuccinos!

Going out for a cup of coffee before we faced doing the weekly food shop was definitely a good idea! It generally is - but this time was unusually valuable. We'd barely had time to slurp the froth off the top of the cup, when the lady sat at the adjacent table started singing with her two very small children: "I'm... a ..... SPRING CHICKEN!". They were doing the actions with a good deal of enthusiasm, much to our amusement. (When Mark joined in my delight did a nosedive!)   It was only as they were leaving did we give in to the temptation of owning up to having written the song. Thank you Laura, from Cheam, for not being too ashamed to sing our songs in public - and thanks to our conversation with you, we are now seriously considering a new title for early years, sometime next year. Keep you posted. 

Change and Grow

It's nearly the end of the week and we have another song to share with you from the new collection we are working on. In the process of songwriting, we have always found that what works best for us is to start with the melody. We have this in common with Roger Radcliffe - fictional composer of 'Cruella De Ville' from Disney's '101 Dalmatians'. ("Melody first. Always the melody first!"). We tend to find that creating the tune, chords and structure is the relatively quick bit! The next part of the process is to interpret what the tune itself is saying - the melody has to be given time to tell us who he, or she, is. Then follows the sometimes mind-numbingly difficult task of crafting the lyrics to suit the shape and emotion of the tune.

We were pleasantly surprised how effortlessly the lyrics fell into place for this new song 'Change and Grow'. We wanted it to be useful for a number of different occasions in the school year - including moving onto a new year, or leaving in years 2 or 6. We're aware that sadly there are many unwelcome changes in our lives as well as the more positive ones, so perhaps this song will be resonate on many levels.

With the help of our well-thumbed 'Rhyming Dictionary', and the obligatory cups of coffee, we were able to write and demo this song in a day. In writing this song, we had a bit of a smile when we inadvertently found ourselves giving a 'nod' to some other lyrics from old favourites in the 'EVERY' series. (So, to those faithful users of our songs, if you liked 'Time for Everything', 'Leavers' Song' and 'Memories', we think you'll like this new one).

Blue Skies and Chocolate

Funny thing, songwriting. You find yourself writing songs for Christmas when it's Easter, and summery songs when it's snowing! The last few days I've had a song called 'Blue Skies' going round my head - I have to admit we're rather pleased with it! It's one of a few new 'Mark and Helen' songs that will feature in a long-awaited collection to be published sometime later in the year - "Here Comes Summer". It was written in December, of course! 


I can't say the skies are especially blue around here at the moment - but the scenery is stunning! I've taken a few precious days 'out' to work and walk in the Lake District. I know, it's a long way to come for a walk, but well worth it! Nothing like a battle against the wind and the rain on the hills to clear the cobwebs (and find muscles you didn't know you had, in the fight to stay on the hill). 


Walking and creativity are definitely best of companions. One of the first songs we ever published (remember "There Is A Song For Every Season"?), that was the product of a short walk. Better still, it was a short walk to the sweet shop to buy a bar of chocolate - that was many years ago now - and the whole 'Songs For EVERY...' series was born out of that one song. A bar of chocolate with a calorie-content surpassed only by the creativity it generated  -  that's some chocolate - and that's an occasion I've cited on many occasions since to justify buying another one!   

A Healthy Life!

Just finished writing the first song for our next publication, due out later in the year. So, there we were, sat round the piano writing lyrics that promote a healthy lifestyle -eg- a good night's sleep, sufficient rest, exercise and a balanced diet. The irony of course is that we're stuck indoors, sat on our backsides most of the day, snacking out as we work our way through an endless supply of tea and coffee! The biggest challenge is staying awake during the day, and at night-times trying to erase the melodies from your head when you're wanting to sleep!

Song-writing is a strange beast. There are never any guarantees that you'll be able to do it again, and melodies appear from the strangest of places and at most inconvenient times. We both sleep with digital recorders by the bed. We have set ourselves just ten weeks to produce fifteen songs for the next title.

Watch this space...

Blog, Slog and Creative Cogs

Welcome to the blogging world of Mark and Helen. This is a new venture for us - to our shame, we even had to look up where the word 'blog' came from! (If 'blog' comes from 'web-log' - does that make a song-writers log a 'slog'?!)


We figured a blog would be a fantastic way to keep you in touch with all our creative news, views and 'thinking-throughs'. If you've been following our musical journey via our company catalogue or website (www.outoftheark.com), it'd be fair to question if the 'Mark and Helen' song-writing hadn't slowed down over the last couple of years. Or, ground to a near-halt! 


We're here to reassure you - after a bit of a long phase of business developments and an office move, we're now back in the creative saddle (piano/guitar stool), fully set on writing, writing, writing. Getting back into creative mode after a lengthy gap can feel a little bit like starting up an old car that's been sat in a cold garage for a long time - it can take a little while to get the engine turned over, but it's soon ticking over nicely and into gear. 


So, we hope this blog can not only keep you keep you up to date with all our song-writing news, but offer you the chance to come with us as we take to the road on the next leg of our creative journey. 


Thank you for your interest!