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!