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Apples of Gold
Radio Script for October 16, 2009
“It’s Hard to Play the Harmony (But It Makes For Beautiful Music)”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
Have you ever heard “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond?
You know that’s not the only version of the song. There was another version by the Waverly Elementary School Band.
I doubt that version is on iTunes, but I remember it well. I was just learning to play trumpet – and let me just say to all those parents out there who go to elementary school band concerts: “What are you thinking?” Is there anything worse than a grade school band concert?
Well actually, there is. It’s listening to your child practice his trumpet part at home.
And there’s even something worse than that. If he was playing a nice little chorus of “Sweet Caroline,” well at least you would recognize the tune.
But in my case, since I was not a “first trumpet,” I didn’t even get to play the melody. It was just some awful, unrecognizable harmony part.
And let me tell you, I hated that. I didn’t understand it, and I didn’t like it. It said “Sweet Caroline” at the top of the page, but when I played the notes it didn’t sound anything like “Sweet Caroline.” It just sounded dumb.
In my heart I rebelled against the whole idea. If I’m going to play a song, then I want every note to sound just like the singer on the radio.
Obviously I had no understanding of the word harmony.
And it took quite a while to sink in, that my part was just one part of the overall presentation.
The first time I remember actually appreciating harmony was when our family went to a show at a high school and there was a barbershop quartet. I was fascinated by what those guys did with their voices. One would sing, then another would join in, then one went real high, then another went real low – all different parts, but all sounding great together.
On the flip side, have you ever heard people get up and sing and there is no harmony, everyone just sings the melody together?
Yes, maybe that means that everyone gets to sing their favorite part, but listen to this.
Without harmony there is no depth.
The melody may be catchy, but the melody alone is thin and shallow.
I remember a guy playing a song for me one time. He wrote it and produced it, and he admitted he was no music producer. Well the first thing I noticed was that the keyboard was playing the melody even as the singer sang the melody. Instead of the keyboard complementing the singer, they just played the same thing.
Music is really shallow when there is no harmony. It’s limited. The melody alone can be good, but add harmony and it becomes awesome.
Go see the best singers in the world. Do they stand up there alone and sing? No, they bring along back up singers and musicians. The place is full of people adding depth to the presentation.
And notice this. There are always a lot more harmony parts than there are melody parts.
Now why am I going on and on about this?
Because it applies so well to our lives.
First Peter 3:8 says, “…all of you, live in harmony with one another…”
Back in my Waverly days there was a popular song: “I’d like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony.”
It wasn’t so much about singing, but about living in harmony.
Living in harmony doesn’t mean we all become identical. We still have our individual parts, but we work to blend them all together.
And it is work. Anyone who has ever played in a band or been part of a concert can tell you, it’s a lot of work. That barbershop quartet put in untold hours of work to create that pitch-perfect harmony.
Playing a harmony part doesn’t come naturally. It’s harder to learn and you don’t get the recognition. You aren’t front and center on the stage. But when we willingly and skillfully play our harmony parts, it adds so much depth to our lives.
We need harmony in our home and harmony in our marriage. Parents and children need to be in harmony. We need harmony in our churches and businesses and government.
But that’s hard to do if everyone wants to be the melody. It’s the old cliché, “Too many chiefs and not enough Indians.”
Yes, sometimes your part is the melody. You take the lead.
But most of the time we are playing along with the band, finding just the right harmony part to turn the whole thing into beautiful music.
Comments?
E-mail me: dougapple@wave94.com.
May God bless you today! With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
© 2009 The Arrow’s Tip
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(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)
Why “The Arrow’s Tip”? Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold. Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.” I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.
Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL 32315
(850) 926-8000
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