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 Beyond the Beat
Music Newsletter for the USA Southern Territory
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Greetings! Welcome to the second digital edition of Beyond the Beat, where you will find music news and tips for the USA Southern Territory. I hope you may find something helpful for your ministry here. If you know anyone who might be interested in this newsletter, please forward this email along, so they can subscribe. The subscription link at the bottom will allow you to sign up for Beyond the Beat or our Creative Arts newsletter, Backstage Pass! Please write or call if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions. If you do not wish to receive further editions of "Beyond the Beat," simply unsubscribe. Robert Snelson Territorial Music Education Director |
| Territorial Music Institute |
TMI 2011: All For Thee
From July 23-31, 2011, 300 delegates and staff gathered together at Camp Hoblitzelle for TMI 2011. In several ways, TMI looked the same as it has for many years: there were 5 Bands, 4 Choruses (everybody sings!), 2 Drama Groups, 2 Dance Groups, 5 Leadership Tracks, and the delegates lost the annual softball game against the staff. This TMI felt like any other year in many respects. But there were also some  significant changes to TMI 2011 that revitalized the already exciting program that has been growing for many years.
Twenty-five years ago, delegates could choose to be a band or vocal major or a leadership student. As the program has grown, delegates can now choose from six majors (band, vocal, piano, drama, dance, and worship team) and five adult leadership classes (instrumental, advanced instrumental, advanced choral, creative arts, and worship team).
 Perhaps the most drastic change to the curriculum this year was a change of focus to give more time to the delegates' chosen majors. One reason for the growth in the program over the years was the wide offering of elective classes that were available to allow delegates to explore other areas of arts ministry. Now that this wide array of majors are available, though, the elective classes were removed to allow room for further technical study within major classes, and this bold move proved to be a key to the success of TMI this year. This additional time spent focusing on technique strengthened the educational outcomes of the week, ensuring each delegate left camp with the tools they needed to improve.
TMI has long strived to expose all delegates to more than just their chosen area of study, and even with this change in schedule, this year was no exception. Optional masterclasses on a wide variety of subjects were presented daily during the afternoon free time, which gave delegates additional opportunities to explore various topics. The concerts and solo recital exposed the delegates to the full gamut of offerings available at TMI, and a variety of presentations were made during Morning Manna, the daily devotional time, which showed how music, dance, drama, and even visual art can be used effectively in worship.
Morning Manna proved yet again to be an essential element of TMI where the Word of God was presented each day. Majors Steve and Wendy Morris led this special time, using each verse of the theme song "All for Thee" (Havergal/Kellner) as inspiration. 
Take my life, and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days; let them flow in ceaseless praise.
Take my hands, and let them move at the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet, and let them be swift and beautiful for Thee.
Take my voice, and let me sing, always, only, for my King.
Take my lips, and let them be flled with messages from Thee.
Take my silver and my gold; not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect, and use every power as Thou shalt choose.
Take my will, and make it Thine; it shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is Thine own; it shall be Thy royal throne.
Take my love; my Lord, I pour at Thy feet its treasure-store.
Take myself, and I will be ever, only, all for Thee.
The 2011 Territorial Music Institute was a tremendous week of learning about music, drama, and dance; worshiping together; and growing both as artists and as Christians. May God bless all who came this year and begin even now preparing those who will come in 2012.
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Music Publications
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 It's an exciting time for the USA South Music Publications. This year marked the 25th Anniversary of the publication of the American Instrumental Ensemble Series. This year's edition, which was released in May, had a special commemorative cover and featured arrangements by Jim Curnow, William Himes, Stephen Bulla, Robert Snelson, Andy Barrington, Nick Simmons-Smith, and a host of others. During the recording of the Demo CD in February, Jim Curnow, Stephen Bulla, and Dr. Richard Holz were recognized for their individual contributions to the AIES. All three men have been involved with the series from its inception.
Another exciting happening with the 2011 AIES is that the series has been chosen to be featured by J. W. Pepper in their Concert Band catalog. This is a huge step for the series and will increase its visibility in the market outside of The Salvation Army. In addition to being in the Concert Band catalog, 10 pieces from the series have been included in the Sacred Instrumental Music catalog and the Choral & Vocal Music Catalog. Stephen Bulla's 2001 contribution, "Easter Prelude: Were You There," was selected as an Editor's Choice and featured in the Sacred Instrumental Music catalog and in the Solo & Ensemble catalog. All of the 2011 AIES titles are also being heavily promoted on J. W. Pepper's website.
 Finally, be on the look-out for Sing Praise 16. We are in the final stages of production and the publication should be released by the end of the year. Volume 16 includes contributions by Nick Simmons-Smith, Kenneth Downie, Andrew Blyth, Stephen Bulla, Commissioner Paul Kellner, Erik Silfverberg, and Timothy and Jennifer Campbell.
~ Leon Kirkpatrick
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Open Auditions
Territorial Band, Songsters, & Creative Arts Ensemble
All Territorial music and arts groups (Band, Songsters, and Creative Arts Ensemble) are now holding open auditions for the 2012 season.
All auditions must be submitted by video to the Territorial Music Department by October 24! If you are interested in auditioning for any of these groups, please click here for further information. We hope to see your audition videos soon! |
Finale Training Seminar
 The Territorial Music Department will host a Finale Training Seminar in Atlanta on November 3-4. It is open to any Salvationist who is approved by his DMD to attend. Finale is a powerful tool that can be helpful to you, not just for composition, but it can also be quite helpful as an educational tool.
The software can be a bit intimidating, and hopefully this seminar (in two levels) may be helpful to you. If you are interested, please contact your Divisional Music Director or email Robert Snelson directly. Educational Materials  Are you looking for teaching materials for your music classes? The Fun Music Company has a variety of products that may be helpful for you. They have four levels of music theory instruction available, along with many supplemental materials, including: Flashcards, Music Games, Worksheets, and more. Curriculum is generally aligned with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM).
One of the biggest benefits of this curriculum is that it includes a license to legally print unlimited copies for your students, so you could buy their materials one time and then not have to buy books each year for new students. This could provide significant savings over time. Also, when the materials are updated, you can download the updated books for free. Finale Tips: Keyboard Shortcuts Everyone who inputs a score in Finale wants to work faster and more efficiently, and learning some keyboard shortcuts will be a tremendous help. There are hundreds of keyboard shortcuts programmed into Finale when you first install it. To see a list of many of these, open your user manual and look up "keyboard shortcuts" in the index. Learning just a few shortcuts will speed up your work, and it can take quite some time to learn so many. For this reason, you may find it helpful to program your own. There are some powerful shortcuts available in many of the tools called "metatools." There are eleven tools in all that can use metatools, but just learning to use them for expressions, articulations, and smart shapes will make your work go much quicker. To program a metatool, you simply click the tool you wish to program (e.g. expression tool) and hold shift+any letter or number that you wish to program. This will open up the appropriate dialog box (in this case, the expression selection dialog). Then you simply double-click the symbol/text that you wish to program. That's all you have to do to program a metatool! When you go to use a metatool, all you need to do is to select the tool you wish to use, press the number or letter that you programmed, and click the note or place on the score. For example,  if you programmed the fermata (expression tool) to the letter "F," all you would have to do is select the expression tool, hold the letter "F," and then click the note you want to attach the expression to. You can also drag a box around multiple notes to use this powerful tool on many notes at once! You will find many metatools are pre-programmed (you can see this in the appropriate dialog box - the programmed letter or number will be in the top right corner of the symbol/text). Another shortcut that is very helpful is programming keyboard equivalents for the tools you use the most. This is very similar to programming a metatool. All you have to do is select the tool (e.g. speedy entry tool) you want to program and press shift+any function key (F2-F12). Then when you want to select a different tool, you don't need to move your mouse across the screen to find the tool you wanted, you simply press the appropriate function key to switch tools. For example, if you want to program a shortcut for the simple entry tool, all you need to do is select this tool and press shift+a function key (e.g. F4). Then any time you hit F4, you will go directly to the simple entry tool without having to move your mouse. Note that the selection tool can always be accessed by pressing "escape." These keyboard shortcuts can be very helpful, but please know that the metatools and keyboard tool equivalent shortcuts are saved separately in each document. If you open a new file, you will need to reprogram your metatools. One helpful way to save these for future projects is to save your file as a template, which will make these settings available each time you open the template. |
New DVD Release
Moving with the Spirit
Introducing a revolutionary movement ministry resource, Moving with the Spirit. Complete with 9 different styles and levels of dance, this product not only demonstrates performance choreography, it offers specific instruction on how to effectively teach and train a dance group! What makes this resource unique to products in a similar category on the market today is that the choreography is set to music written and created by Salvation Army artists. On top of that, Moving with the Spirit provides an enhanced CD, which includes all audio tracks for performances, as well as lyric sheets for rehearsal and projection purposes. Moving with the Spirit is now available through Trade nationwide for $24.95! It is designed to be a lasting resource for your movement ministry in the years to come. Get your copy today!! |
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Music Department Social Media
The THQ Music & Creative Arts Education Department is increasing its availability to you through social media. To like us on Facebook or add our Twitter feed, click the links at the bottom. Join the conversation. Let us know what you think! |
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Territorial Auditions Due
Oct. 24/THQ
Territorial Band & Songsters
Jan. 19-22/Jackson, MS
Territorial Band & Songsters
May 30-Jun. 3/Atlanta, GA
Territorial Music Institute
Jul. 28-Aug. 5/Camp Hoblitzelle, TX
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Has your corps or division found a creative way to further the 2020 Vision? Share it with the territory!
In each upcoming issue of Beyond the Beat, a corps or division may be featured with how they have caught 2020 vision. Are you teaching someone new to play the guitar or piano? Do you have any budding drama or dance groups? Have you started a Singing Company or Beginner Band?
Send your stories to Robert Snelson, and you might be featured in the next issue of Beyond the Beat.
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Contact Us
Music & Creative Arts Department
The Salvation Army
1424 Northeast Expressway
Atlanta, Georgia 30329
Phone: 404-728-1300 Fax: 404-728-1373 www.ussmusicandarts.org Nick Simmons-Smith Territorial Music & Creative Arts Education Secretary
Bernie Dake Assistant Territorial Music Secretary/
Music Publications & Production Director
Robert Snelson Territorial Music Education Director
Roberta Simmons-Smith Territorial Creative Arts Director
Marty Mikles Territorial Music Evangelism & Worship Specialist
Leon Kirkpatrick Territorial Music Publications & Marketing Specialist
Evelyn Pulkin Music Department Administrative Assistant
Darryl Crossland Music Department Administrative Clerk
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