Preparing to Become an Instrument in the Lord’s Hands

At a stake conference, a returned missionary spoke on the subject of preparing for missionary service. He used the analogy of a father saying to his son, “I will be happy when you play in your first basketball game so you can learn to dribble and shoot the basketball.” The young man compared that example to a father saying to his son, “I will be happy when you go on your mission so you can learn to be a good person and learn and teach the gospel.”[1]

In 2006, Brother Daryl Garn of the seventy told the following story in General Conference.

When Bro Garn was a young boy, his greatest desire was to play basketball. Fortunately, he had a father who was anxious to see that his son’s desire was met. His Dad would practice the basics of passing and dribbling the basketball hour after hour in their small kitchen. He would listen to college basketball games on the radio and dream of playing college ball someday. Serving a mission was far from his mind at that time; he spent very little effort in missionary preparation. In an attempt to ensure some balance in his life, his dad—who had not held a Church calling in many years—accepted the call to serve as his Scoutmaster. Due to his father’s diligence, Brother Garn and some of his friends became Eagle Scouts. Brother Garn mentions that he now realizes that Scouting is great preparation for a mission.

His boyhood dream came true when he made the basketball team at Utah State University. During his second year at Utah State, a returned missionary befriended him. Because of this friend’s example Bro Garn began looking at his friends at school, including those on the basketball team, and realized that the people he most wanted to be like, were those who had served missions. With the kind and loving mentoring of his good friend—and, as a result of his mother’s prayers and good example—Brother Garn’s desires changed. After his 2nd year at Utah State, he was called to serve in the Western Canadian Mission.

Three months into his mission, a new missionary from Idaho was assigned to be his companion. They had been together only a few days when he realized something very significant: his new companion knew the gospel, while Elder Garn only knew the discussions. He wished that he had prepared to be a missionary as hard as he had prepared to be a basketball player… His companion had prepared for his mission throughout his life and was immediately a valuable member of the team. How important it is for fathers and sons to work together on “the basics” in preparing for a mission.

I believe it is appropriate to compare the game of basketball or other sports to missionary work. The game of basketball or any other sport includes not only the time you compete in games with another team on the court, but also the hours of practice and training. Saving souls is not limited to the two years that you serve a mission but, rather, requires (1) years of righteous living and (2) preparation in order to meet the standard for full-time missionary service.

Elder Sanford – The Secret Weapon

Just over 10 years ago, I served in the jungles of Northern Argentina. Elder Sanford was my first junior companion. When he came to me he was struggling with the language and struggled in social situations. He was very tall and skinny with large glasses. He had been in a very difficult companionship prior to coming to my area. For the first week we were together, he would respond to any conversation I tried to make with him with a shrug of the shoulders, and if I was lucky I could get a 1-2 word response to a question. He had given up. He was seriously considering going home. He wouldn’t participate in discussions with others and would sit quietly while I talked with people in the town where we served.

Over the next few weeks he began to open up and talk more. As weeks passed, he gained confidence and began to actively participate in discussions with investigators. I soon learned he had taken missionary preparation very seriously. Maybe too seriously…

One year prior to leaving for his mission, he moved his bedroom out to the shed in his parent’s back yard to have the opportunity to study the scriptures, Ensigns and anything he could get his hands on about the church for hours each day without interruptions. While he may have lacked some social skills, he was a wealth of knowledge, and he KNEW the gospel.

When in a teaching situation he was able to draw on his knowledge and examples to touch others. He could always find answers to questions posed by investigators in the scriptures. He was the secret weapon every missionary wants to have as a companion. By the end of his mission, this Elder who was on the brink of giving up and going home, had become a district leader and an extremely effective and successful missionary.

Music Insturments – Becoming an Instrument in Lord's Hands

I've found the word instrument in the scriptures in 121 locations.

I was able to find 31 references to “instruments” and “hands” together, most of which refer to being an “instrument in His hands” or "an instrument in the Lord’s hands."

One dictionary definition defines an instrument as “a means by which something of value is transferred, held or accomplished.”

Some synonyms or words used to describe the word instrument are: a tool, utensil, device, or musical instrument.

Over the years, I’ve learned to love music. Learning to play a musical instrument can be applied to the gospel, a mission or even our own lives.

When someone has worked, practiced and invested hours of time into learning to play a musical instrument, they can do great things with the instrument. However, as the bishop knows, if a guitar string is out of tune or broken, it doesn’t matter how great the guitar player is, the music won’t come out right. It’s the same with a piano. If Beethoven were to perform on an out of tune piano, it wouldn’t be “great”. It could be downright bad. The musician can only do so much without a good, in tune instrument.

No amount of practice or preparation will make up for an out of tune instrument.

A few of my favorite scriptures about instruments are:

Mosiah 23:10 (Alma driven into wilderness by the people of King Noah)
"Nevertheless, after much tribulation, the Lord did hear my cries, and did answer my prayers, and has made me an instrument in his hands in bringing so many of you to a knowledge of his truth."

Alma 17:11 (Sons of Mosiah as they were leaving on their missions)
"And the Lord said unto them also: Go forth among the Lamanites, thy brethren, and establish my word; yet ye shall be patient in long-suffering and afflictions, that ye may show forth good examples unto them in me, and I will make an instrument of thee in my hands unto the salvation of many souls."

Alma 2:30 (Alma – The son of Alma)
"And it came to pass that Alma, being a man of God, being exercised with much faith, cried, saying: O Lord, have mercy and spare my life, that I may be an instrument in thy hands to save and preserve this people."

When the scriptures make reference to being an “instrument in the Lord’s hands”, I want you to think of your favorite musical instrument. Christ is the “Master Musician”, the “Virtuoso”, or "Greatest Piano Player”. We’re his musical instruments. We’re His piano or His guitar. If we’re in tune, prepared and willing to allow the Lord to guide us, he can do great things with us.

If our instrument has strings that aren’t in tune, there are limits to what he can do with us as an “instrument in his hands.”

Whether you are preparing for a mission or just trying to be a little better each day, I encourage you to make sure your own spiritual instrument is well tuned. We never know when the Lord will need to use us. Don’t miss out on an opportunity to be an instrument in the Lord’s hands.

Letter from Jared Hancock Prior to Leaving on my Mission

My friend, Jared Hancock, wrote a letter to me before I left for the MTC that had a profound impact on the way I approached my mission. He compared a mission to being a soldier in the military. He went on to explain that our work as soldier’s in God’s army was the most important battle ever to be fought and for two years, we’re given the opportunity as missionaries to serve and be on the front line.

For those of you reading this…. don’t miss your opportunity to serve on the front line.

It’s not easy. At times I’m sure it’s a lot like serving in the army. There are a lot of rules. You have to work hard. Sometimes you’ll be hungry and thirsty. Sometimes your body will hurt and you’ll feel so tired you’ll want to sleep for a week. You might spend Christmas Eve sleeping on a bench in the chapel. You may even spend a few nights in Northern Argentina sleeping on a hard, freezing cold cement floor with your scriptures as your pillow, while large bugs crawling around you.

But I can tell you from personal experience it’s worth it.

Don’t miss your opportunity to serve on the front line… and once you are on your mission, don’t waste time. Work hard, and squeeze the most out of each minute, of each day… because before you know it, your mission will be over. Make sure you have no regrets when you come home, and remember it’s the Lord’s time, not “your” time.

And once you return from your church mission, live life with the same urgency and hard work, and squeeze the most out of each minute, of each day, because before we know it, our mission here in life will also, be over.

Prepare now so that when the time comes that the Lord needs a well tuned instrument, you KNOW the gospel, and can BE, the “secret weapon” every mission companion, every spouse, or every family needs to win.

Make sure your own personal, spiritual instrument is well tuned and the Lord will be able to, and will do great things with you.


[1] Daryl H. Garn, “Preparing for Missionary Service,” Ensign, May 2003, 46

Recording Studio - Night #1

I spent the evening in Sandy at the recording studio. I arrived just after 7:00 PM at Big Idea Studios. By 7:30 everything was ready to go and we began recording. I was able to lay down a record 9 tracks in 3 hours. When we wrapped up there was a total of 2 hours of actual recording.

I wish I could say that all of the songs were perfect when I played them, but there were small mistakes that we will clean up at the next session. Luckily technology makes it pretty easy to fix a mistake. It certainly makes you appreciate the recordings that were done 20+ years ago before everything went digital!

Copying Beethoven and our Soundtrack

Several months ago I had the opportunity to see a movie called Copying Beethoven. It tells the story of Beethoven and his female assistant/music copyist that worked with him during the latter part of his life. It was very interesting to see how he was portrayed in the film, especially as he lost his hearing.

There were several parts of the movie that had a profound impact on me and made me think of music in a new way.

In one scene as he was talking to his assistant, he tells her that as he lost his hearing he was able to hear the music around him with more clarity. It alluded to the fact that the music is always there, but most people never take time to listen and hear the music that surrounds us. He went on to say that God is whispering in his ear and playing the music that he writes.

What a profound statement! I’ve always felt like the music we write comes from a divine source, and at moments I’ve had the opportunity to have a magical moment when the entire song just “comes together” with practically no effort because I’ve been able to hear with amazing clarity the song the way it should be written.

I firmly believe that each one of us has a divine music soundtrack to our life that most of the time we are not able to hear. Some of us our fortunate enough to hear and capture that soundtrack at times throughout our lives. If you haven’t experienced it yet, I hope you have the opportunity at some time in your life.

Some may call this a 6th sense. Others may call it God whispering to us. Yet others may call it the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit. No matter what you call it, from experience, I can tell it is very real. If we can learn to relax, focus and listen, you can hear promptings, whisperings and sometimes even music.

Whether you hear your soundtrack, or just receive promptings of what to do, the key is to listen… and listen often.

I am certain this world would be a much better place if we could all learn to and remember to listen frequently to these promptings that can guide and give us direction in our lives!

Finishing the 5th Book

Who would have thought that within a week and a half I'd be putting together a final draft for my newest book. As always, the hardest part is putting together artwork and doing all of the "non music" parts.

I'm still struggling with a title for the book but have been encouraged by several music stores to keep it simple so that it is easy to remember. Hopefully I'll have all of this figured out by the time the weekend is finished.

I'm really excited to share the new songs with everyone!

I still have the goal of having books in hand by March 15th.

Standard Examiner Photo

I had the opportunity to perform at the annual Ogden chamber of commerce dinner this past week. It's always fun to perform for people. The photo on the left was taken at the event and published in the Ogden Standard Examiner Newspaper.

Fake Books and Lead Sheets

One of the things I think many people never learn to do is play from a fake book or lead sheet. I often see people playing by ear and trying to "figure out" songs on their own. While this is a good skill to learn, I've found that you can speed up the learning curve by teaching yourself to play from a fake book and then a lead sheet. Lead sheets are typically used by Jazz musicians, but for some reason the classical piano students never learn or hear about this type of written music.

What's a Fake Book?
A fake book typically gives you a one line melody of a song along with lyrics. It's basically like going back to your first 1-2 years of piano because all you have is one note to play in the right hand. Along with the melody line, you will find chord names above the measure. These chord names tell you what you need to be doing in the left hand. When you start to play from this type of book, you start out basic and then get more and more creative.

There are several good "How to" books on the market that can be purchased online or at a local music store. I would recommend starting with this type of book and also purchasing a fake book that includes several songs you would like to learn to play. One of my favorites has over 1,000 songs in it and is the size of a phone book.

If you are an intermediate/advanced piano player, invest the time and money into learning to play from a fake book and a whole new world will be opened up to you.

Lead Sheets
After I had played from fake books for a few months and felt comfortable improvising with them, I started to try playing from lead sheets. This typically includes lyrics and chords above the lyrics. There is usually no melody line to help you along. One of my favorite sites for looking up songs is: www.ultimate-guitar.com. It has thousands of guitar chord tabs posted by musicians along with the lyrics. The only drawback from this site is that it is pretty heavy on the advertising, but the database is great. You can find several versions of almost any song, searchable by band name or song name.

Some of my favorite lead sheets that are fairly easy are:

Home - Michael Buble

When September Ends - Green Day

Love Story - Taylor Swift

If you're looking for a way to have more fun with the piano, this is one of the best ways that I know of to do it. Give it a try! What do you have to lose?

Writing Music?

Why write music?


1. Music in many ways is a window to a 6th sense. Not everyone has the ability to tap into this gift, but it's amazing when the connection is there and the music is able to come.


2. It has the ability to touch others and change someone. There's nothing more rewarding than having someone tell you that your song touched them or helped them through a difficult time.


3. Music is a gift. Even after you are gone, it can be passed on, shared and have an impact on others. No one lives forever, but your music can.

Tips for Recording your first CD

One of my goals with the next album is to provide tips on how to record a CD. This past week I've worked several hours late at night putting together the details for the next album. However, I haven't touched the piano a single time yet.

Have a Plan
The most important thing I found with working in a studio is to use your time wisely. Studio prices can vary but for a good studio, you can expect to pay at least $75-$150 per hour, if not more. When you step foot in the studio, make sure you have a plan and know how you are going to spend your time.

Stick to your Plan
As you begin recording, you'll have ideas and things you want to change. Make sure that your budget allows for creativity, but these is an easy place to run over budget. Stick to your plan and if a song is taking to long, skip it and move on. You can always come back to it and try something new another night.

Be Prepared. Practice, Practice, Practice.
Your first step once you are in studio is to start tracking your songs. That basically means you play your music and the sound engineer hits the record button. You can always fix notes and mistakes but it takes time to do this. It's always better to play it right and not have to fix it. You have your instrument at home. If you're on a budget, practice your guts out before you go into the studio so that you can lay down 2-3 tracks of a song and move on. I've heard stories of people spending days on a single song. In my opinion, the studio is not the place to practice... unless you have money burning a hole in your pocket. Be ready when you get there and your performance and final product will likely be much better.

Editing and Mixing
If you've laid down a solid take or two, this should be easy. Software today is amazing and you can fix small mistakes, but big mistakes are harder to cover up. It's kind of like a small cut and a wound that requires stitches. A small cut heals and likely doesn't leave a scar. Stitches are going to leave a scar. Keep your mistakes and required edits small and it's likely that no one will notice. I've found that it works great to have your sound engineer piece together a draft track and take care of the major edits. After that, it is helpful to sit with the engineer and make work with them on the small edits. After doing this on a few songs, they start to understand what you like and they'll make fixes to those things on the next few songs.

The next steps include Mastering and most important of all, artwork and marketing. If you can't sell your CD you won't ever make your money back. I'll cover these items in an future post.

Jason
www.tonioli.com

"If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep the streets even as Michelangelo painted por Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, 'Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.'"

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Whatever you do, be great at it.