In The Pages Of A Book

by Teresa Jennings/John Riggio

Anyone who has read a good book understands how it can suck you in; time has no meaning when you're immersed in it. You can lose yourself - or find yourself - within its pages.

We've chosen an exciting, fusion rock style for this piece. The verses have an easy, straight-ahead feel, while the intro and chorus sections are very syncopated, mostly because the lyrics lend themselves to that feel. The good news is that the entire song is very singable with great hooks, as our studio singers discovered.

On the recording, the intro is explosive, replete with power chords and drum fills. Things calm down a bit at measure 19 for the verse. We made use of great synth lines which begin at the pick-up to measure 31 and continue through the chorus, as well as synth pads on the intro and coda. The second verse adds a soaring guitar countermelody. It shows up again with the melody the second time at 37 on the D.S. At this point we keep guitar in to the end of the piece, harmonizing with the singers for a really nice effect, then rejoining the melody at measure 67.

The last few bars are probably the most exciting in the song, combining high energy performance with a subito piano crescendo to the finish. As you can hear, our performers played and sang their hearts out on this tune!

If you're looking for a song to pique an interest in reading (and music!) for your young singers, this song is a great pick.

Text is taken from Music K-8 magazine.