Tune In Why Don't You!

I am the firm believer in the power of music to calm, soothe, sometimes stimulate, but always always always bring a certain kind of joy that nothing else can even come close to.

As a small child of 4, all I wanted was a piano.  My parents didn't have a lot of money, so they bought me a cord organ and as the story is often told by my family, I was pretty much permanently attached to the bench day in and day out, playing and singing and swinging my feet.

I did get that piano when I was about 10.  I had been taking piano and voice lessons from the man across the street who was a choir director at a large church in the city.  I practiced on another neighbour's piano every day after school... until I finally got my own piano.

I kept taking my voice training from the man across the street but because I was such an avid student he suggested to my parents that I take my piano lessons from a teacher registered with the Royal Conservatory of Music - and so the following year I began doing that.  I took piano and theory and reached Grade IX in the Royal Conservatory of Music by the time I was a teenager.

Things changed, but not my love of music.  I learned the Cello and played with an orchestra for 6 yrs.  I also learned the guitar, accordion and the organ.  I would have loved to learn the harp - that was to be my next conquest but alas I ran out of years.  By then I was working as a Registered Nurse, then married with a family, and mastering new instruments was forgotten.

Music is still so much a part of my life.  My husband is an organist and plays his pipe organ in the basement every evening after dinner.  I have my old 1929 Irish Piano, that I wouldn't  trade for anything.  I have my Dad's accordion, which I play as well.  I have always wanted a Cello of my own, but I just can't justify the cost of purchasing one at my age.

Every evening I spend one hour before bedtime with the music I love.  Until this spring it was listening to selections of my own CD collections that I would load on my ipod.  My son bought me super expensive headphones, and so for the last hour of every day I zone out in my own enjoyable way.

But then my son introduced me to TUNE IN radio.  If you haven't already discovered this wonderful piece of technology, and you love music - any music - you must pay attention.

If you have a ipod, ipad or iphone you can download the free app to Tunein Radio.  If you want to use your computer you can get it by going to Tunein.com.  You do  need an Internet connection to use this app, however you choose to use it.

I get the station I want to listen to on my ipod and then I doc my ipod on my stereo and so I can listen wherever I am in the house.

When you go in to Tunein, you will be able to search for whatever you want to listen too.  Select "Music" and then have fun searching the stations.   There are thousands of music stations of every genre available for you to listen too.

You can save favourite stations as Favourites and then you don't have to re-search every time.

I have some terrific Christmas stations saved.  Here are a few you might enjoy:

KING FM Classical Christmas - beautiful classical and traditional music of Christmas.  Really good instrumentals and choral pieces.

181. FM Christmas Standards - Christmas music from such performers as Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, Perry Como, and all the soft jazz-type performers of that era... really good stuff.

Christmas Carols Radio  - this is my favourite because it is Traditional Carols sung by some of the best Choirs in the UK.... Kings College, lots of John Rutter, John Scott's choir, and arrangements that I have sung in our own choir at St. Luke's Anglican here in Winnipeg.  I find myself singing along with the Contralto line almost every song that is played.

There are stations from every country in the world and for every type of music you want to hear.

So Tunein, and enjoy the music of the season...