Musically Speaking

In this episode I reflect on silence, not as the absence of sound, but as an active and necessary partner to music. Drawing on musical examples like rests, cadences, and communal pauses before and after singing, I consider how silence shapes meaning, gives weight to words, and trains our attention. In a culture filled with constant noise and distraction, this episode invites listeners to notice si...

In this week's episode, I reflect on how many of us were quietly introduced to orchestral music through cartoons long before we ever set foot in a concert hall. From Tom and Jerry to Looney Tunes, familiar animated worlds trained our ears to recognize musical gesture, drama, and beauty. This episode explores how public domain classical music became the soundtrack of childhood and why those sounds...

In this episode, I reflect on why lyrics tend to stay with us when they are sung, but often fade when they are merely spoken. From familiar popular songs to Scripture memory projects, I consider how melody binds words to memory and shapes how those words live inside us. With examples from Integrity Music and Dr. David Erb’s Cantica Sanctorum , this episode invites listeners to reflect on what we a...

What happens when truth is communicated without beauty? In this bonus episode of Musically Speaking , I sit down with Dr. Scott Aniol to argue that beauty is not an optional accessory to truth, but the means by which truth is perceived, embodied, and lived. Drawing from theology, philosophy, and the Western artistic tradition, they explore why aesthetics shape belief, why all art is inherently int...

In this episode, recorded in the first days of the new year and still within the twelve days of Christmas, I reflect on the meaning of Auld Lang Syne . Tracing its roots in the poetry of Robert Burns, I consider how this simple and enduring song gives us words for memory, friendship, gratitude, and hope. With reflections on recordings by Harry Connick Jr. and Lou Rawls, I invite listeners to make...

In this episode, I consider the quiet richness of the days that follow Christmas and why the season is worth more than one day. Drawing on Robert Herrick’s Christmas Carol poem, I invite the listener to make room in their mind and heart for the joy that continues beyond December 25. The Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features music commentary, examp...

Merry Christmas Eve - Bonus Mini-Episode This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jarrodrichey.substack.com

In this episode, we reflect on singing as a communal act that forms us in ways private listening cannot. Drawing on recent performances by my Delta Youth Chorale and Geneva Academy students, we consider how making music together binds singers and listeners alike, especially during Advent and Christmas. In an age of earbuds and individualized playlists, this episode invites us to recover the joy, f...

This episode looks at how a paraphrase of Psalm 98, written centuries ago without a single reference to Bethlehem or the Nativity, found its way into the heart of the Christmas season. From Isaac Watts’s text to the lively tune that echoes Handel’s style, we explore the surprising journey that turned a psalm into a hymn/carol many of us now know by heart. The Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute po...

This week’s Friday Five features a recommendation of Béla Fleck and the Flecktones’ Christmas album Jingle All the Way . From a jazz-infused take on Jingle Bells and Linus and Lucy to a stunning twelve-key, twelve-meter setting of The Twelve Days of Christmas , this album offers a playful and virtuosic reimagining of familiar holiday music. With surprising touches like Tuvan throat singing, a Bach...

This week we look at how a musical diet shapes musical desires and how teaching students to read music frees them to participate rather than just consume. Featuring recordings from Geneva Academy’s ninth and tenth grade musicianship class, this episode explores why Renaissance polyphony, music literacy, and singing outside our own time form not only better musicians but stronger communities. The F...

In this long-form Musically Speaking conversation, I sit down with theologian Alastair Roberts at Theopolis Institute to explore what happens when we learn to hear the Bible musically. Alastair argues that Scripture isn’t something we simply analyze from above like a map. It’s more like music we enter—where themes develop, time interpenetrates, and the rhythms of typology and liturgy work together...

This week’s episode reflects on the music of childhood and the way a musical mother shapes the imagination. In honor of Suzi Richey’s birthday, I look at a few songs near to her when I was growing up, from Sweet Beulah Land to music from Scott Sontag and Reba Rambo. These artists and tunes have stayed in my memory even though decades have passed. The Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast ser...

In this week’s episode, we look at how Randy Newman writes through invented characters rather than speaking in his own voice. From satire to tenderness, his songs use irony, perspective, and a distinctive piano style to help us hear truth in unexpected ways. Here’s a link to the heartbreakingly beautiful song, Wandering Boy : https://youtu.be/I2s1WNagdA0 Here’s a link to Randy Newman’s NPR Tiny De...

In this week’s episode, we look at what happens when the words of one song are forced onto the tune of another. The result is usually funny, cringeworthy, or both. But our reaction teaches us something important. We do not just hear lyrics. We hear music as meaning. The tune and the text are meant to support one another. When they disagree, we notice instantly. Here’s a recording of Girlfriend in...

In this week’s episode, we look at why there are two commonly sung versions of A Mighty Fortress Is Our God. We listen to the familiar slower tune and then to the original rhythmic version that Luther wrote. We consider how rhythm helps congregational singing and why this hymn still matters today. Here’s a PDF of the song if you want to sing it yourself: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/gbo4baculoj4...

In this week’s episode, we listen to the many talents of Phil Keaggy — the guitarist, the vocalist, and the musical interpreter of great texts. From the lyrical compassion of The Little Ones to the Beatles-like shimmer of Love Divine and his haunting setting of C. S. Lewis’s As the Ruin Falls , Keaggy shows how excellence and devotion can live in the same song. Here’s an interview with Phil Keaggy...

I’m finishing up PhD Qualifying Exams in Fort Worth, TX. Enjoy this early episode of the Friday Five, which features a fun story about Artificial Intelligence and music. The Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features five minutes of music commentary, examples, and recommendations from Jarrod Richey. This is a public episode. If you would like to discus...

In this week’s episode, we listen to one of the most quietly powerful voices in modern music. Jennifer Warnes is best known for her unforgettable duets and her interpretations of Leonard Cohen’s songs, but her gift runs deeper, carrying a kind of quiet grace that lingers long after the song ends. Here’s a YouTube playlist of the album Famous Blue Raincoat : https://youtu.be/tNYiMxHbcE4?si=BiMm1JwS...

In this week’s episode, we hear three of my eighth-grade students sing Dona Nobis Pacem as a round and explore why canons are more than warm-ups. Canons help singers grow in independence, blend, and harmony, making them one of the best tools for choirs of any age. The Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features music commentary, examples, and recommenda...

In this week’s episode, we explore Joachim Neander’s hymn Wondrous King, All-Glorious, and reflect on how singing it before dinner became a surprising moment of connection both in our home and online. We consider what makes table singing so meaningful, why this hymn is a treasure, and how incorporating hymns into daily life reshapes our experience of community. Here's a link to the viral singing r...

In this week’s episode, we consider how singing polyphonic music trains our ears for harmony, strengthens independent musicianship, and builds music literacy. With examples from Victoria and Byrd, we explore how this music shapes both singers and listeners. The Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features music commentary, examples, and recommendations f...

In this week’s episode, we reflect on hymns that guide us through moments of grief and turning. From Abide with Me to A Mighty Fortress , these hymns, among others, help us lift our eyes from sorrow to the sure hope that God’s kingdom remains. The Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features music commentary, examples, and recommendations from Jarrod Ric...

In this week’s episode, we hear how pianist Jacques Loussier and his trio reimagined Bach with the swing of a jazz rhythm section. From the famous Air on a G String to the Toccata and Fugue in D minor , these works remind us that sometimes all they need is a modern genre like jazz to bridge the gap and let us hear just how vibrant they would have sounded when first created. The Friday FIVE is a we...

In this week’s episode, we consider why certain voices move us even when they sound rough around the edges. These are voices that break the mold, resist polish, and still draw us in. What makes them so compelling? The Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features music commentary, examples, and recommendations from Jarrod Richey. Here’s a few listening li...