Mary A.
Thompson - California
Mary
recently wrote the following letter to Len at Pop's Music. In her
own words then here is how she got to know about the QChord and how she is
using it to benefit others as well as herself.
I must
tell you that I absolutely love my new Q-CHORD instrument. I never dreamed
it could be so much fun. When I feel stress I can pick up my Q-CHORD and
in just a few minutes I find myself totally relaxed.
This past
April 2000 our son and daughter-in-law from Buckeye Arizona called and
informed my hubby and I that they were paying for our flight to see them
for a week. While there they took us to a big new swap-meet place near
them. When we arrived I heard this beautiful music like I had never heard
before and I thought we would never get over to it the place was so big.
As we finally got closer to the music the felling that came over me is
very hard to describe. When
we walked up to it the man there was playing the beautiful religious song "Amazing Grace" and I started singing with him. I
couldn't stop myself from doing this.
Watching him play it I knew instantly that I had to have that
instrument. I didn't let my
kids there see how very much I loved it because they would buy it for me.
I didn't want that. They had done enough for us. So I picked up the
brochure and walked away.
Being on
fixed incomes as senior citizens isn't easy, but I started putting aside a
little cash each month to save for the Q-CHORD.
It took me seven months of saving and in November
my kids called from Arizona and I told them what I had done and
sent a check the next day to them so they could purchase it for me. That
was on a Sunday morning before church and the next Wednesday
November 22, 2000 my instrument arrived by priority mail along with
extra QCHORD things the kids knew I would
need that they had paid for.
Their
way of saying that was an early Christmas gift.
What a
thrill to open that box and finally hold my own Q-CHORD.
After being in a car accident and having two surgery's on my left
shoulder, the last one was on November 1, 2000, I knew I had to face the
fact that after 50 years of playing the accordion I had to give it up.
It was extremely hard for me to do this, knowing how much music
meant to me. I have always
played by ear but now I'm learning to play my Q-CHORD by note.
I can't believe all the additional features that I can perform.
So much fun.
Now I
just praise God everyday for leading me to that instrument that I knew I
could play without hurting my left shoulder. After owning my Q-CHORD for
only one week I played it for our local
Convalescent Hospital where my 91 year old mother is and it was
such a success that I'm playing it once a week there. My mom is just
bursting with pride.
On April
1 this year I'm playing solo in my church, then doing a musical
2 song medley with my brother and our pastor. I've also been asked to play in another church too.
Need I
say more? You can tell how
much I love my Q-CHORD. I
just want to thank you for listening to my story.
Bob Brinson -
Indiana
Charles R. Brinson is known to
his family and friends as Bob. He had been an active 57 year old who enjoyed a hobby
of chain saw carving. In 1998 Bob became seriously ill and was hospitalized for five
months with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. He lost 100 lbs and was not
expected to live until Christmas.
Bob and his wife had raised
three daughters in the Christian way of life. However, with a busy work schedule Bob
had drifted away from active church participation for about 6 years. When he got the
news of just how sick he was, he was ready to give up. One day his oldest daughter
told him they were all trusting in the Lord for his recovery, but he had to do his part.
She told him to read James 5:14-15 and to believe in the Lord like he used to and
had taught his children to do. He did this and things changed.
Bob had experimental surgery for
which the doctors offered little hope. They said he would have to be on a respirator
for 20-25 days and that if he develop pneumonia he would die. After surgery, Bob
didn't require a respirator at all. With months of therapy, Bob finally recovered.
The surgeon called his recovery a miracle, and Bob openly gives God the glory for
this event.
Bob wanted to use the rest of
his life in service to God. When he and his wife were younger, they were youth
leaders in Church. Bob played guitar and they both sang. So now they began
conducting Bible studies and providing music in assisted living centers. Because of
his illness, Bob was no longer able to play the guitar the way he used to and he was
becoming disappointed in how limited his music ministry had become.
While praying about his problem,
he remembered he had once bought an Autoharp for his daughter to use in youth work.
He decided to look on the Web for information and feels he was led to Pop's Music
where he learned about the Q-Chord.
He called, spoke with Len and
had a Q-Chord within a few days. Bob now plays any church music with ease. He
says that when he connects the Q-Chord to the Church sound system, it sounds like music
from heaven.
Bob and his wife now minister in
two facilities.
Bob can be reached via email at
crmjbrinson@aol.com
Donald Wright -
Alabama
Donald does quite a bit of
traveling with his company. While he is on the road he spends some of his personal
time ministering the Gospel in local churches as well as conducting a music ministry at
nursing homes and in prisons.
Donald first found out about the
Omnichord in the Fall of 1983 when his company sent him to Memphis for three months.
While there, he ministered the Gospel in several churches. One of the things
he did was to purchase an Autoharp to give to a lady at one of the churches.
Immediately prior to giving it to her, he was in the process of preparing to leave for
Florida. He had to make two separate trips from the fifteenth floor to his car, and
while in his room, the Autoharp was stolen from his car. Needless to say he was very upset
because he had to leave in a short time and the lady was expecting her instrument.
He called several music stores, but no one had an Autoharp. Then he remembered
another store nearby and went there to see if they would have one. The man there
said they didn't have an Autoharp, but did have an electronic one - an Omnichord. As
soon as he saw it he knew it would be just the right thing. He purchased one and
gave it to the lady. She was delighted!
As Donald ministers with his
music in nursing homes, he says that often God brings someone in his midst who can carry
on this ministry when he leaves. When this happens, Donald sees to it that
this person gets an Omnichord and more recently a QChord. He also gives them a book
with spiritual songs, some cassette tapes he made and an hour or two of instruction.
As he puts it, he says he then leaves the QChord with them and God.
Donald stays in touch with those
who have continued his music ministry. They have developed strong spiritual bonds
with each other. Donald loves his ministry and says the QChord is perfect for this
purpose. He believes that as with anything in Christ, you always come away with much
more than you give.
If anyone is interested in
starting such a ministry or would like more information, you can email Donald at
wrightdew@usa.net.
Jackie Mc Bride -
Arizona
Jackie got her first Omnichord
in 1982 as a birthday present for herself. She was halfway through chiropractic
college at the time. "I remember an incident where I had an x-ray
exam the next
day with the chairman of the radiology department, a highly renowned professor and author
in the field. I'm blind and wish heartily not to make a fool of myself, but instead
of studying, what was I doing? Would you believe writing a song on the
Omnichord"? Even with her love for music distracting her, she graduated from
college in 1984.
Jackie had been playing an
Autoharp for some time prior to getting her first Omnichord in 1982. Since then she
has owned several models which now includes the new QChord.
In order to help pay her husband
Karl's ministerial studies at Bryte Divinity School, Jackie recorded 12 original pieces
and sold the tapes for $5 each. "I called it my harvest fund from the
passage in the Bible where Jesus talks about sending laborers into the harvest.
Jackie played often in church,
including for Karl's ordination. She has also
performed at some nursing homes, playing--sing-a-longs, etc. She would like to do more
volunteer work perhaps even at St. Joseph's Hospital where Karl works as a
chaplain, but at the moment they seem more interested in her computer expertise.
Yes, Jackie is also a computer programmer. In fact she is combining her technical
and musical talents to explore the midi features of the QChord.
Jackie has graciously
volunteered to provide information for Visually Impaired Persons. Just look
for the V.I.P. Forum on our Bulletin Board for more information. She will address
various techniques and issues that visually impaired persons have when dealing with the
QChord.
Best wishes to Jackie in all her
future endeavors, and may God Bless!
