Rula and I were married in 1959. Periodically, during the course of our lives together, I composed music for us as a couple, as well for family situations and events such as weddings and funerals. Rula insisted that I write it all down, pointing out that musical expression opens a window on the soul, while cameras only reflect outward appearances. She created a collage to serve as a cover page for each piece that I wrote down. Recently, as I pondered the lineup of songs and solos we had recorded over the years, it dawned on me that we had at least partially filled the melodic hiatus in the outward soundtrack of our own lives. Even mediocre movies are accompanied by background music, which gives audible expression to what the protagonists are experiencing in their souls. Often I had remarked upon exiting a performance empowered by a musical score, that the lives of ordinary people are anything but ordinary, and that all deserve to be accompanied in their daily lives by the New York Philharmonic. JUST IMAGINE THE LIFT THAT SUCH A BACKUP WOULD LEND TO ONE'S SELF-ESTEEM -- AND THE IMPETUS FOR BEAUTY TO DISPLACE UGLINESS! The chapters of this book discuss the setting or motivation which lead me to express its essence in music. The sheet music itself then rounds out the chapter. The author is not a professional musician, but has hopefully recorded in each case enough for others to perform and expand upon.
About the Author: Dr. Eldon G. Lytle received his MA and PhD degrees from BYU and the University of Illinois (Champain/Urbana), respectively, specializing in languages and linguistic theory. Work conducted in the area of `structural derivation in Russian' (his dissertation topic) led him to develop junction grammar, a model of language which challenged the incumbent paradigm (transformational grammar). Owing to the ability of the model to provide plausible representations for many linguistic structures not formerly understood, it quickly became the vehicle for novel approaches to problems in Natural Language Processing, including machine translation and computerized evaluation of written products. During the 1970's, junction grammar served as the basis for successful experiments in language pedagogy at the LDS Language Training Mission of Provo, Utah, and in the Nebo and Cache Valley school districts of northern Utah. A third application of the model was made abroad by the International Linguistics Foundation of Sau Paulo, Brazil, a commercial enterprise specializing in English instruction for foreigners. In subsequent work during the 1980s, Dr. Lytle utilized junction grammar as a frame of reference for WordMAP, the first computer software writing-aids ensemble designed specifically for linguistic testing, sublanguage analysis, especially as it applies to the analysis and comparison of holy writ. In conjunction with this endeavor, Dr. Lytle designed and coded JGPL (a linguistic pattern matching language) and LEX, a lexical decomposition language. Subsequently, Dr. Lytle joined forces with The Educational Testing Service (ETS) of Princeton, N.J. to successfully simulate the holistic scoring of English papers using his WordMAP software. Dr. Lytle was founder and director of BYU's Translation Sciences Institute during his tenure there (1968-1980) and subsequently co-founder of Automated Language Processing Systems (ALPS) of Provo, Utah. Dr. Lytle is currently the principal owner of Linguistic Technologies, Inc., a Nevada corporation specializing in the refinement of linguistic theory and pioneering novel approaches to Natural Language Processing deriving from theoretical innovation. Dr. Lytle has served intermittently as a consultant for diverse commercial enterprises. He has most recently assisted Perfect Search Corporation of Provo, Utah and its endeavor to both accelerate and improve the accuracy of internet search.