Meaningful, musical messages for any occasion!

Say it with a song

Stay connected to your friends and loved ones, even if you can’t see them in person - tell me all about them, and I’ll create a custom a cappella song especially for them, so you can send your love wherever it needs to go, anywhere in the world.

I can create the perfect musical message for any person, group, or occasion you want: birthdays, holidays, farewells, weddings, anniversaries, baby showers, graduations, new jobs, Mother’s Day, Father’s day, underscoring for a video, or just to brighten someone’s day.

A parody song commissioned for the publishing platform Ghost, (https://ghost.org/), and all open source maintainers everywhere. Contains swearing (2:22-end).

A unique and meaningful gift

  • Can’t be there for someone’s birthday?

    I’ll write a song about how amazing they are and your favourite memories of them!

  • Saying farewell to a friend who’s moving on?

    A sorrowful parting ditty, or a rousing tune of new adventures to come!

  • Wedding, anniversary or Valentine’s gift?

    A personalised love song all about how the couple met and their story together!

  • Celebrating the arrival of a brand new human?

    A custom lullaby to soothe a sleepless child (or amuse a sleepless parent)!

“Alix, the brains and lungs behind Greeting Chords, helped me celebrate a close friend’s birthday in 2020. Being able to send a personalised song meant the world as we weren’t able to be together for the occasion. The process was easy and Alix wove the song lyrics together from my brain dump of memories and anecdotes. I definitely recommend a Greeting Chords present to make or enhance a special occasion!”

- Claire

“We commissioned a Greeting Chord during 2020 Covid-19 Lockdown. A warm and heartfelt Christmas Carol sung to our Friends and Family with our words was quickly arranged for preview within a week. We were so delighted with the outcome. Alix is clearly a professional opera singer committed to her craft. Her a cappella rendition was, as most commented, a very 21st-Century greeting card. It gave people an overwhelming feeling of a song made just for them from us.

I would highly recommend 'Greeting Chords' for anybody wishing to send a message in song. Greatly appreciated.”

- Diana and Ross

“My best friend absolutely loved her Greeting Chord! Alix perfectly translated all my notes and memories into a funny, meaningful celebration of our friendship. I'm so glad I chose a Greeting Chord, it was the best gift I could possibly have given to someone who means the world to me, but is impossible to buy gifts for. The whole process was super simple, and the final video was even better than I could have imagined.”

- Tamsin

FAQs

  • I can certainly try! I’m also a writer and editor, so I have plenty of practice figuring out what to say and how to say it. If you’re feeling unsure about what you’d like to convey in your Greeting Chord, by all means get in contact with me and I’ll do my best to help.

  • Greeting Chords are my own original a cappella arrangements of songs that exist in the public domain under Australian copyright law. I have a soft spot for ragtime, so Scott Joplin and James Scott get a lot of airtime in my head and in my work.

  • Usually between 1 and 2 minutes. If you have a specific length in mind, let me know and I’ll see what I can do!

  • Probably not, I’m afraid - I can’t use anything that is currently under copyright according to Australian law (regardless of where the material was originally published).

  • It starts with you! Once you’ve sent me a message, I’ll get in contact with you to confirm details and answer any questions you might have. When I receive your deposit, I’ll get to work!

    I start by reading through all the information you’ve given me to get a feel for what kind of music would be appropriate, and then I go hunting for something that suits. Once I’ve found the right sound, I start arranging the music for an a cappella quartet (SSAA). Then I start on the lyrics. I choose and arrange the music first, because I prefer to let the melody line dictate the structure and rhyme scheme of the lyrics. When I’m happy with the lyrics, I start rehearsing and recording, one part at a time, until everything comes together. After that, all that’s left is a basic edit to make sure everything sounds polished and correct, and then I send it all off to you!

  • The more, the better! I may not end up using all of it, but I read everything you give me, and all of it helps me figure out what sort of song to create. If you have specific words or phrases you’d like me to use, great! If you don’t, no worries - whatever you can give me will do, and if I need more information, I’ll ask.

    Don’t stress about sounding silly or strange or rude - I’m not judging. Often the tiniest details are the ones that stand out the most - in the words of [Judge John Hodgman](https://maximumfun.org/podcasts/judge-john-hodgman/), specificity is the soul of narrative.

  • Short answer:

    If there’s a good chance that it might hurt someone, I’m not comfortable singing it.

    Long answer:

    Swearing is fine (it forms an important part of my self-care routine), but slurs are not. The message is from you, but the voice is from me - something that’s totally fine between close friends might sound *very* different coming from me. Generally, if it’s something you wouldn’t like to hear from a stranger, please don’t ask me to sing it to someone.

    In the end, I reserve the right to refuse any material that I find distasteful or unsavoury. However, having said all that, if what you’ve sent me includes something I’m not comfortable singing, that’s something I’ll bring up when confirming details with you, before any deposit has been transferred. If we find ourselves truly unable to proceed, no harm done!