Tech Forum

CAN YOU HELP SAVE MY VOICE?
One of the effects of Parkinson’s disease, which I am fighting, is the possible loss of vocal muscle strength: one’s voice gets very weak. Exercise is the only real deterrent. Since I live alone, entire days can go by without my speaking aloud. Now that church meetings are suspended, I don’t even get the chance to sing and greet others in that venue. Other social distancing due to coronavirus makes my isolation even more complete.
I love to sing while I work around the house, but I need encouragement to do so. I could stop what I’m doing and bring up singalong hymns on my iPad – but it’s awkward to have to stop and set up the iPad. What would really help is if I could ask my Google home mini to play LDS Hymns. Then I could sing along much more often, anytime I thought about it.
Ideally the hymns would include the words being sung and all of the regular verses. It would be best if they were up to tempo: the sing-along app on my iPad is really slow, which doesn’t help my throat muscles as much.
I know the hymns are available, but don’t know how to get my Google home mini to find and play them. Thanks for any help you can provide.
Doc

Normally the google home mini is the small round speaker with no video. Are you using the google speaker with the attached display? I have several home mini devices, the nest hub max, and IPad. I haven’t tried doing what you’re describing, but I’d like to help you. I want to make sure I have a good understanding of your setup. Are you wanting to hear the words and music on the smart speaker and read the words off the iPad when needed?

I have three home minis in different rooms of the house. They are just the round, gray speakers with no video or display attached. My IPad is totally separate. I don't need to read the words as I know most of them -- at least when cued by hearing the ongoing hymn being sung. I just need to hear the words and music on the smart speaker. Thanks for anything you can do to help!
Doc

There's a Google Assistant action being tested called Gospel Voice (it's being tested on Alexa as well). It doesn't have all of the hymns on demand, but you can ask it to play the Tabernacle Choir stream from the Latter-day Saints Channel.

Thank you for your research. I tried calling up Gospel Voice and got a very contemporary version of "Joyful Joyful, Joyful" which is in someone's hymnbook, but not mine. I can pull up TabCATS, but they don't always sing hymns and when they do, the arrangements aren't always sing-along friendly. I'm really encouraged that we can ask Gospel Voice for a particular scripture or talk. Maybe soon we'll be able to ask for a specific hymn. (And wouldn't that also be helpful for groups that have no pianist -- when we get to meet again.)
I appreciate you looking into this.
Doc

The Gospel Voice add-on seems to have officially been released, recently. You might try using it again: https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.or ... exa-google

I've only tried it with Alexa (Amazon's virtual assistant), mostly on an Echo Show. You can say stuff like this:

* Alexa, enable Gospel Voice (you only need to do that once, unless you disable it)
* Alexa, ask Gospel Voice to play hymn #62.
* Alexa, ask Gospel Voice to play 'Now Let Us Rejoice'.

I can't get it to play 'Covered Wagons' from the Children's Songbook, though, but it'll do other songs from it that I've tried, by title. It's too bad they aren't numbered. It seems to think I'm looking for a talk.

It plays Covered Wagons, now. Thanks whoever fixed it.

Here's how to play Children's Songbook songs by page number!

All you do is say,

'Alexa, ask Gospel Voice to play page 118.'

And it'll play Book of Mormon Stories.

or

'Alexa, ask Gospel Voice to play page 23b.'

And it'll play Heavenly Father, While I Pray.

You don't have to mention that it's from the Children's Songbook.