Sometimes it’s refreshing to hear a simple offertory.  I like to be able to distinguish the melody when hearing an instrumental special. My son, and another gentleman in our church were suppose to play a guitar/harmonica offertory this past Sunday night. Unfortunately, they hadn’t had much time to practice.

They asked if I would play along on the piano with them for support. They wouldn’t be able to practice until Sunday evening before church during the time I had to practice with the vocal special for that night. So…I quickly wrote a simple piano accompaniment that Sunday afternoon and had my daughter-in-law practice with them that evening.  They did great for a last minute ensemble!

Here’s the video of them playing “In the Sweet By and By”.

Click here for free copy of the piano arrangement for this simple offertory  (including melody score for an instrument)

Tip: The accompaniment may also be used to accompany a vocal solo

All church pianists understand there are those hymns that just need a little dress-up to bring them to life!  One of those such hymns is When the Roll is Called Up Yonder. Why the need for a dress-up?  Because there are a lot of repeated chords throughout the entire hymn.  What can be done to make this hymn sound more interesting?  Replace the repetitive bass line with a simple improvising idea.

Click on the following song title to see this improvising idea put to use. The pattern can be seen in the first few measures.

When the Roll is Called Up Yonder (part of chorus)  Intermediate version

For those of you at a more advanced level..you’ll find a free sample below of what I would play to accompany congregational singing. (I transferred the stepping down pattern to the right hand for the first phrase of the chorus.

When the Roll is Called Up Yonder (part of chorus) Advanced version

*Click on image for a larger view

One of my favorite improvising ideas is adding contrast for an interesting sound.  The excerpt listed above is taken from the hymn “Count Your Blessings”. The phrase is the last sentence of the last verse.   This idea can be used on any of the verses at this point in song…but I like to save special effects like this for the final verse.

Here’s what helped me come up with the idea:  I knew that an A7 chord was the basic chord for the first two measures of this example. So… I played “stepping notes” within the A7 chord frame and entered into a D major chord on the syllable “jour-” and back to an A7 for “ney’s” and ended with a D chord on “end”.  The ascending notes in the piano score ran contrary to the melody in the vocal score…creating an energetic drive to the message of the song.

The complete arrangement of “Count Your Blessings” congregational style can be purchased below.

Count Your Blessings

Advanced piano accompaniment for congregational singing; 5 & 1/2 pgs. Two verses & choruses.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Price: $3.75

Since believing on Jesus Christ at the age of 29…I can truly say: “Blessed Assurance Jesus is Mine”.  This became one of my favorite hymns after becoming a Christian.

Shortly after being saved I arranged an offertory that included: “Blessed Assurance, Saved by the Blood and Since Jesus Came Into My Heart”.  I will have to write it out in my (ha ha) spare time.

This free sacred piano arrangement of “Blessed Assurance”  is a result of preparing several of our own soon-to-be church pianists to play for congregational singing.  We now have a rotational schedule for our intermediate to advanced pianists to allow them to play for our congregational singing.  It’s exciting to see them gain experience to better equip them for serving the Lord.

Click here for the free sacred piano arrangment of “Blessed Assurance” page one.

I’ll share the rest of this free arrangement in the next article.

The hymn “Count Your Blessings” carries a great message in song but contains frequent repetitive notes providing a rather plain accompaniment for the average church pianist

Free Improvising Ideas for Count Your Blessings (congregational style)

Key of D Major

1. Use alternate bass movement (see measure #2) LH beat one…I played an ‘A’ rather than ‘D’

2. Measure #1 and #5, beat one ( no need to play every word) when playing congregational style; allows more ease of movement for the pianist.

3. The four note RH chords provide support to the singers.

4. Measure #6, notice the contrary octave movement between the hands for variety.

    *Contrary movement between both hands always adds a nice touch of spice

Click here to download Free Improvising Ideas for Count Your Blessings (congregational style)

I was able to finish page two of “All Hail the Power” tonight even after a busy but good week of revival at our church.   I will try to share some music highlights of our week sometime soon.

In my next article…I ‘ll share editor notes along with an audio of this free piano arrangement for “All Hail the Power” congregational accompaniment.

Click here to download page two of “All Hail the Power” free congregational accompaniment piano arrangement.

Click here for page one of “All Hail the Power”

Due to a hectic but wonderful weekend…I’m sharing a free piano arrangement of “At the Cross”. I wrote this particular arrangement for one of my students who is preparing to be a church pianist. Our congregation usually sings unison…so the piano accompaniment contains chords that would not support the four-part style from most church hymnals.

You’ll notice it’s also in a different key…C Major.  She only had two weeks to learn the song before playing it in church. (She  filled in for me while I was out of town)

Hopefully some of you church pianists can make use of this arrangement.  You could also use it as accompaniment for a vocal solo or ensemble singing unison.

Click here to download your free piano arrangement of “At the Cross”

Trying to figure out what to play for piano introductions can be tricky at times for church pianists.

The previous article entitled: Piano Introductions (part two) provided a piano introduction of “Wonderful Words of Life” using only the verse.  Sometimes it works better just to use the starting and ending phrase of a verse. Other times, the entire first line of the verse works well for the introduction.

Always remember to end the introduction with the one (I) chord for the key you’re using. For example, if the song is in C major…make sure you end on a C major chord to provide a “finished” sound.  Otherwise, you’ll have everybody guessing when to enter.

There are times when a V 7 chord works well at the end of an introduction or during the invitation when you’re providing background music and you’re in the middle of a phrase and need to end on a chord that makes sense before the congregation starts to sing…but I will cover that at another time.  SO much to talk about! 

In today’s example, you’ll notice a fairly, easy piano introduction for “Count Your Blessings”. The faster the hymn, the less frills the church pianist has time to play

Click here for: Piano Introductions: Part Two (second example)

It’s true…there is no friend like Jesus   The words to “No Not One” are a blessing to me but I like to dress up the accompaniment to bring the text to life.

I’m sharing another simple congregational  accompaniment for “No Not One” (verse only).  I like to alter the melody for variety and sometimes I’ll chord in place of the melody to avoid a “ploddy” tone or maybe for easier hand movement.

Click here to download: No Not One Example #2

Measure #1

Right hand: beat two and three (altered melody) Just played a stepwise movement contrary to the melody…adding a nice contrast in sound.  Beat four: played a G inverted quarter note chord in place of two eight notes for the words “is so”.  Why? Easier hand movement leading into the next chord of measure #2

Measure #2:

Right hand: beat one and two (played half note chord in place of two quarter notes for word: “lowly”.  The melody notes for this word belong in the C chord so the C chord fit nicely.

Measure $3:

I transferred the improvised (eighth note idea) from the right hand to the left hand for this second verse. To see verse one example, click on the link at the bottom of this page.

Measure #8:

Where’s the melody?!     It’s ok to wander away from the melody here and there to add  extra spice!  How do I come up with this idea? Well,  first off…I know my chord structure for that measure which is…G chord, D7chord and back to a G chord for words: “No, not one!”  I basically used a stepwise movement that included stepping tones within a G chord to a D chord and ended on a G chord. Now…for a challenge…try to apply this same improvising idea to another song.

Hmmm….I need to create another article to illustrate HOW to apply this last improvising idea to other hymns with similar structure.  Once you apply an idea to several hymns…you will find yourself feeling more confident and you’ll begin to  implement this idea into your own hymnplaying

 Click here to see Example #1 for “No Not One” simple congregational accompaniment

As promised…I’m sharing hymn improvising ideas for “No Not One”.   I love the words to this hymn but it could use some dress-up by the church pianist to give it that extra zest!  In example #1, I’ve shared a simple accompaniment for verse one.  In upcoming articles, I’ll give more examples for this particular hymn.  As I think up improvising ideas for this hymn, I consider the text and try to enrich the message by adding appropriate accompaniment.

Click here to print “No Not One” Example #1

(refer to the printed copy as you view the following notes)

Editor notes for “No Not One” Example:

I only altered a chord on measure #5 by adding G minor 7 (F natural) in left hand on word “heal”.  This particular chord (G minor 7) provides a nice “leading into” sound as it moves into a C chord on the word “soul’s”.  Adding  minor 7ths to chords always adds a warmer sound.

Ever notice how the rhythm on words “Jesus” and dis “eases” feels awkward to your hands? The hands don’t seem to go together well on these spots.  You’re right!  Take note of how I played left hand during these areas.  I basically maintained a steady beat in the left hand while the right hand played the tricky rhythm.

Click here to hear audio of: “No Not One” example #1