Sorry I’m a little slow at posting any new arrangements. I just returned from being out of town this past week (Saturday through Thursday).
My Dad is facing surgery mid-November so I may not be posting too much in November. His surgery is the week of Thanksgiving…would appreciate your prayers.
Here’s a new early intermediate level Christmas piano solo. Yes, it’s available for FREE when purchasing my new book “My Redeemer and Friend”.
Click on my book title in above sentence for promo details.
I will upload a sample audio for this arrangement… asap by this evening. This arrangement of “What Child is This?” is patterned after my advanced piano solo version.
Early intermediate Christmas piano solo, 4 pgs.
Enjoy playing this very flowing arrangement loaded with lush chording.
*This arrangement is patterned after the advanced piano solo version.
I’ve entered the Holiday Arranging Contest once again with Sheet Music Plus. My arrangement submission is “Manger Medley”…a moderately advanced piece.The contest selling period is October 30th through December 14th, 2018. The arranger who sells the most copies during October 30th through December 14th…receives $300 and advertisement exposure. When I won first place with my last entry…I used the money to attend the Atlanta Composer’s Symposium where I go each year for composer’s rejuvenation 🙂 (My book with Lorenz was a direct result from attending this Symposium) Thanks to my readers who made that possible! 🙂
Now to offer a special promotional offer for this new piece! Details below:
Those who purchase the sheet music for this piece from Sheet Music Plus during October 30 thru December 14, 2018….will receive two free piano solo arrangements of your choice from my online website store.
Anyone purchasing this arrangement on Sheet Music Plus site AFTER the above promotional period…can choose one free piano solo arrangement from my site up through December 30, 2018
*Must provide proof of purchase & email it to jenifer@thechurchpianist.com
*Reminder: Promotional period is Oct 30th thru December 14th, 2018
*Special note: I have two different promotionals going on soon. 1st promotional is for this Christmas arrangement of “Manger Medley” and the second one is for my Lorenz book “My Redeemer & Friend” Click HERE to see book promotional details.
What a touching story behind the writing of “What a Friend We Have in Jesus”. I had never heard it until today.
Wow! What a heart breaking story about the author…yet…his love for Christ grew stronger…watch to see what it took to bring “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” to pass…Click here for free piano arrangement of“What a Friend We Have in Jesus”
Nothing but the Blood of Jesus uses only two chords through the entire song! (The I and V)
This hymn is crying out for “dress-ups” from the church pianist.
Here’s several ideas I use to dress up the verse of “Nothing but the Blood”.
Notice the melody of the verse contains a lot of repeated notes. A great time to add some spice! 🙂 You can even hold a right chord through repeated notes here and there. You’ll notice I kept the left hand moving during the right hand chords to maintain forward motion/rhythmic drive. The following example can be used for an entire verse if repeated.
While playing Leaning on the Everlasting Arms for congregational this morning…the thought occurred to me to share one of my fill-in ideas I usually use for the last chorus. This particular hymn needs lots of dress-up to bring it to life!
Some of you pianists may not like “going off the grid” so the first line is for you. The second line is for those who like to venture out in space 😉
Hope all of you are having a wonderful Sunday worshiping the Lord with your church family.
The following example is taken from the first line of the chorus.
I never really noticed the time signature change in “Just When I Need Him Most” until today.
We sang this at our church last night for a congregational and the people REALLY enjoyed singing it. The words are so comforting!
It’s just one of those seasons at our church where there’s a lot of physical needs and such a song reminds us of Jesus’ ever-present help 🙂
We sang this song in a prayerful mood with a slow walking speed so I had time to add left hand flowing patterns similar to the following free pdf of “Just When I Need Him Most”.
Most importantly, notice the key change at the chorus….but the flow will still be pretty much the same 🙂 I actually changed to 6/8 timing one measure earlier than the hymnal shows… because it felt more natural to not hold as long before entering the chorus.
Maybe this will help a beginning church pianist to see what fill-ins could be used for a slow to medium hymn in 6/8 or 9/8 timing… such as my arrangement of “I Must Tell Jesus”.
Warning: This arrangement is NOT intended for piano solo use… due to missing melody notes at the beginning of the chorus…unless of course you know how to add them in 😉
Modulating between hymns during a prelude or other background music event can create a seamless presentation.
The absence of this art makes for a disjointed sound when going from hymn to hymn. (unless of course the songs are in the same key) 🙂
Ah….but just because the songs are in identical keys doesn’t mean the songs will always sound seamless without some type of transition. (another lesson!)
Every church pianist should try and learn the art of modulation to the best of his or her ability…in small bits at at time. For starters, learn to modulate between songs with same time signature as I have provided below. (The modulations will feel/flow a little different in 3/4 time versus 4/4 time.)
Below is a free pdf showing how to modulate up a fifth using the chord formula: ii7 to V7 of the new key. I’ve also shared a list of these two chords in the keys found on the free pdf of modulations.
“The Sands of Time are Sinking” dates back to the 19th century. Anne Cousin, the daughter of a doctor and later the wife of a Pastor, wrote this hymn based on letters and deathbed sayings of another Pastor name Samuel Rutherford. The original hymn had nineteen verses! Anne was careful to not copy Samuel’s words verbatim. She used poetic images of her own to replace some of Samuel’s sayings.
Anne’s purpose of this hymn was to show the “beautiful Christian reflection on death and what comes after, and on the beauty of the Savior.” Kevin White
What a beautiful hymn to use for a funeral service. Someone in the recent past asked if I knew of a piano arrangement for this song. My online search yielded no results. The individual needed the song pronto…so in a few spare minutes….I jotted this arrangement down and provided the person with the following hymn.
Maybe other church pianists can make use of this free hymn for a funeral service or general worship.
