The Church Pianist » Funerals

Finally Home in a Lower Key

Jenifer Cook — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 01:58:15 +0000

Recently, a friend of mine was searching for “Finally Home” by Don Wyrtzen in a lower key to sing for a funeral. I was able to point him to MusicNotes.Com

MusicNotes.Com is an online music store specializing in downloadable sheet music. They have over 200,000 songs in downloadable format and over 260,000 music books. If you subscribe to their weekly email newsletter…you’ll receive coupons! All you have to provide is your email address and a password. Prices for their sheet music are fairly reasonable for the convenience of having the music pronto!

A great feature I absolutely love is being able to choose a lower key for the song I want to order…especially for vocal music.

Finally Home is one of those songs with a very wide note range…making it a challenge to sing for the average soloist. The last line of the song contains the highest note of this beautiful song. Not everyone feels comfortable trying to hit this note…so…there is a solution…sing the alternate notes…E flat to C. (shown below on the word “glory”).

*Tip: I would recommend the key of F major for bass soloists.

Free Piano Arrangement: All Hail the Power (page one)

Jenifer Cook — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 00:58:02 +0000

I enjoy playing and singing “All Hail the Power”. The church pianist must add lots of fullness to this majestic hymn to portray the mood of the text.

Just picture it…God is on His throne and scores of angels are bowed down before Him. A huge choir is singing “All hail the power of Jesus’ name! Let angels prostrate fall…”

I think the words as I play this wonderful hymn. The melody and text are a great match!

Ingredients for Majestic Hymns

Lots of left hand octaves for fullness and energy

Full chords in right hand

Occasional dotted rhythm…adding extra zest!

Click here to download page one of All Hail the Power

The Church Pianist: Playing for Funerals

Jenifer Cook — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:22:29 +0000

Funerals are not easy for any of us. Death has visited our church family twice in the last two weeks…both very unexpected. I’m just thankful that both men knew the Lord.

I’ll just share some thoughts with you on playing for funerals.

Think about the mood of music needed for this occasion. For me…I want to play hymns that soothe the broken hearts of many people.

Varying the speed of hymns adds a nice touch. I try not to play too many slow hymns in a row… to avoid a sense of despair. In my mind, I’m trying to encourage the family that is so overwhelmed with sorrow. I want to remind them that God cares… and their loved one is in heaven (if that loved one had asked Jesus into their heart).

Here’s a list of hymns I would play before the funeral starts. Maybe this will help those of you who have a hard time deciding what to play for a funeral.

What a Friend We Have in Jesus

Blessed Assurance

Jesus is the Sweetest Name I Know

He Hideth My Soul

Does Jesus Care?

God Leads Us Along

Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus

Simply Trusting

It is Well

Wonderful Peace

My Saviour First of All

Draw Ne Nearer

Near to the Heart of God

Blessed Quietness

In the Sweet By and By

There’s Just Something About That Name

Zion’s Hill

Beulah Land

How_Beautiful_Heaven_Must_Be page one

How Beautiful Heaven Must Be page two

*Click on the underlined hymns above for a free piano solo arrangement.

Ever notice how it’s the old hymns of faith that soothe our hearts during such times of need? I thank the Lord for such a strong heritage of music.

Playing for a funeral is just another way for the church pianist to minister to the hearts of his or her church family.