Thinking about Dad a lot lately. He’s been in heaven a little over a year now. (June 2)

I will always remember how Dad sang with gusto not only in his vocal solos but also while leading the congregational singing.
He truly felt the music.

The following tip is for church pianists who accompany vocal or instrumental solos. This pertains to soloists who are comfortable “taking the lead”.

It’s helpful to slow down prior to a fermata or slower section for emphasis.  Also, I try to keep the music moving forward during a held word to keep the music alive.  Basically,  FEEL the music with the soloist to give he or she the best “behind the scenes” support.  Remember to constantly monitor your accompaniment volume so as not to drown out the singer or instrumentalist. Have someone sit out toward the back of the auditorium during practice… to check volume between pianist and soloist.

Here’s Dad directing the congregational singing at the South Carolina Association of Christian Schools 50th Teacher Convention in 2017. The second video is me accompanying Dad.

For those who purchased my advanced piano arrangement for “One Day”.

Here are several tips that may help as you practice this piece for Easter.

Here’s a free arrangement of Christ Arose for the early intermediate church pianist.

Most hymnals offer this  Easter hymn in the key of C Major.  I’ve provided this arrangement in a lower key…B flat major.

This early intermediate piano arrangement was written for one of my students who is the church pianist for her church.

Just click the following link to print this arrangement:

CHRIST AROSE (early intermediate congregational arrangement)

Please play the following video to hear the update on the advanced piano solo for “One Day”.

Just thought I would show you a peek of Allissa, one of my piano students, who I’m training to be a church pianist.

She is doing very well!  I write the songs for her to play at her level so she can already be getting “hands on” experience before she’s even playing out the hymnal. She has been doing some reading from the church hymnal.

In the following raw video…Allissa is practicing with a young girl’s group while the choir loft is being decorated for this Wednesday night’s annual Christmas play by the kids of our church.  Looking forward to the program!  Our youth Pastor’s wife writes a play for each year!  She is very talented!

February 28, 2024  Update:

I am working on a “FREEBIE” for “What a Friend We Have in Jesus”  congregational style.  (Not intended for piano solo since it’s accompaniment style) Download it HERE

Our church LOVES to sing What a Friend We Have in Jesus!  As I was playing for them to sing last night, I thought, “I could just download and capture that part of our service and use it as a teaching tool.

So…You’ll have to listen to the two clips below and notice the instructions embedded in the clips.   These fill-in tips are only meant to be suggestions.

I know each church pianist has their own version of fillers but I thought I’d share a couple for you all to grab by ear.  Of course not every church pianist plays by ear so….I can create up to several of these fillers in written form once I hear from you all.  Please leave your fill-in requests below in the comment section so I can start creating a few in print for you!  🙂

Ah!  I’m hearing you all now!  I will see what I can do about sharing some of these fill-ins for “What a Friend We Have in Jesus”

I’m assuming most of you play this song in F Major…..right?

I’m almost finished with a tutorial showing how to add sixteenth note runs to hymns.  (For the late intermediate pianist and beyond)

This particular tutorial will deal with adding runs to congregational accompaniment.

There will be five pages of examples for this particular run in various keys, time signatures and different hymn excerpts.

Each example will not only show the run application but will also share a graceful way to work out of the run.

This Sixteenth Note Run tutorial will be available in my online store asap.

I’ll publish a brief you tube commercial before publication.

For adequate preparation on my part….What questions do you have about playing runs in hymns or what difficulties do you face when playing runs etc.?   Thanks in advance for any feedback!

For those wanting more written examples… I’m sharing two more visuals of right hand runs using sixteenth notes.

Runs add a nice driving force to the music and creates energy if played correctly 🙂

Tip:

Emphasize the 1st note in each sixteenth note group for a more shapely sound.  Emphasizing every note can sound mechanical.

In my earlier days of being church pianist, I would often rush a run.  It’s so easy for our fingers to speed too much when viewing a sea of black notes  that need to occur in a brief moment!  I had to  make myself slowly practice the run and count the main beats as I conquered the sea of notes in front of me. In time the run sounded like it fit!  Just remember….not all runs mean “super fast!”

Click on the following title to download free pdf with two more examples of this right hand run:

 MORE RIGHT HAND RUNS

Do you want to add spice to your congregational playing  or playing for  the choir?

As promised…I will be sharing more right hand run examples tomorrow.

For those just stopping by….click on the following link to see the 1st examples of a right hand run using sixteenth notes.

Right Hand Run: Using Sixteenth Notes

Here’s a sampling of a right hand run idea for the hymn, “The Lily of the Valley” ,,,using sixteenth notes.

I’ll be glad to share a couple more examples using this run idea if you find this helpful.

Please comment below if you would like a few more examples.

See editor notes at the bottom of this image. Click on song title above for free printable of this music.