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One of my readers recently requested that I maybe share some fill-in ideas for Calvary Covers it All.
Unfortunately, this hymn is still under copyright so I can only legally share a portion of the hymn.
This particular hymn holds a word for five counts in four different places and then six beats for the final word.
Below, are some fill-in ideas for the verse of “Calvary Covers it All”.
Here’s a quick tip that would make any church pianist sound much fuller when playing from the hymnal.
When improvising from the hymnal, the pianist can make the hymn sound fuller by playing 4 note chords in the right hand….allowing more space for the left hand to improvise.
“Like a River Glorious” is a great hymn to apply this idea…since the rhythm isn’t real busy…making it easier to maneuver.
The first two measures in the example below demonstrates the standard five-part style hymnplaying (3 notes in the right hand and 2 notes in the left hand).
The final two measures show the right hand playing an octave higher to allow room for the 4-note style in the right hand. One of my teachers from years back taught me the idea of playing a phrase in one general area and then gradually climbing back down or up (whichever the case may be) for variety.
Next time, I’ll show you a fun way the right hand can climb back down to the middle of the piano for the next phrase of “Like a River Glorious”.
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This free organ arrangement of “Amazing Grace” for unison congregation or choir goes with the piano arrangement of “Amazing Grace” which I recently published for FREE.
Please understand…I am not an organist and it’s my very first attempt at writing an organ arrangement!
I’m glad one of my readers pointed out the need for organists needing the same arrangement in order to prevent chord clashes…an excellent observation! Our church doesn’t have an organ…just two pianos (one being a digital).
I thoroughly enjoyed creating this organ arrangement!
Click here to download FREE organ arrangement of “Amazing Grace”
Amazing Grace: Complete Audio
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I honestly had to think REALLY hard to come up with some FRESH ideas…considering this particular hymn uses only three different chords…G, C, and D. (I wrote this in mind for congregational singing).
The following free pdf of “Wonderful Words of Life” contains ideas for one verse. The vocal score (melody only) is included as a guide for the church pianist.
Our church sings this hymn at a fairly peppy tempo…making for a simple, straightforward accompaniment. Adding too many notes to a fast tempo… would tend to drag the speed.
I will provide an audio below for the suggested speed of this piano accompaniment…when my computer and I can get along.
Special note: A slower tempo of this hymn would allow the pianist to add even more fill-ins! (another lesson)
Click here to download: Free Improvising Ideas for Wonderful Words of Life (one verse)
Church pianists find it an extra challenge when accompanying vocalists singing wordy hymns. Hymns such as: In the Garden, Wonderful Peace, Fill My Cup Lord,God Leads Us Along and No One Ever Cared for Me Like Jesus.
These wordy hymns are most effective when sung or played in a more conversational tone to avoid a mechanical reading style often heard in young ones when they are first learning to read. How to achieve a more conversational sound?
In 4/4 time…beats one and three are naturally stressed. Emphasizing these particular beats results in a more shapely tone…making the message flow in a more conversational tone.
Listen to the two accompaniment style excerpts in the video below to determine which style sounds more conversational.
“No One Ever Cared for Me Like Jesus”
*Editor notes:
Accompaniment pattern #1: I basically played every word of the song.
Accompaniment style #2: I used quarter note chords here and there to break up the repeated eighth note patterns..allowing the singer more ebb and flow of rhythm.
Special note: I sang the excerpt(s) in A Major on the video (due to my vocal range but the free pdf is a half step higher in B flat Major.
I would have loved to share the entire song…but this particular hymn is copyrighted. The “fair use” law allows me to share a small portion of a copyrighted song for educational purposes only.
This has been a very difficult week. One of my piano students I’ve been mentoring to be a church pianist passed away this week…very unexpectedly. Please pray for the family.
I’ve managed to prepare a “free accompaniment” idea for Heaven Came Down. This particular hymn contains a mundane bass line..making it a challenge for the average church pianist to create an interesting accompaniment. What to do? You have to play what’s not there Easy said…but a challenge to do right? For that reason, I’m sharing a free accompaniment idea that can be used for the verse of this hymn.
I”m limited on what I can share because this hymn is still under copyright. Therefore, I can only share a small portion for educational purposes only…(called the “fair use” law). Just use the same accompaniment idea to finish out the verse. I would tend to use this accompaniment idea ONLY if the congregation is secure with their voice parts…whatever that may be. Most of our congregation sings melody.
Click here to download Heaven-Came-Down-congregational-idea
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”.
Tip: The accompaniment may also be used to accompany a vocal solo
*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.
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