Robert was prone to wander like all of us as revealed in the words “…prone to wander Lord I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love;” But then his request of  renewed devotion “Here’s my heart, O take and seal it, Seal it for Thy courts above.”

For those that have wandered about the meaning of “Ebenezer” in verse two….”Here I raise mine Ebenezer…”   Ebenezer means “stone of help”.

Click on song title below to download a free ladies’ two part acapella arrangement. I’ve offered the arrangement in two different keys.

Come Thou Fount (ladies’ two part) *acapella arrangement in B flat (lower key)

Come Thou Fount (ladies’ two part) *acapella arrangement  in C Major

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My Mom

When you think of Mother’s Day songs…you think of songs that offer tribute to Mothers, right?

Well, why not consider songs of devotion to God that can be sung by a group of ladies or female solo? As mothers, we constantly strive to live a godly life. Why not sing about that devotion?

Here are a few suggestions for ladies’ ensemble: (Click on each song title to view music)

1.  The Shepherd Psalm by John Carter (Hope Publishing Co.)

Audio 

2.  A Tender Heart by Ron Hamilton (Majesty Music)  Also available in: Patch the Pirate Praises 1

Audio for A Tender Heart

3.  By the Gentle Waters by Cindy Berry     Audio for Gentle Waters

(SATB  arrangement but beautiful words and melody; could be sung unison)

4.  Take My Heart by Roger Summers

5.  Be Thou My Vision (traditional; from hymnal) *Add flute melody in background for easy dressup

6.  Come Thou Fount (traditional; from hymnal) *I have a ladies’ two part acappella arrangement of this song to hopefully publish by the weekend.

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What a challenge to write this out by ear!  I played this spontaneous piano arrangement at our local nursing home several years ago…posted the video… and began receiving requests for the music in print.

Keep in mind, I played this straight from my heart “free style”. Therefore, the style of writing is not as structured like the majority of my arrangements. I did my best to stay true to the youtube version.

My favorite part of this arrangement is when I suddenly get soft on the second verse during the words “…then I shall bow…” and then build in excitement on the words “…and there proclaim, my God how GREAT Thou art!”

Thanks again to all who encouraged me to write this advanced piano arrangement of “How Great Thou Art”!  (downloadable only)

How Great Thou Art (NEW!)

Advanced sacred piano solo, 4 pgs. *Audio not included. *See youtube link below.

Price: $3.95

Youtube link of “How Great Thou Art”

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After publishing a video of me playing “How Great Thou Art” in a nursing home…I began receiving requests on youtube and my website for a copy of this arrangement.  The funny thing about this arrangement…it was spontaneous.

After at least two years in the make (on and off–during this time frame)…I am about to put the finishing touches on this arrangement. It will be available by March 15th !  I will offer it at a special price for the first two weeks after publication.

Keep in mind…the arrangement of “How Great Thou Art” won’t be exact note for note as played but…will be VERY close It took me about 20 minutes to re-create about 3 measures at a time.  I would watch my youtube video by the piano and pause ALOT to write what I heard.  Fun! Fun!  Actually, it was alot of fun.  Sure stretched me!

Thanks to all who encouraged me to write this arrangement of “How Great Thou Art”.

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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

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As I viewed part two of Christmas at Home highlights…these thoughts came to mind:

The drama and music tips found in the back of the cantata book were very helpful. For example:  Possible seating and microphone arrangement for stage.  Another great tip: “Whenever the readers are seated, their heads should be bowed. This signifies that they are “out of scene”.  (My thoughts: this also keeps the readers from being a distraction while the choir sings).

I almost forgot to mention…we chose not to  sing two of the songs in the cantata because they were more suited for a larger choir.

Notice how transitional/background music can be effective (around 8:20 on this video) * This transitional music is not in the cantata book.  I just made it up to cover a spot while the singing quartet returned to the choir.

One last reminder…this video contains only highlights of the  cantata.  The video presents a portion of the songs and drama to give you an overall  taste of this “down-to-earth” drama packed with a strong salvation message.  There wasn’t a dry eye in the auditorium when we finished this heart-gripping story.   A special thanks to Majesty Music for allowing us to share these highlights of Christmas at Home.

We look forward to learning and improving as we seek to share God’s message through music. The more prepared we can be…the more effective our music ministry will be for God’s glory.

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Majesty Music has granted us special permission to post these highlights on youtube.

About two-thirds of our choir do not read music.  Also, several of us have about a 40 minute commute to church making for shorter rehearsals. Therefore, we simplified the music to two parts or unison.  Initially, I was to coach the speaking cast… but our other pianist’s husband had to have serious surgery…making it necessary for me to play piano in the beginning rehearsals.  I thought the speaking cast did a superb job in spite of the circumstances.

I’ll share one of our stage secrets…one of our playcast members wrote their lines on a card and stuck them to a stage prop for security.  It worked great

Enjoy watching part one of Christmas at Home (highlights)…

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It’s so important to have a recap/planning session after performing a Christmas program or any program for that matter. What better time then while it’s still fresh on your mind…to take notes on ways to improve or solve other issues, making for an even better program for next year.

I’ve been taking notes while editing the video of our Christmas program. I’ll share these tips/ideas with you in hopes of helping other church pianists like myself, who help coordinate the plays/programs for their church.

Christmas Program Recap Notes

*Start Early! (start early enough to compensate for missed practices due to revivals or other already scheduled meetings that require extra preparedness for the choir.)

*Did everyone have their cues in order for things to run smoothly? (Sound crew & videographer needs a script to operate efficiently.)

*Have Pastor make necessary announcements before the program to alleviate unecessary distractions during the cantata.

*Video camera should be in a place WELL ABOVE the congregation…such as the balcony…to avoid people getting in way of camera…which can block the view of the performance.  Our whole purpose for videoing is to capture memories and to give the choir a chance to truly experience the program as a whole.  The video also gives us something to view after the fact to see how to improve.

*Final rehearsal should be scheduled the last Saturday before the Sunday performance.  The final Sunday’s rehearsal (the day of the program) should be a brief walk-through of the entire program…allowing ample time before the service begins for choir/cast members to refresh themselves.  *Suggestion: Maybe the church could provide some drinks and light snack food for the choir during this short  time of refreshment

We all need to strive to do our very best to effectively communicate God’s message of salvation whether it be through music or drama.

Colossians 3:23 “And whatsoever ye do, do it HEARTILY, as to the Lord, and not unto men.”  …Then everything falls into place

I do plan to post highlights of our entire Christmas program once the editing process is complete.

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Shelley Roberts, one of my students, played it this year for the Christmas recital.

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An upcoming young musician, Joshua Harrison, contacted me a while back  about previewing his piano arrangement book entitled: “Christmas Inspirations”. Joshua’s desire is that the Lord be glorified through his playing which is refreshing to hear…especially from a young gentleman

The book consists of nine  Christmas carols as follows:

Joy To The World!
Silent Night
Hark! the Herald Angels Sing!
The First Noel
Away In A Manger
O Little Town Of Bethlehem
Angels We Have Heard On High
O Come All Ye Faithful
I Heard the Bells On Christmas Day

Most of the arrangements are a page and a half and a couple are longer  in length…making for a nice collection of short offertories or recital pieces for students.

After clicking on following link…you must click on individual song titles  to hear sample of each song…not the book cover picture.

Click here to listen to audios of Joshua’s book entitled: Christmas Inspirations

Joshua has generously offered to give away one copy of his Christmas book (pdf format).  Simply leave a comment below to enter the drawing.  Leave a separate comment if you share the link to this article on facebook or your personal blog…allowing your name to be entered twice!

The drawing will be held on December 19th at 10pm EST

The winner will receive his or her free downloadable pdf copy of “Christmas Inspirations” by email from the author of the book: Joshua Harrsion

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