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”).

©  Copyright 1997 by Majesty Music, Inc. (Majesty Hymnal)

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

*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.

Count Your Blessings

Advanced piano accompaniment for congregational singing; 5 & 1/2 pgs. Two verses & choruses.

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Price: $3.75

Here is the rest of the free piano arrangement of “Blessed Assurance”. The complete arrangement contains two verses and choruses.  The second verse is actually arranged for the last verse of “Blessed Assurance”.

Explanation of my note on page three:  “Watch the director closely here”  is meant for the final verse.  Of course the church pianist should watch the director through the entire song but especially where a slow down occurs. Many directors begin to broaden the tempo at this part of the hymn…making it easier for the church pianist to throw in some busy note passages such as you see in the right hand on the words: “Sa-viour” and “long”.   Adding extra notes helps to maintain a  steady tempo during slower sections.

Click here for free sacred piano arrangement of “Blessed Assurance” page two and three

Click here for “Blessed Assurance” page one

Keep in mind…every church sings a different tempo…making the accompaniment feel SO different.

Blessed Assurance audio: 

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Just thought I’d share a cute special from our recent revival with Dwight Smith family.

My dad just told me about a reputable website that sells used church choir music.  I was SO excited to find out about The MusicLibrary.com!

This site sells used music for churches that are trying to get rid of music they no longer use.

For the last several weeks I have been brainstorming…trying to figure out what to do this year for our church Christmas program.   I checked out TheMusicLibrary.com and found enough books for the “Christmas at Home” cantata by Ron Hamilton…reasonably priced!

Our books should arrive next Friday just in time to start learning the songs on Sunday, September 18th.  The music in Christmas at Home are SATB arrangements.  Our choir is mainly a two part choir but getting use to three parts now… due to new choir members   (Praise the Lord)

We are going to simplify the songs by singing unison on some and two parts on other songs.”Christmas at Home” is one of my favorite cantatas because of the strong emphasis on salvation.  This is an excellent cantata to bring unsaved family and friends to.

So…if you’re looking for Christmas program material or music in general…check out TheMusicLibrary.com

Trying to figure out what to play for piano introductions can be tricky at times for church pianists.

The previous article entitled: Piano Introductions (part two) provided a piano introduction of “Wonderful Words of Life” using only the verse.  Sometimes it works better just to use the starting and ending phrase of a verse. Other times, the entire first line of the verse works well for the introduction.

Always remember to end the introduction with the one (I) chord for the key you’re using. For example, if the song is in C major…make sure you end on a C major chord to provide a “finished” sound.  Otherwise, you’ll have everybody guessing when to enter.

There are times when a V 7 chord works well at the end of an introduction or during the invitation when you’re providing background music and you’re in the middle of a phrase and need to end on a chord that makes sense before the congregation starts to sing…but I will cover that at another time.  SO much to talk about! 

In today’s example, you’ll notice a fairly, easy piano introduction for “Count Your Blessings”. The faster the hymn, the less frills the church pianist has time to play

Click here for: Piano Introductions: Part Two (second example)

Have you discovered how it doesn’t always work to play the first and last phrase of a hymn for an introduction? A lot of church pianists have been asking me for help in the area of piano introductions.

Sometimes it works to just use phrases from the verse for the whole  introduction.  In today’s example, I share two ways of playing an introduction for “Wonderful Words of Life”.  Decide which example sounds best to you.  I prefer the first example because the melody follows a more logical flow as opposed to the second introduction.

Click here for: Piano Introductions (part two)

I do plan to share more introduction tips and examples!

Click here for: Piano Introductions (part one)

It’s true…there is no friend like Jesus   The words to “No Not One” are a blessing to me but I like to dress up the accompaniment to bring the text to life.

I’m sharing another simple congregational  accompaniment for “No Not One” (verse only).  I like to alter the melody for variety and sometimes I’ll chord in place of the melody to avoid a “ploddy” tone or maybe for easier hand movement.

Click here to download: No Not One Example #2

Measure #1

Right hand: beat two and three (altered melody) Just played a stepwise movement contrary to the melody…adding a nice contrast in sound.  Beat four: played a G inverted quarter note chord in place of two eight notes for the words “is so”.  Why? Easier hand movement leading into the next chord of measure #2

Measure #2:

Right hand: beat one and two (played half note chord in place of two quarter notes for word: “lowly”.  The melody notes for this word belong in the C chord so the C chord fit nicely.

Measure $3:

I transferred the improvised (eighth note idea) from the right hand to the left hand for this second verse. To see verse one example, click on the link at the bottom of this page.

Measure #8:

Where’s the melody?!     It’s ok to wander away from the melody here and there to add  extra spice!  How do I come up with this idea? Well,  first off…I know my chord structure for that measure which is…G chord, D7chord and back to a G chord for words: “No, not one!”  I basically used a stepwise movement that included stepping tones within a G chord to a D chord and ended on a G chord. Now…for a challenge…try to apply this same improvising idea to another song.

Hmmm….I need to create another article to illustrate HOW to apply this last improvising idea to other hymns with similar structure.  Once you apply an idea to several hymns…you will find yourself feeling more confident and you’ll begin to  implement this idea into your own hymnplaying

 Click here to see Example #1 for “No Not One” simple congregational accompaniment

Click here: God of Our Fathers  (print music and view  while reading the information below)

As promised, here is part two of “God of Our Fathers”.  I used dotted rhythm in measures # 9, 12 and 14 to liven up the accompaniment.

The busy left hand octave movement was also added to give this hymn some driving motion as in measures #11, 12, 15 and 17.  (Also in the  right hand on measure #14)

This free arrangement of God of Our Fathers can also be used as a short patriotic offertory or for congregational piano accompaniment.

God of Our Fathers part one

Complete audio of “God of Our Fathers”  (computer-generated)

Click here to download and print part one of “God of Our Fathers”

“God of Our Fathers” is a wonderful hymn to sing anytime of year, but especially around July 4th. This stately hymn reminds Christians of God as their leader. 

In part one of today’s free arrangement of “God of Our Fathers” I tried to portray the majestic mood of the text by solid octave movement in the left hand and full chords in the right hand. 

The introduction (trumpet fanfare) was doubled (both hands) for a fuller sound.  The octave higher treatment gave it a brighter tone.

In measure five, I added a light touch of syncopation to the left hand  for text enrichment.  The words for this measure speak of God’s  ”…almighty hand”.

Congregational singing plays such an important role in the worship service.   As a church pianist, I try to play with enthusiasm, since I represent the Lord in all I do.  I want others to know that I truly believe the words of the great hymns of faith as I play them for God’s glory.

To be honest, I don’t always feel energetic on a Sunday morning when I’ve had maybe a couple hours of sleep… but God is good. He gives me just enough energy to make it through. I’ve found I do better during those times.  I think it’s because I’m relying more on His help…as I should ALWAYS do

Part two of “God of Our Father’s” will take us up an octave as we prepare for the climax of this great hymn.  Looking forward to sharing the rest!

Click here to read the story behind “God of Our Fathers”