I love to sing “Amazing Grace”! It reminds me of when I accepted Christ as my Saviour at the age of 29.
A quick tip for church pianists on how to enrich congregational singing…
1. Start in a lower key. The congregation sings out better in lower keys…especially if you have a congregation like ours that mainly sings melody.
2. Modulate up a half or whole step higher on the final verse.
In the following video…we started in E flat major and ended in F Major.
The church pianist CAN add zest to congregational singing! Learn to play a hymn in different keys for added enrichment.
I will attempt to write out Amazing Grace in a user-friendly version for congregational piano accompaniment within the next two weeks and share for FREE! (transposed verse will be included)
Here is the remainder of the free congregational piano arrangement… “I Love to Tell the Story”.
I enjoy playing for congregational singing because that’s when I can “go outside the box” and play more than just melody.
Having a knowledge of chord theory opens the door for so much creativity! For example…in measure #12…I knew the chord for the measure was a B Major chord…so I just added moving 3rds in the right hand for a fill-in. I used the same idea again in measure #18.
I’ll point out one more neat idea in measure #22. Notice the half note octave “A” in the left hand. An “a” minor chord can replace a C Major chord because they both have two notes in common….”C and E”.
A “G” from a “C” chord also fits in an “a” minor 7th chord. Now if you know your theory….that will make sense. Note members for the “a” minor 7th = ACEG
I challenge all church pianists to brush up on their scales and chord theory. I found an excellent, practical music theory book that has been so helpful to me. Stay tuned…for my next article on this VERY easy-to-understand book!
“I Love to Tell the Story” has always been a favorite of mine. The story to this wonderful hymn can be found at cyberhymnal.org. This particular hymn came from a rather long poem. The first part of the poem contained at least fifty stanzas!
I’m sharing a free congregational piano arrangement of “I Love to Tell the Story” for the advanced church pianist. This free arrangement contains a lot of full chords which is necessary for supporting congregational singing.
I apologize for not posting as often but circumstances haven’t allowed me to do so. I always hearing from my readers. Thanks so much for your encouragement! I love to hear how the site has been a help to you. That’s what keeps me going
Since believing on Jesus Christ at the age of 29…I can truly say: “Blessed Assurance Jesus is Mine”. This became one of my favorite hymns after becoming a Christian.
Shortly after being saved I arranged an offertory that included: “Blessed Assurance, Saved by the Blood and Since Jesus Came Into My Heart”. I will have to write it out in my (ha ha) spare time.
This free sacred piano arrangement of “Blessed Assurance” is a result of preparing several of our own soon-to-be church pianists to play for congregational singing. We now have a rotational schedule for our intermediate to advanced pianists to allow them to play for our congregational singing. It’s exciting to see them gain experience to better equip them for serving the Lord.
As I’ve mentioned before…the church pianist can deviate from the melody as long as the congregation knows the song real well. You’ll notice the “missing melody” here and there in the free congregational piano arrangement of “All Hail the Power”. The audio contains the piano accompaniment and the melody line.
We like to change keys to add extra life to the congregational singing The key change in this arrangement does add an extra measure so it would require a quick practice with pianist and song leader before trying it with the congregation.
Most of the key changes we use in congregational singing move right into the last verse without hesitation.
Church Pianist Tip:
*This free congregational piano arrangement may also be used to accompany a trumpet solo.
Piano introductions play a vital role in the music of the church service. Listen to the following audios and decide for yourself which one better prepares the congregation to enter with confidence.
Why are piano introductions so important? I plan on answering this question and sharing several introduction examples from commonly used hymns in the next article on piano introductions for congregational singing.
I enjoy playing for congregational singing. It takes alot of energy too! It’s important for the church pianist to play loud enough to support the singers…giving them a sense of security to sing out even more.
Today’s tip on congregational singing involves “keeping the tempo alive” between the verses. In general, most songleaders do not slow down too much between the verses of a hymn when leading congregational singing. It’s the pianist’s responsibility to keep the rhythm alive and steady when transitioning into another verse.
In many cases, the last word of a hymn requires very little fill-in movement. For example, the hymn “Redeemed” needs a bare minumum of fill-in music before plowing into the next verse. Listen….”Redeemed” audio example.
Other hymns, such as “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” may require more fill-in notes because the last word of this hymn is held up to 4 counts. Here is where I use one of my favorite transition fill-ins. In the following audio sample…you will hear the last phrase followed by the transition into the next verse. “What a Friend” audio example Special note: You will see this example when you click the link for the free handout for today’s article.
Remember to maintain a steady tempo during the fill-in between the verses to keep the tempo alive.
The most demanding but enjoyable playing for me as a church pianist is accompanying the congregational singing.
The church pianist plays (no pun intended) a vital role in the congregational singing. Maintaining a steady tempo throughout a hymn is extremely important.
Over the years, church pianists have asked me what to play in between verses during congregational singing to prevent a stop and go scenario. A very good question! I’ll attempt to answer this question in this week’s upcoming article.
