| The Church Pianist |
| A help ministry for church pianists all over the world! |
Received a request from a church pianist just yesterday for this piano solo arrangement of He Hideth My Soul.
This free piano arrangement can be used as a short offertory or prelude special.
I will provide this song in two different keys 🙂
He Hideth My Soul in D Flat Major
He Hideth My Soul in C Major
Most church pianists find it a challenge to dress-up hymns such as “O How I Love Jesus”. This particular hymn mainly consists of only two different chords the I and V chords)… with an occasional ii chord.
So…how to be creative with a hymn containing minimal chord changes? I’m glad you asked! 🙂
(I’m currently working on a congregational piano arrangement book for church pianists that need more than the hymnal to play from.)
“O How I Love Jesus” is one of the ones I’m working on now. The complete arrangement will have two verses. Click below to download the first verse of “O How I Love Jesus” FREE!
Hopefully, the following free congregational arrangement will spark some creative ideas of your own.
*Special note: The congregational hymns in my book will be in lower keys than the regular hymnal…making the hymns more singer-friendly.
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”.
If you read the previous article on “Like a River Glorious” then the following will make sense.
I’m sharing a way that the right hand can climb back down the ladder after playing an octave higher during the first sentence of “Like a River Glorious”.
To read the previous article, click HERE.
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”.
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.
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.
Since I’ve been sick all this week…I’ve had a little spare time to write music. One of my music writing projects has been to write a piano arrangement of the traditional “Wedding March” recessional. (This is the march that is played at the end of the wedding)
There’s nothing wrong with the traditional arrangement. I’m just ready for a change. The last few times I played this song… it sounded so repetitive. If I could just add some different chords and melody twists.
It’s a challenge to draw this song to a close at just the right moment. I always work out my escape hatch (premature ending) in advance for short weddings. (I’ll share alternate repeats and endings in the finished arrangement).
I decided to google piano arrangements for the “Wedding March”. What a variety of styles! I heard everything from slow romantic to party time renditions of this traditional tune. It made me think…”What mood am I trying to create?” I think…Happy! Yeah! I’m married! Joyful!
Therefore… a happy, joyful, triumphant mood…right? So, I’m trying to add some spice to the already traditional “Wedding March” but not overdo it… or my changes will sound out of place/out of character.
This upcoming arrangement of the “Wedding March” will be available for sale very soon. I will offer the arrangement at a discount for a limited time.
Click here to see new arrangement of “Wedding March”