| The Church Pianist |
| A help ministry for church pianists all over the world! |
“Christ Arose” is a very well-known hymn that most churches only use around Easter. We use this beautiful hymn periodically throughout the year as a reminder of Christ’s glorious resurrection.
Robert Lowry, a well-known hymn composer/preacher, wrote “Christ Arose”
Click on song title below to download your free congregational arrangement:
Christ Arose in A Flat (lower)
I had to write a few congregational arrangements in a hurry this week for a couple of our church pianists to play this Sunday. Since that took up the majority of my music writing time…I’ll share one of those arrangements with my readers tomorrow 🙂
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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Introducing…a free piano arrangement of Amazing Grace for unison choir or congregation. It’s nice to be able to sing parts but most congregations of small churches seem to sing unison.
Church pianists can enliven hymns such as Amazing Grace by playing with mucho enthusiasm! I understand not every church pianist knows how to improvise from the hymnal. It took a lot of practice for me to feel comfortable adding unseen notes while playing from the hymnal.
Improvising tip: Grab an improvising idea from someone else’s arrangement and try applying to a similar congregational hymn with same time signature.
Stick with that one idea for a while until it becomes natural to use…then on to the next improvising idea!
Hope you enjoy this arrangement. Since most people are very familiar with this hymn, I took more liberty with the piano accompaniment.
Warning: This arrangement does not support the four-part style in the hymnal.
Question from a reader:
I love these ideas but at my church both piano and organ play. I find it hard to take any liberties since I am not playing alone. Any suggestions for those of us who would love to add flare to hymns but still have to keep the organist in mind?
Answer: (at least for this arrangement) I will soon provide a free organ arrangement of this particular version of Amazing Grace.
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)
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)
A descant to melody is like a cherry on top of an ice cream sundae. Simply…an extra added touch to compliment the main course.
Hymn tune descants are counter-melodies, generally at a higher pitch than the main melody.
~ ~ ~ From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(I think of a descant as a melody within a melody).
The descant is most effective when used only on the final verse of a hymn…creating an exciting climax! Usually a soprano or several sopranos sing the descant. If you don’t have the voices to support the descant, a solo instrument such as a flute or trumpet can play the descant part. Sometimes the piano can carry the descant part as well.
What’s really neat is when the whole choir sings a descant part on the final verse of a congregational hymn.
The video below contains a violin solo accompanied by the piano. Listen for the piano playing a descant part on the first and second chorus.
(the following links may contain music not in accordance with this site but still includes appropriate music for worship)
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 🙂
Click here to download free piano arrangement of “I Love to Tell the Story” page one
I will post the remainder of this arrangement as soon as possible.
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.