| The Church Pianist |
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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”.
Playing for funerals is not the easiest task for a church pianist; especially if the deceased person was a close friend. Over the past year, I’ve had to play at several funerals of people I knew very well.
God has given me the grace to make it through these funeral services. I like to play songs that comfort the family as well as myself. I avoid too slow of a tempo on purpose…making it less of a sad tone and more bearable for the family. Hymns with a medium tempo/mood such as Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus, He Hideth My Soul and Like a River Glorious are a few of what I call comforting tunes to play at such a time. Check out my piano funeral collection consisting of about 18 minutes playing time.
Several readers have emailed me lately asking for funeral tips.
Automatically I think of the prelude (music played before the funeral). The length of the prelude can vary according to many factors. For example, the last funeral I played for took place at a funeral home. The family of the deceased person had many relatives that attended the viewing across the hall from the chapel. The funeral home provided music over their intercom system during the viewing time. We worked it out for me to start playing the prelude once the people started entering the chapel which was about twenty minutes prior to the service.
Playing for a funeral at a church can vary depending on if the viewing is held at the church or not. At our church, the sound man provides soft taped music in the background during the viewing and sometimes a little longer prior to the service; to avoid having me play for an extended period of time. The background music is just a collection of suitable recorded instrumental music from our church services. I usually begin playing about 15 to 20 minutes before the service.
Unless you all do things differently, the immediate family members start filing into the area of the funeral service right before time to start the service. This is one of the most emotional times of the funeral. I make sure I continue providing music during this difficult time to avoid an awkward time of silence. I finish playing when I see the last member of the family being seated or when the pastor looks at me and steps up to the pulpit to let me know he’s ready…whichever comes first.
Once again, at the end of the service, I begin playing when the family begins to exit and continue until the majority of the crowd disperses.
Some pianists have asked me where to expect the soloist(s) to sing. Depending on the order of service, the special music can be placed just about anywhere. Here are the different places I’ve seen vocal specials during a service: at the beginning after family members are seated, after an initial welcome and remarks from pastor, after pastor’s message, after a prayer, for the conclusion of the service (especially if it was a favorite song of the deceased person).
Playing for a funeral service is the church pianist’s opportunity to minister to both family and friends during a difficult time through God’s gift of music.
“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 🙂
I’ve got to organize my music! Currently, all of my music is stashed away in our front living room closet in a two drawer file cabinet and several boxes. I plan to replace the boxes with two plastic drawer carts from Walmart.
I will store my piano books in the two-drawer file cabinet due to their heavier weight. The sheet music will be filed away in the plastic drawer carts.
I’ve also thought about filing my own arrangements (sheet music) in labeled notebooks by category such as: Christmas, Wedding, Offertories, Preludes, Vocal Solos, etc.)
What storage ideas can you share that would help the rest of us? Feel free to share your comments at the bottom of this article and I will post them as I see them come to my email inbox.
I do like the pocket storage idea that Laura Lowe, author of Lowe Piano Studio, shared on her blog. Since my piano studio is in the living room…I would probably hang the pocket storage in my closet along with my music.
Joy Morin of Color in My Piano Blog also has a great idea with a simple bookshelf…
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
You need to have the Audio Player Plugin installed to use this shortcode
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)