| The Church Pianist |
| A help ministry for church pianists all over the world! |
Hmm…are scales THAT important? It’s nothing more than finger exercises…right?!
How can the church pianist possibly benefit from playing scales?!
Do hymns even utilize scales?
In the next article… I will share why I think it’s important for every church pianist to master the scales. While I’m at it…I’ll share ways to make scale playing more enjoyable.
Looking forward to this next article!
Accompanying the vocalist is so different from playing for congregational singing. For the most part, a steady rhythm is maintained for congregational singing.
Not so for accompanying the vocalist. I would encourage all church pianists to sing along mentally as you play. Doing so will prevent the pianist from rushing the vocalist. So many vocalists over the years have expressed their concern over pianists that rush their singing…not allowing them time to breathe and freely interpret the hymn. It’s so easy to do! Think about it…the pianist doesn’t have to physically breathe at the end of a sentence…so he or she just moves right along…forgetting that the poor vocalist would like to breathe! I know…I’ve been guilty many times of this very thing 🙂
Just focus on the message of the hymn and allow the singer to lead you. I understand some vocalists feel more comfortable following the pianist. Please encourage them to take the lead once they have learned the song; allowing them more freedom of interpretation.
In the future, I hope to provide a video with helpful tips for accompanying the vocalist.
“In the Garden” is such a peaceful; reflective hymn. I don’t hear it used much anymore. This free piano arrangement of “In the Garden” (part one) shares some accompaniment ideas for the church pianist.
Editor notes for “In the Garden”(Part One) Accompaniment
As an accompanist, it’s not necessary for me to play the melody for every word…maybe just a few here and there to give the soloist (whether vocal or instrumental) some support.
I start with melody for the first several words and then ease into more of an accompaniment style. By measure three, I’m really into a free-style…just staying within the chord frame and being creative.
Notice how the accompaniment flows freely into each new chord change. In other words…it’s best to maintain a smooth transition from one chord to the next for this particular hymn…producing a peaceful mood.
In measure 8…most soloists will slow down on the word “discloses”. The piano accompaniment can still maintain a steady but slower flow through the ritard.
I look forward to sharing the chorus of “In the Garden” in part two of this free piano arrangement.
As church pianists, we could use some inexpensive, creative
ideas for offertories, right?
Did you know you can use a piano arrangement written for
a vocalist to accompany say…a violin or flute solo?
Or…use a piano accompaniment written for one of these instru-
ments to accompany a vocalist.
Not too long ago…I shared a free vocal arrangement of
“Haven of Rest”. One of my church pianist readers used it
to accompany her sister, who plays violin.
It turned out so nice that I decided to share this offertory
idea with you… with their video. Links to music included below the video.
Haven of Rest part one
Haven of Rest part two
Haven of Rest part three
Some hymns can be tricky for the church pianist when accompanying congregational singing. One such hymn is “Christ the Lord is Risen Today”. This hymn has a busy rhythm! Trying to play every note or word will cause a sluggish tempo or overworked tone.
The remedy…don’t play every note/word. The church pianist’s main concern is to play/outline the main beats of whatever time signature is represented. “Christ the Lord is Risen Today” is written in 4/4 time. Therefore…play on beats one, two, three and four (no in between beats are necessary). Adding a few in between beats here and there does add spice to the music though.
Since hymns sung during congregational singing are usually familar…I will stray from the melody here and there to add spice; encouraging the audience to sing with even more fervency! Simply lose yourself in the meaning of the words to bring out creativity you didn’t think existed! I’m always exhausted after playing for congregational singing…feels like I’ve run a marathon:)
To help your creativity…I’ll provide an excerpt from the congregational arrangement of “Christ the Lord is Risen Today”.
Editor notes for today’s excerpt: I transferred alot of the action to my left hand; where it was easier to add eighth note stepping octaves for spice. Occasionally I added sixteenth or grace notes to the right hand to keep it alive.(The full arrangement contains these right hand additions.)
The complete congregational arrangement of “Christ the Lord is Risen Today” is available in the music store.
Special Discount offer on this arrangement through the end of March.
Do you struggle when trying to play a choir arrangement for the first time?
You’re not alone. I remember in my younger years…taking all the choir music home with me and learning the pieces real well.
Sighteading can benefit the church pianist in many ways!
The more you sightread…the easier it becomes to read music.
My piano teachers advised me to sightread music within my reading capablity. Why? So I would feel comfortable wading through a song that I had never seen before…which would increase my confidence. It worked!
Always look at the following things in an arrangement before playing for the first time:
1. Time signature
2. Key signature
3. Tricky rhythms
4. Accidentals
5. Now…play the piece at a slow tempo; allowing your brain to compute what’s on the page 🙂
6. Try to look at the music as much as possible while playing…only looking down for awkward moves.
Try sightreading at least two songs a day well within your reading ability. Remember…it must be songs you’ve never played before.
The hymnal would be a good place to start for those at the intermediate level. (Example: Faber Lesson Book 3B)
If someone were to ask me if I practiced piano like I should…I would have to say, “Unfortunately…no.”
The older I get…the less motivated I am to practice. Anyone else have this problem or would admit to it? “smile”
I hear this confession quite often from other composers. We spend so much time writing that we don’t take time to just sit and play.
What really motivates me…is getting with other piano friends and playing duets and duos.
I find myself wanting to sharpen my sightreading and technique skills.
A piano friend of mine and I are planning to meet once a month starting in January. We plan to do alot of sightreading.
I’m also planning to play a concert in the spring with another one of my piano friends to keep me on my toes.
Playing for a smaller church requires shorter offertories. The majority of the challenging arrangements I’ve learned through the years are too long for our offerings. I find myself just playing something from the hymnal most of the time.
Playing simple offertories from the hymnal is fine but I need a challenge every now and then… so occasionally, I’ll play a longer arrangement.
Click each song title below to see the short offertories available on this site…
Let the Lower Lights Be Burning
My Saviour First of All (I Shall Know Him)
Feel free to share some of your own motivating practice tips by clicking on “comments” below.
Sincerely,
Jenifer
All pianists want their playing to sound smooth. How you use the pedal can make a huge difference!
In this youtube video, I’ll demonstrate the use of a pedal technique that I call the “pedal flutter technique”. Hope it’s a help to some of you.
