If you have been a church pianist for very long or played in different churches as church pianist…then you may have run across this scenario…”playing for an inexperienced leader”.

The intention of this article is not meant to minimize the willingness and faithfulness of the inexperienced leader but rather to give constructive pointers to church pianists on how to deal with such a situation.

My dad, who was my first leader to follow,  emphasized to me the importance of the pianist following the leader.  I’m thankful for his teaching and preparing me for my role as church pianist.  He was the best teacher!

Over time, through experience…I have learned there are exceptions to rules 🙂

I have had to play for at least several different leaders in various situations who  just didn’t know “how” to lead and were doing the best they could.  Not all of them were non-musical people either.  I’ve had the joy of helping some of those leaders along…ONLY because of having a trusting relationship with them; giving me the liberty to do so.

I’ve found it necessary to “lead” as a pianist in some cases IF it was the only way to keep everyone singing together at the same tempo.

On occasion, when a lay person in our church has had to  substitute  for our regular leader…he will ask me before the service… to help him during congregational singing by keeping things moving since he’s not comfortable with leading.

The following video (taken from the 2013 Wild’s Music Conference) contains more discussion about this topic of “The Experienced Church Pianist vs. The Inexperienced Leader.”

My favorite quotes from the video:

“Part of our role is… we’re support, we’re ministry, we’re behind-the-scenes…serving and helping someone else try to do their job effectively…part of the philosophy of being a good church pianist.”  

 ~   ~   Faye Lopez   ~   ~

“You can infuse the service with energy and vitality in the singing…from the keyboard.” 

~   ~   Duane Ream   ~   ~

Enjoy the following brief… yet informative video on:

“The Experienced Church Pianist vs. The Inexperienced Leader”

Just thought I’d share a very informal video shooting of my latest choir/congregational arrangement of “It is Well”.

It was a last minute decision to video the choir and didn’t have a tripod….so excuse the shaky quality.

At least you can get a rough idea of how the arrangement sounds.

The end is kind of funny because our Pastor thought we were done BEFORE we were done.  He had us sing it again because he liked it so much AND because he wanted to hear the end without interruption:)

It just so happened that the first recording was our best.

I appreciate all of our choir members taking the time to attend choir practice each week.  They are a blessing!

I created this SATB choir arrangement of “A Glorious Church” just to have an easy one on hand. Our 30 minute choir rehearsals limit us on how much material we can cover. So…this arrangement came in handy!

I would eventually like to create a collection of easy choir arrangements like this.

Special note: I was short on time when I created the piano score for this arrangement…so I left out the men’s part.  The choir vocal score contains all the parts.

Click on the song titles below to download your FREE arrangement of this unison choir hymn.

A Glorious Church (choir vocal score)

I am VERY excited about this arrangement!  This particular arrangement has been in the making since December but took plenty of time to refine it before sharing the finished product.

It is Well takes on a whole new meaning to those who have heard the story behind the writing of this hymn.

Click on the following link to read about the heart-rending events that led to the writing of “It is Well”.  Only by God’s grace…this song was born.

It is Well

Easy SATB choir with congregation arrangement. 8 pgs. *Price covers multiple copies
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Price: $8.00

Enjoyed tweeking this free unison choir arrangement of “‘Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus”.I wrote it sometime ago  for one of our pianists to play for choir while I was out of town.

One improvising tip to take note of  (no pun intended)…is when I left out the melody here and there in the piano score.

Most of the time this occurred was when the melody note was an eighth note…making for a smoother form of playing for the church pianist. Skipping a quick melody note in the piano accompaniment is similar to the “understood you” in a sentence.  You know what’s implied even though you don’t hear it.  😉

I just played it straight through without repeats. (two verses and choruses)

Click on audio below to hear the entire free unison choir arrangement of “Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus”

Click here to download: “Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus”

Tip:  This choir arrangement can also be used as a vocal solo.

I’m re-organizing my music at home and came across a simple unison choir arrangement of “Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus”.

I wrote it for one of our pianists to play for choir while I was out of town a good while ago.  This particular pianist was probably an early intermediate at the time and needed something basic to accompany the choir for this particular hymn.

I hope to share this free arrangement with you tomorrow..IF we still have power…in the middle of a snowstorm!  (You can also use this free choir arrangement as a vocal solo too).

I’m very excited about publishing “When I Looked Up to the Cross”, sacred vocal solo by my dad, Reece Yandle.

This is our family favorite.  My youngest son had this song sung at his senior graduation.

You will enjoy this uplifting melody with a salvation emphasis!  The video below was recorded before the written arrangement and differs slightly… but will give the listener the writer’s intended interpretation of the song….especially since the writer himself is singing in this video 🙂  Thanks dad for allowing God to use you through this song!

I’m excited to offer to you a wonderful mission/revival song  from the heart of Lynndale Hardeman.

Lynndale has written other songs as well that we plan to publish in the future.

I believe this is our church’s favorite choir piece!  The soul-stirring message of this SAB choir special will bless all who hear and sing it!

“…can God redeem a sinner…yes He can!”

“…can God revive a Christan…yes He can!”

“…can God restore a nation…yes He can!”

God Can

Trio or SAB sacred choir arrangement, 9 pgs. *Price covers 10 or more copies See video link below to hear our choir sing this arrangement. The written piano score is similar to the video. I played the arrangement by ear on the video.

Price: $8.00

I have posted audios for  my piano solo arrangements of Amazing Grace & Saviour Like a Shepherd (from the Funeral Collection).. on youtube.

Several of my readers have asked if I could post all of  the  arrangements from my Funeral Collection on youtube.  I will do so as time permits. Thanks for your interest!

These arrangements can also be used as offertories, vocal solos or violin specials! Saviour Like a Shepherd would also be appropriate for a wedding 😉

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.

Oh-How-I-Love-Jesus-one-verse

*Special note: The congregational hymns in my book will be in lower keys than the regular hymnal…making the hymns more singer-friendly.