Hmmm…accompaning vocalists…what a responsiblilty we have as church pianists to support the singer; allowing them to take the lead. 

Our job as a pianist is to provide a nice backdrop of sound to enhance the singer’s message. This is an area I would like to expound upon…at a later time:)

Until then….the following tips for accompanying the vocalist makes a nice start.

I came across this practical, informative article today on Sheryl Welles’ Notable Music Studio blog. The article addresses the importance of learning to accompany the vocalist.  Laura Lowe of  The Piano Studio, authored this practical advice on accompanying.

Article: Teaching Well-Rounded Musicians

Improving Ideas for Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne (part two)

The improvising ideas in this hymn are simplistic but are meant to add warmth to enhance the beautiful words of this old melody.

Improvising ideas for Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne: part one

*Keep in mind…the chords in the piano score will not match the four parts from the hymnal version.

I have compiled several of my free Christmas piano arrangements under the ” Free Hymns Pdf” page for easier access. 

 Most church pianists are gearing up for Christmas; searching out Christmas piano arrangements. Hope these free arrangements are a help to your music ministry.

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.

I thought I would share a free audio for my free piano hymn arrangement of “In the Garden”.  It always helps me to hear the original audio of an arrangement so I can hear what the composer intended for interpretation.

“In the Garden” part one free arrangement

“In the Garden” part two free arrangement

The free audio should help give you an idea of the general tempo throughout this free arrangement.

Here is part two of the free piano hymn arrangement “In the Garden”.

This piano arrangment of “In the Garden” illustrates how the church pianist can deviate from the melody quite a bit when accompanying a vocal soloist or instrumentalist such as a violin or flute.

“In the Garden” Part One

Audio of entire arrangement: In the Garden

“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.

complete free audio HERE

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.

“In the Garden” part one

 “In the Garden” part two

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

Just finished playing for a creation conference here this week. Due to limited time, I’m sharing a sacred vocal solo by my dad, Reece Yandle.   He wrote this song several years ago entitled “When I Looked Up to the Cross”.  

The following songs  by Reece Yandle, have been published by Soundforth.  Each of these songs are included in a book of sacred solos and or duets.

Who Will Go? (with a misson emphasis)

By the Grace of God

Nevertheless, Thy Will be Done

I recently added another one of dad’s songs, “Cleft of the Rock” to the music store.

Now…on to dad’s video of the sacred vocal solo…”When I Looked Up to the Cross”