| The Church Pianist |
| A help ministry for church pianists all over the world! |
“It is Well”, a favorite among many of us. I just had to share this uplifting video of my Dad leading “It is Well” for a group of Christian educator’s at a convention several years ago in Myrtle Beach, SC. Although you can’t see the crowd….you can tell they were singing from their hearts.
It was my honor to accompany Dad for the congregational singing and for his vocal solos. Dad really “feels” the music which you will notice in the video below.
My parents have always encouraged me to serve the Lord through music. For that, I am truly grateful.
I wrote this ladies’ trio arrangement of “The Love of God” back in 2011. My younger son’s brother-in-laws sang it for his wedding.
So… I guess ladies or men can sing this one 🙂
Recently, I came across a sampling of the following video on face book…shared by the president of Ambassador Baptist College.
They were generous to supply me with the entire video which I’m sharing below. The ladies from the college did an excellent job! (So did the pianist) 🙂
I’m making another one of my sacred piano arrangements, “He Hideth My Soul” from the “Funeral Collection” available as a single arrangement.
At least several of my sacred piano solos from my “Funeral Collection” are sold separately.
Recently while on vacation, I recorded four more songs from my Funeral Collection: He Hideth My Soul, Sweet by and by Medley, Trusting Jesus Medley and Wonderful Peace.
Here’e the recording of “He Hideth My Soul”
Enjoyed recording this new wedding song “Hearts Forever Joined” during our vacation this past weekend.
Suggested use: during the prelude to a wedding or after the recessional.
I guess you could say this is my first non-lyric tune to write. Words may come at a later date but wanted to make
it available as prelude or postlude music for a wedding.
We tried our best to create the right balance of (background sound with piano but the river was too overbearing) 😉
Last year’s recording was a little easier because the water wasn’t as busy as this place. I still enjoyed the backdrop!
I think we’ve all been guilty of rushing busy passages in piano arrangements. The brain computes…”lots of notes….I must go fast!”
When in reality, a lot of these passages are meant to be handled a bit slower than what appears on the page.
Take time to “feel” the music…breathing life into the piece!
One of my readers recently asked for ideas on left hand octave chord patterns. This is just one of many patterns possible!
I started with a fairly easy one and will share another pattern when able. Sorry for this quick-thrown-together video due to time restraints.
I’m preparing to help out my Mom after she has same day surgery on her knee. Much going on but I will try to at least share quick tips or such for at least the next month…then maybe the dust will settle by then ;).
I loved writing this arrangement because I wrote how I felt like expressing it at the time. When I try to structure my pieces…it sometimes stifles my creativity.
But….structure is also good because it makes the piece more playable…without awkward leaps and such.
I have SO many favorite hymns and “There is a Fountain” is on that list!
I tried to depict an overflowing fountain in the beginning and ended with a different twist…still sounding as a fountain.
This piece is geared to the early to moderately advanced church pianist. The entire arrangement stays in the key of C but contains a lot of full chords.
I came across some beautiful CD’s a few years ago that I just love to play for a relaxing background at home.
The two CDs I have are “Springtime Reflections” and “Peaceful Praise”.
One day, I looked up the arranger online and to my pleasure…I found the arrangements were also available in sheet music!
Dave Combs, the publisher, generously mailed me copies of Gary’s books so that I could share sound samples with my readers.
You can find the following books from the video below at www.combsmusic.com
They also have free sound samples and sheet music samples HERE
Special note: “Inspirational Treasures” shown on the left below, contains the song “Beneath the Cross” (excerpt in video) and makes a nice Easter special.