Awkard Hymns for Pianist: Saved, Saved!
In my opinion, “Saved, Saved!” is one of the most awkward hymns to play for the church pianist.
It pays to have large hands for this song! Lots of octave spreads! But…there IS an art to playing repetitive octaves in a relaxed touch…making it easier on the hand. (I learned this art by playing classical music with lots of octave action!)
Classical music helps to develop SO many technical moves which can aid the church pianist in hymn playing. (another post!)
To be honest…I leave out a lot of melody on this particular hymn when accompanying the congregation…freeing up the hand to provide more of a supportive accompaniment and to prevent awkward hand movements.
I didn’t stray too far from the melody in this version to prevent church pianists from getting disoriented. (Hee hee) Want a challenge? I’ll have to share the FUN version another time.
I will share a couple of tips via video soon for the following free pdf of “Saved, Saved!” (congregational accompaniment: verse excerpt)
Click here to download “Saved, Saved!” congregational accompaniment excerpt
Who wants the FUN version sampler? (VERY advanced)
Tags: awkward hymns for church pianist, church pianist, congregational accompaniment, saved saved
I do! I would like a FUN version sampler of “Saved! Saved!”. It sounds very interesting.
I’d LOVE to see the fun one!!
I want the fun version!!
Do you have any tips for how a small hand pianist can play octave runs with a relaxed hand? I can play octave runs, but I can’t play them very fast and I find it difficult if not impossible to keep my hand relaxed since an octave stretches my hand as far as it will go. The more I learn and the more I try to arrange, the more frustrated I get with my small hands! 🙂
Good question Ashley!
I’m assuming you’re referring to the octave runs in measures 24,28 and 29.
I don’t have small hands so it’s hard for me to relate but I do have one suggestion to try:
Allow the hand to follow each note as you play them and not stretch the hand too far in advance…causing tightness in the hand.
It is also possible to stretch small hands with “Mild” stretching exercises which you can find described online. I have found this to be true from personal experience.
I don’t have small hands but still experienced the feeling of small hands when playing difficult moves such as a 10th in the left hand. I rolled them for a long time but over time…the “rolled” 10th became solid!
I found an inspiring article and video about a man with small hands and what he has done to overcome his limitations. I am getting ready to share it on my site 🙂
Thanks! Maybe something that would help you relate would be to try and play a run in 10ths. 🙂
I’d love to see the fun one.