The following free pdf of transposing examples will aid the church pianist in changing from one song to the next during prelude or for background invitationals.
Keep in mind, this free pdf only showcases the chord structure for transposing up a whole step. A more detailed visual sheet with moving notes will follow in the next article on transposing up a whole step to a different song or same song/different verse.
Editor notes for this free pdf of transposing examples:
Transposing up a whole steop
3/4 time signature hymns only
Four examples shown in: E flat Major, F Major, G Major and A Major (each key signature is a whole step apart…one letter name higher than previous key)
Click on the title below to download the chord structure chart for transposing up a whole step for hymns in 3/4 time.
At this point in time, I’m the only pianist at our church who plays for the special music. Looking forward to other pianists getting involved in this area as they become more comfortable with playing in the service.
Music can pile up REALLY fast without a place to call home. For the past several months, I’ve been using a six pocket binder that has proved VERY helpful and thought I’d share it with my readers.
I know this particular binder may not work for everyone but works great for my needs 🙂 (Binders with more than six pockets can be found on Walmart’s site)
Here’s a picture of my binder from Walmart.
Before watching this video…when you hear me mention “floppy disk”…that’s what our digital piano uses to play recordings.
Please feel free to share your own organization ideas that work for you!
I know this one took me a while but I’m especially picky with vocal arrangements…trying to get them just so for publication.
I’ll probably want to tweak it here and there over time but there’s a time where an artist’s creation must come to a close.
This particular song reminds me that my God is always watching over me. I don’t need to feel discouraged or troubled because God is my constant Friend and He cares for me!
I also plan to publish this in a lower key if there’s a need.
I just stumbled across this simple yet elegant; free piano arrangement when viewing my latest subscriptions of youtube videos.
Love to hear Suyun’s sacred piano videos on youtube 🙂 Thanks Suyun for making us aware of this free piano arrangement for Spirit of the Living God.
The free piano arrangement for Spirit of the Living God can be downloaded at Olive Huisman’s website. (you will find more free piano arrangements as well!)
A big thanks to Olive Huisman for sharing her piano arrangements for free!
Finished inputting “His Eye is on the Sparrow” (all 6 pages)
I would be to my parent’s house by now for Father’s Day weekend but truck in shop prevented the trip.
So…here I sit catching up on His Eye is on the Sparrow 🙂
This particular arrangement has a very full-sounding accompaniment style which means pretty advanced level.
Now for final editing stage. Here’s a sample from the piano/vocal arrangement for His Eye is on the Sparrow...(I used a flute for the vocal score in the recording)
Mina’s songbooks make the perfect resource for church pianists who play for vocal specials. The arrangements in the books are simplified and perfect for the church pianist who can improvise.
Mina’s songbooks can be purchased on her website at www.minao.com
Congregational playing if done properly, takes ALOT of energy!
Ever feel totally wiped out after congregational playing? If so, you’re doing something right! 🙂
I’ve heard a couple of approaches to teaching exciting congregational playing…first is to play VERY loud the whole time with no room for emotion vs. play with a big sound but leave room for emotion. Shelly Hamilton refers to this second method as “kneading” into the keys for music quality…you can “dig” into the keys for a big sound-just not banging…to allow room for emotion. Shelly mentions playing with “back” weight. After trying the above methods…I prefer the latter way….much more enjoyable; adds warmth…more meaningful way of playing and the congregation responds well to this method!
The church pianist is to provide support to the congregational singing. Play with gusto! Give solid sounding introductions. Make it sound like you know what you’re doing! 🙂 *It may help to bracket off the section(s) you play for intros in your hymnal or other songbook… so you won’t get lost.
Energetic playing is contagious! Your congregation will catch on real quick!
Super excited to announce the publication of my advanced piano solo arrangement of God Bless America! I’ve always dreamed about being able to publish such an arrangement but copyright prevented that.
Thanks to SMP Press, aka Sheet Music Plus, ( a site I also publish sheet music through) … now offers a chance for its publishers to arrange 1000’s of copyrighted songs through ArrangeMe with SMP Press. I plan to use this platform of opportunity as time allows.
The advanced piano solo arrangement of God Bless America is only available through SMP Press at the following link:
