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As promised….here’s a free piano arrangement of “The Old Rugged Cross”. I wrote it in memory of Letha Snodgrass, my piano student and friend. Sorry I didn’t post this sooner for those who would have used it for Easter. I just haven’t been in the writing mood lately until now.
Click on this link to download: The Old Rugged Cross
Audio of The Old Rugged Cross:
Due to the recent home going of one of my piano students…I’ve been preparing music for her funeral. I came across these two songs that I thought I’d share with other church pianists in case they have not heard of them. Both of these pieces are VERY comforting and appropriate for any occasion but especially for funerals.
His Way is Perfect by Betsy Kistler
Be Not Afraid by Craig Courtney
Click here to see PDF sample of
Here’s the only youtube recording I could find.
This has been a very difficult week. One of my piano students I’ve been mentoring to be a church pianist passed away this week…very unexpectedly. Please pray for the family.
I’ve managed to prepare a “free accompaniment” idea for Heaven Came Down. This particular hymn contains a mundane bass line..making it a challenge for the average church pianist to create an interesting accompaniment. What to do? You have to play what’s not there 🙂 Easy said…but a challenge to do right? For that reason, I’m sharing a free accompaniment idea that can be used for the verse of this hymn.
I”m limited on what I can share because this hymn is still under copyright. Therefore, I can only share a small portion for educational purposes only…(called the “fair use” law). Just use the same accompaniment idea to finish out the verse. I would tend to use this accompaniment idea ONLY if the congregation is secure with their voice parts…whatever that may be. Most of our congregation sings melody.
After publishing a video of me playing “How Great Thou Art” in a nursing home…I began receiving requests on youtube and my website for a copy of this arrangement. The funny thing about this arrangement…it was spontaneous.
After at least two years in the make (on and off–during this time frame)…I am about to put the finishing touches on this arrangement. It will be available by March 15th !
Keep in mind…the arrangement of “How Great Thou Art” won’t be exact note for note as played but…will be VERY close 🙂 It took me about 20 minutes to re-create about 3 measures at a time. I would watch my youtube video by the piano and pause ALOT to write what I heard.
Thanks to all who encouraged me to write this arrangement of “How Great Thou Art”.
Recently, I’ve been working on an arrangement of “Rock of Ages”. The introduction contains what I call “weighty chords”…chords with three or more notes. Thus, the following tip…
Scenario: A pianist sees a chord with three or more notes…(brain computes)…HEAVY touch! Your brain thinks….I can’t possibly mash all those notes down at once without attacking them 😉 Word of caution: Relax and apply gentle even pressure as though you’re lightly kneading dough… to avoid a “chunky” or “weighted” sound…especially when the full chords occur on the weak beats.
For example, in 4/4 time, the 1st and 3rd beats are naturally accented. Therefore the 2nd and 4th beats are weaker. In 3/4 time…only the first beat of each measure receives the accent. Why? To produce a more shapely rhythm and to avoid a mechanical/laboured sound.
The following excerpt is from an arrangement that will be included in a “Funeral Collection” which I hope to finish within the next several months. Notice the full chords in the left hand. I will give a brief demonstration of a suggested way to interpret these chords…fighting against the natural tendency of “heavy hand” treatment.
I know I’ve shared free arrangements of “Just As I Am” prior to this…but wanted to share a longer arrangement of it this time. I’m feverishly working on a “congregational” accompaniment book for the pianists at our church. If all goes well…I will offer it on my site once I acquire a generous collection of hymns.
Our church pianists have enjoyed using the “working” copy of this book. They like the pre-made introductions…especially for those awkward entry hymns that require “special treatment” for a comfortable introduction. The song leader has also commented on it making his job easier.
Without further introduction…here’s your free piano arrangement of “Just As I Am”
Click on the above title in “red” for the arrangement
Special note: I haven’t included an introduction to this arrangement yet because we mainly use background music for invitation. I may consider modulating for some of the other invitation hymns in this book.
Another special note: This particular arrangement is not included in the first congregational collection but a more elaborate arrangement of Just As I Am is included in the Piano Invitation Collection.
Following the song director is a challenge for a lot of church pianists. Since I’m ancient…and have memorized the majority of the hymnal…I’m more free to look away from the hymnal and watch the director.
Seriously, the church pianist must learn the hymns well enough in order to look away from the music at the song leader or at least have the leader’s arm within your peripheral vision.
How does the pianist get comfortable playing “by feel”? Try playing a familiar song in the dark. I’m serious! Playing in the dark is an excellent way to sharpen your senses/skills…just as a blind person may have a more keen sense than the average person because they are avidly “tuning in” to the situation at hand.
At least ten years ago…I was playing the prelude in the Charlotte coliseum at a teacher’s convention. It was right after 9/11. All of a sudden, the lights went out! A sudden rush of anxious, whispered voices stirred through the auditorium. My thoughts…”Now what?!”
Thankfully I knew the hymns I was playing from “many” years of practice 🙂 The Lord just guided my fingers and I just played soothing hymns to hopefully calm the concerned crowed (considering we had guards around due to the 9/11 event. I remember hearing people singing along with several of the hymns. A little over ten minutes went by before the lights came on. It seemed like an eternity to me.
Every church pianist probably owns a copy of the traditional “Wedding March”. I’ve personally been wanting a new arrangement of this well used tune. So…I finally finished a new version of the “Wedding March”.
The majority of the weddings that I use this song for…want it to last long enough for the married couple to exit and then transition into another tune for the rest of the wedding party. The bride is usually open to suggestions for this separate song after the wedding march. I usually suggest “Praise My Soul the King of Heaven”…an old hymn tune but very majestic and happy! Of course there are other tunes that work beautifully. (another article) 🙂
I just like the smooth transition from “Wedding March” to “Praise My Soul the King of Heaven”. Here’s an audio sample of this transition…
Wedding March transitioning into Praise My Soul the King of Heaven
It took me forever to find this alternate tune for Praise My Soul the King of Heaven by Mark Andrews. I found that this tune is copyrighted…so I can’t create an arrangement of it. Sorry about that.
An absolutely beautiful two piano arrangement of it is available in “The Wilds” online music store. The following link takes you to their music store. (I couldn’t get the specific page link to work). Once you’re on the main page…click on “product search” on the left and type in “Praise My Soul the King of” to find the two piano arrangement.
Since I’ve been sick all this week…I’ve had a little spare time to write music. One of my music writing projects has been to write a piano arrangement of the traditional “Wedding March” recessional. (This is the march that is played at the end of the wedding)
There’s nothing wrong with the traditional arrangement. I’m just ready for a change. The last few times I played this song… it sounded so repetitive. If I could just add some different chords and melody twists.
It’s a challenge to draw this song to a close at just the right moment. I always work out my escape hatch (premature ending) in advance for short weddings. (I’ll share alternate repeats and endings in the finished arrangement).
I decided to google piano arrangements for the “Wedding March”. What a variety of styles! I heard everything from slow romantic to party time renditions of this traditional tune. It made me think…”What mood am I trying to create?” I think…Happy! Yeah! I’m married! Joyful!
Therefore… a happy, joyful, triumphant mood…right? So, I’m trying to add some spice to the already traditional “Wedding March” but not overdo it… or my changes will sound out of place/out of character.
This upcoming arrangement of the “Wedding March” will be available for sale very soon. I will offer the arrangement at a discount for a limited time.
Click here to see new arrangement of “Wedding March”
Sometimes it’s refreshing to hear a simple offertory. I like to be able to distinguish the melody when hearing an instrumental special. My son, and another gentleman in our church were suppose to play a guitar/harmonica offertory this past Sunday night. Unfortunately, they hadn’t had much time to practice.
They asked if I would play along on the piano with them for support. They wouldn’t be able to practice until Sunday evening before church during the time I had to practice with the vocal special for that night. So…I quickly wrote a simple piano accompaniment that Sunday afternoon and had my daughter-in-law practice with them that evening. They did great for a last minute ensemble!
Here’s the video of them playing “In the Sweet By and By”.
Tip: The accompaniment may also be used to accompany a vocal solo