Anybody Else Play Simple Offertories?
I confess, I played an impromptu offertory from the hymnal last night. Actually, if truth be told, I play simple offertories most of the time.
(We also attend a small country church where “simple” is best 🙂
The older I get….the more simple I become 🙂 (You young ones may understand this later on in life).
I do enjoy playing a nice well thought out arrangement but it’s nice to return to a less crowded piece as well.
In my younger years, I played ONLY pre-made arrangements with LOTS of frills. (We were also in a larger church at the time).
Now…I find it soothing to play a hymn in a less busy style….allowing me to focus more on the message of the song.
Of course, what may seem simple to me may sound fancy to someone else since I do incorporate runs as the need arises 😉
Just curious… what do you play for offertories the most…full-fledged arrangements….simple arrangements…..or a little of both?
Tags: church pianist, jenifer cook, Offertories
I like simple since our church is small like yours. I am one of the only people, if not the only person, who plays specials, and I am not exactly a pianist extraordinaire. Forcing the congregation to listen to me play my lengthy special every single week seems like more attention than deserved, at least for now, when they just need half a minute of offertory. 😀 Of course, I could see situations where a pianist could to the opposite and bless the church richly according to the wisdom God gives. I have been playing from the hymnbook but also have some wonderful simple books of offertories I plan to employ from time to time (thanks to the discounted publisher link you shared years back)! Thank you for your ministry.
I, too, felt when I was younger that I HAD to play big, flashy arrangements. Now, I’d much rather play something “short and simple” that will help the congregation to “sing” the song in their hearts as I play.” I don’t play offertories often, but when I do there are always a few that tell me later how much they liked the simple offertory. When I comment that it was short short and simple, they generally add, “That’s the way it should be.”
Our church is small and we don’t need 5-minute offertories. We also include the hymnal number in the bulletin for the offertory and I’ve noticed quite a few who follow along.
I just read your post to my husband and he said, “I’d much rather listen to something that ‘sings’ than hold my breath hoping the pianist gets to the ends without too many wrong notes.”. 🙂
Thank you for sharing your simple arrangements. The last 2 times I’ve played, I’ve used one of your arrangements.
LOL! Sounds like something my husband would say 🙂
I play a mix. If I have one of Jennifer’s songs, I play them. In fact, I’m playing “Jesus Loves Me” for Mother’s Day. We mother’s all remember our little ones singing that special song and we need to remember as adults that Jesus Loves Me!
I am older than you, but at times I feel the need for a simple, impromptu offertory. For example, I recently played in church “My Jesus, I Love Thee” in the key of F out of the hymnbook, but with quite a few chordal substitutions that gave the melody a new life. That “arrangement” came as a result of my sitting at the piano in my home and privately worshiping God with the words and music. Always with the lyrics in mind, the pianist can communicate with the congregation in a thoughtful and meditative way that draws the hearer to the words more than to the fancy technique. The older I get, the more I am drawn to your and James Koerts’s arrangements. Since the offertory is short in my church, I sometimes play just a portion of one of your arrangements.
At our (smallish — 90 people on a good Sunday) the organist and I (the pianist) only play from the hymnbook. She pretty much plays exactly what’s there and I slightly improvise around it…..meaning I pretty much play what’s there with a stride-ish left hand and the melody in octaves, filling in the octave with the appropriate chords. By times, on a really well-known hymn, I’ll use another voice part for the octaves and fill in with the melody note. And sometimes, if I know a cool run, I’ll do it here or there (for either hand).
In my mind, encouraging the congregation to focus on the words is the goal. Which means that I shouldn’t show off — I want their eyes and ears on Jesus, not on the musicians.
I lean towards simple arrangements, both to make it easier on myself and I have definitely found it helps to keep the congregation’s focus on the Lord instead of on me. I actually get the most compliments for simple arrangements.
I play for a small country church where we might have 40 on a really good Sunday. I generally play arrangements of Mrs.Cook’s, other arrangers, or an arrangement of my own. Due to getting so nervous, I have to keep my selections to a manageable level. Lately, I have been trying to come up with ways to enhance the offertory time by including in the bulletin the words to the chorus of a song if the congregation is not familiar with what I am playing. I liked what Ms. Perry said about including the page number in the hymnal so that although the song is a familiar one, the congregation can still follow the words (even if the arrangement doesn’t follow the hymn word for word. The responses of each person has helped me to finally not feel guilty about playing a simple offertory. It truly is about worship and helping the congregation to focus on God and not the musician.