| The Church Pianist |
| A help ministry for church pianists all over the world! |
I was able to finish page two of “All Hail the Power” tonight even after a busy but good week of revival at our church. I will try to share some music highlights of our week sometime soon.
In my next article…I ‘ll share editor notes along with an audio of this free piano arrangement for “All Hail the Power” congregational accompaniment.
Click here to download “All Hail the Power” congregational accompaniment
I enjoy playing and singing “All Hail the Power”. The church pianist must add lots of fullness to this majestic hymn to portray the mood of the text.
Just picture it…God is on His throne and scores of angels are bowed down before Him. A huge choir is singing “All hail the power of Jesus’ name! Let angels prostrate fall…”
I think the words as I play this wonderful hymn. The melody and text are a great match!
Ingredients for Majestic Hymns
Lots of left hand octaves for fullness and energy
Full chords in right hand
Occasional dotted rhythm…adding extra zest!
Click here to download “All Hail the Power” congregational accompaniment
Due to a hectic but wonderful weekend…I’m sharing a free piano arrangement of “At the Cross”. I wrote this particular arrangement for one of my students who is preparing to be a church pianist. Our congregation usually sings unison…so the piano accompaniment contains chords that would not support the four-part style from most church hymnals.
You’ll notice it’s also in a different key…C Major. She only had two weeks to learn the song before playing it in church. (She filled in for me while I was out of town)
Hopefully some of you church pianists can make use of this arrangement. You could also use it as accompaniment for a vocal solo or ensemble singing unison.
Click here to download your free piano arrangement of “At the Cross”
Click here: God of Our Fathers (print music and view while reading the information below)As promised, here is part two of “God of Our Fathers”. I used dotted rhythm in measures # 9, 12 and 14 to liven up the accompaniment.
The busy left hand octave movement was also added to give this hymn some driving motion as in measures #11, 12, 15 and 17. (Also in the right hand on measure #14)
This free arrangement of God of Our Fathers can also be used as a short patriotic offertory or for congregational piano accompaniment.
“God of Our Fathers” is a wonderful hymn to sing anytime of year, but especially around July 4th. This stately hymn reminds Christians of God as their leader.
In part one of today’s free arrangement of “God of Our Fathers” I tried to portray the majestic mood of the text by solid octave movement in the left hand and full chords in the right hand.
The introduction (trumpet fanfare) was doubled (both hands) for a fuller sound. The octave higher treatment gave it a brighter tone.
In measure five, I added a light touch of syncopation to the left hand for text enrichment. The words for this measure speak of God’s “…almighty hand”.
Congregational singing plays such an important role in the worship service. As a church pianist, I try to play with enthusiasm, since I represent the Lord in all I do. I want others to know that I truly believe the words of the great hymns of faith as I play them for God’s glory.
To be honest, I don’t always feel energetic on a Sunday morning when I’ve had maybe a couple hours of sleep… but God is good. He gives me just enough energy to make it through. I’ve found I do better during those times. I think it’s because I’m relying more on His help…as I should ALWAYS do 🙂
Part two of “God of Our Father’s” will take us up an octave as we prepare for the climax of this great hymn. Looking forward to sharing the rest!
One of my readers recently asked if the chord substitutions of Just As I Am tutorial video was available in sheet music. I have since created the sheet music for this brief lesson.
Click on the following link to see the video of Just As I Am chord subsitutions for the final line of this soul-stirring invitation hymn. I use the minor chord substitutions in this hymn…to give it a warmer sound.
Just As I Am (video link: chord substitutions)
Click here for free sheet music of Just As I Am chord substitutions
Free Piano Arrangement of Just As I Am (invitation background style)
One of my readers recently asked if I knew where to find an arrangement of “This Little Light of Mine” that wasn’t so elementary that a choir could sing to. Well…I decided to write an arrangement of “This Little Light” and really enjoyed creating it!
Since my time is limited due to the busy month of May…much to your advantage…everyone receives this arrangement…FREE… since that’s all I’ve had time to do this week 🙂
There are so many word variations to this song. You’re welcome to substitute your own verses 🙂
Let me say a big “thank you” to Sharon for unknowingly inspiring me to write this piano/choir arrangement of “This Little Light of Mine” 🙂
I’ve had my computer off because of our weather and now back online. Sorry for the late posting. Since I’m short on time…I only entered the soprano for the vocal score of “Christ Returneth” to help you follow the words while you play the piano accompaniment.
I think “Christ Returneth” is one of the most awkward hymns to play when accompanying the four part harmony from the hymnal. Due to the frequent chord changes, the church pianist only needs to create a simple, but stately accompaniment to enrich the text.
Notice the time signature changes during the verse. The verses are sudued and the chorus is jubilant. The congregation will enter with confidence if they hear how the song starts in the piano introduction.
To maintain the subdued mood of the verse, the church pianist can just play the beginning phrase of the verse followed by a improvised ending…creating a smooth transition for the congregation to begin singing. I did include an introduction in today’s free arrangement of “Christ Returneth” Part One
Click here to download free piano arrangement of: Christ Returneth (Part One)
The chorus of Sunlight contains several twists and turns in the melody line making it tricky for the church pianist to manuveur through this peppy hymn.
Simply play more blocked chords on the main beats (one.two, three, four). I had to add an occasional sprinkle of triplets in the right hand for a lively sound. The triplets also allude to rays of sunshine as the congregation happily sings….”…sunlight, sunlight, in my soul today!”
Complete audio for Sunlight Part Two (congregational accompaniment)
Just use your imagination to make the music come to life…causing the congregation to sing with more enthusiasm.
I hope the accompaniment ideas I’ve shared over the past few years have helped to stimulate the creative thinking of other church pianists…encouraging them to be even more effective for the Lord as they serve Him through the ministry of music.
How about a free piano arrangement for “Sunlight”? (congregational style)
One of my adult piano students attends a church with several pianists. The songleader has setup a rotating schedule to give more of the pianists an opporunity to play for the church service. What a great idea…utulizing the people God has provided a church family 🙂
I’ve particularly enjoyed sharing improvising tips with this student. She’s so ready to learn and has shown great progress in being more mobile on the keyboard due to her being able to play at her church. The next hymn we will work with is “Sunlight”. The melody is very busy….but….relax! The pianist doesn’t need to play every single word 🙂 Just play on the main beats (1,2,3,4) and let the congregation keep up with the words.
Editor notes for today’s free piano arrangement for
PDF link: “Sunlight” (Part One)
Overall right hand analysis: I used chord inversions with a sprinkle of triplet groups here and there for some extra spice. Measure #6: Look at how I play empty octaves (octaves without any notes in the middle) during fast passages in the right hand. I added middle notes to the 1st beat of the right hand to emphasize the accented beat in 4/4 time. (Beats one and three are normally accented in 4/4 time.)
Left hand mainly consists of octaves and chords. Notice the alternating bass in the piano score…avoiding the overuse of E flat bass in the vocal score. (as in measures #1,2,and 5)
Part One of Sunlight