| The Church Pianist |
| A help ministry for church pianists all over the world! |
One of my viewers recently requested fingering suggestions for my free arrangement of “The Old Rugged Cross.”
I added the suggested fingering by hand. This is just the fingering that’s most comfortable for me.
Here are two different free PDFs for The Old Rugged Cross…
The Old Rugged Cross without fingering
The Old Rugged Cross WITH fingering
I checked the most recent recording of our congregation singing Dwelling in Beulah Land and discovered they didn’t sing it as fast as I was thinking.
My son led this hymn in a more moderate tempo. But…the arrangement is quite suitable for medium speed.
Some hymns just seem more demanding than others. This is one of those hymns! Once you see the chorus…you may understand why I’m tired after playing just one verse and chorus! 😉
I get very emotionally involved in the text as you’ll notice in the chorus 😉
I’m sure you all may have even better ideas for this particular hymn. Special note: I did add several corrections to this arrangement as of June 8th, 2021
Click here for verse and chorus
Question Concerning the Chorus:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yG-z3-zGO0
I lied! 😉 I said I would publish at least the verse of I Am Resolved tonight…wound up finishing the chorus too…but don’t think you’ll mind 😉
I’ve been working on fill-ins with my most advanced hymn playing student. She plays for chapel at school and has also begun to play for church when the main pianist (her mom) is out of town or sick. She’s doing a great job but has such a zeal to advance her hymn playing. Well….LOVE helping her with that!
Below is a result of her lesson this week 🙂
Click here for free piano arrangement of I Am Resolved
Here is part two of the free piano hymn arrangement “In the Garden”.
This piano arrangment of “In the Garden” illustrates how the church pianist can deviate from the melody quite a bit when accompanying a vocal soloist or instrumentalist such as a violin or flute.
Audio of entire arrangement: In the Garden
“In the Garden” is such a peaceful; reflective hymn. I don’t hear it used much anymore. This free piano arrangement of “In the Garden” (part one) shares some accompaniment ideas for the church pianist.
Editor notes for “In the Garden”(Part One) Accompaniment
As an accompanist, it’s not necessary for me to play the melody for every word…maybe just a few here and there to give the soloist (whether vocal or instrumental) some support.
I start with melody for the first several words and then ease into more of an accompaniment style. By measure three, I’m really into a free-style…just staying within the chord frame and being creative.
Notice how the accompaniment flows freely into each new chord change. In other words…it’s best to maintain a smooth transition from one chord to the next for this particular hymn…producing a peaceful mood.
In measure 8…most soloists will slow down on the word “discloses”. The piano accompaniment can still maintain a steady but slower flow through the ritard.
I look forward to sharing the chorus of “In the Garden” in part two of this free piano arrangement.
Here’s a free piano hymn arrangement of “Since I Have Been Redeemed”.
I’m training one of my piano students to be a church pianist. She is in level 3B of Faber Adventure series and has enjoyed learning to play this hymn arrangement of “Since I Have Been Redeemed”.
This arrangement works well for the pianist that can’t reach an octave span as of yet.
More arrangements like this will be available in the near future for beginning church pianists.
