Archives for: 2011

I realize Christmas is over for the year, but I am told it will come back around. I have just finished an SATB arrangement of Silent Night. So, for all you Ward choir directors who like to plan way in advance…see what you think!

A few weeks before Christmas I ordered a large box of padded envelopes. The same day, I ordered some Christmas presents for my Grand Daughters. They both arrived the same day and I hurriedly wrapped the presents and sent them off. Sadly, the box of envelopes was the same size as one of the presents. Sooo, you can guess what happened. I ended up sending the envelopes instead of the gift. Luckily, the recipient of the envelopes is only one year old, so she actually thought they were fun to play with.
Sigh.
The real present is on its way!

Some people are having problems downloading With Wondering Awe. So I have reposted it. Hopefully that solves the problem.

I just finished an SATB arrangement of Angels We Have Heard on High. It may be a little late for this Christmas season - or maybe not. It’s not too difficult. I usually let a piece sit for a few days and come back and play it again to get a fresh impression after hearing it over and over again, but I am posting this one immediately so those of you who want to can add it to your Christmas program this year.

Some important insights from one Choir Director:

“When I was set apart for this calling, as Ward Choir Director, I wasn’t sure how i felt about it since I just had my 6th child and my husband is a stake clerk and gone most Sundays and I already have another busy calling. But when I was set apart, the feelings overwhelmed me! I was promised that if I would do simple arrangements of the hymns, the spirit and choir would be much stronger, and would have much more participation because of the familiarity of them.

“But if I would involve the youth, especially my own children, then the words of these sacred hymns would come back into their minds even when they’re in the middle of darkness in the future when they’re facing difficult times ahead, and when at the brink of faltering, the words of the hymns and the spirit they will felt while practicing and performing these sacred hymns in ward choir would come into their minds and they would be able to overcome temptation even in their weakened state.”

I just added an arrangement of Sing We Now at Parting. I have taken a little poetic license and named it “One More Strain of Praise.” I hope that doesn’t confuse anybody. Try this one out. It has lots of juicy harmonies.

Here is a simple way to give a little flavor to a regular hymn.

One way to make any hymn special is to add a descant. When I am adding a descant for violin or flute to a hymn, I usually have the violinist play the alto or tenor part an octave higher. That way I know all the notes will fit well with the melody and accompaniment. If the entire alto or tenor doesn’t flow well, or is too high, I might bring that note down an octave or borrow another note from another part for that section of the music. A repeating note could be held to cut down on the choppy feeling.

Then I write it out and see how it all fits together. It helps me to have someone play the hymn through while I play the descant to see how it sounds.

Let your creative juices flow!

Comment or Question: Thanks so much for this website! I used Abide with Me Tis Eventide for a ward choir number in my singles ward! But guess what? I found out none of my men would be here that Sunday so I was stressed not knowing how to fix it! I grabbed a violin player and she played the tenor part. It worked out beautifully!!

“Our choir used the ‘I am a Child of God’ arrangement (for the violin) and added vocals. We had a young girl begin by singing a solo on the first verse, then added the choir in unison and violin for the other verses. The soloist finished with the violin at the very end where it repeats ‘to live with him someday’. It was simple, but so beautiful. The arrangment was so wonderful and really added the spirit.”

How Firm a Foundation is posted and ready to be copied for all your Ward Choir needs! Soon I will post the MP3 file so you can get an idea of how it sounds. In the mean time. Give it a try and see what you think.

I’m not an organist, but I am able to “fake it” well enough to play for congregational singing occasionally. A couple of weeks ago I was playing along in Sacrament meeting, focusing on smooth fingering so as not to create “gaps” in the music. All of a sudden I accidentally pushed one of the preset stops just above the keyboard. For anyone who doesn’t play the organ, this means that the sound of the music was suddenly changed from a fairly soft, meditative sound to a loud, militant one!

I couldn’t stop playing to figure out what I had done and fix it, so off we went - singing and playing to beat the band till the end of the hymn. Afterwards, many of the members told me that they thought I had done that on purpose because not enough members were participating in singing the hymn. Some of the younger ones said that they thought it was cool, and that I should do that again.

Hmmm. I guess I could do that if I knew how I did it!

Several people have asked my if I have written an arrangement of this beautiful hymn. At this moment I have not, though one may come in the future. But, I discovered that the music for my arrangement of “Know This that Every Soul is Free” works perfectly with the words of “Each Life That Touches Ours for Good.” The words of “Each Life…” could be inserted into the music of “Know This…”

Or it is always a good idea to check the links on the bottom of my home page. There are lots of people with free music. Someone might have an arrangement of that hymn specifically.

In the mean time, I am working on an arrangement of “How Firm a Foundation.” I am trying to give it the majestic feel that I feel it deserves without making it too difficult to sing, or to play.

Thanks to Martin Pracher, we now have an excellent MP3 file of the “I Am a Child of God” flute solo. Stop by and take a listen!

Some of you have been having trouble accessing freewardmusic.com lately. This may be caused by changing servers. Hopefully the problem will be solved soon.

This is what we are hearing about our Spanish Web Site, arreglosgratisdehimnos.com

GRACIAS POR PERMITIRNOS LA IMPRESIÓN DE ESTAS PARTITURAS nos asignaron un coro y me ayudo muchisimo.

To which I reply:
Muchas gracias hermanos y hermanas!

OK. Feel free to copy the latest version of “Where Can I Turn For Peace.” This version was notated by
DB Long
Music Engraver/ Copyist db@waveoblues.com

DB Long has been helping me with some of the notation on “Where Can I Turn For Peace.” Thanks for your patience while we work out one or two glitches. You may want to check back in a couple of days before you download that one.

The 3-year old girl next door visits regularly to ask if our big black lab, Gypsi can come out and play. Yesterday while she and the dog were running and playing in the front yard, she noticed that Gypsi was panting and sweating in the heat. So she asked if we could take off Gypsi’s coat. She has also invited Gypsi to her birthday party next week. Hmmm. What kind of a present does a dog take to a birthday party?

My choir recently performed battle hymn of the republic for our ward. I have a very talented choir ….near the end of the song, the bishopric just about jumped out of their seats. They along with the ward members praised us for a job well done. My intention with being a choir director is to bring the Spirit to the choir members and to those we sing to. This piece of music helped me in doing so. Our choir visited a local nursing home to share our music with residents. We ended with battle hymn….tears were shed and they sang along. The spirit was very strong and those sweet people were lifted up. Thank you for your talent and for sharing your music with others. look forward to using this website often! I love my calling.

You might have noticed that “I Am a Child of God” is posted twice in the children’s songs section. This is not a mistake. One is the flute/violin solo. The other is a vocal solo to be sung by one voice or by unison children’s voices. I am wondering if I should now go even farther and write it for SATB or SAB. Hmmmm.

My friend wants to play “I Am A Child of God” on her flute for her son’s baptism, so I took a break from my other projects and wrote an arrangement for her. You can find it under “Children’s Songs” on my downloads page.

The new pdf file of “I Wonder When He Comes Again” is thanks to Music Preparation by DB LONG, 488 North 400 West, American Fork, Utah, 84003, db@waveoblues.com, (801) 763-8075. The new notation is easier to read and brings the length of the piece down from twelve pages to seven.

As promised, “With Wondering Awe” is ready to be downloaded. I decided to made it SAB for all those really small choirs out there. Also, the accompaniment should present no problems for even the most inexperienced pianist. Hope this helps!

Still was not satisfied with the ending of Battle Hymn. Now THAT’S more like it! Try this latest version. I think you’ll like it.

I was not happy with the ending of Battle Hymn of the Republic. (Boring) So you may want to download the latest version for your Ward Choir to sing.

I Wonder When He Comes Again is posted. I Will post the mp3 file soon. It is written for SATB plus an optional children’s choir or solo. I tried to fit three staff systems on each page, but because of the solo I had to print only two per page. That makes 12 pages of music to print, but it will be easier to read. To save paper you could print on both sides and cut it down to only 6.

Just finished an arrangement of “I Wonder When He Comes Again” for SATB and optional solo or children’s choir. I’m going to play through it a few more times before I post it to see if I can catch any misspelled words or notation problems.

Also, a number of you have requested actually people singing the lyrics in our sound bites. I am going to have to give that one some thought. I’m not sure how to do that without spending a ton of money for a recording studio…

I am posting a new SATB arrangement of Battle Hymn of the Republic modeled after the piano duet on the site. The challenge has been to make it sound “big” enough without making it too difficult for the singers or the pianist. Somebody try it and let me know what you think.

freewardchoirmusic.com has a new, updated look! Give it a try and see what you think.

YAY! My PDF problems seem to have been fixed at last. Please let me know if there are still problems downloading any of the music.

Since The Great Meltdown, I have been trying to get everything back on my computer. It has taken several weeks so I have not been able to post new music or correct errors. (For instance I recently discovered that there are two measures in Come Follow Me that should be rests, but have piano accompaniment written.)

Some of you have contacted me to tell me you can not print out the Come Follow Me notation. If that is the case for you, I hope to have the problem corrected in the next couple of days.

Please let me know if you are having any problem with any of them other music.
Thanks!

I am working on an arrangement of “I Wonder When He Comes Again” for SATB choir and optional solo or children’s choir. This is a classic in LDS music and it has been a lot of fun to work on. I hope to have it finished in a few more weeks.

Be sure to check out the latest version of “The Lord is My Light.” I tweaked the ending a bit. Let me know what you think.

I finally have mp3 files up on the Spanish site. So be sure to spread the word to all your Spanish friends. The website is arreglosgratisdehimnos.com

I am just finishing an arrangement of “The Lord is My Light.” It has some energy and I think it will be fun.

Thank you so much! I have really struggled with this new calling - feeling completely unqualified and knowing that our ward choir is really apathetic right now. I know feel like I have resources and guidance, and I am up to the challenge. Just like everything, it is all about the spirit. Thank you for sharing your gifts and your encouragement!

I have posted an arrangement of “Know This that Every Soul is Free.” We don’t hear this hymn very often and it has a great message. I have tried to keep the accompaniment and parts fairly simple for all the struggling Ward Choirs out there! The unbeatable Martin Pracher has agreed to create a sound bite of it to add to the site. Check back in a few days and see what you think!

Hello Friends!

Some of you have asked me about music for Easter Programs. I don’t have a cantata, but our choir has sung “How Great the Wisdom and the Love” for our program and it turned out well. Also, “Jesus, once of Humble Birth” would work well in an Easter setting as well.

Let me know how your Easter programs go!