Archives for: October 2011

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.