Learning to play hymns is a goal for most of my piano students who belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS), or at least that's the aim their parents are hoping they will achieve.
Before jumping into the regular hymn book, I first have students play hymn lead sheet style in the simplified hymn book.
Interval and Pattern Recognition
Hymn playing can be more challenging than some lyrical pieces because of the thicker musical texture. The 4 part harmonies in hymn playing require fluent interval recognition, and spotting chord patterns quickly definitely helps speed up sight reading instead of having to read every single note in isolation. Marking patterns in music consistently with erasable colored pencils can help students sightread complex music more easily.
Write Fingering in the Music
To create a legato melody line, pianists often encounter a lot of finger crossings, expansions and substitutions. It is important to become familiar with the steps for choosing fingering to create legato lines, and choose fingering that you use with consistency.
Practice Continuity
I learned from an awkward experience that if an accompanist starts, stops, or hesitates, it can be quite an embarrassing experience in front of a congregation of hundreds of people!
When I was just out of high school, I was asked to play the organ for church services. Most hymns have simple repeating verses, but when I didn't notice the middle repeat in Scatter Sunshine and jumped back to the beginning it was hard to get back on track with hundreds of people singing a different melody than what I was playing!😕
Practicing with a metronome or playing along with the sacred music app can help prepare you for the pressure situation of accompanying because it makes starts and stops in your practice more obvious.
Practice the Suggested Intro
The hymn book has suggested intros marked with brackets above the measures. Often the suggested introduction for a hymn is the first or last phrase, but with hymns that suggest combining measures from the beginning and end, it's important to prep the "jump" in advance so you don't have an awkward pause trying to find the rest of the intro.
Practice Steps for Learning Hymns
1. Divide into phrases.
2. Write fingering for legato phrases.
3. Practice Sections, Right Hand Alone
4. Left Hand Alone
5. Left Hand Alone, Sing Melody
6. Hands Together Slow
7. Hands Together Regular Tempo with the App
8. Pedaling and Expression
Easier Hymns for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
I compiled this list of easier hymns for piano students to start with notes on concepts to address that may be a challenge for beginner hymn players.
Hymns in the Key of C
#142 -Sweet Hour of Prayer - Primary Chords, Legato 3rd
#116 - Come, Follow Me- Hand Shifts Between Phrases
#106 - God Speed the Right - Alignment
#152 -God Be With you Till We Meet Again - Finger Subbing
#302 - I Know My Father Lives- Moving Middle Voicing
#239 - Choose the Right - Fast Primary Chords
Hymns in the Key of G
#294 - Love at Home - Legato 6ths
#92 For the Beauty of the Earth- Left Hand Quick Shifts
Hymns in the Key of D
#144 - Secret Prayer - Omitting 10ths
#3 - Now Let Us Rejoice- Fast 2#s
#304 - Teach Me to Walk in the Light - RH Finger Independence
#19 - We Thank Thee, O God, For a Prophet - Primary Chords
#301 - I Am a Child of God - Tenor to Alto 10ths
#241 - Count Your Blessings - Primary Chords, Rit, A Tempo
#131 - More Holiness Give Me- Triplets
Hymns in the Key of F
#100 - Nearer, My God, To Thee - Left Hand Shifts, Flats
#98 - I Need Thee Every Hour - Legato 6ths
#125 - How Gentle God’s Commands -2 note slurs
#339 - My Country, ‘Tis of Thee - Tenor to Alto 10th
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