Playing the piano or organ for church worship is something I do on a regular basis, and while I can "fake it" on the organ I love piano arrangements of church hymns so much better! Sometimes I sneak in a little piano prelude music with my favorite arrangements of pieces from Marshall McDonald's Simply Sacred books like "More Holiness Give Me" or "As Now I Take the Sacrament" before heading over to the organ for prelude.
Following are sample videos of pieces from Marshall McDonald's Simply Sacred Series or you can view my Simple Sacred Playlist which includes a few other arrangments I created of favorite Sacred Songs.
Learning to play hymns is a goal that most of my piano students (or their parents😉) have. Although 4 part harmonies are usually out of reach for first-year students, I've found several stepping stones that allow students to have the satisfaction of playing familiar hymns and primary songs until they gradually build the skills needed to play from the "real" hymn book.
A few years ago, I discovered Marshall McDonald's Simply Sacred Arrangements of hymns from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which you can hear samples of in my previous post.
Thanksgiving is not here yet, but I've already pulled out his Simply Sacred Christmas book this season. It has some of my favorite arrangements that calm my soul and a few that energize me, too.
When I first heard the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square sing "Our Prayer to Thee" in General Conference, I was so inspired by the peaceful message of the lyrics and beautiful melody borrowed from the lesser-known hymn "Our Home Beloved", written for men's choir.
I decided to create my first hymn arrangement using the melody of this hymn in the style of other Simply Sacred arrangements that I love by Marshall MacDonald. I love the simplicity of a thin clear melody line with broken chord accompaniments instead of the heavier thick texture of a traditional hymn and wanted something easy enough for early intermediate piano students to play.I love the calm simplicity of the Christmas music in Simply Sacred arranged by Marshall McDonald!
Here are a couple of videos of me sightreading the music so students can choose from their favorites. Planning to add more soon!
Infant Holy aka Stars Were Gleaming
IThis post includes lesson plans for "Humoresque" in Piano Adventures 3B.
This lesson plan includes activities and tips for playing "Caspian Sea" in Piano Adventures 4 TECHNIQUE Book.
Listen to the melody sing over the soft left-hand patterns in Caspian Sea.
Use a paintbrush stroke for the left hand 1-5-10 patterns to avoid tension and release the left-hand eighth notes after the first beat of most measures instead of trying to hold out all 3 notes.As you listen to Sakura identify the form by adding colored lines above phrases that are the same.
I was delighted to discover the new 2024 Youth theme song for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is now on the Sacred Music app. The vocal solo/piano sheet music is in a different key than the music on the app, but I love how it includes chord symbols so my piano students can play the melody over varying levels of left-hand accompaniments.
Click the Image to Buy The Streetlamp Solos on Amazon
Andrea Dow's new Christmas book Streetlamp Solos provides a musical backdrop for the beloved story of "A Christmas Carol". It blends the familiar Christmas melodies together with some pop-infused chords and diversions from the regular tunes. The pieces are easily accessible for early intermediate pianists with many broken chord patterns in the left. The simplicity of playing in the keys of C Major and A minor allows students to peruse through a lot of music during the short Christmas season.
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