First of all this is church. Please if you just want to play in a band go and do that. Church is for serving The Lord not ourselves. If you feel The Lord is calling you to serve in this area then that is something to pray more about and move forward on. I know [...]

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The songs you prayerfully choose for Sunday morning worship are dependent upon many factors. To begin with you should work on creating to forms to help you put together Sunday morning worship. A worship planning sheet. This sheet or form should be a layout of your worship service with slots for you to plug in [...]

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I find one of the most frustrating things to do when playing the piano for congregational singing is the introduction. Beginning the song with the right tempo and just enough of a tune to help the singer’s tune into the song to be sung has always been a bit of a struggle with me. The [...]

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1. Pray before your practice time and before you play on Sunday. 2. Warm hands make for better playing. If you play in a cold building run your hands under warm water, and rub them briskly before heading up to the piano. If I try to play with cold hands on Sunday they are stiff [...]

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Come first Sunday it is nice to have a set of special songs to sing of Jesus’ sacrifice on Calvary. Back when I was growing up the song to be played during communion was “Let Us Break Bread Together on Our Knees”. The pianist would play and everyone would sing while communion was being given. [...]

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Since this is the Struggling Church Musician website I’m going to tell you before you even start, Pray. Every day. Not only during your daily devotions but during the week pray before you play. Pray before youplay. Pray before practice and before performance. Pray for the Lord’s blessing upon your hands and that if your [...]

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Sam’s Gospel Music Course – Offers free downloadable books and lessons. Gives you good tips for playing in church. More along the lines of what a church musician should be doing for playing in service. I registered with him and downloaded all the books. He’s also got a section for all you organists. ***** Learn [...]

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When you are shopping around for new or familiar arrangments of music to play you will come upon music notated in different styles. Different people have different styles they are comfortable playing. Much of this is depending on how they were trained. But not all of it. Those trained in the classical way, or playing [...]

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Many time we search the internet for just the right song for special or solemn occasions. This is list, which is not just hymns, is a work in progress. You will find songs for many different church related occasions. Weddings 1. Be Thou My Vision 2. Amazing Grace 3. Bind Us Together 4. Joyful, Joyful, [...]

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K Quinn A church musician should be well prepared. With all of the duties required of you careful planning and organization can do a lot in preventing chaos on Sunday morning. In addition to your musical practice you should spend a few minutes, hours, whatever, weekly to prepare for the next Sunday. Regarding worship leading: [...]

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