My Journey with Church Music // Resources

Hey y’all!  It’s time to have a little fun in this series!  Listed below are some of my recommendations when it comes to church/sacred music and the like.

BOOK:  Sing! By Keith and Kristen Getty.  I have not read the entire book, but what I’ve read so far has been very insightful.  In this book, the Getty’s seek to revive enthusiastic congregational singing and communicate its importance.  I was refreshed to find that the Getty’s were very thoughtful in what they shared and genuinely sought to share biblical truths and views.  They also referenced many golden hymns from the past, instead of just quoting their own for examples.  Although I could not promise to uphold every view shared in this book, I found many good points and much food for thought.

BLOG:  Greg Howlett.  Although I don’t read most of Greg Howlett’s posts and I’ve never gone through one of his music courses, I know that other church musicians have found his tips and expertise to be helpful.  His page of free hymn arrangements is a nice bonus. :)

ARRANGEMENT COLLECTIONS:  Please visit my recommendations page for piano arrangement suggestions.

SACRED MUSIC:  The Wilds.  The Wilds has some great sacred choral music!  It does say that the music is free, but they changed the formatting/layout on the website and I can't find where you can print free music.  However, the music there is still great!

HYMNAL:  Hymns Modern and Ancient.  Ok.  EVERY church congregational hymn-singing accompanist needs this hymnal!  This hymnal is little and light, with a good selection of newer hymns.  This hymnal was a huge aid during a longer-than-expected wedding prelude, and I still use it frequently for preludes at church.  I just figure out which hymns I modulate the best between, plan my prelude around them, and then mark the pages with tabs.  Although I could probably just wing most of my preludes using the main church hymnal, I usually opt to prepare my prelude, because preparation is a form of kindness. ;)  I have also used this hymnal when playing for communion.

BLOG POST: Psalm 7:17b.  This was a very short, to-the-point post I posted last year on the blog, discussing the issue of pride.

Next week I will be answering your Q+A questions.  If you have yet to submit questions and would still like to, please see this post.  So far I only have 4 questions, and I’d love more!

  

If you are a church musician… what are YOUR favorite music resources?  I’d love to hear in the comments below!