The Church Pianist: Nothing but the Blood (Free Accompaniment Ideas)

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I just played this song for the congregation yesterday.

Nothing but the blood of Jesus has a wonderful

message and I try to bring the text to life by

improvising with a lively accompaniment.

Do you realize that this hymn uses only two chords?

The I and V....meaning....G and D chord.

If the congregation sings parts...I have to use the

written chords to agree with the voice parts.

Editor notes for "Nothing but the Blood"

Verse One:

Right hand: Plays three to four notes for fullness

Left hand: Uses stepping down octaves for a march-like tone

Verse Two:

Right hand: Adds an eighth note rhythm for livelier sound

Left hand: Consists of alternating bass note movement

to avoid a montone effect.

Verse Four:

Right hand: Adds a little change; especially in the last measure

Left hand: Same pattern as verse one but in eighth note pattern.

Try applying these same accompaniment ideas

to the hymn: A Shelter in the Time of Storm

The Church Pianist: Improvising for Beginners Using Nothing But the Blood (Lesson One)

New website: http://thechurchpianist.com/

Today I'll be teaching one of my piano students
her first hymnprovising lesson.

My motivation may be a little selfish on my part.
I need another pianist to help out at church and
this student (Faber Book Level 3A) is ready for
the challenge!

For those of you who are beginners at improvising....
this may help you.

The hymn I'll improvise with her today will be
"Nothing But the Blood of Jesus" in the key of F.

I'll introduce just the verse today...giving her a small
portion to focus on.

The lines of the verse have the same melody and
chord structure,making it easy to reinforce the
improvised notes.

Special note:

This student has learned the scales,
root chords and inversions in the keys of:
C, G, D, A, and F Major
a, d and e minor

It's important to have a working knowledge
of the above scales and chords/inversions before
improvising from the hymnal.

Todays' lesson for "Nothing But the Blood"

*The hymnal is written for voice parts only

*Identify: saprano, alto, tenor and bass notes

*Add tenor note to right hand for more fullness

*Point out that sometimes it's better to hold a
chord through fast repeated note passages
such as measure # 3, beat one.

Assignment for "Nothing But the Blood of Jesus"

1. Play right hand with added tenor note

2. Fill in the right hand for the second line of music
(why? for added reinforcement and exposure to
seeing and playing correct music grammar).

3. Use the suggested fingering for ease of movement

I'll try to make this beginner series a weekly article.

Feel free to use this for your students or yourself to

learn how to improvise hymns.