Bound copy
Wednesday, August 28, 2019
Monday, August 5, 2019
Requests
I enjoy engraving music (did you know that's what it's called?), and am quite amenable to requests. If you're dying to play At the Lamb's High Feast and don't want to wait for volume 10 to roll out, or would like a tune in a different key, or with all the stanzas (maybe all 15-20 of the German text), I'd be happy to type that up. Just drop a comment or send me a message, and I'll let you know when I can do it.
What is Hymns for Small Lutheran Hands?
I'm a piano teacher and a lifelong Lutheran, and many of my students are also Lutherans. They and I both love to play hymns. However, there are few resources for beginning students to play the rich hymnody of our church. They're too difficult straight out of the hymnal, and the books available have mostly Amazing Grace, Jesus Loves Me, and Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow. Fine tunes, but where's the Luther, Gerhardt, and Nicolai?
Thanks to our love of and reliance on tradition, most of what we sing in church is in the public domain. As I typed up tunes for my students, it occurred to me that it would be quite easy to share with others over the internet, and thus bring hymnody into more homes and daily lives.
I shared it, then, as a free PDF. But I also wanted a sturdier copy for personal use; my teaching materials tend to get pretty beat up over time, and hymns are worth teaching again and again. I compared prices at local shops for printing and binding, and discovered it would be slightly cheaper to self-publish and sell at cost (no profit), and then it would be delivered to my house. It's a bit slower than printing it myself and taking it to an office store, but worth saving the few dollars and (more importantly to me) the driving time.
This blog is mostly to collect the volumes in one place. (At the time of writing this post, only volume 1 is available, but volumes 2-5 are aaaaaalmost ready.) I shared the first one on my facebook page, but that's not accessible to everyone, nor is it easy to search. Every volume will be available as a free PDF or a bound copy, and feel free to share and make as many copies as you like. Just let me know if you find any typos.
I hope you enjoy. Hymns are for singing, playing, and knowing. "He who sings, prays twice." --attr. St. Augustine
Thanks to our love of and reliance on tradition, most of what we sing in church is in the public domain. As I typed up tunes for my students, it occurred to me that it would be quite easy to share with others over the internet, and thus bring hymnody into more homes and daily lives.
I shared it, then, as a free PDF. But I also wanted a sturdier copy for personal use; my teaching materials tend to get pretty beat up over time, and hymns are worth teaching again and again. I compared prices at local shops for printing and binding, and discovered it would be slightly cheaper to self-publish and sell at cost (no profit), and then it would be delivered to my house. It's a bit slower than printing it myself and taking it to an office store, but worth saving the few dollars and (more importantly to me) the driving time.
This blog is mostly to collect the volumes in one place. (At the time of writing this post, only volume 1 is available, but volumes 2-5 are aaaaaalmost ready.) I shared the first one on my facebook page, but that's not accessible to everyone, nor is it easy to search. Every volume will be available as a free PDF or a bound copy, and feel free to share and make as many copies as you like. Just let me know if you find any typos.
I hope you enjoy. Hymns are for singing, playing, and knowing. "He who sings, prays twice." --attr. St. Augustine
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)