Hymn Carols and Chords

This being only ten days prior to Christmas, I may be a bit late with sharing these. Though for figuring out chord progressions from hymnal harmonies, we can also consider those many familiar Christmas carols found in our hymnals.... So here are a few....

• Go, Tell It on the Mountain (251) In key of E (hymnal in G)
• Angels from the Realms of Glory (220) In G (hymnal in Bb)
• Angels We Have Heard on High (238) In C (hymnal in F)
• Away in a Manger (217) In E (hymnal in F)
• Hark! the Herald Angels Sing (240) In D (hymnal in F)
• It Came upon the Midnight Clear (218) In G (hymnal in Bb) 
• Joy to the World (246) In C (hymnal in D) 
• O Come, All Ye Faithful (234) In G (hymnal in G)
• O Little Town of Bethlehem (230) In D (hymnal in F)
• Silent Night, Holy Night (239) In G (hymnal in Bb)
• The First Noel (245) In A (hymnal is in D)
• We Three Kings (254) In G (hymnal in G)
• What Child is This (219) In G (hymnal in G)

     Page numbers provided above are for locating in UMC hymnals. For chord progressions (as described in earlier posts) the intent has been with trying to match - when possible - the harmonies found in the SATB arrangements. Some liberties though have been taken. In time, will work on refining these. Also, this is is with the realization that everyone's situation may be different as to what may work best for chords and key selections.
     Enjoy...
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The illustration shown above was by Ditzy Baker as found in Christmas Carols To Play and to Sing published in 1937 by Harold Flammer, Inc. with arrangements (for beginning students) by Bernard Wagness. (Source: family collection.) 
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Chord Changes: "Be Still, My Soul"

To continue with the earlier introduced topic of guitar playing with hymns, I would like to volunteer some thoughts related to the challenge of getting a feel for when chord changes happen within SATB arrangements. By way of example, I would like to refer to the familiar hymn "Be Still, My Soul" (songsheet PDF).
    Chord changes can happen at seemingly odd spots within the measures. For strumming along with the progression, these changes often seem awkwardly placed unless some thought is first given to where these chordal sounds are coming from. The harmonies of the alto, tenor, and bass parts create these chords, and as such, when changes happen these vocal parts are not restricted by needing to try and keep the measures nicely, or evenly, divided up as one would expect for playing guitar.
    Using the SATB arrangement for "Be Still, My Soul" there are a few examples that can be noted. The song sheet provided above was based on the arrangement found in the UMC hymnal, though this probably matches those found in other hymnals as well. The chords are presented in the key of D rather than in the hymnal's key of F. (This key change allows for capo plus three for playing in F, or for leaving in D for a lower vocal range for singing of just the melody.)

• At the end of measure two we find evenly placed on the fourth beat a D chord. Just prior to this (the first three beats of the measure) and just after this (beginning of measure three) we have the A7 chord. The D chord is only one beat in duration and lines up specifically for how the harmonies exist for the singing of the word "the" in the lyrics.  
• At the end of measure three then we find an even shorter duration for a chord. The harmonies for the word "your" is actually a diminished chord though I have not shown this on the song sheet progression. At some point it becomes impractical to try and include them all. 
• For measures eleven and twelve (found on the second line of the song sheet) above the lyrics "to order and provide" we find chord changes at different times within the measures. For measure eleven with the singing of the second syllable of the word "order" we have the D chord on the second beat, and then for measure twelve with the two syllables of the word "provide" - we have two chord changes (A and Em) found on the first and the second beat of the measure. 
• And for measure sixteen (end of line two) we have another oddity. The chord F#, for the word "remain," actually starts a half beat (eighth note) prior to the start of the measure. The SATB harmonies hits this chord at the tail end of the previous measure with the start of the word "remain." 

    These are just a few examples from this song; and for hymns in general, this is very common. Chord progressions for hymns, when provided for guitar, are often expressed in much more simple ways with fewer chords and with chord changes happening in a much more friendly way for guitar-strumming. This though only supports the unison singing of the melody rather than for trying to pick up on the harmonies. And for me, it seems the expectation of hearing these harmonies (even if we are not singing them) is what makes these songs so familiar and memorable.
     For guitar then the challenge becomes - what to do? One suggestion may be for playing some of the individual notes found within the chords rather than just trying to strum all of the progression as full chords. Another suggestion may be for allowing for rests and pauses to take place with your playing. and allowing for those spots in the song for backing away and letting the piano or organ (if included) or the vocals (with or without the sung harmonies) take the lead. Backing away from certain parts of the songs (from specific beats within some of the measures) can allow room for the hearing of the harmonies that can be provided by others in the mix.
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     Additional examples and song sheets will be worked on.... From time to time I will try add more hymns to this site with a focus of finding chord progressions that can potentially support the familiar harmonies that can be found within.
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Worksheets for Guitar and Theory

The following are links to PDF Worksheets we have used from time to time. These had been created to complement being with people in person, though by sharing them here, maybe they too can be of assistance to others who are starting out on guitar, or or who are studying some basics with music theory.

• Music Notation - Describes the many types of notation used for guitar playing.

• Guitar Chords - An intro to major, minor, and seventh chords.

• Tuning & Fingers - These charts are for showing basic notes for tuning a guitar, and for showing how certain fingers are used at certain frets for some beginning chords. 

• Chord Pairs - This chart of chords pairs is offered as starting point for learning how to switch back and forth between two chords - which can be a challenge for beginners. (See "Chord Pairs" Post for additional information.)

• Chords and Keys - Chart for showing the basic major, minor, and dominant seventh chords for the keys of C, G, D, A, and E.

• Major Scales and Chords - Chart showing different ways of playing the major scale for the keys of C, G, D, and A. The accompanying chords are also shown for each. 

• Guitar Notes - A continuation on the major scale, and scale patterns on the fretboard.

• Bass Notes - The major scale, and scale patterns for the bass guitar. 

• Pentatonic Scales - An intro and discussion on the versatility of this five-note scale. 

Hopefully some will find these worksheets helpful - either as tools for learning the guitar or for expanding an understanding of music theory.

Lines and lines and lines... This PDF is for printing out pages of lines for scoring music in staff or tab notation. Page 1 is all staff; page 2 is pairs of treble and bass staff; page 3 is as pairs of staff and tab; and page 4 is all tab:
     • Staff/Tab notation pages: staff-tab-lines.pdf

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Worksheet: "Chord Pairs"

One of the original worksheets we used for instruction was for learning to switch from chord to chord. The idea was that for some chord pairs, there are certain "anchor" fingers that can stay in place as other fingers find new positions. Initially this was described when we were actually with someone in person, though along with this we also used the following worksheet.

      Link to PDF "Chord Pairs" worksheet 

     The following is offered as an example of taking this consept a step further with finding an improved way to show this online as part of our blog posts. The following is just for two chord pairs though the worksheet lists several more that can be used for practicing the moving from chord to chord.

     The one above is for moving from a C major chord to A minor, which allows two fingers to remain in the same position, while the third moves from the A string, third fret, to the G string second fret. 

     And for this one we are looking at the two chords G major and E minor. The concept though is the same. Remaining fingers (in this case the index finger on the A string) provides an anchor for your hand as other fingers move to new locations. 

     As mentioned earlier, there are other combinations of two chords that are likewise helpful (link to the "Chord Pairs" PDF) for getting used to moving from chord to chord. If this happens to be where you are with your guitar playing, good luck to you. 

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