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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