How to Play the Piano for Church
- Dec 10, 2024
- 5 min read
Updated: Jan 11
Tasked with playing the piano for your church service? Just looking to expand your skill?
Here is what you need to know so you can get started playing the piano for your church.
Begin with a right heart towards God.
In ministry, everything we do is a direct result of our love for God. Of course, we love Him because He first loved us. So we should try our very best to demonstrate to people and to God our love for Him.
There is no greater joy than the joy that can be found in serving Jesus. However, if we offer our service in the wrong spirit, we will forfeit our reward for our service, and miss out on the blessings and joy that come with it.
Consider the purpose of playing for church.
In most churches, the role of the instrument is supportive. It is to support those singing. Whether special music or congregational singing, the pianist's duty is to support.
To support your singers, you must watch them. Follow your song leader closely so that you do not throw him off. Watch the ensemble singers closely so you can follow them and make speed, volume, and chord adjustments.
There are several areas that the pianist must support, but the main three are these: tempo, harmony, and melody.
A pianist with a tempo that varies more than the stock market is probably going to make the singers wish the Lord would have already returned! However, a pianist who has a steady tempo and can follow any nuances indicated by the leader is truly a treasure!
Harmonic support is important for two reasons.
The first is that it adds flavor to the music as a whole.
The second is that it provides an "anchor" or point of reference to which the singers can match their voices while singing. With this in mind, it is important to play the harmonies that are being sung. If a group is singing a lovely Ab7 chord while you play the delightful Ab(+5), you will likely not be asked to play for that group again.
The final support element, the melody, is what ties the whole song together and allows the singers to know where in the song they are. If you only strummed chords, it would be very difficult for a singer to know if you are playing the first line or a line in the refrain.
Listen to a LOT of piano music.
While it certainly would be nice if we were all Mozarts or Bachs, the sad reality is that we are not. So, in order to get inspiration for technique, expression, or other ideas, it is paramount to listen to as much godly music as you can.
Of course, the music does not have to be a piano solo. You could listen to a singing group with piano accompaniment and listen to the piano. You could listen to various church livestreams to steal fabulous ideas from their church pianists. Even listening to (and playing) classical piano pieces is an excellent way to broaden your horizon.
Wherever you get your ideas, it is important that you just listen to as much as possible. Doing so expands your musicality and allows these ideas to get subconsciously stored in your brain so that you can access them later.
Here is a wonderful place to listen to piano music:
Start simple.
If you have just started learning piano and only know the basics, then that is enough! All you need to begin is the ability to play the melody of a song and strum simple chords along with that melody.
Consider this excerpt from the famous song "Nothing but the Blood." The right hand simply plays the melody, while the left hand "strums" the appropriate chord. Nothing fancy, but it is the perfect place to start.
It is important to note here, that the typical church song book is written for the purpose of singing, not accompanying. This means that, as a pianist/accompanist, you will have to take what you see in the song book and interpret it as is appropriate for the song and setting.
While it is certainly not wrong to play all four harmonies as they are written in a song book, it would leave much to be desired in the way of support from the piano.
Know your scales and chords.
To some, this goes without saying. But, in any case, it is always a good reminder.
Most songs in the song book can be played using fairly simple chords. However, should you come across a challenging harmonic trap, you don't want to be floundering around on the piano while the song leader and congregation are plowing on ahead. This is rather embarrassing.
The easiest way to make sense of chords is by learning and understanding the scales. The major scale is the foundation for western music (the style of music that the majority of Christian songs follow). Therefore, if you learn the major scales, you have a fabulous foundation on which to build.
Here is a file that includes the scale and diatonic chords of all the major keys. (Diatonic is a term that means "using only the notes found in the applicable scale.")
Find a mentor.
Whether it is someone you already know who has been playing the piano for decades (if not centuries), or one of the teachers here at Sweeter Sounds, it is important to have an experienced musician with whom you can share ideas.
Practice at least thirty minutes daily.
While practice never makes perfect, it certainly helps you build confidence.
Spend a few minutes warming up your hands with music you already know or some scales. Then progress towards some more challenging or new songs that you have not yet mastered.
Be sure to always stay relaxed. If you feel your shoulders, hands, jaw, or neck getting tense, take a few minutes to stretch and relax. It is actually possible to do more harm than good by playing with tense muscles.
Make a practice plan and roughly stick to it. Decide ahead of time what you want to practice, what section you would like to make progress on, and then practice that.
One last idea here is to try to play on your church piano a few extra times every week so that your hands can adjust easily from your home piano or keyboard to your church piano or keyboard.
That's a wrap!
While there is always more to learn, the information included here will certainly get you heading in the right direction.
Want some personal coaching? Click here to connect with one of our teachers here at Sweeter Sounds. We would love the opportunity to help you glorify God through music.
Happy practicing!
Aaron Dempsey
I Cor. 15:58
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