Hymns and Harmony

Includes instructions on how to play from lead sheets or fake book.   “…HYMNS & HARMONY serves two purposes.  It offers a methodical approach to lead sheet performance by organizing musical elements of composition into five progressive categories (A, B, C, D, E and E*) in order to facilitate study.   It also provides a compilation of hymns that are cross referenced between the current hymn books of six major denominations: Catholic, Episcopal, Presbyterian, Methodist, Congregational and Lutheran.  A listing of resource page numbers is given at the bottom of each entry for easy reference by tune name.  A bibliography of all resources is given on the final page…

The lead sheets are edited for use by either lever or pedal harpists without compromise.  Pedal movements are given in a standard procedure with notations beneath the melody line as one would expect.  Lever harpists will find that only the tunes in Category E and E* require lever movements…

The tunes have names that identify them by means other than the first line of text.  For instance “Antioch” is the name of the tune that contains the first line “Joy to the World.”  A single tune such as “Azmon” appears four times in the Methodist hymnal with different lyrics each time.  There are four indexes for this collection that will help you find a tune by its name, most popular first line, key or compositional category.

A Broad range of musical taste is represented with melodies from early chant, the Reformation, the Victorian era and folk melodies from Europe, Africa and America.  A single tune may appear in each resource volume with a variety of texts, and in a few instances with a second tune name as well.  The first line of the text is printed underneath the tune name…

With the growing number of harpists interested in performing in church, I offer these selections for your satisfaction for years to come.” R. Pool

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