MacLellan Bagpipes posted this poem on Facebook.
May my pipes be a gift
I will lift to the Lord.
A grace note of praise in
every lyric and chord.
May my tune be a prayer
of renewal and light.
May my tune be a beacon
which shines through the night.
And even when loss
and grief come along
I'll have faith in the Lord
and play him a TUNE.
I have felt this way since I first began going to church after learning the pipes. The first hymn I learned in 1983 because it was a band tune, and which every piper is expected to know: Amazing Grace. Going Home was the next band tune considered a hymn of sorts (I’ve had it requested for funerals). Those were the only hymns I learned with the band.
Since I wasn’t really proficient with music scores, sometimes I learned a hymn by listening to it. I heard Kum Ba Yah on a folk song cassette and worked it out on the pipes in 1989, and then I began thinking how I could probably transcribe hymns if I could tinker the tune out (not many can be transcribed to pipes). In 1990 I began seeing what I could do.
Ode to Joy was one I heard at Easter and found it relatively easy to work out, and the next one was one of my favorite hymns—Martyrdom. And then they just kept coming so I could praise the Lord with my pipes. Soon there was I Need Thee, then Old 100th, All Through the Night, Praise and Thanksgiving, The Ash Grove, A Mighty Fortress Is Our God (I played a duet of this with a trumpeter), Fairest Lord Jesus, Stand Up For Jesus, Just As I Am, Greensleeves, All Creatures of Our God and King, Oh Come All Ye Faithful, We Three Kings, Little Drummer Boy, God King Wenceslas, Immortal Invisible God Only Wise, and Holy, Holy, Holy all came to me during 1990. It was so exciting that I have never ceased trying to put some hymn on my pipes.
One stroke of luck in 1993 was when we were on vacation to the Olympic National Park in Washington and stopped at one of the shops I had been using for mail order; I purchased a small book titled “The Church Piper,” which had many of the hymns I already learned plus several I was planning on transcribing! There are 33 tunes but that includes many non-hymn laments for funerals, etc.
The following list is of Christian songs/hymns—and which I have had opportunities to play in church over the years for regular services, Easter and Christmas time.
A Mighty Fortress Is Our God
A Shield About Me
Abide With Me
All Creatures of Our God and King
All Through The Night
Amazing Grace
As the Deer Panteth Over the Water
Ash Grove, The (Sent Forth By God’s Blessing)
At the Cross
Austrian Hymn (Glorious Things Of Thee Are Spoken)
Chief of Sinners Though I Be
Children of the Heavenly Father
Come, Christians, Join to Sing
Earth and All Stars
Fairest Lord Jesus (Crusader’s Hymn)
Faith of Our Fathers
God Leads Us Along
Going Home (Dvorak)
Grace Greater Than Our Sin
Holy God We Praise Your Name
Holy, Holy, Holy
How Deep the Father’s Love For Us
How Great Thou Art
Hymn to Joy
I Know That My Redeemer Lives
I Love to Tell the Story
I Love You Lord
I Need Thee Every Hour
I’ll Fly Away
I Will Sing of My Redeemer
Immortal, Invisible God Only Wise
Just As I Am Without One Plea
King of Love My Shepherd Is, The
Kum Ba Yah
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms
Londonderry Air (Danny Boy)
Love Devine (Beecher)
Love of God, The
Martyrdom (Alas and Did My Savior Bleed)
My Faith Looks Trustingly
Nearer My God to Thee
Oh, For A Thousand Tongues
Old 100th (Doxology)
Praise and Thanksgiving (Morning Has Broken)
Psalm 42 (O Waly, Waly)
Redeemed, How I Love to Proclaim It
Rejoice, Rejoice This Happy Morn (etc)
Shall We Gather At The River
Softly and Tenderly
Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus
Sweet Bye and Bye
There is Power in the Blood
Thy Strong Word (Oh the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus)
To God Be the Glory
Victory in Jesus
We Gather Together
When I Survey the Wondrous Cross (Hamburg)
When the Saints Go Marching In
Christmas
Angels We Have Heard On High
Good King Wenceslas
Greensleeves
In Dulci Jubilo
Little Drummer Boy, The
O Come, O Come Immanuel
Oh Come, All Ye Faithful
We Three Kings
If you play a musical instrument and don’t already do so, see how you can use it to praise the Lord for His gift of music.
2 comments:
Hey Glenn,
Have you considered playing the piping classic, "Highland Cathedral"? Although not a hymn, it has a great classic sound and is good for weddings and other occasions. Ironically, it was written by two German guys several decades ago.
Hi Wayne,
This post was just about hymns I play.
I do indeed play Highland Cathedral, and have played it at weddings and memorial ceremonies, as well as when I'm just performing at events where I need to play lots of tunes!
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