Description
NEW 9/2023 - Added Hymn chart of songs from the Hymns of Worship
Hymn chart of songs from the Hymns of Zion, Gospel Hymns, and Zion's Harp - categorized by key signature and level of difficulty. Great for use with piano students, or self-teaching. May be used with or without CAHP.
Hymn Chart - Key Signature & Level - DOWNLOAD
"The following pages attempt to categorize hymns from the Hymns of Zion, Gospel Hymns, and Zion's Harp. They were created to reduce the time wasted looking for a hymn appropriate to the student's level and then trying to remember if they had played it before or not. There are ten charts, each one representing a different key signature (key of C, G, D, A, E, F, B flat, E flat, A flat, and D flat -- all of the keys except for G flat and B for which there are no hymns). The hymn numbers in each chart are divided into three levels of difficulty and are also divided into the Hymns of Zion, Gospel Hymns, and Zion's Harp hymns within each level. There is an additional column for the 2000 revision of the Zion's Harp, as many key signatures were changed.
These charts are far from complete or perfect. There is room to add more hymns that you may find that fit that particular level or key. The levels are not very clear-cut. I did some rearranging and compromising of levels simply to use the space in the columns more efficiently. The Zion's Harp hymns are generally more difficult to play as the bass clef notes move so often, so a student on level 1 of the Hymns of Zion may not necessarily be able to play the level 1 Zion's Harp hymns. Level of difficulty also depends on how familiar a student is with the hymn. Of course, a student need not play all the hymns in one level (or key) before moving to the next.
These charts can be used in a number of ways. A Hymn Chart is used in conjunction with the "Chord Approach to Hymn-Focused Playing" Lesson Books that I have compiled. I originally suggested having a set of charts for each student and simply putting a check mark in the chart next to the hymn number when they play the hymn for a lesson. Then, when they master the hymn (ie, can play it at an average tempo, without major effort, and without errors), I put a "+" next to the check mark. Finally, if they memorize it, an "!" can be added next to the check mark and "+" sign. This can help students keep track of their progress. Also, I can see at a glance about what level they are at and what keys they have played in. I have seen others use the chart other ways. Some teachers like to put the date next to the hymn number. Some students enjoy shading in the box as they play it and keeping a separate list that includes titles of the songs that they have memorized. Any way that you use it, I hope it will help you to add hymns into the student's weekly lesson songs"