Gospel Song Lyrics

Here are a few of my favorite gospel song lyrics.

Abide With Me

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.

Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim; its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.

Not a brief glance I beg, a passing word;
But as Thou dwell’st with Thy disciples, Lord,
Familiar, condescending, patient, free.
Come not to sojourn, but abide with me.

Come not in terrors, as the King of kings,
But kind and good, with healing in Thy wings,
Tears for all woes, a heart for every plea—
Come, Friend of sinners, and thus bide with me.

Thou on my head in early youth didst smile;
And, though rebellious and perverse meanwhile,
Thou hast not left me, oft as I left Thee,
On to the close, O Lord, abide with me.

I need Thy presence every passing hour.
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s power?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.

I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.

Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.
Heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

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Gospel Song Lyrics

All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name

All hail the power of Jesus’ Name! Let angels prostrate fall;
Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown Him Lord of all.
Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown Him Lord of all.
Let highborn seraphs tune the lyre, and as they tune it, fall
Before His face Who tunes their choir, and crown Him Lord of all.
Before His face Who tunes their choir, and crown Him Lord of all.

Crown Him, ye morning stars of light, Who fixed this floating ball;
Now hail the strength of Israel’s might, and crown Him Lord of all.
Now hail the strength of Israel’s might, and crown Him Lord of all.

Crown Him, ye martyrs of your God, who from His altar call;
Extol the Stem of Jesse’s Rod, and crown Him Lord of all.
Extol the Stem of Jesse’s Rod, and crown Him Lord of all.

Ye seed of Israel’s chosen race, ye ransomed from the fall,
Hail Him Who saves you by His grace, and crown Him Lord of all.
Hail Him Who saves you by His grace, and crown Him Lord of all.

Hail Him, ye heirs of David’s line, Whom David Lord did call,
The God incarnate, Man divine, and crown Him Lord of all,
The God incarnate, Man divine, and crown Him Lord of all.

Sinners, whose love can ne’er forget the wormwood and the gall,
Go spread your trophies at His feet, and crown Him Lord of all.
Go spread your trophies at His feet, and crown Him Lord of all.

Let every tribe and every tongue before Him prostrate fall
And shout in universal song the crownèd Lord of all.
And shout in universal song the crownèd Lord of all

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Gospel Song Lyrics

All That I Am

All that I am, all that I do
All that I ever have
I offer now to You
Take and sanctyfi these gifts
For your honour Lord
Knowing that I love and serve You
Is enough reward
All that I dream All that I pray
All that I ever make
I give to You today.

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Gospel Song Lyrics

All Things Bright and Beautiful

Refrain

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful:
The Lord God made them all.

Each little flower that opens,
Each little bird that sings,
He made their glowing colors,
He made their tiny wings.

Refrain

[Most hymnals omit the following verse]

The rich man in his castle,
The poor man at his gate,
He made them, high or lowly,
And ordered their estate.

Refrain

The purple headed mountains,
The river running by,
The sunset and the morning
That brightens up the sky.

Refrain

The cold wind in the winter,
The pleasant summer sun,
The ripe fruits in the garden,
He made them every one.

Refrain

The tall trees in the greenwood,
The meadows where we play,
The rushes by the water,
To gather every day.

Refrain

He gave us eyes to see them,
And lips that we might tell
How great is God Almighty,
Who has made all things well.

Refrain

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Piano Course Reviews

I recently implemented a new feature to my piano dvd courses - piano course reviews.

Here are a few reviews on definitive piano improv piano course - given by existing customers:

Writen by: Gaile Harpan
Star Rating: 5 stars

Hi Yoke, I just completed DVD #4 and have learned so much already. I really thought I knew all there was to know about chords but realize that it is the key to improvisation and I had short changed it. Your clear, concise teaching skills explain beautifully and I am now enjoying practicing more than ever. You had recommended starting with DVD's first and that helped immensely. When I first got course I started with CD's but switched to DVDs quickly and benefitted from that immensely. Thank you Yoke. I do have a "breath of fresh air" now.


Writen by: David Martin, England
Star Rating: 5 stars
On perusing this course, it's evident from the quality of the resources that there is SO MUCH to be gained. I was immediately "taken in" by Yoke's warmth and her deep sense of caring regarding the development of all keyboard skills for pianists during her practical demonstrations. This is a progressional course and I strongly recommend that no steps are "skipped by" as attention to detail is clear for all to view. Any professional musician that has never got to grips with their keyboard harmony skills and feels they never will, THINK AGAIN! Forget the stuffy and outdated books as research has proved that visual learning is more successful than just by reading musical facts from the printed page. I am totally convinced that this course lives up to its reputation. I look forward to reviewing other courses by Yoke for the European Piano Teachers Association.

David Martin Ex Examiner London College of Music and Media


David also wrote me a little ditty and here it is:

This improvisation course "packs a punch",
Eat if for dinner, breakfast and lunch,
Yoke's musical diet will help you to flow
Your grasp of harmony will grow and grow

Will you take the risk for enhancement of studies
That will change your life and those of Yoke's buddies
Who have purchased this course in harmony skills

That exploits to the full such well thought out drills
Never again will you feel so inept
Think back to the times when you may have wept
At the times you tried to perform by ear

Alas, the picture was so unclear"Jiminy Cricket!"
I hear you say,I can't believe how well I now play
All because of Yoke's detailed plan
To aid all God's children, woman and man.


I love it! Thanks for the write-up, David!
It is cute! You can read more about his reviews on my piano courses.

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Free Sheet Music Online

I once composed a series of music entitled Seashore Collection. The melody are quite beautiful and I composed the pieces predominantly with major 7th chord. If you are familiar with major 7th chord, you will notice this color chord gives you the "beautiful" sound. Here are a few compositions that you can download:

Free Sheet Music Online


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Musical Instruments - Accordion, Bagpipes, And Celesta

Do you know how many musical instruments they are?
They are easily hundreds of them if you include every percussion instruments.
The ones that we are familiar with can be found in many orchestra.

Let's take a look at a few today:


Accordion: An accordion is an instrument that has a small keyboard on the front and free-vibrating metal reeds that make noise when air is generated in a pumping motion of the main body of the instrument. I remembered my grade school teacher played this instrument during the music class. I was always amazed when he moved the instrument around. If you can play piano, you can probably figure out how to play this instrument.

Greece Bagpipes: The bagpipes are a wind instrument that most people recognize as a native Scottish instrument. Bagpipes comes in different types and are most popular in Europe countries. Many versions of Amazing Grace are arranged with bagpipes.

The bagpipes have several tubes; one of the tubesplays the melody while the other tubes sound the drones and the held notes. What happens is the windbag is filled by the player through a mouthpiece. Then when the bag is squeezed the air pushed out creates the sound.

Celesta: This is a keyboard instrument which looks just like anormal upright piano except a miniature version of one. It has tuned metal plates instead of cords that are struck by the hammers. The hammers, like on a normal piano are operated by the keys on the keyboard. If you can play piano, I am most certain you can play a celesta. In fact, I like the sound of this instrument quite a bit.

Almost all of the above instruments origined from the European countries.

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Piano Practice Incentive And Methods

Teaching piano to younger children is quite different from teaching adults. Most adults are self motivated when it comes to learning piano and practice piano.
Here are a few points to help motivate younger children to practice piano. Prizes and awards only works for a while. The motivation needs to stem from inside.

1. Help the children pick songs they like to learn. Most children enjoy playing music pieces they are familiar with such as disney theme songs, popular songs, etc. Many method books use classical pieces or songs that are foreign to children. If you let them choose a song they like to learn, they are more likely to practice.

2. Make the parents and students accountable for their practice session. Assign a practice log to each student. If the student fails to practice for more than 3-4 weeks. Sit down and talk to both parents and student and let them know that this is a serious matter. Sometimes, kids are given too much activities and they do no know how to prioritize their assignment. If the problem continues, inform the student and parents that the opening will be given to another student on the waiting list. It is a waste of time and money to continue with the piano lesson if the student is not interested in the lesson.

3. This one is my favorite strategy and works well. When a student attend lesson, watch a few short video clips on Youtube with him. Choose video clips that feature young childen playing piano. I usually type in "child prodigy" keywords when searching for these kind of video clips.

The student will be inspired and motivated after viewing younger children playing piano flawlessly. This is a good time to tell the student how much effort the other player has put into piano playing. It does not come overnight.


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Hanon Exercises And How To Use Them Correctly

Many piano teachers assigned Hanon exercises to their students. The Virtuoso Pianist in 60 Exercises, is a collection of 60 exercises that include scales, arpeggios, hand coordination, etc that are meant to train the piano players in tempo/speed, precision, agility, and strength of all of the fingers and flexibility in the wrists.

One way you can try is put a coin on the back of the hands while playing hanon and see if the coin comes off. Many players can play hanon well using the aids of wrist - this will not build the strength of fingers. I also suggest to start the exercises slowly to build stronger fingers. Once you can play the exercises in a slower tempo, increase the speed. Relax the wrists and shoulder to gain maximum benefits.

According to the wikipedia, these exericses help overcome common problems which could hamper the performance abilities of a student. These include "crossing of the thumb," strengthening of the fourth and fifth fingers, and quadruple- and triple-trills.

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Taking Piano Lessons - Practice Log

If you have just started learning piano - congratulations! Piano playing is one of the most fulfilling and enjoyable activities. They are millions of piano players in the world, and countless hours been spent on practising piano.

The first thing one need to focus on is to devote at least 20-30 minutes a day, at least 4-5 days a week. Tell your friends and family members that you need this time off to practice. Very often, adults fail to allocate a specific time for this learning and practice effort. Just like any younger learners, we adults need to spend quality "uninterrupted" time for practice.

The next thing that will help you is to keep track of your progress. Whether it is a new song or same scale/arpeggios you are working on, you need to keep track of your progress. Here is a link to download your practice log

Also write down your short term and long term goals.

Invest in a decent quality keyboard/piano. I would recomend a touch sensitive full size digital piano for beginner. Once you are working on technical skills, be prepared for a digital piano or acoustic piano that can help you build stronger techniques.

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Performance Anxiety - How To Overcome It

Performance anxiety is a real thing - it is a huge obstacle to many pianists. It also varies with personality. An outgoing person that likes human interaction seems to be less affected by it. An introvert or someone who is less interested in personal interaction are more susceptible to it.
If you can expose yourself to public performance earlier on in your life, chance are, you can adapt to it easier. There are many ways you can improve on your performance anxiety.

a. Give yourself opportunity to perform in public - Start in smaller venue. You can start by performing for a few friends. Local senior center is also a great place to perform as you get to play in front of people who are supportive.

b. Breathing techniques - Deep breathing technique helps. Do you know deep cleansing breathing can help relieve stress? Breathing technique is common used in labor room. Once you take deep breath you tend to forget about what you are focusing on.

c. Know your music - This may seem like a no brain er. Many performers may not know their music as well as they thought. Are you able to pick up any measure without starting from the beginning? A good way to practice and memorize music is by breaking pieces into many smaller sections. If you can start the music anywhere on the piece, your chances of forgetting (the music) are much slimmer.

d. Take it less seriously - Don't think it is a big deal to mess up the performance (really)! Just have fun and enjoy the process. If you have the correct mentality and attitude, you will less likely be overly anxious and nervous.

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Playing With Curved Fingers Or Straight Fingers?

Have you noticed how Vladimir Horowitz performed? You probably noticed he was playing with completely straight fingers. Why is that our teacher emphasized on curved fingers, and famous pianists don't seems to follow the rule?
Glenn Gould sat very low and almost seemed to play from under the keyboard. What did they do that?
These professionals managed to be at the piano in a position where their muscles and ligaments were working for and not against them. It is possible to play for long periods of time without experiencing any tiredness or pain. In order to achieve this goal, our body must be as in tune as the piano.

There are some physical exercises that you can do to achieve this goal.

Relaxation is very important. Below is an article written by Shmuel Tatz (phd) with Sheild Weinstein enlisted some techniques to tune the body:
a. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent. Hold your torso erect, arms loose at your sides. Shake your wrist, raising them higher with each shake. As you continue to shake your wrists, bring them back down to the starting position. Repeat this a few times until you feel the relaxation effect.

b. Stand with your legs slightly bent, torso relaxed, arms hanging at your sides. keeping both feet on the floor, turn to one side, then to the other, in a scythe-like motion. Your arms should swing fleely.

c. Stand with your legs slighly bent. Move your shoulder blades toward each other. Lift your shoulders up, and then pitch them forward, as if throwing the shoulders out of joint. Repeat several times if this is comfortable, and then do the exercise in reverse. Lift your shoulders up and move them forward, then downwards and back towards your shoulder blades. Stay relaxed.

Below is a streching video that I find helpful:

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Bluegrass music and its origin

Do you know what bluegrass music is? Honestly I had no idea what it was until recently. By definition bluegrass music was inspired by the music of immigrants to the US from the British Isles, particularly those from Scotland and Ireland who settled in Appalachia. Their musical traditions combined with the traditions of old time music, ragtime, and blues, and began to develop as a unique style after WW II.

In the beginning, bluegrass was dance music played in rural areas. Later on, the popularity grew and it began to spread to more urban areas. Hundreds of bands across the South were playing bluegrass music in the 1950s. There are different sessions in the bluegrass music, each instrument player will take turn playing the melody and improvise around it - the term bluegrass became official when Bill Monroe's band, the blue grass boys used it.

Acoustic strings instruments such as upright bass, mandolin, guitar, five-string banjo, and fiddle are common bluegrass instruments. Other instruments such as accordion, harmonica, piano, and drums can also be found in bluesgrass music. It focuses on traditional songs, that have been passed down from generation to generation.

If you are interested to hear more about bluegrass music, here are a couple places to find them:
Bluegrass Country
Bluegrass Radio

Music Playing And Health Conditions

I recently read an article on Making Music magazine. The article wrote about 3 musicians who refused to let illness and disability stnad in the way of their passions.

One of them suffered a sudden stroke even though she lived an active lifestyle. The stroke affected her motor skills on the right side of the body. She was devastated. You could imagine how disappointed it was not being able to play piano after you had been playing it for years. She said she would listen to cd and visualize the hands moved along with the music. Many months of treatments and therapy using a special device called the Bioness NESS H200 - she was able to play "Jesus Loves Me".
It was a wonderful victory.

She said "When you've played the piano as long as I have, music is a huge part of your life. "

I am inspired and touched by the story. Very often, we forget to give thanks for what we have.