Hello Dulcimer World,

              This week we are going to look at two new dulcimer arrangements. The first hymn is “O Master Let Me Walk with Thee”. This hymn has been sung and remade by many artists in the past like Amy Grant. I arranged the original melody for the dulcimer.

               The second hymn is “God is So Good”. This is a vey simple hymn (lyrically and musically).  If you have just started playing the dulcimer, this could be the tune for you! In the near future, there will be some big updates done here at the dulcimer hymnal. New pages, lessons and more, so stay tuned!

God bless,

-Ben

Hello Dulcimer World!

             The third week of Advent is upon us and that means two things; Christmas is ever nearer, and it's time for yet another free Christmas dulcimer arrangement! This week we will be looking at the hymn "Angels we have heard on high".  This hymn is sent to the tune "Gloria" which is so fun to sing because of its beautiful polyphonic refrain. I hope you all enjoy this week's arrangement!

God bless,

Ben

"Angels We Have Heard on High" Sheet Music

Hello Dulcimer World,

The second week of Advent is upon us and thus, its time for another free Christmas dulcimer arrangement! This week we will be looking at the hymn “Angels from the realms of glory”. It’s one of my fav’s and was written by the hymn writer, James Montgomery. He is known for writing other great hymns like “God is my strong salvation”, “0 Spirit of the Living God” and “Go to Dark Gethsemane".

I wrote two different arrangements of this hymn; a regular DAD arrangement and another that requires a 1+ fret. Both sound great and I hope you all enjoy! Below is an article about James Montgomery’s life and work! Hope you enjoy.

“James Montgomery (1771-1854) was just six years old when heard of the death of both his parents who had been in Barbados on a missionary trip. He spent the remainder of his childhood being raised within the school system in Ireland, where he did not excel academically. As a teenager, James was placed in an apprenticeship position to a Baker. He grew frustrated with that position and so ran away to Sheffield, England. There he took on various jobs to support himself, while trying to find his niche.

In his early 20s, James was hired to work for a politically active newspaper, the Sheffield Register. James found that he loved to write, and that he was good at it. When the owner of the paper had to flee the country in order to avoid imprisonment, James purchased the newspaper, after which he himself was imprisoned twice for political articles that did not sit well with the governing authorities.

Throughout all his ups and downs, James remained a devout Christian. He remembered well the lessons taught to him by his missionary parents. He chose to follow in their footsteps and to champion the cause of Christ. His newspaper was his pulpit to speak out against social and moral injustice. And in that same paper he published his original hymns of praise. Angels From the Realms of Glory appeared in print on Christmas Eve, 1816.” (Article from http://www.faithclipart.com)

-Ben

Hello dulcimer world!

            This week we will be looking at a hymn that we have sung all our lives, yet many have never dreamed of playing on the dulcimer, “The First Noel”. This is by far one of my favorite Christmas/Epiphany hymns. If you’re looking for a hymn that has a great story that expands and upon the historical birth of Christ, this is it! I honestly have seen this hymn have six or more verses, but for our dulcimer purposes, we have five.

           A small note, if you are wondering what “Noel” means, it comes from the French word “Noël”, which means “birthday”. This truly is a birth day to celebrate each and every year. But it’s interesting that for centuries the church did not recognize Christmas as an important holiday. Easter was and of course still is the most important Christian holiday because of Christ’s work on the cross, but I wouldn’t dare undermine the enormous miracle that occurred 2000 years ago when God came to earth in the form of a man. Fully God, yet fully man. Amazing!

          I hope you all enjoy this week’s arrangement. Please check out some of the past year’s Christmas arrangements also, such as “Joy to the World”, “Let All Mortal Flesh” and “Away in a Manger”.

God bless,

-Ben            



           

Hello Dulcimer World,
              This week I arranged a hymn that have been written by a contemporary lyricist; Joel A. Erickson. I believe I have some more of his hymns (dulcimer sheet music, that is…) on my site. The tune is an old American melody and I for one have a soft spot for any old nineteenth century Appalachian melodies. I had to arrange it for the dulcimer immediately!!!

              I want to say a quick blub about the tune and the lyrics. First the melody; the hymn has a six measure verse and a four measure refrain. While I was playing it for the first time, I thought something was missing (melody-wise). The reason for this is that most melodies are built in 2, 4, or 8 measure phrases. For example; “song form” is organized in an “A, A, B, A” fashion. The A and B sections are the same about of measures and they are usually 2, 4, or 8 measures. Many songs we hear are in this form and we don’t even know it; Like “In Christ Alone” or “Psalm 31” (on my free sheet music page). Play through the arrangement and tell me what you think.

             Second, the words; it’s a great hymn to sing around Thanksgiving. The main topic is gratitude for what God has done, is doing and will continue to do in our lives. The only “beef” or potentially problematic part of the hymn lyrics is the Refrain; “Each day my debt I’ll pay by gratitude eternal.” In salvation terms, the ONLY way our debt is/has been paid is through the blood of Christ that was shed on the cross and not by our works. We should to be grateful, of course! But that will never pay any debt, as it’s written in Leviticus; blood needs to be spilt to pay for sin, not gratitude. BUT! If you read this text in a non salvation context, oh it’s great! I liken this hymn to “I have decided to follow Jesus”. We don’t choose, but at the same time our actions give proof of the work that Christ is doing in our lives.

             I hope you all enjoy the arrangement and I’ll see you next Monday!

God bless,

-Ben

Hello dulcimer World!

             This week I felt a little ambitious and added two new videos to my site.  The first video is a dulcimer lesson on the hymn “We Gather Together” Thanksgiving is coming, so there’s no better time to learn this hymn but now!

            The second video I posted is all about “TUNING”. There are many ways to keep yourselves in tune, yet many of us find ourselves on the wrong side of the fence on this problem. This video will give you some info on how to tune with an electronic tuner, tune to yourself with note to note or harmonic matching and also how to tune in a group. Don’t miss either of these videos!

 
-Ben

 

Hello Dulcimer World!

                   This week we are going to look at a hymn called "How gentle God's Commands". If you've noticed, it has the same tune as "blest be the tie that binds" (one of my favorite hymns...).  To play this arrangement you will need to own/use a dulcimer capo. This is a little different than a guitar capo. A dulcimer capo clips onto your dulcimer's neck and in a sense changes the key. Tune to DAD tuning and capo the first fret, then you're in E minor, third fret is G Major, Fourth fret is A major and fifth fret is B minor. There are obviously others and if you have added frets... the possibilities are endless!!! (or they seem that way, for that matter). So capo your third frets and enjoy this week’s dulcimer arrangement! Any requests for future arrangements? Email me sometime. See you all next week.

God bless,

Ben

How Gentle Gods Commands

How Gentle Gods Commands

How gentle God's commands!
How kind His precepts are!
Come cast your burdens on the
Lord and trust His constant care.

Beneath his watchful eye,
His Saints securely dwell;
That hand which bears all nature up
Shall guard His children well.

Why should this anxious load
Press down your weary mind?
Haste, to your Heavenly Father's throne,
And sweet refreshment find.

His goodness stands approved,
Unchanged from day to day;
I'll drop my burden at His feet.
and bear a song away.

Hello Dulcimer world!
                This week we are going to look at a hymn that was written in the first quarter of the last century, a hymn called "Jesus is the Sweetest Name I Know". This hymn was written by a woman named Lela Long. It’s a beautiful tune that accompanies some great lyrics. I hope you all enjoy it. Below is a very thorough analysis of the this hymn found on www.homeschoolblogger.com.

God bless,

Ben




_____

“Far above…every name that is named” (Eph. 1:21)

INTRO.: A hymn which praises the name of Jesus as the one which is far above every name that is named is “Jesus Is the Sweetest Name I Know.” The text was written and the tune (Sweetest Name or Lovely Name) was composed both by Lela Long. Practically nothing is known about this person, other than that she lived in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Cyberhymnal says that the song was written before 1925, and this should be pretty obvious because records show that it was copyrighted in 1924. Among hymnbooks published by members of the Lord’s church during the twentieth century for use in churches of Christ, the song may be found in the 1977 Special Sacred Selections edited by Ellis J. Crum; and the chorus only is found in the 1994 Songs of Faith and Praise edited by Alton H. Howard, in addition to the 2010 Songs for Worship and Praise edited by Robert J. Taylor Jr.

Among other hymnbooks in my collection, the song appears in the 1956 Hymns for Praise and Service published by The Rodeheaver Company; the 1957 All American Church Hymnal and the 1963 American Service Hymnal both published by John T. Benson Publishing Company; the 1967 Favorite Hymns of Praise published by Tabernacle Publishing Company; the 1969 Hymns of the Spirit (chorus only) published by Pathway Press; the 1972 Worship in Song Hymnal published by Lillenas Publishing Company; the 1972 Soul Stirring Songs and Hymns published by Sword of the Lord Publishers; the 1972 Living Hymns published by Encore Publications Inc.; the 1976 New Church Hymnal published by Lexicon Music Inc.; the 1987 Worship His Majesty published by Gaither Music Company; the 1989 Worship the Lord Hymnal published by Warner Press; the 1995 Rejoice Hymnal published by Tempo Music Publications Inc.; the 1997 Celebration Hymnal (chorus only) published by Word Music and Integrity Music; the 1997 Majesty Hymns (chorus only) published by Majesty Music; the 1999 Songs and Hymns of Revival published by North Valley Publications; and the 2006 Christian Life Hymnal published by Hendrickson Worship.
 The song expresses praise to the name of Jesus because of what it stands for.

I. Stanza 1 says that the name of Jesus is a name divine

“There have been names that I have loved to hear,

But never has there been a name so dear

To this heart of mine, as the name divine,

The precious, precious name of Jesus.”

A. The name of Jesus should be dear to us because it is above every name and every tongue should confess it: Phil. 2:9-10

B. It is the name divine because Jesus is the one who was prophesied would be God with us: Matt. 1:21-23

C. As a result, the name of Jesus and what it stands for should be precious to us: 1 Pet. 2:4-7

II. Stanza 2 says that the name of Jesus is a name that is worthy of honor and acclaim

“There is no name in earth or heaven above

That we should give such honor and such love

As the blessed name; let us all acclaim

That wondrous, glorious name of Jesus.”

A. There is no name under heaven by which we can be saved: Acts 4:12

B. Therefore, we should give honor to Him who wears it: Jn. 5:23

C. The name of the Lord is to be blessed indeed: Job 1:21

III. Stanza 3 says that the name of Jesus is a name of grace

“And some day I shall see Him face to face

To thank and praise Him for His wondrous grace

Which He gave to me when He made me free,

The blessed Son of God called Jesus.”

A. Someday those who are Christians will see Jesus face to face, as He is: 1 Jn. 3:1-3

B. Then, even as now, we shall thank and praise Him for His grace: 2 Cor. 8:9

C. It is by that grace that He makes us free from sin: Rom. 6:17-18

CONCL.: The chorus continues to remind us how sweet the name of Jesus is and how important it should be to us.

“Jesus is the sweetest name I know,

And He’s just the same as His lovely name,

And that’s the reason why I love Him so;

O, Jesus is the sweetest name I know.”


here have been many great people in the history of this earth, including the history of the Bible, whose names deserve remembering. There have been people even through the past years of my life who have helped me, and their names are still very dear to me. But as I think about all that God has made available to me through His beloved Son, “Jesus Is the Sweetest Name I Know.”

Hello Dulcimer World!

         
        This week we are going to look at a familiar Wesley hymn, "Soldiers of Christ, Arise". I am a reformed believer, but this hymn helped strengthen the persecuted Methodist community in England during the mid eighteenth century. Below is this hymn's history found at "songsandhymns.org".

        Charles Wesley wrote "Soldiers of Christ, Arise" in 1747, originally calling it "The Whole Armor of God, Ephesians VI." With its bold and stirring message, the hymn was designed to confirm new believers. At the time, Charles and his brother, John Wesley, had become leaders of the movement known as Methodism. The Church of England did not approve of the Methodists, however, and those associated with Methodism were persecuted. Their houses were vandalized. And even worse, Methodists were sometimes threatened, stoned, mauled, and dragged through the streets.

        Given the threatening environment that most Methodists faced, Wesley no doubt thought of very real battles as he wrote "Soldiers of Christ, Arise." Yet the hymn refers to more than just physical warfare: Its more important theme refers to the spiritual warfare that all Christians face. As followers of Christ, we must put on the full armor of God, described in Ephesians 6:10–11, and always be ready to battle Satan’s forces.

        Calling on Christians to fight these spiritual battles, the original version of "Soldiers of Christ, Arise" appeared in the 1749 publication Hymns and Sacred Poems. The lengthy hymn contained sixteen verses, each with eight lines. In John Wesley’s Collection of Hymns for the People Called Methodists, published in 1780, only twelve stanzas appeared, divided into three separate hymns. The three-stanza version commonly used today dates from 1847.

        I hope you all enjoy this week's dulcimer hymn arrangement. I'll see you all next week!

God bless,

-Ben

Hello Dulcimer World!

          This week we are going to look at a familiar Wesley hymn, "Soldiers of Christ, Arise". I am a reformed believer, but this hymn helped strengthen the persecuted Methodist community in England in the mind 18th century. The following is this hymn's history found at songsandhymns.org.

          Charles Wesley wrote "Soldiers of Christ, Arise" in 1747, originally calling it "The Whole Armor of God, Ephesians VI." With its bold and stirring message, the hymn was designed to confirm new believers.
At the time, Charles and his brother, John Wesley, had become leaders of the movement known as Methodism. The Church of England did not approve of the Methodists, however, and those associated with Methodism were persecuted. Their houses were vandalized. And even worse, Methodists were sometimes threatened, stoned, mauled, and dragged through the streets.
   
           Given the threatening environment that most Methodists faced, Wesley no doubt thought of very real battles as he wrote "Soldiers of Christ, Arise." Yet the hymn refers to more than just physical warfare: Its more important theme refers to the spiritual warfare that all Christians face. As followers of Christ, we must put on the full armor of God, described in Ephesians 6:10–11, and always be ready to battle Satan’s forces.

           Calling on Christians to fight these spiritual battles, the original version of "Soldiers of Christ, Arise" appeared in the 1749 publication Hymns and Sacred Poems. The lengthy hymn contained sixteen verses, each with eight lines. In John Wesley’s Collection of Hymns for the People Called Methodists, published in 1780, only twelve stanzas appeared, divided into three separate hymns. The three-stanza version commonly used today dates from 1847.

           I hope you all enjoy this week's free dulcimer hymn arrangement. Anyone have any requests??? Email me sometime. I'll see you all next week.
God bless,

-Ben

Sheet Music Link

Site Home Page

Hello Dulcimer World!

         
        This week we are going to look at a familiar Wesley hymn, "Soldiers of Christ, Arise". I am a reformed believer, but this hymn helped strengthen the persecuted Methodist community in England during the mid eighteenth century. Below is this hymn's history found at "songsandhymns.org".

        Charles Wesley wrote "Soldiers of Christ, Arise" in 1747, originally calling it "The Whole Armor of God, Ephesians VI." With its bold and stirring message, the hymn was designed to confirm new believers. At the time, Charles and his brother, John Wesley, had become leaders of the movement known as Methodism. The Church of England did not approve of the Methodists, however, and those associated with Methodism were persecuted. Their houses were vandalized. And even worse, Methodists were sometimes threatened, stoned, mauled, and dragged through the streets.

        Given the threatening environment that most Methodists faced, Wesley no doubt thought of very real battles as he wrote "Soldiers of Christ, Arise." Yet the hymn refers to more than just physical warfare: Its more important theme refers to the spiritual warfare that all Christians face. As followers of Christ, we must put on the full armor of God, described in Ephesians 6:10–11, and always be ready to battle Satan’s forces.

        Calling on Christians to fight these spiritual battles, the original version of "Soldiers of Christ, Arise" appeared in the 1749 publication Hymns and Sacred Poems. The lengthy hymn contained sixteen verses, each with eight lines. In John Wesley’s Collection of Hymns for the People Called Methodists, published in 1780, only twelve stanzas appeared, divided into three separate hymns. The three-stanza version commonly used today dates from 1847.

        I hope you all enjoy this week's dulcimer hymn arrangement. I'll see you all next week!

God bless,

-Ben

Hello Dulcimer World!

This week we’re going to look at the hymn “Thou Who Hears When Sinners Cry”. After playing the dulcimer arrangement for a bit, you’re probably going to ask yourself, “where have I heard this before?” This hymn shares the same melody as “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” (tune: HAMBURG, Long Meter).

Hymns, just like poetry, are organized in meters. For many years, before modern hymnals came into circulation in American churches, congregations would have a large book of hymn lyrics and a small collection of tunes. They sing the melody that matched the lyric’s meter. Today we are blessed with TONS of tunes, so much that most lyrics are inseparable from their tunes. Even so, the older practice of mis-matching is still very prevalent today; thus, this week’s hymn!

Just a small note; if you write lyrics but aren’t the most proficient composer, this is a great system for you (and vise versa). I hope you all enjoy this week’s arrangement!

God bless,

Ben

Hello Everyone!

            It's been a while since I've uploaded new arrangements on my site; I've been busy with other life endeavors. This week we’re going to look at the hymns “Thy Way Not Mine O Lord” and” Give a Call to Jesus”.  Both are fairly easy tunes to play, so check um out!

            If you haven’t seen my last blog, I changed the shipping prices on my hymnals. Buy one and the shipping for the second hymnal you buy is free. Also, 3 or more ( upto 10) is only $11!!! If you have any questions, please write me sometime. Hope you enjoy the arrangements and I’ll see you next week.

God bless,

Ben

Hey everyone!

            I have just recently changed my shipping prices. If you buy one hymnal, you can get free shipping on a second hymnal.  Secondly, if you want to buy more than that, it's only $11 for shipping. I have been trying to find ways to save my customers money in these hard economical times.

God bless,

-Ben

Check out the Dulcimer Hymnal Volume 1 or Volume 2!!!

Hello Everyone!

                   I am proud to announce that thedulcimerhymnal.com is finally spam free. The site was hacked, but fortunately the corrupted code that was placed throughout the site was very easy to find and was deleted. Thank you for all of your concerns and I hope you enjoy the hymnals and the free music posted on this site in the future!

God bless,

-Ben

Check out the Links below!

Hello everyone,

I haven't made a post on my blog in a while. I've been having trouble with spam (which explains why Google has flagged this site). All of these problems should be fixed soon. Recently I posted two new arrangements of the hymns "Back to the Blessed Old Bible" and "Give Me Jesus Alone". Both have catchy melodies and I hope you enjoy.

I wanted to give a big thank you to everyone that has called, written, or sent emails of encouragement over the last couple months. I hope my books help you as much as your kind sentiments.

God bless,

-Ben

Hello everyone!

        This week we are going to look at the Christmas Hymn "Go Tell It on the Mountain." The melody is from an African-American spiritual that has been sung and recorded by many gospel and secular performers for over a hundred years. The writer John W. Work Jr. wore the lyrics to this memorable song. It is considered a Christmas carol because its original lyric celebrates the birth of Jesus: "Go tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere; go tell it on the mountain, that Jesus Christ is born." I hope you all enjoy this week's arrangement!

God bless,

-Ben

Hello everyone,

               This week we are going to look at a very familiar hymn arrangement; "What Child Is This.” It is a popular Christmas carol written in 1865 by an English twenty-nine year old writer named William Chatterton Dix. Dix almost died from a near-fatal illness and was confined to bed-rest for several months. Within this time, he fell into depression, but out of this near-death experience, Dix wrote many hymns, including "What Child is This?". It goes to show that through our weaknesses, God gives us strength and in this case encouragement to himself (Dix) and other’s for more than 100 years. Mr. Dix’s lyrics were later set to the traditional English tune “Greensleeves," and the rest is history. I hope you all enjoy this week’s Christmas Dulcimer arrangement!

God bless,

-Ben

Hello everyone!

             We have just begun the first week of Advent and just like last year, I want to post a new Christmas arrangement each week on thedulcimerhymnal.com. This week's arrangement is of the hymn "Joy to the World." Not only is it a great Christmas hymn that we all know, it was also written by two of the greatest writers, Isaac Watts and G.F. Handel!  This is what happens when great writers come together, may God be glorified through it! I hope you all have a great Christmas season and enjoy each week's arrangement.

God bless and Merry Christmas!

-Ben

 Sheet Music
http://www.thedulcimerhymnal.com/dulcimer-sheet-music