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 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

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

Hello everyone!

                This week we are going to look at a hymn that has a text written by John Newton; the writter of "Amazing Grace." A fellow dulcimer player requested this hymn because she heard the version of this hymn played by the band Jars of Clay. I've played both version for a while now, but I can't release my Jars of Clay dulcimer arrangemnt because of copyright issues, but if you want to see the music, there is a link below. Also, if you want more info on the hmyn, the writter and the text, Check out the second link; amazing stuff! I hope you all enjoy this week's arrangement and I'll see you next week.

God bless,

-Ben

Jars of Clay Version

http://www.igracemusic.com/hymnbook/hymns/l03.html

Hymn Story and Sermon

http://www.reformedpraise.org/blog/general/a-sermon-on-the-hymn-let-us-love-and-sing-and-wonder/

Hello everyone,

             This week we are going to be looking at a hymn arrangement of "Here Am I." This hymn was written by the lyricist Flora Kirkland. Ofcourse we all have heard of hymn writters like Fanny Crosby, but Flora Kirkland to my surprise had written a large number of hymns also. I hope you all enjoy this great hymn and if you have any requests, please respond to this post. Thanks everyone!

God bless,

-Ben

Hello everyone,

                This week we are going to look at one of my favorate hymns. "Here Is Love" is the love song which came out of the Welsh Revival in 1904. It was the main tune of that revival. I love the melody and the words of this hymn so much, and wanted to share it with you all. I hope you enjoy this week's hymn arrangement!

God bless,

Ben

Hello Everyone,

               Another week and another free dulcimer hymn arrangement. This week we are going to look at "I am a Child of the King." I'll be honest, I didn't know about this hymn until about two weeks ago. It isn't a familiar hymn, but I liked the melody and the refrain. As heirs of Christ, we are truly children of the King. I hope you all enjoy this week’s arrangement. I was going to make a capo arrangement, but I’ve been busy lately.

             Come check out the site soon, I’m going to add some live recording of some of these arrangements. If you have played some of the sheet music at your churches or with friends and have a recording, please email them to me and I will be pleased to host them on my website! Thanks everyone.

God bless,

-Ben

Hello everyone,

 
               I hope you are having a great Labor Day by taking the day off and not Laboring. Since it is a national holiday most companies let their employees take the day off, but before you start your day take a minute to think of all the blessings God has put in your life. Your family, friends, jobs, experiences, etc. This hymn is about God's sovereignty in our lives and that all that is good in our lives comes from above. This hymn in general has many chord changes, but with practice it is very fun to play. If any of you have any questions, please write me. Thanks everyone. Have a great holiday!

God bless,

-Ben