I recently started the Duane Shinn Praise and Gospel Course. It’s four DVD’s (~2 hours long each) that cover 14 different hymns. The goal of this course is to provide arrangement techniques that can be applied to any song. Duane uses the 14 hymns to demonstrate the different techniques.

According to Duane’s website the only prerequisite for this course is the ability to read hymnal music. However, this course would have been too advanced for me if I did not complete Duane’s 52 Week Crash Course first. I have no doubt about it. I would not suggest this course as a beginner course.

This first song covered is Amazing Grace. Here is a list of the techniques covered in this first song/lesson.

Chording
syncopation
Walkup and downs
Walkup with parallel tenths
2/1 breakups
Grace notes
Triplets
Harmonizing in parallel sixths
Blues riffs
Plagal cadence
Chord Substitutions

In the second verse of the arrangement I threw in a chord run and a tremolo. Neither of those were covered in this lesson but were covered in the 52 Week Crash Course. I also utilized swing notes in the arrangement that were a carryover from the Crash Course and not covered in this lesson. I’ll play the song as written in the hymnal and then arranged. The piano sound is VSL Steinway D for the hymnal version and new VSL Bösendorfer Imperial for the arrangement.



God bless,
David

David -

I was so pleasantly surprised when this video came up in my YT feed - and then I saw the date and knew you'd have posted it here . . . and answered my immediate question re whether you could have done this without the Crash Course.

Anyway, this is some beautiful playing - and I loved the tremolo!

Thanks.

The next song covered is beautiful. Totally different style compared to Amazing Grace. I'm so happy playing the hymns now. Practice is a blessing everyday. The 52 Week Crash Course was work (most of the time) while this Praise and Gospel course is fun!

God bless,
David

David,

You indicate Duane’s website states the prerequisite is sight reading, but isn’t a knowledge of chords required? And basic arranging techniques learned in the crash course?

It's been a few years since I looked at his website, but I only recall him mentioning the need for hymnal competency. I would assume that he felt someone who could read and play what's in the hymnal could be taught the other stuff. However, I do know it would have been too difficult for me if I did not take his 52 Week Crash Course first.

God Bless,
David

Great playing David. I enjoyed watching you play very much.

I do not believe David indicated that the website states the prerequiste is "sight reading".

He said ....
"Read" hymnal music does not mean you have to be able to "sight read" it.

Yeah, I don't recall Duane mentioning "sight reading." He just mentioned being able to read music and play what's written in the hymnal.

However, he changes his tune (so to speak) in the first video of the Praise and Gospel course. In the first video he mentions the necessity of at least being able to read the melody line.

Either way, I would not recommend this course to someone starting from scratch like I did with the 52 Week Course. I would have been overwhelmed early on and probably not continued with the material. I'm sure there are more competent beginners than me and they might be able to successfully grapple with this material. I'm not a teacher, but I wouldn't start a beginner on this first.

One benefit of the 52 Week Course is that it builds slowly and incrementally, giving the student plenty of opportunity to practice each technique. On the other hand, the Praise and Gospel course jumps right into it and moves quickly.

God bless,
David

Really nice playing Dave. Keep up the good work

Thank you.

God Bless,
David

Here is another song covered in Duane’s Praise and Gospel Course. The focus of this lesson was on chord substitutions, counter melody, open/closed voiced arpeggios, and hand-over arpeggios. The emphasis was mostly on chord substitutions. He gave us four rules to use when considering chord substitutions.

What I appreciate about the emphasis on chord substitutions is that it gives the arranger the option to play the song with more variety. Duane didn’t cover them much in the 52 Week Crash course. Therefore, I would have to repeat the same verse over again if I wanted to play it more than once. With chord substitutions, I could play more than one verse of the song different each time.

This song is a beautiful hymn (Cleanse Me) that I’ll play as written in the hymnal and then arranged. I’ll play two verses of the song arranged with different chord substitutions for variety. The piano sound is the VSL Bösendorfer Imperial.



God Bless,
David

Just yesterday I thought to myself: Haven't heard from David B in a long time... Now I know why that is: You've been learning and practicing hard! :-) Congratulations - and thanks for the wonderful update!

Great job, David B! It sounds like you've continued learning after the 52-week course ended since you've done something different here from where that one ended. Keep posting your progress!

Great job, David!

I really appreciate having these materials to work with.


The Praise and Gospel Course really complements the 52 Week Crash Course nicely. It expands upon the foundation laid in the Crash Course, e.g., chord substitutions were mentioned briefly in the 52 Week course while they are the main focus in this lesson in the Praise and Gospel Course.


Thanks. I wish I could play it with the beauty that Duane does (but then I wouldn't need a teacher).

God Bless,
David

You will get there Dave in a few more years. As you have come to know, piano learning for most of us is a long process


Peace

I know I'll get somewhere, but it might never be "there."

Yep, things I should have learned when I was a kid I must struggle with now. I wish it could be more about the music and not so much about the basics, i.e., reading, technique, theory, etc.

God Bless,
David

Here is another song form the Duane Shinn Praise and Gospel Course. It's a fun song, O How I Love Jesus. Duane covered a lot of theory in this lesson regarding:

chord substitutions (Circle of fifths)
reharmonizing the melody
walk-ups and walk-downs
inside plagal cadence
parallel sixths and tenths
swing notes
contrary motion
triplets
New Chord voicings (even with dissonance)

This song was a bit more challenging because I had to learn a new key (Ab), so chord voicing, runs, etc., were all new patterns for me. I'll play it as written and then arranged. The piano sound is VI Labs Modern U, which works really well for this song.



God Bless,
David

Wow, David B – just: wow!

I will second the ‘wow’. And then a question if you don’t mind: do you ever play the piano at your church services? If not, you should consider it; your congregation would live to hear you play 😊

Thanks. It's a fun song. It's the first song I've learned in the key of Ab. I'm not afraid of the black keys anymore.


This is crazy California and we haven't been able to hold church services since the beginning of March (everything has been online or via zoom).

When we were in church I would play a little bit in-between services when people aren't paying that close attention. Even though I've been a pastor for over 20 years and I'm quite comfortable in front large audiences, that doesn't translate to playing the piano. I get terrible performance anxiety. If I had to lead a congregational hymn I would most likely mess it up and it would become a distraction. I'll leave playing for the congregation to those who are more experienced, i.e., have been playing all their lives.

I'd like to be capable of playing more in church, but the ability just isn't there yet. I don't know if it ever will be, but I am happy playing in my limited capacity for now.

God Bless,
David

Hi David
I’ll remind you of what I need to remind myself before I play in public—
The performance is not about you... it is about the music 🎶

thinking of it this way makes all the difference in my anxiety level. ‘ Breathe deep and think of the music ‘

Thank you. I appreciate that.

God Bless,
David

Nice to hear and see your progress Dave.😎

Here is another song from the Praise and Gospel Course. This is a beautiful song called Precious Memories. Duane emphasized elements that would fit with this type of slower meditative song. There was a strong emphasis on dynamics in this lesson. Some of the techniques covered were:

White Noise Duane refers to this as space between the notes to give time for reflection.
Echos
Rolling chords
4/1 and 3/1 breakups
16, 32, and 64 note runs
Chord substitutions

The piano sound for this song is VSL’s Bösendorfer Imperial Grand. I did record the hymnal version of this song, but omitted it from the upload because my internet is very slow and the longer video would take several hours to upload. So here is just the arrangement.



God Bless,
David

Wow! David B, what progress you are making so far! It definitely helps to keep the motivation up (for me)!! I am currently working on the 52 week course - but the dvd can be cumbersome (since it's an external drive). Thank you for posting your videos because then rather than attach my player for the nth time, since I heard Duanne's instructions at least 1-2 times, I can just listen to what you're doing in your videos when just needing that little reminder/hint on how to play certain sections. Awesome work so far! Keep on posting!

Beautiful playing (as always!), David. And that Imperial Grand sounds pretty darn good, too.

Wonderful!

As I mentioned earlier in this thread, the 52-Week Crash Course was essential for me to go through. It provided the foundation for Duane's Praise and Gospel Course. I could not have started (as a beginner) with this course. Keep working at the 52 week course and it will payoff.


Thank you for the encouragement. The Bösendorfer Imperial Grand is my favorite VSL offering (and I have them all ).

I wish I could sell all the others. I could use the money.

God Bless,
David

David B,

Referring to your liking the Bösendorfer Imperial Grand sound:

You might find it enjoyable to listen Albert Frantz, American-born concert pianist based in Vienna for 20+ years now. Albert is a Bösendorfer pianist and plays the Imperial Grand. All of the music and instruction on his www.key-notes.com website, as well as his recordings of Alkan and Beethoven, among others, are played on a that instrument.

I'll look him up. Thanks.

God Bless,
David

Now 11 practice sessions, of my minimum 24, into Lesson 8 of the 52 week course. Any song in 3/4 time is getting played with block, broken, 2:1, and swing bass. Those in 4/4 time are being played in Alberti bass and 2:1. That is how I am interpreting Duane's guidance for trying things. It lengthens my practice sessions to 30-40 minutes, still a very comfortable duration for me, as long as I reduce to 2 sessions daily on the lessons. Brain fog sets in as my play migrates toward automaton.

It is interesting how easy it is to play a song that is written in a particular LH pattern, say 2:1, then how much more challenging it become to play it in Alberti, and vice versa. I can play either LH pattern fluidly when those notes are on the paper, but when trying to play a bass pattern that is different from what is written it becomes a challenge, even though I can play the different bass pattern fluidly if that pattern is written. Perhaps it is force of habit; perhaps concentration lapses (like that ever happens to a septuagenarian); perhaps not quite recognizing the chord fast enough in the subconscious yet in its various presentations on the written music. I also tend to lose my RH fluency when switching to a bass pattern that is not on the paper.

LH swing bass, playing the bass note 2 octaves below middle C, is a challenge. It is becoming better, and some passes through the songs slowly are ok, but I still have to feel around for the keys. Time will heal that deficiency. Interesting that when starting to work on swing bass last lesson, I tended to not reach far enough with the LH for the bass note; now that I am gaining some skill, my tendency is to reach too far for the bass note, except in a G7 chord where I still fall a little short and hit the A rather than the G a bit too often. I'm trying to transition from feeling the piano topography to find the notes to ingraining the feel of the jump. Slowly but surely, and any comments or tips are always welcomed.

The emphasis in this lesson (I'm a bit behind on updating my progress) was on applying different styles to a song for different purposes. The first version of this hymn would be played softly in the background when people are praying or responding to an appeal. Duane calls this "Nature Style" because it's supposed to have more of an ebb and flow like the ocean waves or wind in the trees. Major 7ths and suspensions help to create that airy feel.

The second is more traditional with a constant pulse. Consistent swing notes and chording in the left hand help to create a syncopated rhythmic sound bringing a jovial feel to this somewhat solemn hymn. This could be played at the end of a service as people are leaving. The constant rhythm would also be more appropriate for congressional singing.

Thankfully, all the techniques used in these arrangements were covered in the 52 Week Crash Course. The emphasis in this this lesson was more on stylistic approaches rather than technical treatments. That's why I would not recommend this course before the 52 Week Crash Course for a beginner.



God Bless,
David

Sounds great David. I always look forward to listening to your progress. Hope all is well with you and the family.

Peace

Everything is well here. Thank you for the kind wishes and affirmation.

God Bless,
David

Unfortunately, I injured my wrist (fell on some stairs) and had to take some time off. I’m almost 100% now (praise the Lord). I’m continuing on in the Praise and Gospel course. Duane emphasizes that we should apply what we are learning to other songs.

I stumbled across this praise song while I was watching a worship service on TV. I contacted the ministry, but they did not have the music available for purchase because the song evidently had never been recorded/sold. I was able to pluck out the melody and determine the key. I utilized what I have been learning from Duane and came up with my own arrangement for the song. Here is my arrangement of “For Such A Time As This,” originally written by Donna Carline.



God Bless,
David

What you've accomplished over the past several years is remarkable, David. And thanks for all the videos!

Thanks. It's been a fun journey so far. I'd have to say that I think Duane's materials are perfect for what I wanted to accomplish. The 52 Week and Praise and Gospel courses are providing a great foundation for me to build on.

God Bless,
David

Very impressive David. I remember your early postings on the 52wcc thread that your goal was to play spiritual music by ear and make your own arrangements. You certainly have accomplished that and more. Thank you for the beautiful music.

Yeah, that's one of the benefits of Duane's material. You learn to dress up what's written.

God Bless,
David

Great work David

Thanks

Great work David! It's so neat to see how you were able to construct the song yourself with your own arrangement skills. Keep on posting as it is so motivating to see and read your posts.

Beautiful hymn from the Praise and Gospel Course. Chord substitutions was the focus of this lesson. It’s amazing how a fairly bland 4 part harmony (hymnal) song can be transformed with different chords. The title of this song is “Have You Any Room For Jesus.”

God Bless,
David

Can't play Gospel...find it very difficult to sing praise to an entity that I don't believe exists and completely man made..no incentive I guess.

Great job David! Thank you for sharing. Really sounding like a pro! I'm liking some of the techniques I can recognize from the 52 week course! Keep it up!

Another song from the Praise and Gospel Course. A beautiful hymn, “Can You Hear The Savior Calling?” Chord substitutions was the focus of this lesson. The piano for this hymn is called NOIRE by Native Instruments. It’s sampled from a full-size Yamaha concert grand piano that’s been voiced to sound a bit warmer with a softer attack. This has become my favorite virtual piano to play.



God Bless,
David

David, very nice. I have a question, I notice what looks like hesitations on several moments. It happened on a previous video you posted. Are they on purpose?

Hi, thank you for the nice question. As I've listened to the recording, I feel there are two places were the hesitation is the result of not enough practice with the song. I'm always eager to record too soon.

I'm keeping time by singing in my head. So It's really an accompaniment of a live performance so to speak. As I was singing to the recording I noticed two places where the pause was longer then I needed to take a breath and I was waiting for the music to catch up. I think it would have been smoother if I played the song a few more days before I recorded it.

God Bless,
David