What music should i play?

Question:

What music should i play?

i was hired at a church to play piano on sundays. i have to pick music to play during these times:
1) when people are walking in
2)during the communion part
3)when people are leaving
I have to be able to learn the music in a couple of days. i'm a good sightreader though.

Any suggestions?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: That will depend in a large part what worship songs your congregation/ church usually sings. Does it lean more to modern worship or traditional hymns?

If you play in a more contemporary setting (like me) then it's probably better to improvise more than sight read most of the time otherwise you can easily overdo a song with all the repeats sounding exactly the same. When people walk in play something smooth and peaceful. If it's a keyboard you can use a piano/pad. Otherwise just play a hymn peacefully (eg. Peace like a river, As the Deer) so people can pray and quieten down if they want to.

During communion again, the focus should not be on the music as people remember Jesus and what He did. I think if you can improvise from a few simple chords it works better than an actual song because people won't be trying to sing along in their heads as they pray/ meditate.

When people leave you can play something that was already sung in the service, or a song that fits well with the sermon's message.

If you haven't tried improvising do give it a go. It's basically learning to play from chords and not sheet music. It's something that can be self taught once someone experienced give you the basic rules. There should be some good websites on that. Improvisation focuses on the ear rather than the eye, so it may be difficult to begin with, but gets easier as you go, especially if you have background in classical music.

Above all, remember in all that you play it's an act of service unto the Lord, do it with an attitude of devotion and humility. Ask the Lord for wisdom when you need it. Remember, it's not a performance. God should have all the glory, not the musician.