This blog is dedicated to the amateur or beginner musician with music written in a simple and easy to read Alpha Notes format and with Chords for the left hand. This is to assist those with little or hardly at all note reading skills. This is a blog that shows all the chords in Alpha Notes format too which you can find the notes for the chords in one of the blogs. Please feel free to leave a comment or any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Enjoy!
This African
American spiritual may date back to the eighteenth century. Other stanzas have
been added by oral tradition. A look through modern hymnals will reveal an
array of variations on the text. The most notable alteration in the Psalter
Hymnal is the phrase "to the Lord of life" in place of the original
"to the rising sun," in which "sun" was an ambiguous
metaphor referring to God. The song's use at communion services probably dates
from after the American Civil War. Miles Mark Fisher notes in Negro Slave Songs
in the United States (1953),
[Originally
the hymn] relates hardly at all to holy communion, which does not necessarily
require early morning administration or a devotee who faces east. [This] it
seems was a signal song of Virginia slaves during the eighteenth century who
used it and similar ones to convene their secret meetings.
The text
discerns participation in the Lord's Supper as a humble act in which we not
only eat the bread (st. 1) and drink the wine (st. 2) but also praise our God
(st. 3) "on our knees." The refrain ends with a prayer for mercy, an
African American kyrie (see PHH 258) that reminds us of the tax collector's
prayer in Luke 18:13.
To download the easy alphanotes and chords sheet music, look here. Enjoy!
Lyrics:
1 Let us
break bread together on our knees.
Let us break
bread together on our knees.
Refrain:
When I fall
on my knees with my face to the rising sun,
O Lord have
mercy on me.
2 Let us
drink wine together on our knees.
Let us drink
wine together on our knees. [Refrain]
3 Let us
praise God together on our knees.
Let us
praise God together on our knees. [Refrain]
"This Love Is Mine!" is written by John W. Peterson and Alfred B. Smith. John Willard Peterson (November 1, 1921 – September 20, 2006) was a songwriter who had a major influence on evangelicalChristian music in the 1950s through the 1970s. He wrote over 1000 songs, and 35 cantatas.
In 1953, he graduated from the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago and shortly thereafter settled in Pennsylvania to continue his songwriting career. He then moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where for over ten years he was President and Editor-in-Chief of Singspiration, a sacred music publishing company. While there, he compiled and edited a hymnal called "Great Hymns of the Faith", (c) 1961. He also served on the board of Gospel Films, Inc. of Muskegon, Michigan.
He also had direct contact with popular Christian musicians of the day such as Bill Pearce and Dick Anthony. He resided in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he continued to write music. Peterson died September 20, 2006, aged 84, following a bout with prostate cancer.
Some of his more popular song titles include "It Took a Miracle", "Over the Sunset Mountains", "Heaven Came Down", "So Send I You", "Springs of Living Water", "Jesus is Coming Again", "Surely Goodness and Mercy", "This is the day that the Lord hath made" and "O Glorious Love". His cantatas include Night of Miracles and Down From His Glory.
Used pseudonym B. C. Laurelton ---------- In 1930, he began playing on radio broadcasts in Jersey City, New Jersey, on "The Old Fashioned Gospel Hour." After meeting Wendell P. Loveless, Alfred enrolled at the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago and became a member of the WMBI staff. During service as Minister of Music at The Church of the Open Door in Philadelphia, he taught at The Philadelphia School of the Bible in the fall of 1938. During that year, he wrote "For God So Loved the World" after visiting the ninety-four year-old hymn writer George C. Stebbins. Smith met Billy Graham when they were both students at Wheaton College. During their long collaboration, they founded Singspiration in 1941. After graduating from Wheaton, Smith, Graham, and George Beverly Shea started "Youth for Christ" in Chicago.
To download the easy alphanotes and chords sheet music, look here. Enjoy!
Lyrics:
1. We may sound the depths of all the might oceans; We may tell the distance to the farthest star. But the mighty love of God cannot be measured. Its dimensions are so high, so deep, so far!
CHORUS
This love is mine, I cannot comprehend it! This love revealed through Christ, my Lord divine. When on the tree He died for me. God's wondrous, glorious, mighty love, This love is mine
2. I behold His love in every golden sunset; I can see it in the beauty of a flower! And I feel it in my heart since Jesus touched me, And redeemed me by His wonder-working power
CHORUS
3. And some day "I'll thank Him face to face in glory When with all the millions at His feet I fall. And through countless ages there I'll live rejoicing Sing forever at the wonder of it all!
"Wayfaring Stranger" (also known as "Poor Wayfaring Stranger" or "I Am a Poor Wayfaring Stranger"),Roud3339, is a well-known American folk and gospel song likely originating in the early 19th centuryabout a plaintive soul on the journey through life. As with mostfolk songs, many variations of the lyrics exist and many versions of this song have been published over time by popular singers, often being linked to times of hardship and notable experiences in the singers' lives, such as the case withBurl Ives'autobiography.
According to the book The Makers of the Sacred Harp, by David Warren Steel and Richard H. Hulan, the lyrics were published in 1858 in Joseph Bever's Christian Songster, which was a collection of popular hymns and spiritual songs of the time. This may or may not have been the first time the song appeared in English print, and the songwriter is unknown. Steel and Hulan suggest the song was derived from an 1816 German-language hymn, "Ich bin ein Gast auf Erden" by Isaac Niswander.
During and for several years after the American Civil War, the lyrics were known as the Libby Prison Hymn. This was because the words had been inscribed by a dying Union soldier incarcerated in Libby Prison, a warehouse converted to a notorious Confederate prison in Richmond, Virginia known for its adverse conditions and high death rate. It had been believed that the dying soldier had authored the song to comfort a disabled soldier, but this was not the case since it had been published several years before the Civil War in 1858, before Libby Prison was put into service (1862).
To download the easy alphanotes and chords sheet music, look here. Enjoy!
Lyrics:
I am a poor wayfaring stranger
A-travelling through this world of woe
But there's no sickness, no toil or danger
In that bright world to which I go
I'm going there to see my 1.father (2.mother, 3.Saviour)
I'm going there, no more to roam
I'm just a-going over Jordan
I'm just a-going over home
(Repeat)
Alternative lyrics:
I am a poor wayfaring stranger
I'm travelling through this world of woe
Yet there's no sickness, toil nor danger
In that bright land to which I go
I'm going there to see my father
I'm going there, no more to roam
I'm only going over Jordan
I'm only going over home
I know dark clouds will gather round me
I know my way is rough and steep
But golden fields lie just before me
Where God's redeemed shall ever sleep
I'm going home to see my mother
And all my loved ones who've gone on
I'm only going over Jordan
I'm only going over home
Repeat verse one and chorus
"The Angels Rolled the Stone Away" is an African-Amarican spiritual song.
“Early on Sunday morning, as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to see the tomb. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, because an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and rolled aside the stone and sat on it. His face shone like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. The guards shook with fear when they saw him, and they fell into a dead faint” (Matthew 28:1-4 New Living Translation).
Matthew 27:65 says Pilate said to the chief priests and Pharisees, “You have a guard; go your way, make it as secure as you know how” (New King James Version). This was his response to their request to make the tomb of Jesus secure until the third day. They wanted to forestall a situation where Jesus’ disciples would come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people that He had risen from the dead! They claimed that the last deception would be worse than the first. What they called the first deception was probably Jesus ‘pretending’ to be the Messiah, a truth they rejected.
The point is that nobody had any plan to steal the body of Jesus. His disciples were actually in hiding. Pilate who had reluctantly handed over Jesus to them to be crucified granted the request of the chief priests and Pharisees. They went and made the tomb secure; they sealed the stone and set the guard to keep watch (verse 66).
What does it mean to seal the stone? The Greek word for sealing in Matthew 27:66 is sphragizo which means “to stamp (with a signet or private mark) for security or preservation.” It also means to authenticate or confirm. In the Old Testament, the word sealed is used in Daniel 6:17. The word translated sealed is chatham (Aramaic), which means to seal. “Then a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signets of his lords, that the purpose concerning Daniel might not be changed” (Daniel 6:17 New King James Version).
The stone at the door of the tomb of Jesus was sealed to secure the tomb. Nobody could remove the stone without breaking the seal. Only the person who sealed it could authorize the breaking of the seal. It would be a crime for anyone to remove the seal without authorization. This is similar to when a regulatory authority or an appropriate authority seals up a property putting its seal, stamp, or notice to that effect and an unauthorized person goes there to remove the seal and open the place. This would be a crime.
The chief priests and Pharisees probably sealed the stone with the seal of the Sanhedrin, thus preventing anyone to gain access until the seal is officially broken. Unless the seal was broken, the stone could not be rolled away from anyone to enter the tomb.
On the third day after Jesus’ burial, He rose from the dead. Matthew 28:1-4 says, “Early on Sunday morning, as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to see the tomb. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, because an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and rolled aside the stone and sat on it. His face shone like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. The guards shook with fear when they saw him, and they fell into a dead faint” (New Living Translation).
Please take note of this phrase in the scripture you’ve just read: an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and rolled aside the stone and sat on it. Why did the angel roll away the stone and sat on it? Many people often think that the angel rolled away the stone so that Jesus could come out of the tomb. This is not correct. The stone that was rolled away was not a barrier to Jesus coming out of the grave. Therefore, the angel didn’t roll away the stone for Jesus.
The Bible says the angel of the Lord rolled away the stone and sat on it. It was as if the angel was waiting for anyone who would challenge him because he didn’t receive anybody’s permission to rolling away the stone! The seal must have been broken in the process. If anyone was in doubt the person who broke the seal, he would meet the angel sitting on the stone!
The resurrection of Jesus demonstrated the indisputable, absolute power of God over the High priest and other religious leaders in Israel, their collaborators in the crucifixion of Jesus, and the guard posted to secure the tomb (Matthew 28:4, 11-15).
The sealed stone was a barrier to Mary Magdalene and the other women to enter the tomb, and without entering the tomb they wouldn’t be able to anoint His body which was their original mission on the morning of Jesus’ resurrection. They were even already worrying about who would help them roll away the stone (Mark 16:3). But when they got to the tomb, the stone had been rolled away.
The angel rolled away the stone to prove that Jesus had actually risen from the dead and the tomb was empty. The stone was rolled away so that it could be obvious that Jesus had resurrected and the tomb was empty. If the stone had not been rolled away, these women would not have been able to gain entry to the tomb to discover that the body of Jesus was ‘missing’ whereas he had resurrected.
Furthermore, without the seal being broken and the stone removed, Peter and the other disciples wouldn’t have been able to enter the tomb, especially with the guards posted there to secure the place. Therefore, they wouldn’t have been aware that Jesus had risen before he began to appear to them. (John 20:1-18; Matthew 28:1, 5-8).
What announced the resurrection of Jesus Christ was the great earthquake and angel’s removal of the sealed stone and the empty tomb! I believe that If Jesus had resurrected quietly with the seal and stone intact and thereafter showed himself to His disciples, the propaganda that he didn’t resurrect would have been worse.
The removal of the sealed stone without human participation tells us that there is no barrier that God can’t remove; there’s no embargo that God can’t lift; there’s nothing that the enemy has done that God can’t undo; there’s no human finality that God can’t overturn. Proverbs 21:30 says, “Human plans, no matter how wise or well advised, cannot stand against the LORD” (New Living Translation). With God, all things are possible (Matthew 19:26b).
Any stone that the enemy has rolled against your life, marriage, health, business, finances, career, destiny, etc. is rolled away now in Jesus. The seal of the devil is broken now in Jesus’ name. The power of resurrection shall break every evil seal on every department of your life and cause life to replace death in Jesus’ name.
The power that raised Jesus from the dead shall give you life. You shall live; your family shall live; your ministry shall live; your destiny shall live, your business shall live, every good thing in your life shall live and not die.
Jesus is risen! Hallelujah! The propaganda of the chief priests and the elders to discredit the truth about His resurrection by bribing the guards to lie that His disciples came at night and stole Him away while they slept, failed woefully (Matthew 28:11-14). For forty days after His crucifixion, Jesus appeared to the apostles from time to time and, by many infallible proofs, presented Himself to them that He was actually alive and talked to them about the Kingdom of God (Acts 1:3).
Jesus is alive forevermore!
To download the easy alphanotes and chords sheet music, look here. Enjoy!
1 The angel rolled the stone away! The angel rolled the stone away! 'Twas on a bright and shine day, When the trumpet began to play, The angel rolled the stone away!
2 My Jesus spurned that dreadful tomb! My Jesus spurned that dreadful tomb! 'Twas on a bright and shine day, When the trumpet began to play, My Jesus spurned that dreadful tomb!
3 My Lord will come again for me! My Lord will come again for me! And on a bright and shine day, When the trumpet began to play, My Lord will come again for me.
I’ve Got Peace Like a River is an African-American spiritual. Spirituals began on the fields and the slaves would sing to pass the time of day. It was also a great way to pass messages along and share the gospel.
This song uses water “as a simile” to describe peace, joy and love.
Hymnary.org says “This spiritual compares the peace of God to a placidly flowing river, the joy of Christ to a merrily bubbling fountain, and the love of God to a deep, wide ocean.”
The earliest appearance in a hymnal appears to be in 1975. This was really a surprise, as I thought it would be much earlier.
To download the easy alphanotes and chords sheet music, look here. Enjoy!
1 I've got peace like a river, I've got peace like a river, I've got peace like a river in my soul. I've got peace like a river, I've got peace like a river, I've got peace like a river in my soul.
2 I've got love like a river, I've got love like a river, I've got love like a river in my soul. I've got love like a river, I've got love like a river, I've got love like a river in my soul
3 I've got joy like a river, I've got joy like a river, I've got joy like a river in my soul. I've got joy like a river, I've got joy like a river, I've got joy like a river in my soul.
"That's For Me" was written by Kurt Frederic Kaiser (December 17, 1934 – November 12, 2018) was an American contemporary church music composer and arranger.
Kurt met his future bride, Patricia Anderson, during this period and married her in 1956. After his time in Billings, Kaiser spent a year and a half traveling with basso Bill Carle before entering the American Conservatory of Music at age eighteen.
Kaiser led innumerable choral workshops, performed concerts, and recorded eighteen solo albums at the piano. He received a Dove Award for his piano album, Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs on the Sparrow label.
For over 50 years, Kaiser influenced modern day church music and helped usher in a new era in American Christian music. Crossing denominational boundaries, his compositions have found their way into many church hymnals. Kaiser and composer Ralph Carmichael co-wrote the first broadly popular youth musical, Tell It Like It Is, sparking an explosion of popularity in this new genre of contemporary Christian music. Several other Carmichael–Kaiser musicals followed as churches, colleges, and universities recognized their value in conveying the Christian faith to a new generation. Kaiser continued to achieve subtle trend changes by maintaining sensitivity to music already widely accepted by the church, while managing to move into new and unexplored areas that have broadened the realm of worshipful, sacred music. Best known for the songs "Pass It On" and "Oh How He Loves You and Me," Kaiser continued to compose traditional church music. His timeless compositions helped insure that music in its purest form will continue to be embraced in the church worship experience. "The Lost Art of Listening" project has been hailed as one of the finest recorded works available today.
During the past five decades, Kaiser copyrighted more than 300 songs, one of the latest being a Christmas piece, "One Quiet Night," that was premiered by the Waco Symphony. In 1999, Kaiser traveled to Sweden at the request of the U.S. Ambassador to perform with a string quartet and soloist at a gala Christmas gathering of guests and dignitaries at the Museum of History in Stockholm.
In 1992, Kaiser was awarded a special Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) for his contributions to the Christian music industry. In November 2001, he was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame and received the Faithfulness in Service award in 2003. He received an Honorary Doctorate in Sacred Music degree from Trinity College in Illinois and an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters degree from Baylor University. Baylor also presented him with the Pro Ecclesia award in 2017. Through the years, Kaiser enjoyed his associations with the Baylor University music programs and the five years he conducted the Baylor Religious Hour Choir.
Kaiser served as president of the Waco Symphony Association and was a board member for the Christian Music Publishers Association as well as the Gospel Music Association. From 1959 until his death, Kurt and his wife Pat resided in Waco, Texas. They had four children, ten grandchildren, and two great grandchildren.
Kaiser died on November 12, 2018 in Waco after struggling with ongoing health problems.
To download the easy alphanotes and chords sheet music, look here. Enjoy!
Lyrics:
Verse 1
That's for me, yes that's for me,
I'm all done with my running away,
Since I came to Him
and gave into Him,
'twas a very happy day.
Verse 2
That's for me, yes that's for me,
I was tired of the grayness of life,
Tho' against my will,
all I sought was thrills,
but it only brought me strife.
Chorus
Once life had no meaning,
once life gave no rest,
But now ev'ry thing's different.
This new life certainly is best.
Verse 3
That's for me, yes that's for me,
I'm all done with my running away,
Since I came to Him
and gave into Him,
'twas a very happy day.
"Come, Holy Spirit" is a classic inspirational song from the late John W. Peterson, this anthem pleads for God's spirit to lead and guide us now as in the times of the great revivals. This new arrangement is respectful of Mr. Peterson's legacy and contains a pertinent message for the modern church.
A classic inspirational song from the late John W. Peterson is crafted into an evocative anthem that takes the words of his dramatic Pentecost song of praise and lifts it to new expressive levels. A chronicle of the Christian church, this anthem pleads for God's Spirit to lead and guide us now as in the times of the great revivals. This is a pertinent message for the modern church and its mission. This choral challenge is a true sermon in song.
John Willard Peterson (November 1, 1921 – September 20, 2006) was a songwriter who had a major influence on evangelicalChristian music in the 1950s through the 1970s. He wrote over 1000 songs, and 35 cantatas.
In 1953, he graduated from the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago and shortly thereafter settled in Pennsylvania to continue his songwriting career. He then moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where for over ten years he was President and Editor-in-Chief of Singspiration, a sacred music publishing company. While there, he compiled and edited a hymnal called "Great Hymns of the Faith", (c) 1961. He also served on the board of Gospel Films, Inc. of Muskegon, Michigan.
He also had direct contact with popular Christian musicians of the day such as Bill Pearce and Dick Anthony. He resided in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he continued to write music. Peterson died September 20, 2006, aged 84, following a bout with prostate cancer.
Some of his more popular song titles include "It Took a Miracle", "Over the Sunset Mountains", "Heaven Came Down", "So Send I You", "Springs of Living Water", "Jesus is Coming Again", "Surely Goodness and Mercy", "This is the day that the Lord hath made" and "O Glorious Love". His cantatas include Night of Miracles and Down From His Glory.
To download the easy alphanotes and chords sheet music, look here. Enjoy!
Come, Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit came at Pentecost He came in mighty fullness then His witness through believers won the lost And multitudes were born again.
The early Christians scattered o’er the world They preached the gospel fearlessly Tho’ some were martyred and to lions hurled They marched along in victory
Chorus Come, Holy Spirit, dark is the hour We need your filling Your love and your mighty power Move now among us stir us we pray Come, Holy Spirit revive the church today
Then in an age when darkness gripped the earth The just shall live by faith was learned The Holy Spirit gave the church new birth As reformation fires burned.
In later years the great revivals came When saints would seek the Lord and pray O once again we need that holy flame To meet the challenge of today
Chorus Come, Holy Spirit, dark is the hour We need your filling Your love and your mighty power Move now among us stir us we pray Come, Holy Spirit revive the church today . Come, Holy Spirit, dark is the hour We need your filling Your love and your mighty power Move now among us stir us we pray Come, Holy Spirit . . . Revive the church today Revive the church today Revive the church today!
