HOW TO PLAY AN INTRO -Piano tutorial for Church Musicians

[00:00:03][music] [music] >> Hello and welcome to my channel. Um Today I'm talking about an introduction, playing an intro to a song in a congregational singing.

[00:00:23]Okay, so we cannot talk about introductions without talking about cadences. So, for just a minute, let me take you to through quickly through what cadences are. So, if you are if you are playing an intro to a song, there are some two cadences that I'd mostly recommend for you. That's the perfect cadence and then the imperfect cadence. So, simply put, a cadence is just a punctuation on it's like a punctuation on a hymn, on a phrase, or a system of the song, right? And so, if you have um if you have a a perfect cadence, it means that you are going from chord five, that is so of the chord, so so >> [music] >> I'm playing in key C, so my so is G.

[00:01:12]>> [music] >> And then you resolve on chord one.

[00:01:17]So, any chord or group of chords that typically resolves from chord five, that is the so, the dominant of the chord, to the do, is a perfect cadence, right? And you can also use an imperfect cadence. An imperfect cadence rather resolves on the chord five.

[00:01:37]So, you are coming from somewhere to chord five, right? So, usually, if you are playing an intro, the best ways to do it is to either resolve on a perfect cadence or an imperfect cadence. Okay. And so, what is very important is the length of your of your introduction.

[00:01:58]As I said in the previous in the previous lesson, there are there's a difference between a plain and interlude and then playing an intro.

[00:02:08]And so, an interlude is relatively shorter than an interlude.

[00:02:15]It's relatively shorter than an intro.

[00:02:17]So, if you want to handle an intro, you are free to make it a bit lengthy.

[00:02:22]So, you can even play the full song as an introduction.

[00:02:25]So, if I'm if I'm having a song like To God Be the Glory, I can play the full song, which is >> [music] >> which is very much acceptable, right?

[00:02:40]But, you should also measure if the hymn is too long, then you might want to maybe play only the refrain or maybe play the first line or you can play a phrase in the hymn.

[00:02:54]Again, if you want to create something of your own, you should make sure that you link it very well to the song itself. Don't disconnect it from the song, right? So, if I want to maybe I want to put some starters together, um I could do something like uh >> [music] >> So, even though this resolves on an imperfect cadence, it leaves too much question and too much tension on the on the minds of the singers.

[00:03:29]They don't know what what song it is.

[00:03:30]They don't know what song you are trying to introduce. Okay, so that's very important that you link the introduction to the music itself, all right? So, I can still do my patterns, what I was doing.

[00:03:45]>> [music] [music] >> So there's a link. All right, so don't disconnect it totally from the song.

[00:04:00]Another way to handle an introduction is to simply play a sort of an announcement of the first line of the song.

[00:04:08]So for example, I use um Praise My Soul the King of Heaven as an example.

[00:04:12]Um >> [music] >> You can simply play this and then resume into singing.

[00:04:22]All right. So what this does is it's It doesn't um It doesn't occupy the minds of the congregation too much. It doesn't leave them thinking, "What song is What song is it?" It just goes straight to the point. All right. So you can simply use it. I In my view, I think this is a very classy way to introduce a a song. All right.

[00:04:39]And then you can also have um play the the the the last line of the of the song. All right. So let's say I'm still on the 313. Let's say To God Be the Glory. I I can play >> [music] [music] >> Here we go.

[00:04:59]That's also very brilliant. You can do that as well.

[00:05:02]Or you can pick parts and parts of the same song and put it together.

[00:05:08]Especially when the hymn is a a long one like To God Be the Glory. It's a very long hymn.

[00:05:13]And so you can pick a part. Maybe you can start from the beginning and link it to the end. So you can do something like this.

[00:05:23]>> [music] >> Then you pick the ending.

[00:05:31]>> [music] >> Very exciting, isn't it?

[00:05:34]And so that's also another way to handle. There are many ways to play an interlude an intro, but there ways not to play an intro as well. Okay.

[00:05:44]So So, I said, it can to lengthy, but make sure it's not too lengthy to the extent that the congregation has to be waiting for you, and then you never finish. It's it's an accompaniment of a hymn. It's not a a an organ recital, okay? If you have a recital, you want to do your stuff, you can take all the time to do it. That's a recital. We came to listen to a a recital. We are psyched up for that.

[00:06:09]But, if we came we we come to church, and then we have to wait minutes for you to finish your introduction, we know you are good. You can play, but, you know, it's it's kind of reduces the the the joy and the zeal that the people want to sing with it.

[00:06:25]And it's it's turns it into a sort of a a one-man show.

[00:06:29]Okay? So, first of all, you you can link any of the methods that I've mentioned can end in a perfect or an imperfect cadence. So, as I said, a perfect cadence ends on the do.

[00:06:44]An imperfect cadence ends on the chord five, that's the so.

[00:06:47]All right?

[00:06:48]So, you can still choose to play your last line I'm using last line example.

[00:06:52]You can do >> [music] >> This one is [singing] ending on the >> [music] >> perfect cadence. I end on the chord one.

[00:07:02]I can also do the same thing end on an imperfect cadence.

[00:07:05]>> [music] [music] >> On an imperfect cadence.

[00:07:15]I usually do this on on on the last a last stanza, right? And so, just explore these many many many measures, many many ways, and then I think you can put two or more together, or even choose one, and you still sound as great as you are supposed to be. Thank you, and see you in the next video.

[00:07:37]>> [music] >> Ah.

[00:07:42]>> [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [bell] >> Ah.

[00:08:10]>> [music]