I started this project to fill a need that is growing in small churches. Churches are struggling to find musicians. When a church finds musicians, they find that many play by ear rather than by reading sheet music.
What happens when the musician has never heard the song which is being requested? The church keeps flipping through the pages until someone finds a song that the musician recognizes. What happens when a musician moves to another church?
Another problem came about with the global pandemic. Health gurus told everyone to stay apart. Some churches closed while other churches held outdoor services. No one wants to carry a piano outside.
Outside of musicians being needed. People still want to sing. They want to be in the spirit and nothing kills the spirit in a church faster than an internet advertisement before the song plays… except perhaps when the song is halfway through and a new ad starts playing…
I DON’T NEED TO BE ASKED IF I WANT TO SKIP THE AD… I ALWAYS WANT TO SKIP THE AD ! ! !
I tried creating an entire and searchable hymnal that I played in my music library. Songs would get moved to where I could not find them. Songs would get deleted. Transferring files and synchronizing tablets can be so fickle.
I wanted to know that when I grabbed my phone or my tablet that the songs were available. I wanted to find the songs that people requested without having to type a group of words to find a song name.
Speed and ease of use were central to creating my first program. In most churches that I have attended or visited since childhood all have had “Church Hymnal” which was published by the Tennessee Music and Printing Company. Everybody called it the Ol’ Red Back Hymnal.
Starting from scratch, I put together every song in an attempt to stay true to the tempo and feel of these songs. Everyone thinks, “ah, I can google and find a representation of any of these songs.” However some of the copies that I found online were copied from old records that were scratchy and rough sounding. I liked what I heard but I wanted that church house feel of an upright piano.
So why have a web site? This site is to highlight the projects and give people a chance to listen to the songs that will be inside the various programs.
What is up with PURE VANILLA? Every producer, songwriter, singer, musician always wants to put their own personal touches on songs. PURE VANILLA means that I have made every effort to put no personal styling on these songs. These have been produced in accordance with the sheet music in the hymnal. Some hymnals have more verses than the Ol Red Back Hymnal. Some hymnals have fewer verses. This is another reason that these songs are tied to a specific hymnal.
My goal is to introduce more as I get this project going.
Thank you for reading through all of this. I hope you enjoy.
The Staff of Big T Studio LLC.