Hymn Study: 2017/18

Fisher Academy loves Hymn Study!

We tend to use AmblesideOnline's 2017/18 hymn selections most years simply because it's so handy to have them thoughtfully picked out for us. We ♡ AmblesideOnline!

Today, we're playing the playlist I created for the 2017/18 school year with the option set to shuffle.* We really like listening to our hymns as background music. While there are other viable options on YouTube, some recordings out there don't lend themselves very well to that!

Sometimes we use the videos to learn a new hymn or one we don't know very well. In that case, we play the video on my laptop during Jovi'oval Time and sing along reading from the screen or from Our Family Hymnbooks. You might like to do something similar. The hymns embedded below should work pretty well.

Enjoy!

*{There are several versions of each hymn, if you listen to the playlist as-is you will hear each hymn 2-5 times in a row. Even if each one is different that's a little too repetitive for me. Setting it to shuffle allows the songs to play out of order. I use bluetooth from my iPhone to my Bose SoundLink mini speaker (it's small enough that I literally travel everywhere with it). It's my favorite way to play the songs at lunchtime or all throughout the day. }

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The hymns in the playlist have been chosen with the following criteria:
1) presentation - must be well sung;
2) listenability - must have a high quality sound recording and be bearable as background music;
3) singability - sing-a-long-able-ness is nice;
4) lyrics on screen - a plus but not a requirement for this list

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The hymns included below meet the standards above but have lyrics on screen (link provided when not):

September: Marching To Zion

October: My Jesus I Love Thee

November: O Love That Will Not Let Me Go

December: Star in the East

January: Thus Far The Lord Has Led Me On

February: Blest Be the Tie That Binds (lyrics here)

March: When I Survey the Wondrous Cross

April: On Jordan's Stormy Banks I Stand

May: Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee

June: It Is Well With My Soul

July: Great is Thy Faithfulness (lyrics here)

August: My Faith Looks Up To Thee

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Helpful Links:
More AmblesideOnline Hymn playlists
Center for Church Music: Songs and Hymns
Hymnary.org

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Composer Study: Brahms

The upcoming Composer Study on the AO rotation for fall is Brahms.


"Johannes Brahms" by C. Brasch, Berlin - http://www.oberlin.edu/library/graphics/SCP/Brahms.gif. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.
As far as I can remember, I know next to nothing about him, so I am looking forward to reading, listening and learning along with my kids this term. Here's the information I've gathered so far. I'll plan to do composer study much the same way we always have.

In the old days, I used to try to help y'all out by linking to youtube vids and making printables and such, but now there are mama's way quicker than I am. I'm so thankful for AO users over at the forum... they were a HUGE help by doing all the work this time around! See helpful links.

Helpful Links:

See discussion over at the AO forum about Composer Studies... Not a member yet? Sign up here.

One generous AO user put a Brahms youtube playlist together for us! Thank you Islavet!
And another helpful AO user made a pdf with short bios of all this year's composers, from Harriet Brower's book, The World's Great Men of Music: Story-Lives of Master Musicians. Thanks Keac!

If you have an amazon prime account you can stream the Big Brahms Box for free!

OR

Buy the Brahms album here (100 tracks for a little more than $2!):

Contribute to the 'Get Books to Deepest Darkest Peru' FundWhenever you use the above amazon links to make purchases, you contribute to the fund that enables us to get our books overseas. So, click, click, click away! :)

Hymn Study: Our Family Hymnbook

photo courtesy of  anissat

Today, I'm working on our Family Hymnbook. I've actually been very casually working on it for several years, but officially for the last --- days, well, since February according to my pop-up reminder app. :( Obviously, I've been procrastinating a little. However, I have decided that I am quite done with that pesky pop up feeling of guilt every time that little reminder unexpectedly comes on the screen. I have determined to finish our hymnals this week, printed and all. I'm actually getting really excited. I know it will really help streamline our hymn-singing each morning.

Cindy Rollins in her recent series on Morning Time, had a post that highlighted hymns, as well as consistent reminders sprinkled throughout the series about their family hymnal, and I suddenly became thoroughly frustrated with myself for my major Family Hymnbook failure! We enjoy singing hymns, but sometimes we get kinda stuck in a rut with the oldie-but-goodies, if I haven't yet scrounged up the words and music for the newer hymns.

So, today, I looked up all the hymns we have and don't have music sheets for (links provided, see below), I slapped them all in a pdf file, printed it off and now I'm excited to finally put our Family Hymnbooks to use! All I have left to do is make 5 copies.

You might already have access to a hymnal or two (though I advise you to consolidate your favorites into a more family friendly version... you bet it'll go much smoother!), or could make a more personalized version yourself. I'd encourage you to do that, in fact. But, if you're like me and you could use something in the meantime to keep you from utter hymn chaos on some of those mornings, please feel free to use this one! :) See download link below.

In the post, Hymn Study: What we do, I talk a little more about how we do hymns, but honestly you should not go a day longer without reading Cindy's posts linked above. She is an EXPERT. :)

In our Family Hymnbook:
(Links to printable sheets for individual hymns. Personalize your own hymnbook!)

A Mighty Fortress
Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed
All Creatures of Our God and King
All Hail the Power of Jesus Name
Amazing Grace
America the Beautiful
And Can it Be
Be Still My Soul (We Rest on Thee)
Be Thou My Vision
Blessed Assurance
Bringing In The Sheaves
Christ The Lord is Risen Today
Come Thou Fount
Come Ye Thankful People Come
Count Your Blessings
Crown Him With Many Crowns
Eternal Father Strong to Save (Navy Hymn)
Fairest Lord Jesus
For A Thousand Tongues To Sing
For the Beauty of the Earth
Great is Thy Faithfulness
Hallelujah What a Savior
He Leadeth Me 
He Who Would Valiant Be
Holy, Holy, Holy
How Great Thou Art
I Sing The Mighty Power of God
I surrender All
I'd Rather Have Jesus
Immortal, Invisible
It Is Well With My Soul
Joyful, Joyful
Just As I Am
Leaning on The Everlasting Arms
Low in The Grave He Lay
Man of Sorrows
More Secure Is No One Ever
My Anchor Holds
My Country Tis of Thee
My Hope is Built
My Jesus I Love Thee
Nearer My God to Thee
Now Thank We All Our God
O Come All Ye Faithful
O God Beyond All Praising
O God, Our Help in Ages Past
O Love of God
O Sacred Head Now Wounded
O The Deep, Deep Love of Jesus
Onward Christian Soldiers
Our God Reigns
Pass Me Not
Praise Him, Praise Him
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty
Rock of Ages
Savior Like a Shepherd Lead Us
Softly and Tenderly
Soldiers of Christ Arise
Take My Life and Let it Be
The Church's One Foundation
The Old Rugged Cross
The Star-Spangled Banner
There's Power in the Blood
Thine Is the Glory
This is My Father's World
Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus
To God Be The Glory
Trust and Obey
We Rest on Thee (see Be Still My Soul)
What a Friend We Have in Jesus
When I Survey
Wonderful Grace of Jesus

Chorus's:
Above All
Be Unto Your Name
Blessed Be the Lord God Almighty
His Name is Wonderful
I will Sing of the Mercies
In Christ Alone
Lamb of God
Lord, I lift Your Name on High
Shine, Jesus, Shine
Shout to the Lord
There is a Redeemer
We Bow Down
We Will Glorify
You Are My All in All

AO hymn rotation for this year:
(those that were/are new to us and not linked above are linked below)

September: Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken (tune is from Haydn's Emperor String Quartet) -
October: There Is a Happy Land
November: Come, Ye Thankful People, Come
December: How Great Thou Art
January: Trust and Obey
February: Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah
March: Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing
April: Lord Of All Hopefulness Lyrics
May: Beneath the Cross of Jesus
June: Fairest Lord Jesus
July: I Love To Tell the Story
August: Awake My Soul and With the Sun

Search for more of your favorite hymns here:
Center for Church Music: Songs and Hymns
Hymnary.org

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Download Our Family Hymnbook Part One HERE.

Hymn Study: Dear Lord and Father of Mankind

Scheduled in October...  Sung in November... Posted in December... :)

Hymn Study: He Leadeth Me

We sang this hymn during October (it was scheduled for September, I think!) and I never did post this... until now. :) I figure it's nice to have all this in one place, so I'm posting it anyway.


He Leadeth Me:



Click here to Listen, Download [ Real Audio | Mp3 ] and/or Print [ Lyrics | Sheet Music ].



Helpful Links:
Hymns in public domain (in both word or pdf formats): http://hymnchords.net/
English Hymns in the Commons: http://musicasacra.com/english-hymns-in-the-commons/