The Challenge of Arranging Music

A friend sent me an Email to say, “Take a moment to listen to "Beulah Land" because it should sound nice on the pipes.”  I found a video on the web with two couples singing "Beulah Land,” an arrangement from a hymnbook.  I found the printed music for it in "Hymns of Glorious Praise," a hymnbook by Gospel Publishing House.

I've arranged many hymns from this book.  From my old pencil jottings on the pages, I observed that I considered “Beulah Land” at one time, to see how it would sound on the pipes.  It appears that I set this hymn aside to be worked on at another time.  The reason seems obvious; its range was extensive and it had to be compacted, which wasn't out of the question; just that more time was needed to arrange this hymn than other hymns.  It looked quite adaptable and I’m sure it can be done because I just completed it, motivated by knowing it's a hymn my friend is dying to play.  I was thinking I should arrange it because he was needing it, and of course, because it would be challenging.  Also, others might enjoy playing or listening to it being played. 

It’s amusing, that years ago, when I had transposed one hundred hymns for the bagpipes, I decided that would be enough.  Nevertheless, I continued to arrange music for the bagpipes, because my desire was insatiable and I was often preparing to play for church worship services or other engagements.  I'd hear another beautiful hymn and I'd wonder, "How would that hymn sound on the bagpipes?"  Now, I hear other pipers playing, "Be Thou My Vision," "I'd Rather Have Jesus than Anything," and "The Rifted Rock."  I know these hymns are the result of my insatiable habit of not wanting to let any great hymn to be left unarranged for the bagpipes and my desire to publish my arrangements in a series of bagpipe music books called, “The Church Piper,” for the convenience of other pipers.   I wanted pipers and others to enjoy hearing and loving them just as they loved "Amazing Grace" when it was introduced in the '70's and played ever since.  To have many wonderful hymns available for the bagpipes enables them to stay fresh and beloved so people won't get tired of hearing them.  That's why I want to arrange "Beulah Land" for my friend.  I wish I had arranged it earlier.  I'll share it with him when it's neatly written. 

It will be a while before my next book is published, though I actually have a sufficient number of pieces to do so.  It may be, “Aspiring Hymns,” with the theme of aspiring to develop one’s character to be more like that of Jesus, or “Worshipful Hymns,” to suit playing commencement of worship services by the piper.  Presently, I must concentrate on distributing my newest Church Piper music book.  This month, the fifteenth volume in this series was published and it has been welcomed exceptionally well.  Its title is “Patriotic Music & Familiar Folk Songs.”  Short notes from pipers have encouraged me to continue to arrange and publish music for the pipes.  One piper said, “Your admonition to use our God given talents for the work of the Lord is very important to me,” while another wrote, “Thank you for a great ministry and labour of love.”

My latest book of music arranged for the bagpipes, “Patriotic Music and Familiar Folk Songs,” also contains several beautiful hymns.  Other books in this series are based on themes such as Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Memorials, Weddings, Scottish Music, Gardening, Sailing, Friends & Neighbours and Sojourning, to name a few.  They are all for the convenience of pipers who need a ready source of music suitable for their piping engagements.   All of them are available from Henderson’s Imports, a Scottish supply shop in Michigan.