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 HymnCharts is 9 Years Old! > Home
by Don Chapman
On March 6, 2011, HymnCharts is 9 years old!
I started the website soon after I became
a church music director. As most of you have
found, mixing hymns with contemporary worship
songs is quite a challenge and in 2002 resources
were non existent.
The young church I was serving had a praise
band and contemporary music yet I was getting
requests for hymns. I arranged "All
Hail the Power" for the band one Sunday
(download it for free here) and it was a smash. A mid twenties year
old guitarist in the band wondered where
I found this "great new praise song"
and an older lady came up to me and was thrilled
to hear this old hymn.
Shortly thereafter I started the website
and since then thousands of churches have
used my arrangements. Especially satisfying
was the fact that I had spent five years
trying to get my songs and arrangements published
in Nashville with very little success. In
this unique Internet age a small guy like
me can leap ahead of big, traditional music
publishers and be successful by doing things
that make them cringe... allowing sheet music to be downloaded and copied freely, offering Finale files so the key and arrangement can
be changed, and giving unrestricted access to MP3s for downloading, emailing them to musicians
and making CDs.
Along the way I've had lots of fun opportunities.
My buddy Chris Sligh, who has sung many of
my demos, ended up in the top ten of season
six of American Idol. I was seen on the show
(my 15 minutes of fame!) and most recently
attended the premieer of the new American
Idol Experience at Disney with Chris.
It's been fun watching Chris have success
with his popular single "Empty Me"
which was nominated for a Dove award, and
I had the wonderful opportunity to orchestrate
several songs on his CD, working with renowned
producer Brown Bannister. This lead to more work with Brown - I orchestrated
a song on Jeremy Camp's recent CD.
I also got some media attention from CBN
and was on the 700 Club with Chris.
All that to say, it's amazing how you can
make it in the music world these days without
any help from a major label. The help I have had is from you, worship leaders all over
the world. To the thousands of churches that
have enjoyed my music over the years, I want
to say "thank you" for your business.
Your support has enabled me to do what I
love for a living -
writing and arranging music for the Church...
for busy, overworked worship leaders...
for people who haven't been to a church in
years, visit and hear a familiar tune from
their youth in an unexpected way...
for new believers who learn truths through
these timeless hymns...
I hope my music has helped worship leaders
draw their congregations into a deeper relationship
with God. And I hope my work here has made
your life as a worship leader just a little
bit easier and more rewarding.
Next: Value for your ministry budget
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HymnCharts Videos:
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Tutorial: He Hideth My Soul
Adam Fisher shows how he plays the guitar on the arrangement "He Hideth My Soul." |
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Christ the Lord Is Risen Today
The Brookwood Praise Choir sings the most
popular Easter hymn. |
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