So, as previously mentioned, we got a piano a bit ago. The kids have been playing on it and enjoying it, and Carolyn has commented that there’s just something “cooler” about a piano rather than an organ. Though I suppose it could be just the novelty of something new.

So I’ve been spending some time there too. I took piano lessons as a kid for a few years, to limited success. And I’ve also played the violin, baritone horn and trombone at various times in my life. So I have a decent grasp of reading music. When people ask me if I play the piano, I tell them “Sort of” I taught myself to play “Called to Serve” before going on my mission, leading to a humorous incident while in the MTC. We were in a large-group fireside (maybe 200-300 people), and the instructor needed someone to play the opening song, which (unsurprisingly enough) was “Called to Serve”. Nobody volunteered to play, so I raised my hand. I said that it was the only song I knew how to play, so I could play it but if there was a closing song they were out of luck. There wasn’t, so I made my way up to the front and sat down behind the piano.

Now, I won’t say it was awful, but it certainly wasn’t great. Apparently when playing the piano, you’re supposed to use pedals and stuff, which I don’t really know anything about. I did manage to play the whole song without having to stop due to extensive messing up of notes (which was good), but I’m sure it probably sounded like someone who didn’t really know how to play the piano playing. Which, of course, it was. To top things off, this was a Spanish-language fireside, in the Spanish hymbook “Llamados a Servir” has 4 verses instead of only 2 in English, so I had to play twice as long :-). I remember after the fireside, going back to class and the Elders in my district were giving me crap about it. I remember one Elder in particular talking about the pedals and such and the choppiness of my playing and such, and me responding “Well if you know so much about playing the piano, where was YOUR hand, bub?!?” Actually, besides from this guy, the other guys were more along the lines of good-natured teasing. And thus began (and probably ended) my piano-performing days.

Anyways… so with the arrival of our new piano, I have gotten out the hymnbook again and started picking out a few songs. In addition to the aforementioned “Called to Serve”, at various stages of my life, I’ve figured out “God Speed the Right” and because everyone needs a Sacrament song, “Jesus, Once of Humble Birth”. So while looking through the hymnbook for songs that might be easy to play, I stumbled upon “Sweet Hour of Prayer”, which I am nominating as the easiest LDS hymn to play. It’s in C Major (i.e. no sharps or flats) and nearly the entire song is 3rds or 5ths of either C-E-G or F-A-C. Also, “God be with you till we meet again” is quite easy. The first part of the song consists of 3 stanzas where you essentially repeat the same 2 chords. Then there is one part that’s a bit difficult (the final “God be with you till we meet again” right before the chorus), and the chorus, even though it has a separate men’s part (“Till we meeeeeeet”), it’s not that difficult either.

So, following Dan’s first law of the Internet, there is clearly a page somewhere already out there that talks about easy LDS hymns. I found it. It’s actually on the church’s website, which naturally makes sense. The 2 easy ones I mentioned are on there, along with 11 others. I’ll have to check those out.

• Come, Follow Me
• Do What Is Right
• God Be with You Till We Meet Again
• How Gentle God’s Commands
• I Stand All Amazed
• Keep the Commandments
• Let the Holy Spirit Guide
• Now Let Us Rejoice
• Redeemer of Israel
• Sweet Is the Work
• Sweet Hour of Prayer
• Teach Me to Walk in the Light
• We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet.