Did you ever have a hymn that you just couldn’t seem to master? Maybe you don’t know how to read music and could use some guidance on when to sing each note. Or maybe you don’t know the words at all, and want to practice. Perhaps you want to encourage your kids to prepare for the Primary program in a few months. The Interactive Music Player, found on the church website, is a great tool to help you with your hymns.
To locate the player, go to the church website and select ‘gospel library’. Select ‘music’ from the dropdown menu, then again from the next page, and then click on ‘interactive music player’ from that menu. Voila! You’ve found the player.
In the top, right-hand corner of the page, you can search for a particular song to work on. You can also browse the hymnal or the children’s songs. Click on your selection to open the player.
At this point, you have several options to work with. You can have the music only play while a bar illustrates where you are supposed to be in the song. Be warned: there is no introduction played for this. Also, it only plays through one time, not for each verse. This is the interactive music with parts selection. You can make selections regarding the part for the music to play: soprano, alto, tenor, and/or bass. Options include adjusting the volume for each part, or turning it completely off. You can also change the tempo and the key. You can also click on a point mid-song and the music will start.
There are also a few noninteractive options (are those inactive?). You can have the music and words play (with introduction), although this won’t show you when to sing what; it will simply allow you to gaze at the text on screen instead of in your hymnal. You can print the music and text (by the way, that’s what I use in my kids’ primary program books).
I don’t know a lot about music, so I am not really sure how some of the best ways to optimize this. For instance, if I actually knew whether I sang alto or soprano, I might know how to utilize those parts. I have used it for primarily two options: helping my kids practice for the Primary program, and teaching myself how to conduct. It was a big help with just those two, and I am sure there are a multitude of other great ways to put this tool to use! Please feel free to share anything I might be missing.
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