Showing 11–20 of 29 results
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GESCHICHTE
https://musicblog.gregscheer.com/geschichte.mp3
I wrote this tune for a text by my friend David Landegent: “Sufferings of Jesus” is based on 2 Cor. 1:3-11. He wrote it with the tune ASSURANCE (Blessed Assurance) in mind, but I felt that tune was too sprightly to encompass the themes of suffering and consolation found in his text.
This is an orphan tune, waiting to be adopted by a text to call its own. If you write lyrics for this melody or pair it with an existing text, please report its use to CCLI or OneLicense and let me know how you’ve used it.
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GILLIGAN
[audio mp3="https://gregscheer.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/GILLIGAN.mp3"][/audio]The text for which this tune was originally written, Isaac Watts’ “The Islands of the Northern Sea Rejoice!” is a real foot-stomper with valleys rising and mountains melting to plains. I knew the tune needed to be strong and solid, with a hint of sea chanty. My first draft sounded suspiciously like the theme from Gilligan’s Island (sea chanty indeed!). I re-wrote the offending “sit right back and you’ll hear a tale” section of the tune, but decided to commemorate my near plagiarism by naming the tune GILLIGAN.
This is an orphan tune, waiting to be adopted by a text to call its own. If you write your own lyrics for this melody or pair it with an existing text, please let me know how you’ve used it.
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ICC
https://archive.gregscheer.com/sounds/ICC.mp3
In 2007 I fulfilled the lifelong dream of having a college adopt one of my tunes as their school fight song. While my rousing “We Are the Cougars” won Illinois Central College’s fight song contest, my entry for their alma mater tune contest didn’t fare as well. But their loss is your gain. You can replace their “pride of Peoria” text with lyrics of your own!
This is an orphan tune, waiting to be adopted by a text to call its own. If you write your own lyrics for this melody or pair it with an existing text, please let me know how you’ve used it.
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INDY
[audio mp3="https://gregscheer.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/INDY.mp3"][/audio]This tune first appeared as #37 in a collection of Isaac Watts Psalms, In Melody and Songs (2014). What is interesting about this tune is that though the harmonies shift through a few different keys (D, Bm, C), the melody always remains in D. Hence the tune name, INDY.
This is an orphan tune, waiting to be adopted by a text to call its own. If you write lyrics for this melody or pair it with an existing text, please report its use to CCLI or OneLicense and let me know how you’ve used it.
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MAESTRO
https://musicblog.gregscheer.com/throughout_these_lenten_days.mp3
This Common Meter tune was first written for the text “Thoughout These Lenten Days,” which is paired with TALLIS CANON in Sing! A New Creation. I love the Tallis tune, but it felt too static for the movement that takes place in the six verses of James Gertmenian’s text. So I wrote this sweeping melody that is reminescent of English cathedral melodies such as KING’S WESTON. One of my choir members liked the tune so much that he took to calling me “maestro” ever since he sang it. Since the tune earned me that title, I thought it would be an appropriate title for the tune as well.
This is an orphan tune, waiting to be adopted by a text to call its own. If you write lyrics for this melody or pair it with an existing text, please report its use to CCLI or OneLicense and let me know how you’ve used it.
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MARY MAGDALENE OF GRAND RAPIDS
https://musicblog.gregscheer.com/blest_be.mp3
Michael Perry’s 1973 setting of the Benedictus (Luke 1:68-79), “Blest Be the God of Israel” is usually paired with MERLE’S TUNE by Hal Hopson. That’s a beautiful tune, but sometimes a hymn needs more brawn than beauty. This new tune has a lot of similarities to the Peruvian Gloria, which could be used as an extended Amen at the end of the song.
This leadsheet is a free download. If you sing this song in your church please report its use to CCLI or OneLicense.
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MINOR CELEBRATION
https://archive.gregscheer.com/sounds/minor_celebration.mp3
This tune is a festive minor tune, which to some people is an oxymoron. To Ralph Vaughan Williams and me, it makes complete sense.
This is an orphan tune, waiting to be adopted by a text to call its own. If you write your own lyrics for this melody or pair it with an existing text, please report its use to CCLI or OneLicense, and let me know how you’ve used it.
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MY CROSBY
https://archive.gregscheer.com/sounds/my_crosby.mp3
MY CROSBY is a straight-up Gospel hymn for CMD texts. Since it’s written in the style of Fanny Crosby, I called the tune MY CROSBY. (Which seemed more appropriate than MY FANNY.)
This is an orphan tune, waiting to be adopted by a text to call its own. If you write lyrics for this melody or pair it with an existing text, please report its use to CCLI or OneLicense and let me know how you’ve used it.
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PEEPS
https://archive.gregscheer.com/sounds/PEEPS.mp3
Chordal enough for a guitarist or worship band to play, but could also be led effectively at the organ. The tune is more or less modal, yet keeps sliding out of the mode’s center. What holds things together are the strong sequences that follow a subtle inner logic–they guide your voice to the next pitch even when you don’t understand why. It was originally written for Brian Wren’s text, “We Are Your People.”
This is an orphan tune, waiting to be adopted by a text to call its own. If you write your own lyrics for this melody or pair it with an existing text, please let me know how you’ve used it.
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PHIRE
https://musicblog.gregscheer.com/filled_with_the_spirits_power.mp3
“Filled with the Spirit’s Power” is a fine hymn text in search of the right tune. Traditionally, it has been paired with SHELDONIAN or FARLEY CASTLE. Both of these tunes are good but lack the zip needed to convey the text’s images of power, fire, joy, and wind. My new tune, PHIRE, is a joyous musical match.
This is an orphan tune, waiting to be adopted by a text to call its own. If you write lyrics for this melody or pair it with an existing text, please report its use to CCLI or OneLicense and let me know how you’ve used it.