Orphan Tunes
Showing 13–24 of 28 results
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INDY
$0.00 Add to cart[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
$0.00 Add to carthttps://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
$0.00 Add to carthttps://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
$0.00 Add to carthttps://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
$0.00 Add to carthttps://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
$0.00 Add to carthttps://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
$0.00 Add to carthttps://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.
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Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart
$0.00 Add to carthttp://musicblog.gregscheer.com/rejoice_ye_pure_in_heart.mp3
What I like most about this hymn tune is that it twists, turns, and teeters on the edge of chaos without ever losing its melodic momentum. I would be very pleased to turn this into a festive choral anthem with organ and brass. If your church commissions it, you get to name the hymn tune! Alternately, if you want to write a new hymn text (6.6.8.6 with refrain) to this tune, I’d be happy to collaborate with you.
This hymn is a free download. If you sing this song in your church please report its use to CCLI or OneLicense.
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Rhyme or Reason
$0.00 Add to cart[audio m4a="https://gregscheer.com/wp-content/uploads/woocommerce_uploads/2022/04/tice-rhyme_or_reason-jy2njz.m4a"][/audio]I wrote this tune for a somewhat irregularly metered hymn text based on Ecclesiastes. Since the text talked about stretching and striving, I thought this rising melodic figure (with a chromatically descending bass) fit the theme quite well.
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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RUSTY
$0.00 Add to carthttps://archive.gregscheer.com/sounds/RUSTY.mp3
This is my homage to shape note singing. No, I won’t stack it against the timeless tunes of Sacred Harp or Southern Harmony, but it has a certain rustic charm that may be just right for your 8.6.8.6 text. It was first composed for Adam Tice’s text, “The Church of Christ Cannot Be Bound,” a rousing ode to the church’s mission outside its sanctuary walls.
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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Semper Reformanda
$0.00 Add to carthttps://musicblog.gregscheer.com/semper_reformanda.mp3
This was a first attempt at a song for the World Council of Reformed Churches 2017 General Council. Since this song went unused (“Renew Us, O God” was chosen) I would love to see the tune used with a new text.
This hymn is a free download. If you sing this song in your church please report its use to CCLI or OneLicense.
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SINKING SHIPS
$0.00 Add to carthttps://musicblog.gregscheer.com/ps12-lying_lips.mp3
I wrote this tune for a metrical setting of Psalm 12 by Adam Tice called “Lying Lips.” The Psalm is about the lies of the wicked as opposed to the trustworthy word of God. I mirrored this deceit with a tune that is shifty.
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.
Showing 13–24 of 28 results
