You’ll do things on your mission that you never expected, whether through community service projects, lessons with children, or work in the wards where you serve. One of the most common things we hear from missionaries is that they wish they had kept up with the piano so they could have helped their wards with Sunday and baptismal services. Piano players are always needed in wards, but if you serve out of the country or in rural areas, there are often very few available. In one ward where I served, the ward sang a cappella every week in sacrament meeting! While that isn’t the worst thing that can happen in a sacrament meeting, a pianist gives the meeting a different feel.
If you are concerned about keeping up the practice of the hymns on the mission, rest assured! Ask your district, zone leader or AP in the mission for permission to practice at the church building throughout the week. Most will be happy to let you practice songs in order to serve your ward better. If your companion plays, you could even switch off who plays each Sunday, or one of you could play the opening hymn and one could play the closing hymn in a meeting if you aren’t comfortable mastering multiple hymns in a short amount of time. Your ward members will appreciate your willingness to serve and bless their lives in any way possible. It won’t go unnoticed.
If you have ever taken piano lessons in the past, we suggest you brush up on a handful of hymns to be ready to play in a time of need. The church distribution center sells simplified versions of the hymnbook for an extremely low cost. If you feel more comfortable playing a simplified version of the hymns there is no shame in that!
The distribution center has 3 hymnbook options for you to choose from:
1. The official hymnbook:
This spiral-bound hardback contains the 341 songs that LDS church congregations use regularly. Having your own hymnbook lets you pencil in notes or mark the hymns you’re most comfortable playing. It comes in two sizes and costs around $17-20. You can purchase this version here.
2. The Hymnbook of Simplified Accompaniments:
This book is spiral bound and hardback, like the original hymnbook. It contains 158 simplified hymn arrangements. They are at an intermediate level and are not suggested for beginning piano students. The book costs $26.25 on the church distribution website. You can purchase this version here.
3. Hymns made easy:
This book is also spiral bound but has a soft cover. With over 60 simplified hymn arrangements, it offers plenty of variety for beginners and for students who haven’t played for a few years and are a bit rusty. It costs $5, which makes it a good value. It is also available in 9 languages! You can purchase this version here.
Another resource on www.lds.org is a keyboarding book that many people don’t know about. It can help you review what you’ve learned about playing the piano or start learning. You may be asked to give piano lessons to interested local members, often children in the ward, and this book can also help you get started teaching them. You can find this resource here.
Don’t get overwhelmed with the idea of playing in front of a congregation. People are so grateful to have piano accompaniment in their sacrament meetings! Start off slow, find a few songs to learn and build from there. You won’t regret it and you’ll find another way to bless the lives of the people you are called to serve.