Modern Worship Hits: Piano Book

These arrangements strike an uncommon balance: they sound polished and full enough to stand alone in worship settings, yet they stay within the technical reach of pianists still building their skills. Tornquist's harmonic choices add sophistication without unnecessary complexity, and the inclusion of lyrics and chord symbols makes these equally useful for accompaniment or solo performance.

These arrangements capture the openness and emotional directness of contemporary worship while maintaining the clarity and craftsmanship of hymn traditions. Melodies sit naturally under the hands, supported by harmonies that feel fresh without becoming mannered or overly complex.

Piano players in church worship settings who want contemporary repertoire that sounds graceful without demanding advanced technique. This collection also works well for pianists building their sight-reading skills or students in studio settings who want to expand beyond classical and pop repertoire into music they hear in their own faith communities.

• Let the chord symbols guide your left hand voicings. Rather than rigidly adhering to notation, use them to explore fuller or leaner textures depending on your venue's acoustic and the moment's energy.
• Pay attention to the rhythmic feel of each song. Contemporary Christian music often sits between straight eighth notes and swing; Tornquist's rhythmic notation should guide your touch, so listen carefully to how the written rhythm wants to breathe.
• Memorize passages you'll use frequently. If you're cycling through these in weekly worship, having 3-5 pieces in your hands rather than in front of your face changes how freely you can lead and respond to the moment.
• Consider the lyrics even when playing solo. These melodies carry specific emotional and spiritual weight; let that inform your tempo, dynamics, and where you choose to let notes breathe.

Build a rotation of these pieces for weekly worship services, allowing you to develop deeper interpretations of a few songs rather than learning new material constantly. You might also use selections from this book as background music for prayer rooms, community events, or educational moments in church programming where instrumental music reinforces the liturgical theme.

• Reading chord symbols and converting them to playable voicings
• Balancing melody presentation with harmonic accompaniment
• Playing with the rhythmic characteristics of contemporary music
• Sustaining engagement with repetitive melodic structures through varied dynamics and articulation
• Coordinating left and right hand independence in a song-based (rather than study-based) context