I have been the Primary Pianist multiple times now and one thing that has made me a little crazy is having a folder of sheet music with all the songs that are not in the Primary Children’s Songbook. Sometimes I can’t find the sheet music of a particular song in the moment they need me to play it.
Many of you probably already do this and I don’t know why I didn’t think of it earlier, but I now organize the music by title, making it a cinch to find!
I leave this particular binder in the piano bench at church so that the other wards can use it as well. This is clearly up to you, but if you label the front of the binder saying, “Please leave this in bench when not being used”, it hasn’t been a problem so far.
I also use the front cover to keep articles from the church magazines that might be helpful to Primary, like this little gem from the April 2010 Friend Magazine. It encouraged using some of your Primary children as pianists for various songs in your Primary program and/or Primary on occasion. We actually did this in our ward a few years back and it was a great success. Each month the Friend magazine usually has a simplified version of a hymn or song from the Children’s Songbook. I tear them out and include them in this binder just for this very purpose.
For any of you that have been a Primary pianist, what tips do you have?
xo
Melanie D.