What Wondrous Love, one of my favorite old gospel hymns, for voice, piano and guitar. Download free lead sheets of the famous hymn melody, or a less-well-known pentatonic version, hauntingly beautiful, with free guitar tabs.
What Wondrous Love is apparently an entirely authentic American hymn. Almost 200 years ago, William Walker wrote it down as he journeyed through the Appalachian Mountains. It appears, along with other hymns and songs he wrote down, in his compilation book The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion
(1835).
I have to admit that these are ALMOST the same chord choices you generally find for this hymn... but perhaps tweaked just a little. The chords are MY favorites, not necessarily any standard choice (though they're not very different).
Now here is the alternate melody I told you about. The melody is entirely pentatonic, so it doesn't wander around much, and the guitar tabs are super-easy in all of the three keys, so it will be fun for beginners! But first, listen to Blue Highway singing this bluegrass-style gospel music:
It is a one-chord song; when playing it in the key of Em, for example, you can have the backup instrument just play an Em chord all the way through.
I have provided guitar tabs for several keys, including the key of Fm, which may seem strange, but it makes a very fun tab -- almost like a finger exercise. If you are interested in a beautiful, easy-to-sing version for 4-part harmony, go to What Wondrous Love, the ensemble version.
"The Southern Harmony," says Wikipedia (!) "is a shape note hymn and tune book compiled by William Walker. It is part of the larger tradition of shape note singing."
Like many other old gospel hymns, the hymn lyrics focus on the soul's separation from God because of sin.
Though humankind deserved God's "righteous frown," yet because of His great love for those He made, those who were like lost lambs, God took the curse of sin upon Himself. By becoming man -- the God-man -- and dying for sin like a sacrificed Lamb Himself, He freed those He loves (all of us, says the Bible). It is the story of a Great Rescue.
The above video features the easy-to-sing version for 4-part harmony I wrote for my students. If you are interested in buying this arrangement (a great deal! $2.75 for 10 copies!) go to What Wondrous Love, the ensemble version.
Comments
Do you have a funny story about this music, or does it remind you of something you'd like to share with other readers? Do you have a question? We'd love to hear it!
Elania: THANK YOU! This website is a God-send! :D I took piano lessons as a kid, a little music theory, and now I'm a homeschooling mom hoping to pass on anything I can to my kids about music. It is such a gift, for so many reasons!
I have been slowly giving my oldest daughter whatever my memory can dredge up, scouring the internet for free music she can do, but your website with its instructions AND tips on how to teach pieces are going to help me SO much in this endeavor. I just wanted to tell you thank you. Really really! THANK YOU!
Miggy, United Kingdom: I've just found your website and I think I've died and gone to heaven. I've just taken up the piano again after 35 years absence... buying sheet music was getting expensive/a luxury. The tips are great too. I also live in the middle of nowhere so buying from a shop is not really an option unless I fancy a 120 mile round trip for a piece of sheet music! Thank you for your wonderful site. I look forward to having a thorough look...
Mary: Hi! Your website is just perfect for me, a beginning piano teacher, and just now responding to a request for guitar lessons...
Rosanne: I am grateful I found your website! My 7-yr-old and 9-yr-old sons will benefit from it continuously. They have been playing 1 and 4 years, respectively. You and your site are truly terrific. Thank you!
Kim in Washington: My son is hooked...I've been introducing piano to my son on and off for a year or so, but he's not had much interest. Then I gave him "Monsters Everywhere". He loved playing it with the organ sound on our piano. He memorized it that week and I'm printing off the other Halloween songs to keep him going. I love the detailed instructions on teaching since he is my first student! Thanks so much. Dana:That is so neat that your son has experienced the magic and mystery of music through this little song. That is so exciting to me. Thanks for writing, Kim!
Matt: THIS SITE IS AMAZING!!... Thank you so much for your hard work getting these on the web, you have made many children very happy!!
Joy: Thank you. Just wanted to say I found your website by mistake but what a blessing it has been. I am a missionary wife living in Spain (for many, many years) and I teach piano to Spanish children and adults. I have the barrier of very few usable things in Spanish, and can so identify with the need to write things suitable for the student...
California Student: Hi,I want to thank you for such a wonderful and educational website. I have found all the information you have posted and your comments immensely helpful, and I am grateful for your posting it. I am sure you are an awesome teacher and person. I am a beginner piano student, so many thanks and Happy New Year! Lori, homeschool mom, songwriter/musician and private music teacher: Just wanted to say "thank you" for this site and for allof your dedication and hard work! I have literally combed the internet for months on end to find free and "doable" resources for my young students and for my own children, whom I have homeschooled for nine years. I will be returning to this site over and over again from here on out and am excited to presentsome of the tools I found today on here to my voice and piano students later this week! My thirteen-year old son is happily, as I type, working with the guitar chord sheets I just printed for him! Wish I'd found you earlier! Thanks a million, and God bless--
Kelli: I am so relieved to have found this site!! I have been struggling as a music student, not having any previous instruction in high school. I am starting from scratch and this is a wonderful tool!! Kudos to you!! God Bless you!
What's New at Sheetmusicplus
Marta: Thank you for the free downloads! I'm a private teacher and I teach piano and beginner voice as well. :) I've been running my studio for about a year and I've come across the same issue; I don't want my students to have to purchase an entire supplemental book for only a couple of songs. So thank you for this site...some great downloads!!
Yolanda: I used to teach piano lessons, and then did not for anumber of years. Now, suddenly, I have 3 beginning students and I am thrilled. I was looking for printable scales and found your wonderful website.
Thank you so much. I know this will be a big help to me and my students.
Virtual Sheet Music's Latest Additions:
Susie: Wow! I cannot thank you enough for the free collection of piano sheet music that you created here. My daughter and I are following everything you wrote and we LOVE it. It is super fun!!! She loves to play because of your website. We have a small binder now that is slowly growing! THANK YOU!!!!
Anna Lee: What a fabulous website! I've been a keen amateur piano player since I first learnt 56 years ago at the age of 8. I now have a three year old granddaughter and am hoping fervently that she'll want to learn - at which point I'll teach her. This is just the kind of resource I'll need to make it comprehensible. Thank you very much.
Stasi: AH!!!!! I am so happy to find a helpful site like this. I started to give piano lessons to one little girl from church and two girls requested voice lessons this spring. Since then, word got out and going into the fall I have 18 students. I am so excited, but I'm running out of materials that they can borrow, and I, like you hate telling the parents to buy morebooks. Because I have such a diverse group of students I spend SO much time making supplemental material and I feel like I have to pick through other websites, to only find one or two useful things. I am so thankful for the wealth of supplement that you have offered here! And it's all SO user friendly!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!
Marybeth: I love your site! It has been an incredible resource forme as a Music teacher. I love your ideas and the music you share...
Rossana: Greetings from Perú, South America. I like your blog, I teach piano to children, and it isgood for all the piano teachers.
Carrie,Voice and Piano Teacher: This site is FABULOUS. For all the reasons you explain on the site itself--this is exactly what piano teachers need! (I still need to go look at the vocal music). Wow. THANK YOU SO MUCH!