Amazing Grace (instrumental)

One of the most difficult instruments to emulate on an arranger keyboard, IMO, is the bagpipe. Kind of a Floyd fingering technique, but with a different flare.

I decided to give this one more try tonight, just to see if I could still play. I used the S-950s Irish Hymn2 style, main intro, C-variation, put a bagpipe into the first voice, then layered a couple others as the song progressed. It was a real challenge, but I think I got through it OK.

Click Here to hear Amazing Grace

Have a great Thanksgiving, everyone,

Gary

yes Gary that was Amazing..
A very powerful song well done..

Thanx

Thanks Donny, I really appreciate you taking time to listen and comment.

Hope I was able to help with the Genos when we talked the other day and I know you will really love that machine once you learn all the fantastic features.

All the best,

Gary

Always a pleasure to talk to Mr Wizard
when I need help... It's always appreciated!

Great rendition Gary! You and your keyboard did a very commendable job! Thanks!

Plus one!

Very nice Gary.
Thank you hope you post some more.

Thanks everyone for listening to this old codger play his aging keyboard. I see the pulmonary docs in another month, and maybe they can come up with some new, miracle drug that will allow me to sing again.

Keeping my fingers crossed,

Gary

Great job Gary, thanks for that.

Thanks for sharing such a powerful song. You did the bagpipe justice. Sounded good. Hope you're feeling well these days and glad to see you on the keys still.

Very haunting melody and sound ...

Gary...How did I miss this until today!...Just Beautiful...I love the Irish theme...I'm not 100% sure But I believe the words where written or Memorized and Sang by The Folks from Africa being held in the bottom of ships in Harsh conditions coming to America to be Sold as Slaves...It amazes Me to think with these conditions and No Hope they still had belief within their Hearts to Sing and survive...A terrible and Dark piece of History to always remember How blessed we all are through our Faith in God!....Sincerely Harold

I prefer the Navy Band version. Still an excellent job

The "Folks from Africa being held in the bottom of ships in Harsh conditions" didn't write or sing Amazing Grace as 1. They couldn't write or even speak English.

The song was written by a slave ship captain who got the crap scared out of him by a terrible storm off the coast of Ireland.

The song was written (based on that experience) years after he had left the slave-trading/seafaring business. It's all pretty well documented.

chas

Gary to get back to the OP before it goes south...
I listened to it again at home and those bagpipes you used
really went right thru me. YOu out did yourself this time for sure Thanx again for sharing your music.

So correcting a previous post about the origin of the song is 'going south'? We comment about the origin of tunes all the time. Or is a post only ok if YOU post it or is somehow about you. If you think yelling 'going south' everytime I post something is going to boost your popularity or gain you more devout followers, you may be overestimating the degree to which you think you've redeemed yourself from your latest meltdown. Why don't you spend more time on that nice new Genos; maybe you'll learn how to operate it. Just sayin'.

chas

Chas, I knew the history of the song, mainly because I am a history buff and have hundreds of nautical history books here in my library. Glad you posted the song's origin, though. I never really thought about that aspect when I recorded the song. The thing I remember most about Amazing Grace is that it usually played on bagpipes during the funeral of a fallen police officer throughout much of the nation. I only attended one of those funerals, a Maryland State Trooper that was shot in the chest during a routing traffic stop on I-95. At the time, I worked for the Maryland State Police out of Headquarters in Pikesville, Maryland. I only worked there for a year, got shot at by a 15-year-old kid who stole a car, and I resigned a month later. That was way back in 1962. The salary for a trooper then was $51.50 a week. I had proposed to my wife and knew I could not make it on that salary. That's when I decided to go into the field of medical research and technology. Wow - now I guess I really took the post south.

Thanks again, everyone,

Gary

Gary wow you are really a true renaissance man for sure...
great story..

all the best!

Gary, I've never liked bagpipes but on this particular song it fits perfectly. Glad you feel strong enough to perform and post this. Also nice to see you getting creative with the lead voice. That's the way to keep our performances unique. Also shows the gazillion unique and untapped voice combinations in our 'older' synths. Way to go.

chas

Thanks guys, I really appreciate the compliments, especially from two incredibly talented musicians.

All the best,

Gary

Sorry I'm so wrong about My Information...Do You think the folks on the ship sang in their own language? Do think they had Hope? I know the writer of the song is unknown also...I'm wrong about a lot of things in life, but It's fine to be corrected also. The Heart of the story was the suffering of the people and how it was widely accepted in America for so long!...We still have Gods Grace, His only Son Jesus died for our Sins....AMAZING GRACE...........Harold

Harold, you are a sweet kind soul.

No problem, Harold. I just thought the actual composer (John Newton) should get the writing credits. We know your intentions were good and that's what matters most. Have a good day.

chas

Hi Chas ,
definitely. I had a vague recollection of the song’s history , but more due to a movie, can’t remember which one it was, based on those horrid , dark times.

A very moving song.

Chas...Did John Newton wright the words or just the Music?.See I'm still learning!...thank You Riki for You're nice comments. My Parents always told Me to try to be the Best Person You can be in Life...Use the Golden Rule...Treat others the way You want to be treated...Sincerely Harold

Harold, there have been some minor variations to this story but this version is generally accepted as true.
---------------------
"Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn published in 1779, with words written in 1772 by the English poet and Anglican clergyman John Newton (1725–1807).

Newton wrote the words from personal experience. He grew up without any particular religious conviction, but his life's path was formed by a variety of twists and coincidences that were often put into motion by others' reactions to what they took as his recalcitrant insubordination.

He was pressed (conscripted) into service in the Royal Navy. After leaving the service, he became involved in the Atlantic slave trade. In 1748, a violent storm battered his vessel off the coast of County Donegal, Ireland, so severely that he called out to God for mercy. This moment marked his spiritual conversion but he continued slave trading until 1754 or 1755, when he ended his seafaring altogether. He began studying Christian theology.

Ordained in the Church of England in 1764, Newton became curate of Olney, Buckinghamshire, where he began to write hymns with poet William Cowper. "Amazing Grace" was written to illustrate a sermon on New Year's Day of 1773. It is unknown if there was any music accompanying the verses; it may have been chanted by the congregation. It debuted in print in 1779 in Newton and Cowper's Olney Hymns but settled into relative obscurity in England. In the United States, "Amazing Grace" became a popular song used by Baptist and Methodist preachers as part of their evangelizing, especially in the South, during the Second Great Awakening of the early 19th century. It has been associated with more than 20 melodies. In 1835, American composer William Walker set it to the tune known as "New Britain" in a shape-note format. This is the version most frequently sung today.

With the message that forgiveness and redemption are possible regardless of sins committed and that the soul can be delivered from despair through the mercy of God, "Amazing Grace" is one of the most recognisable songs in the English-speaking world. Author Gilbert Chase writes that it is "without a doubt the most famous of all the folk hymns."[1] Jonathan Aitken, a Newton biographer, estimates that the song is performed about 10 million times annually.[2] It has had particular influence in folk music, and has become an emblematic black spiritual. Its universal message has been a significant factor in its crossover into secular music. "Amazing Grace" became newly popular during a revival of folk music in the US during the 1960s, and it has been recorded thousands of times during and since the 20th century, in versions that have occasionally ranked on popular music charts.

---------------------------------------------

chas

Gary, really great sounds and the style fit that tune so nicely.

Gary, I enjoyed that a lot...
Thanks for sharing...
Lee

Chas....Thank You so much. I learned today the amazing history of this wonderful Song....I never expected this in so much detail!...I love this forum, We can Learn so much...Even Music!....Harold PS Thank You Gary for posting You're arrangement. I got to listen to You and learn from Chas today

No problem Harold. Rikki was right about you. You seem like the kind of person we should all aspire to be. Keep being a good example for the rest of us.

chas

Thank You again Chas for You're Kind words...The Person I would Most like to follow his Example in Life is Gary Diamond on this forum. He is one of the most helpful and Humble Gentleman and Talented Musician/Vocalist I have ever Met(I have never met Gary in Person). I talked with Gary Years ago via phone during a Music gear Purchase. Gary was helping a Friends Widow sell some Gear...I think I purchased a Tyros 2 and Crate Powered 10" speakers. I believe She worked as a Sales Person at an Auto Dealership...Super Nice Woman...Thanks Friends Harold