Music Resources
A guide to many of the most useful Church-produced music resources, including websites, apps, and physical resources.
Links to other websites providing valuable music tools for you to use at home and at church.
Church-produced Music Resources
All of these resources are available on the website for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or through quick searches on your device’s app store. However, it can sometimes be hard to know about everything that is available to you, or to find a tool that you’ve heard about. This guide highlights most of the Church’s music resources so you can have it all at your fingertips. Click on a resource to see more details.
Websites
www.churchofjesuschrist.org/music
- Information about music callings
- Links to the Church-produced Conducting Course and Keyboard Course and many of the resources listed below
- Under the Resources tab in the left side-bar, there are several helpful pages, including Music Quotes and Music Symbols and Terms, and a Help page that guides you through using some of the website's features.
www.churchofjesuschrist.org/music, click on “Music Player”, then use the “Search Music Library” box in the top-right corner to search for the hymn or song you are looking for. You'll discover that there are other ways to get to this page as well.
There are actually two versions of the player: the PDF viewer/audio player and the interactive music player. The default when you first come to a song page is the PDF/audio player. To switch to the interactive music player, click the “Switch Player” button below the PDF viewer box.
PDF viewer/audio player
- At the top of the page, there is an audio player bar. When you press the play button, it will play a vocal with accompaniment recording of the song (the same that is available as an mp3 download or on CDs you can buy).
- Under the audio player bar is a PDF viewer box that shows a PDF of the sheet music of the song. In this viewer, you can zoom, download, or print the sheet music.
Interactive music player
- Play hymns and Primary songs (only accompaniment)
- Change the key (if you want to be able to sing it higher or lower than it normally is) - you can listen to or print it in a new key
- Change the tempo (make it faster or slower)
- Make voice parts louder or softer (could help you learn to sing a new part)
- The video tutorial below walks you through how to find and use the music player. If you prefer a more concise version, there is an explanation of the main features of the interactive music player at the bottom of this help page. (While the video and description are for the older Flash player version, the new version is very similar in functionality.)
There are several indexes that accompany each of the Church's songbooks. The songs are available through the Music Player, and the indexes are found separately on the Church music website. These two indexes are the most useful in your gospel study and teachings:
Topics index, which allows you to look up songs by subject matter. If you don't see the subject you are looking for in the index, scan the other topics; sometimes the subject you're looking for is called something a little different than you expected.
Scriptures index. Each hymn or children's song has a scripture or two listed at the bottom of the song page that coordinates with the topic of the song. These scriptures are compiled into an index, so you can search for a specific verse or passage of scripture and see if there are any songs on that same subject.
- Hymnal Scriptures index
- Children's Songbook Scriptures index (this index is only available online)
www.churchofjesuschrist.org/music/library
Source for almost all music published by the Church in the last many years. Includes sheet music as well as some recordings in the following categories and many others:
- Instrumental arrangements
- Music for choirs
- Solos and duets
- General conference music
There is some additional information and explanation about the Music Library about halfway down this help page.
www.churchofjesuschrist.org/children/music
- I Can Play It! (simplified arrangements of Primary songs)
- Sing-along videos
- Music from the Friend magazine
Scroll about halfway down this page to the following sections:
- Using Music to Teach Doctrine: lots of good ideas about how to learn the gospel through hymns and Primary songs
- Helping Children Learn and Remember Primary Songs: several suggestions about how to teach a new song to your children
www.churchofjesuschrist.org/youth/music
Recordings available to stream or download and some available as sheet music.
- Youth theme music
- FSY/EFY music
- Face to Face music
- Seminary music
Mobile Apps
All of these apps are available on both iOS (Apple) and Android platforms, except for the Sing Along Hymns app, which is only available on iOS.
- See the text of and listen to hymns (accompaniment only, no singing)
- See the text of and listen to children’s songs (with singing)
- Tag, link, or make notes
- Search the text for keywords
- Sheet music and recordings of Hymns, Children’s Songbook, Additional Children’s Songs, Youth Theme Music
- All available with singing or without (accompaniment only)
- Search by topics
- Create playlists
- Recordings of Hymns, Children’s Songbook, Youth Music - with singing and without
- Sing-along videos for many children’s songs
- Can save into presentations, download for offline use, and edit to use only part of the song/video for a lesson
Also available on Smart TV devices and at www.churchofjesuschrist.org/inspiration/latter-day-saints-channel/
- Radio stations: Music (general uplifting music), Tabernacle Choir Stream
- Music with a Message (Audio program/podcast)
- History of Hymns (Audio program/podcast)
- Music Videos
- Allows you to create playlists (in the app only)
Plays a song with an image slideshow and shows the lyrics of the song on the screen with the "bouncing ball" going to each syllable as you sing.
- Toggle voices on or off for most songs
- Create playlists
- You can personalize the slideshows by changing out the pictures for photos or images from your own library
- Not all songs available, but the vast majority of hymns, Children's Songbook songs, and additional children's songs are available
Also available at www.thetabernaclechoir.org/
- Watch past, current, and live episodes of Music and the Spoken Word
- Stream or download individual Tabernacle Choir tracks
Physical Resources.
This list doesn’t include every music resource available from the Church, just the items I think are of particular use to most people. They are available at Distribution Services or through www.store.churchofjesuschrist.org.
- Available in several sizes/formats
- Children’s songbook has chord symbols that can be played on piano or guitar. There is a piano/guitar chord chart in the appendix.
- There are brief instructions in the back about conducting
- Topical index can help you identify song that will go along with your lesson/study
- Use the scripture index to look up songs that are based on a particular scripture you are studying. This index is in the printed copy of the hymnbook, but only available online for the Children’s Songbook, here.
There are several indexes in the back of each of the Church's songbooks. These two are the most useful in your gospel study and teachings:
Topics index, which allows you to look up songs by subject matter. If you don't see the subject you are looking for in the index, scan the other topics; sometimes the subject you're looking for is called something a little different than you expected.
Scriptures index. Each hymn or children's song has a scripture or two listed at the bottom of the song page that coordinates with the topic of the song. These scriptures are compiled into an index, so you can search for a specific verse or passage of scripture and see if there are any songs on that same subject.
- Hymnal Scriptures index
- Children's Songbook Scriptures index (this index is only available online)
- Simplified arrangements of 158 hymns that can be played by an intermediate pianist/organist.
- Includes chord symbols that can be played on piano or guitar. There is a piano chord chart in the appendix.
- Here's a link
- Hymns (with singing or accompaniment only)
- Children’s Songbook (with singing or accompaniment only)
- Tabernacle Choir albums
- Most of these recordings are also available to download or stream on www.churchofjesuschrist.org/music or through one of the Church's apps.
Independent Music Resources
I am not selling anything on this website or trying to make any money. If I post links to an item for sale, it’s only because I think that item is really valuable! I don’t get any commission if you click the links.
I always recommend that you start with church-produced resources for your personal study and in your callings; they are free, readily available, high-quality, and doctrinally correct. However, there are some really great resources apart from what the church produces that can supplement your study and teaching. Here are a few that are especially helpful. If you have suggestions to add to this list, please send them my way!
As its name suggests, this site catalogs much of the free Latter-day Saint sheet music available online. It even includes songs and arrangements available on churchofjesuschrist.org (but more easily searchable). It has great filter tools for type of song, instrumentation, etc. Because this site has already catalogued most of the free stuff out there, I'm not going to list individual composer websites here.
As scary as YouTube can be, it can also be really helpful! There are lots of music videos available, even some pre-made playlists that would be great to have playing on a Sunday. Also a good place to go when you want to hear what a song sounds like before you choose it for a musical number.
Learning the story behind a song can make its text or music even more powerful! There are several resources available on this topic:
- Our Latter-day Hymns (Book)
- Tabernacle Choir Blog
- History of Hymns podcast, available on Latter-day Saints Channel
Oh, I’m sorry! I did find this week’s hymns! Is there any way that you could list A MONTH’S WORTH of hymns on the week before those hymns are sung?
Like, post all of November’s hymns on the last week of October. Our ward chorister gives all the ‘music people’ the month’s list in advance, so they can practice up!
Your hymn suggestions would be so good for Sacrament Meeting hymns!
Thanks for all you do!