HYMN COMMONS

FREE, PUBLIC DOMAIN, CHRISTIAN HYMNS

About

A couple of years ago, I watched a minister struggle with worship music. Our tiny congregation didn’t have a music leader, so he attempted to play hymns through the sound system using his phone. It didn’t go well.

The hymns faded in an out. Feedback screeched several times. Placing the microphone properly was almost impossible. At that moment I knew I could help. Thus was born the idea for “Hymn Commons.”

For the next year I used the open source music scoring program, Musescore, to transcribe public domain hymns into PDFs for scores, MP3s for audio files and the original Musescore files so Christians anywhere could change the arrangements. That is what you see today, with one more addition: PowerPoint.

I wanted Christians everywhere to not fear copyright lawsuits. That’s why everything is public domain. That includes the PowerPoint images. Every single one was generated by Microsoft CoPilot. Therefore, there is no copyright restriction nor model release requirements.

If I’m a bit slow posting new content, it’s because this is a one person project. I’m retired now and have a little more time, but do stay busy with requests from my wife.

Do you find ads annoying? Me to. How about ‘pop-ups’? I feel likewise. Subscriptions? Irritating. Paywalls? Aggravating. That’s why you find none of that on the site. Simply, free, public domain hymns.

As a fellow believer in Christ, this is my offering to Him. And it is a joy to serve Him and you. Feel free to say a few words if you find the site a blessing.

About cookies and data tracking: I do not collect personal data, nor do I sell data. Your data is yours. What I do track is:

  • Country – I use this to look for hymns popular in a country or region that visitors might like.
  • File downloads – to track the top downloaded files, I need to know what’s downloaded. Also, it lets me know where to put my effort.
  • Number of visitors – it’s important to know if all the hard work is worth it.

That’s it.

8 responses to “About”

  1. JOHN WAGNER Avatar
    JOHN WAGNER

    Yes our congregation is graying also, thank you for the effort you’re putting into this. You play the piano very well and it’s very predictable on the way you play thank you for that.

    Reply
  2. jere compton Avatar
    jere compton

    The pdf file for ‘Good Christian Men, Rejoice’ is missing.
    The link for ‘My Jesus, As Thou Wilt’ pdf points to the mp3 file.

    Reply
    1. Ron Nelson Avatar
      Ron Nelson

      Thank you! I’ve updated the links. If you find anything else, please let me know.

      God Bless,
      Ron

      Reply
  3. Steve Avatar
    Steve

    Hello Rob, I would begin by saying how tremendously grateful I am for your work here. I belong to a fellowship that has for generations sung as 4-part harmony in our congregations in Europe, US and Canada (and other locations). We have a (little by number) congregation in Clovis, CA and we are all, currently, in the senior generation. Having said that we too have been singing 4-part harmony with traditional and Gospel hymns all our lives. Throughout our churches we do have many gifted musicians and instrumentalists (traditional piano or organ for worship services) and regardless if gifted with a singing voice or not. A couple of years ago we lost our last pianist as she and her family moved to a congregation of ours in Colorado Springs Co. I then began a journey of attempting to recruit someone to play and record the hymns in our generational hymn book (referred to as the Zion’s Harp) and eventually found someone to record the music with a consistent format conducive to congregational hymn singing. It was finally completed and has been a tremendous success for our small groups that need to rely on a piano to sing ‘well’.

    Since then in the past few years one of our churches created a new hymnal (Gospel style) and I’ve been trying to find anyone who would create another mp3-file of the music in the new hymnal so that we could also enjoy signing along with Gospel hymns and not always, and only, the traditional classical style. I feel like I had been at my ‘wits-end’ when I came across your link. What a joy this has been that we now have so much more music we can use to play through our speakers and join in as a congregation. The recordings of the Zion’s Harp were done live and I’ve been, more than pleasantly surprised, that even though you have generated it with software, by including an intro, it’s become extremely useful. What a blessing this has been. We don’t have, or know, all the songs that you done this with, however, at this time 97 of the ones you generated are in our ‘Hymns and Songs of Zion’ hymnal.

    At the App store online you can see our Hymnals with the ‘ACC Hymns’ app To say that I appreciate your work is a great understatement. I pray that Good Lord bless you richly for doing this work. May your reward in Heaven be great.

    Steve-

    Reply
    1. Ron Nelson Avatar
      Ron Nelson

      Steve,
      Thank you for telling me how you use the music! I am extremely happy to hear it has blessed your music ministry. If you have specific hymns you would like, let me know. If I find them in the public domain, I’ll work them up and get them on the site.

      By the way, I am a HUGE fan of 4 part harmony. My YouTube Music it set to acappella hymns. Also, I’m working on public domain Christian choral music. I hope to get the webpage up in September…

      God Bless,
      Ron

      Ron

      Reply
  4. Charles Abiodun Avatar
    Charles Abiodun

    I love the work you’re doing here; it’s a great ministry and I pray that God bless you abundantly. Please, can I use the hymns as background music for my Daily Devotional Podcasts on Spotify. It is strictly non-commercial as the podcasts are not monetized. Thanks and Remain Blessed.

    Reply
    1. Ron Nelson Avatar
      Ron Nelson

      Charles, thank you for asking. You can absolutely use them! Every single one is public domain, so you can use them without copyright concerns. May Christ bless your ministry .

      Reply
      1. Charles Abiodun Avatar
        Charles Abiodun

        Thank you for your prompt response and permission. Appreciated. God bless you and your ministry. Remain Blessed.

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