The majority of these hymns were captured many years ago at Lord's Day / Wednesday evening services from the pew with a small portable tape recorder, and thus have all the shortcomings of that format. This is by no means a professional or polished retail product. They have been electronically cleaned up a bit however, and should at least be listenable enough to find out how a hymn sounds. A delay of 0.05 seconds has been placed between the right and left speakers to give a sense of depth. Piano-only versions of each hymn are available by clicking on the last button above. Wherever possible, versions were chosen which highlight a balanced blend of voices rather than a specific musical part. Some are available both with and without accompaniment. A good handful are available to more than one tune: to the one printed in the hymnal and to alternates of the same meter. Some have judiciously placed key changes, tempo variations, and/or minor piano embellishments — all of which can be helpful in enhancing a hymn (hear #20 for example where all three of these were done when reaching a climactic line in the hymn: “He sent His Son with pow'r to save; from guilt, and darkness and the grave,,,.”).

“Sing unto the LORD a new song.” Despite all of their obvious shortcomings, a goal in making these available is to provide a tool that could be useful in expanding the praise of God by enlarging the repertoire of hymns that users of the Trinity Hymnal sing. It can become easy – both publicly and privately – to stick with a limited number of hymns out of habit, or simply because “we just don't know how THAT one sounds.” Pastors responsible for selecting hymns may find it helpful in enlarging and freshening up the selection of hymns used on different occasions (the Lord's people can sometimes find worship losing freshness when they discern: “we ALWAYS sing that one at the Lord's Table,,, at prayer meeting,, before an evangelistic sermon, at Easter ,,,” etc. Too much of even the best honey will eventually lose its sweetness). “Sing unto the LORD a new song.”