Acoustic Hymns: Come Thou Fount

Looking for a fresh acoustic take on a classic hymn? You've come to the right place.

Just because a song is old doesn't mean it has to be stale. Many of you have asked for more modern versions of hymns and while we have some popular versions in our library, I thought I'd serve up some original acoustic versions for you to take on as well. Let me know in the comments section if you would like more of these and if so, what other hymns you'd like me to take on.

Come Thou Fount is probably my favorite hymn of all time. The lyrics are powerful and the groove really lends itself to an upbeat acoustic take. Watch the video for the version and teaching, and use the tabs below to clarify. Once you've got it down, check out this post to get some ideas you can turn this song into a memorable worship moment.

Intro

Chords

Chart

Jason Houtsma is the co-founder and guitar teacher at Worship Artistry, where he is helping musicians of every level answer the call to worship with passion and confidence. Jason has been leading worship and writing music since he was 15 years old and currently serves as Worship Pastor for Mosaic Church in Bellingham, WA. He is husband to Alli and father to Bjorn and Asher.

Login to post comments

Comments

hymns

Great job on Come Thou Fount. One of my favorites. How about; To God be the Glory, Great is thy Faithfulness, How Great Thou Art, It is Well, Praise to the Lord the Almighty, Be Thou My Vision. Too many? ha ha! (P.S. Glad to see your Martin has fully recovered!)

I actually had a dream last night

it was still broken. Thanks for the suggestions. I have one for Be Thou My Vision already and I'll have look at those other ones as well.

Just

posted Be Thou My Vision

Really Cool!

I love seeing the Hymns being redone for acoustic guitar. Please post all of the ones you do! I'm still looking forward to you posting an Acoustic Tone video! Any idea when that will be forthcoming?

On another note we saw Jeremy Camp in concert and I got to speak with him afterwards and mentioned you, he got a huge smile on his face and got really excited! We are now doing Overcome in our worship set.

Thanks again!

Acoustic tone

That will be forthcoming. Thanks for the reminder!

Hymns

I 2nd "Be Thou my Vision" and add "I Saw the Light."

Just

wanted to make sure you saw I posted Be Thou My Vision here: https://worshipartistry.com/greenroom/worship-leading/hymn-refresh-be-thou-my-vision

How about....

What Wondrous Love Is This? I've heard a number of different versions of it, and I'd be interested to hear your take on it.

How about

The Old Rugged Cross?

Just learned the Finger Picking Version

You must of read my mind. I just learned the Finger-Picking version of this song.
This is probably one of my favorite Hymns. Thank you for taking the time to put this together. As for other ideas on Hymns, I have always wanted to learn "I'll Fly Away"

God Bless

Great!

Fantastic arrangement of this classic. Any possibility Jason of putting up the cord charts for those fancy cords down at the deep end of the pool? Thanks much.

Nice Job...

Great job on "Come Thou Fount," I love the percussive feel. Would you think about adding a fuller TAB section and strum pattern with a fuller description of all your doing in this song...maybe in the Lessons section? Thanks.

Thank you!

I love the work you do Jason, this is a cool take on this hymn and all of your tutorials are so helpful for me in preparing to lead worship. It is especially helpful to see your take on the solo acoustic sessions for when I lead in smaller settings. Your work is such a blessing to me and others in my ministry!

If you're taking suggestions, I would love to see you do a solo acoustic version of It Is Well With My Soul.

Thanks again, keep up the great work!

That means a lot!

Thank you and I've got It Is Well very much on my radar. Coming soon.

hymns acoustic guitar

Love the sound and groove. A great way to bring classic hymn to new life. I was thinking about Amazing Grace using a slide.

Ha!

I totally play it that way :)

I would go with standard

and play in the key of E. I'll give it a shot.

You Raise Me Up

My suggestion is "You Raise Me Up". Its not really an old hymn but it is a great modern classic. I bet it would sound great on acoustic!
BTW, whats Acoustic tone? Is it like electric guitar tone but for acoustic?.
Thanks!

Acoustic tone

comes from mainly comes from your guitar but if you are plugging in a simple EQ pedal can really help it sound good.

Guitar lessons

Do you do lessons over skype?

Come thou Font animation

I made an animation complimenting Come Thou Font.

Hope you enjoy!

https://goanimate.com/videos/0N5J6BZpUXC8?utm_source=linkshare&utm_medium=linkshare&utm_campaign=usercontent

My "Come Thou Fount" Version

Probably late to the party here, but I just found this lesson on Come Thou Fount, and there are some similarities to the version that I have worked up. At my church, we do it in E with our acoustic guitarist/singer playing the E,A,B,C#m chords while leaving the e and B string ringing the whole time. I figured out that I could put a capo on the 9th and play it in G while leaving my ring and pinky fingers anchored on the 12th fret (third relative to the capo). That matches what the acoustic is doing only an octave up, gives it a little bit of a 12 string vibe. I can also play the melody on the low strings (similar to what Jason did above) at the same time while strumming away on the high strings. Feels like a cross between "Wish You Were Here" by Pink Floyd and a country song with lots of bass walking.

I am glad that I went back and read all the old posts, I am really digging these hymns! Thanks, Jed

Hymns? Ugh, not another.....

I was raised around the "traditional" style of worship and to be honest hymns got very old very fast. I, because of this, was turned off by hymns for a long time. It was as if I had a volume knob in my head that I turned to zero every time they came on.... However, I have to say reworks like this that have sparked an interest for hymns again. Keep bringing them man!!... About to pull out my guitar and learn it now

Real latecomer

Just discovered Worship Artistry last night and this post now. I love hymns and have been wanting to do this particular hymn forever. A happy intro to the blogs for me. Thanks, I'm enjoying subjecting my fingers to a serious challenge. Looking forward to journeying with you all and learning from you.

Welcome to the community

and I'm glad you found something with you connected with right away. Let me know if you run into any trouble!

Advice for violin players?

Hello Jason! I was very excited to see that you are in Bellingham (I used to teach viola at WWU)! I just joined this community in the hopes of finding some advice for us “classical geeks/stiffs” who play violin/viola and are new to playing with a praise team. My church is small and our music is often acoustic, which I am not complaining about:). Would be so grateful if this subject could be addressed on the Worship Artistry site. I can play by ear and read chord charts, but would love some tips about how string players can best follow a bass line and generally complement the rest of the team. I see myself as the “icing on the cake” and do not want to hinder my fellow team members (esp. vocalists singing harmony).

No Way!

My wife got her masters there but I just enjoyed the athletic center :)

Those are some great questions. Let me hunt around and see if I can find some experts in the area.

Love it

LOVE this intro section you provided! However, the link seems to be down to the video attached to it!