A couple of hymns: Sharps spread joy in Key of D

In a small extra room of their house, Judy and Ralph Sharp stand near microphones with a flute and a 12-string guitar in front of a cell phone to record a hymn almost every day for their "Key of D" Facebook page and Youtube channel.

"It's a chance for us to do something together," Judy said.

"We like doing stuff. We're one of those weird couples that we just enjoy each other's company," Ralph said.

Their name comes from the fact that the key of D has two sharps, which in this case, represents the two of them. The Sharps have been married for more than 41 years and have been playing music together for the majority of their relationship. Judy retired from Oak Ridge School after teaching music for more than four decades.

They started the recordings in March once their church stopped Sunday school classes for older adults as a precaution because of the coronavirus pandemic. The couple performed hymns for the class and were receiving messages that those in the class missed their music. So, they brought the music to them safely by posting recordings.

Ralph Sharp sets up his phone on a tripod to record a hymn for their Key of D Youtube channel and Facebook page at their home in Jackson on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020.Sarah Yenesel ~ sarahy@semissourian.com

They said that they had such an overwhelming response to the videos, and people were asking for more. So, they went forward with it and haven't stopped.

Some recent comments on their Facebook posts have been those of thanks and compliments. Ginger Sims Riehn commented, "You make your flute sound so good, Judy! You both are so talented!" Shirley Hahs commented, "Thank you for your beautiful music."

"It's fun seeing the responses we get. It's fun going in and looking at the metrics of it and realizing that we're being heard in about 10 different countries now," Ralph said.

They admit that they do it for others as much as they do it for fun.

They research hymns on the computer and from books to create a chord sheet to follow. They practice it together and make changes if they need to.

Ralph and Judy Sharp review their chord sheets and sheet music together before recording a hymn for their Key of D Youtube channel and Facebook page at their home in Jackson on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020.Sarah Yenesel ~ sarahy@semissourian.com

"I just hit around until I find something I like, and I pencil in. Sometimes I pencil in, sometimes I don't, sometimes I wing it," Judy said.

"Sometimes she wings it after she pencils it in," Ralph said.

They then record in one take. Once they are done, they listen back and decide whether to redo the piece. Once they have a take they like, Ralph transfers it to the computer and makes edits only to the visuals by adding text.

They decided to stick to hymns -- those in the public domain and a few originals -- because they want to bring more awareness to them.

"We like the contemporary music, it's just that we feel there's a really rich, musical, as well as theological heritage in the hymns that's being lost in a lot of churches," Ralph said. "So, we just kind of kept going, and said, 'You know what? Lets see how many hymns we can find.'"

Ralph and Judy Sharp practice before recording a hymn for their Key of D Youtube channel and Facebook page at their home in Jackson on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020.Sarah Yenesel ~ sarahy@semissourian.com

They have posted more than 230 videos as of this publication and plan to keep going for quite some time.

"Somewhere we'll end up with an audio, video encyclopedia of every hymn we can get our hands on. Which I think somewhere along the line, somebody will think that's cool," Ralph said.