Songs of Love, Inspiration, and Travel, compiled by Sally K. Albrecht has a few easy, low, limited range songs like "The Water is Wide", but also includes several songs with Fs and Gs. I assign it for students that have those notes, but may not have found freedom on them yet. Then we start with the lower songs and build up to the higher ones.
"The Water is Wide", "Poor Wayfaring Stranger", and "Sky Boat Song" are arrangements by Jay Althouse and very similar to his arrangements found in Ready to Sing...Folksongs. "Follow the Dream" by Vicki Tucker Courtney is an upbeat song with optional high notes of Eb, F, and G. With the low note options, it is very doable by a young baritone. "Remember My Song" by Sally K. Albrecht and Jay Althouse, also found in Songs of Love, Music, and Nature in the Key of D, is presented here in C.
With all of the other options for young men, I don't often use the Easy Song series anymore, and when I do, I tend to go with the Part II books more.
I use Easy Songs for the Beginning Tenor mostly for the folksong and spiritual arrangements which include "Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes", "Flow Gently, Sweet Afton", "Rock'-a-my-soul", "Scarborough Fair," and "Steal Away".
My favorite songs in Easy Songs for the Beginning Tenor Part II are "Harrigan" and "I Love a Piano", but if I'm looking for George M. Cohan or Irving Berlin, I can find them other places too. I like "Believe Me, If All Those Endearing Young Charms", "Bendemeer's Stream", and "The Lark in the Morn" but the guys don't seem to share my enthusiasm. "Bill Groggin's Goat", one of my favorites from piano lessons, did appeal to one of the guys. This arrangement is fun because the piano sounds like the train.
"Go Down Moses", "Joshua fit the Battle of Jericho", and "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" are student favorites in Easy Songs for the Beginning Baritone/Bass. I've also had students respond well to the English versions of Robert Franz Lieder included in this volume.
Of the 4 Easy Song books for men, Easy Songs for the Beginning Baritone/Bass Part II is probably my favorite. "The Water is Wide" appears here in the same arrangement as is in the 15 Easy Folksongs Arrangements. Because I have that book, I can use the other key if it fits the student better. I also have other key options with the Celius Dougherty arrangements of "Colorado Trail" and "Red River Valley" because I own the Celius Dougherty: Folksongs and Chanties. (Remember this book, because it also has other key options for several Dougherty songs that show up in various volumes of the Boytim books.) I love Robert Franz's "Farewell", although I usually have students learn the German words from the sheet music I picked up several years ago. This song is also in Pathways of Song. "Give My Regards to Broadway" and "For Me and My Gal" give students an introduction to an older style of musical theatre and popular music.
In the next post, we move on to music for the student who has had a little more music experience and is ready to jump into foreign languages and true art songs.
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