Song of the River

I actually have my wonderful friend and colleague Kari Douma to thank for discovering Mark Patterson's "Song of the River" and the BriLee publication My Heart Sings that also contains this song.   She used it with one of her choirs, and since then I've had many students choose to work on this song.

Mark Patterson wrote new words to the tune of "Salley Gardens."  Like "Give Me Wings," this is a text that young students easily relate to.  I love the beautiful, flowing accompaniment.  In addition to being in a very singable range for most young voices (just over an octave), this song gives me many opportunities to teach both theory and vocal technique.

• The first thing I talk about with students even before we sight-read the piece is that this song is in AABA or song form.  I point out the patterns, and the places that those patterns vary slightly.  Because they recognize that pattern, by the time we get to the last A phrase of the 2nd verse, they are singing with confidence and I can tell if the song is going to be one that will work well for them.  
• The B phrase gives me an opportunity to work on high notes. It begins with a Do to Sol jump, and ends with an almost step-wise progression to the high Re, so in one simple phrase I learn which approach is easiest for the student, and I can also give instruction on making both approaches easier.  
• In the first verse, the melody is almost always doubled in the accompaniment, providing a little more security for the student early in the learning process. After that, the accompaniment has more variation, and although the piano part gives harmonic support, the student must be fairly confident to hold on to the part.  
• Phrases are mostly 4 measures, but commas mid-phrase allow for extra breaths if needed.  I use this song to talk to students about how to decide where to breathe if you can't make it to the next rest or editor's breath mark.  
• The song ends with a slowed down repetition of the last phrase.  Although it is not pure augmentation (everything doubled exactly), I do introduce the student to that concept.  

"Song of the River" is available as an octavo (in both Unison/Two-Part and SATB settings) and in the book My Heart Sings.  The song is in the Key of D in both the octavo and the book.  

Give Me Wings

The next few posts will be about some of my favorite songs to assign to new beginners. The bonus with these is that they are available as octavos, so students don't have to spend a lot of money while I am getting to know their voices.  Some, like today's song, "Give Me Wings", are available a book in one key and in the octavo in another.

In creating "Give Me Wings",  Mark Patterson wrote new words and set them to the familiar tune of "O Waly, Waly".  Teens respond well to the text that essential says give me space to be everything I can be, but let me also return to the safety of home.   Most of my young singers can totally relate because they really want to be seen as adults and given the privileges and rights of an adult, but they still need that connection to home, family, and people that take care of them.

"O Waly, Waly" is one of my favorite tunes to teach.  Many of the concepts I cover in "Give Me Wings" could also be worked on in any setting of "The Water is Wide".  It's not necessarily an easy song, but I do think that it can be done by young singers.

• One of the first things we work on in this song is the idea of keeping the sound moving and growing through the long notes.
• If needed, I let students breathe mid-phrase (after the long note), but I also use the 4-bar phrase to work on going further with the breath.  
• For some students, moving into the high phrase requires a register shift. Young students often haven't sung in anything but chest voice before, so this gives us opportunities to figure out how to negotiate the "break".  And the first thing I tell them is that they can't use the word "break".  A break is a problem. A passaggio is a passage, something we move through, and it can be done with ease.  
• In this particular setting, the first high note is on the word "reach" so we work on how to sing an [ i ] vowel beautifully without compromising the integrity of the vowel.  
• The first verse end on the word "below" and provides a great opportunity for discussing how to deal with diphthongs and creating a clean cut-off without a consonant to help.  
• I also use the opening Sol Do to reinforce this pattern that shows up frequently in other songs.  

"Give Me Wings" is available in the key of G in the octavo from BriLee, or in the key of D in the book Heroes and Vagabond:  Solo Songs for the Male Changing Voice.  The book comes with a CD that has both demos and accompaniments.  If the student is learning the song from the octavo, they can listen to the choral demos on the JWPepper or BriLee Music websites.