Traditional Melodies with Progressive Arrangements

The Musicarta Songbook on Musicarta Patreon Tier One hosts the videos, MS and teaching notes for the traditional songs and melodies on the Mister Musicarta YouTube playlist - and more.

We are pleased to offer Musicarta Patreons for download, the Musicarta Songbook ZIP folder, containing the all music and the midi files (to play on Synthesia, etc).

Frere Jacques

Frere Jacques is a French nursery rhyme which is often sung as a 'round', with voices coming in at two-bar intervals. You can try to play it like that (as here) or just the learn the tune and play it over a simple C - G - C bass.

Voices in the round usually sing at the same pitch but obviously it is not possible to play a piano version like that.

The voices have to share a note G in bars 7/15. Prioritise the right hand melody note  - as shown by the brackets round the left hand G.

Either the right or left hand can be 'on top' (sopra, in Italian) in this bar. Both ways are shown in the video. It feels odd until you're used to it!

Down By The Salley Gardens

'Salley' is another name for the willow tree (Latin 'Salix'), which in pre-industrial times was often planted besides rivers and brooks to provide material for basket-making and other manufactures.

'Salley Gardens' - the tune (as opposed to the song) is actually called 'The Maids of Mourne Shore' - has a beautiful lyric by the Irish poet William Butler Yeats.