I am doing grade 1 singing next summer and wondered if this programme sounds balanced. I know I can ask my teacher but I only see her once a fortnight and am not due to see her until a week on Tuesday. I am just excited about it all and am finding that going down the exam route is giving me more structure than previously. I really, really want to get a distinction.

List A: Home on the Range (chosen by my teacher)
List B: Brahms (The Nightingale) - List B was a difficult choice since I don't know any of the songs on it and
just listened to the ABRSM CD to pick something I like the sound of and is within my voice range.
List C: Where is love? or Moon River (There are quite a few things I would like to sing from this list)

Unaccompanied: Morning has broken (perhaps but am having difficulty choosing and noticed when
reading other threads that someone had selected it for their grade 2)

Choosing material to sing is so much more difficult than choosing piano pieces. In a crazy sort of way I am so looking forward to doing my aural exam because at least that is something I have had some experience. The sight-singing is going to be my worst so am starting my work on that now.

I think you may need to rethink your traditional song as the regulations state:



Although the tune is traditional, the words are by Eleanor Farjeon and she only died in 1965.

The other songs look fine.

David

Thanks for that, David. I knew I could count on you. I must have got the wrong end of the stick when I thought someone did Morning has Broken for their folk song. It must have been for their G2 exam as I see that is on the syllabus. I got a copy of Best of Folk Songs yesterday and am going to play them on the piano to see which one I like best and also which one suits my voice. The only thing is I have just noticed in the singing syllabus that this book is available in melody only and accompanied editions. I seem to have the copy with piano and guitar accompaniment. When I am singing the notes, if I just want to have the alto voice do I just sing the lower notes, e.g. in Golden slumbers there is a chord of b and d. This is probably a totally stupid question.

I am not quite sure that I have understood your question, MA, but for your exam you will need to sing the folk song melody. You may pick any key to suit your voice though. Good luck.

How about Scarborough Fair as my folk song? Am I allowed to miss some verses out and just sing a minute's worth for grade 1 or will I have to sing all eight verses if it can be done in three minutes? I am thinking of changing the gender from "she" to "he" and skipping verses 2, 3, and 4 and just singing verses 1, 5, 6, 7 and 8.

Also will it fit into my programme if I sing "Where is Love?" I don't know how these things work and how people put a programme together. Do people have themes and sing all spring songs, for example, or do you have different songs where you can sing different characters such as the small child, Oliver, in "Where is love" and then be an older person in Scarborough Fair? How do you choose the order of your programme. I am sorry if these are really stupid questions but I just want to do my best.

Thanks, John. I was being really stupid then. You have just made it clear for me. Of course I have to sing the melody line. My mind was at choir when the sopranos are singing the melody line and I, as an alto, am singing an inner part.

Hey Melody Amour.

I'm not a teacher, but if I say anything that's not quite right, I'm sure someone will correct me. The thing is, while I think it's certainly a good idea to work out your programme so that it's balanced, I'm fairly sure that it's not required for ABRSM grade 1. I mean, if you're happy and comfortable with your songs, you certainly won't get marked down because they're all a bit similar. In high grades I guess it becomes more important.
I think personally that it's more fun if you have a bit of variation, but even if you don't it shouldn't be an issue.

Again, the order you sing in is just what's comfortable for you. If you know you'll be nervous, maybe putting the one your think you're best at first, could help relax you. If you know you might start flagging a bit half way through, then don't put the one you find the most technically demanding at the end. I guess you could organise it so you have (for example) a sad song, followed by a happy one, followed by a sad one, or whatever, but again, you won't get marked down if you don't, as far as I know.

It sounds like a good programme to me anyway, so good luck, and have fun!

Scarborough Fair is fine for a traditional song - I think that it needs to be between 1 and 2 minutes long so how many verses you need will depend on how fast or slow you sing it.

Why not learn several songs from the lists as the exam is not until next summer? My students learn at least three songs from each list and don't choose until about a month before the exam. That way, along with songs not on the syllabus and learnt for, say festivals, concert or purely for fun, you aren't going to get fed up with the same four songs practiced till the cows come home. By a month before the exam you will be in a position to choose songs that you like the best, and that you sing the best. You will only need to polish them at that stage. You can sing them in any order, usually with the unaccompanied folk song last, as the accompanist isn't allowed to stay in the room for this.
Re Scarborough Fair - you need to make sure that if you cut a verse/verses out, it still makes a story. There is a wealth of Folk songs of suitable length in Sing Together, and the tempo of this could contrast with your others.
I do believe in presenting a balanced programme - page 4 of the Syllabus says,'Discretion should be used in choosing songs that suit the candidate's vocal qualities and that display variety and contrast of style and mood'.

Very good advice from AnnC there, MA. Your exam is a very long way off and you will have plenty of time to learn new songs and may even find that you will want to enter for a higher grade than one by then.

I had missed your bit about doing it next summer, in which case as Ann says, it probably is worth learning a few and then chosing nearer the time. I believe in a balanced programme too, but I think this grows in importance as you move up through the grades.

Thanks so much everyone for your every helpful replies. I have ticked quite a lot to learn after I have learned my chosen four and then will rest them while I have fun with others. I will add Sing Together to my list. Is it best to buy the melody-only edition or the accompanied edition?

Depends - I think it helps to learn the song with accompaniment first. Then once learnt you can practice it unaccompanied. I have the one with the accompaniment - your teacher may have it too - so my students usually buy the melody only one.

As you seem to be a bit unsure about what folk songs to do...

There is a beautiful Scots lullaby about the Highland Clearances that we used to sing in primary school that might be appropriate (don't be worried by the mention of "lullaby" and "primary school" - it's not babyish!). It's a song that I utterly adore mostly for nostalgic reasons, but also just because it really is very beautiful.

The chorus goes:

"Hush, hush, time to be sleepin',
Hush, hush, dreams come a creepin',
Dreams o' peace and oh freedom,
So smile in your sleep bonnie baby.

I could type the whole thing out: this song is ingrained in my head permanently; with a bit of effort I could even write the tune out (in true folk style I learnt it by ear - I've never seen the notes written down!) So if you're at all interested and don't already know it, just let me know!

And although it's a bit early given the exam is not till next summer...good luck!

I think that's really good advice. I'm not a singing teacher but when I did grades 4 and 5 a few years ago I learned the songs fairly early and then sang them again and again and again over the months before the exams and was thoroughly sick of them!!

Thanks, false_harmonic for the suggestion. I have managed to find the words and have printed them off and, believe it or not, also managed to listed to it on Youtube. Thanks for your best wishes. My lessons are once a fortnight for half an hour so I should manage to learn a lot of songs by the time of my exam as well as all the other requirements.

I have now got Singing Together, as AnnC suggested. At the moment I am leaning quite strongly towards Early One Morning. Other possibilities are Bobby Shafto and Will Ye No Come Back Again. Will one of these be acceptable and create a good contrast with my other songs? I will learn them all. Also how many years does the composer of the song have to be dead before it can be sung for the unaccompanied folk song? The reason why I am trying to be organised is I only have a half an hour singing lesson once a fortnight. Thanks again.

Theoretically, a folk song shouldn't have a composer; they should come from oral traditions.

Thanks, David. Are my choices so far acceptable? Also I have just read something that Katyjay said about the key of the unaccompanied piece. There I was thinking that as long as I sang the thing in tune I would get away with it if the examiner does not have a copy of the music. I thought that would be easier because having learned piano I have never had an accompanist and am wondering about getting used to that and keeping in time, etc. There is so much to learn.

The three you suggest seem absolutely fine. Might be worth keeping in mind that Early One Morning is set on the Grade 3 lists. For the unaccompanied song, you can sing it in any key, but you need to play the first note on the piano in the exam - part of the test is staying in the same key you start in (not always easy unaccompanied!).

I must be missing because I did a search of the 2009 - 2010 syllabus and it is not showing it. I have also looked at the hard copy. I am sure you are right though. Thanks to you and Katyjay for the info on accompanied songs.

Ignore me - I've confused it with The Ash Grove!

Thanks for clarifying that.

Oh, that's interesting. My daughter did the Ash Grove for her unaccompanied song at Grade 4 (though before the new syllabus came in). Is your point that you should choose a song of a similar sort of difficulty to the exam you're taking, or that you should avoid songs that appear on the syllabus altogether?

Melody Amour, for what it's worth my daughter did "Donkey Riding" for her Grade 1, but she was quite small at the time. She saved "Early One Morning" for Grade 2!

I think you should aim to choose songs which are a similar difficulty (or they should at least get more challenging as the grades go on) though I'm not sure anything in the syllabus says this - it would seem to me to be a natural progression. I wouldn't necessarily avoid songs on the syllabus, but in my experience, the most marks go to those who have obviously searched widely to find suitable things - maybe something a bit different which the examiner won't have heard before.

Also if finding the note on the piano worries you, ask your accompanist to give you a chord and the start note before he/she leaves the room. It's what our accompanist always does.