Ah, Poor Bird, a Singing Round
Ah Poor Bird is one of the easiest and loveliest of rounds for singers. Now with a piano arrangement as well!
It has a melancholy minor sound that matches the words well, and is fairly easy to learn, with its climbing scale up to the leap in the third line, then back down again.
A good warm-up for the voice & ear
This singing round works well as a "listening" kind of vocal warm-up, in which your beginning voice student sings their part slowly against the contrasting line YOU are singing. This takes great concentration!
Please scroll down the page for the link to the free printable PDF.
Piano students may also be captivated
A new and easy piano arrangement has won the hearts of a few students lately:
Please scroll down the page for the download links.
Easy enough, but your student needs to be familiar with "Spider Scales" (2,1,2,1,2,1,2,1 or 3,1,3,1,3,1,3,1). You see the crossing over and tucking under bits of the song.
Back to singing...
play their part & sing your part
If you are new to singing rounds with your students, I highly recommend playing their part on the piano with them, while you softly sing the part that follows theirs.
This takes great concentration until you are accustomed to it!
Eventually, some of your most capable students will be able to sight-sing the notes without help from the piano, but this takes time and understanding of music theory also, which is where, of all musicians, vocalists tend to be the weakest.
Rounds are much easier with a partner
The fastest way I've found to get kids singing rounds accurately is to have a partner or two sharing their part, while I sing the other part.
After a couple times through the notes, we might clap the rhythm, or better yet, count aloud as we sing the notes. If the tune is "Ah, Poor Bird," we might count it like this:
"1-2, 3-4, 1-(2-3-4), 1-2, 3-4, 1-(2-3-4), 1, 2, 3, 4, 1-2, 3, 4, 1-2, 3-4, 1-(2-3-4)."
I hope that makes sense!
Making counting easier for non-note readers
For a non-note-reader, as singers often are, I would probably count NOTE UNITS rather than measures of 4 beats. Then it would sound like this:
"1-2, 1-2, 1-(2-3-4)," etc. Even if they don't read well, they need to be able to count!
Entering smoothly on vowels
Because every verse starts with a vowel sound ("Ah"), students have an opportunity -- perhaps a glaring opportunity -- to work on smooth entrances in this singing round!
They need to be able to enter without an audible pop or roughness. Just learning to listen to the sound of their own inhalations and exhalations is a big step for beginners!
Rounds are worth the effort
Vocal rounds can be hard at first, but they are very worthwhile for teaching kids to hear other musical parts while staying on their own. And kids enjoy them!
Below is a simply but nicely sung rendition of Ah Poor Bird that mixes it up with "Hey, Ho, Nobody Home".
The link to the piano arrangement:
Download the piano version of Ah Poor Bird
The link to the round PDF:
Free printable vocal music Ah Poor Bird
More Rounds at Music-for-Music-Teachers.com
A pretty round with a reach of an octave, slow-moving notes, and easy intervals. The scale-wise movement makes this song easy for a beginner.
With lyrics from an older time, this is more difficult than many rounds, but compensatingly more beautiful, with more complex harmonies as well!
From Canada, a minor harmony round with energy and a catchy melody.
New lyrics for an old round by Haydn - well-suited to a mix of voices, a satisfying round
Christmas is Coming, the Goose is Getting Fat
Lots of big interval jumps, even octaves, make this round fun and tricky.
Originally from Germany (Kaffee), this is great fun to sing, and a lasting favorite with my students! With English lyrics - by me - that mention mochas, lattes, and "coffee black!"
A fancy melody from the 1600's with rhythmic intricacies, that is also pretty!
Difficult! Quite difficult for beginners, this beautiful round works best with a bigger group of singers, or even instrumentalists, unless your singers are experienced with harmony, and good note readers.
For Health & Strength & Daily Bread
Pretty, and fairly easy, as it moves primarily in descending steps, this is a wonderful Thanksgiving song!
The famous French melody.
Meditative, slow, and minor... a lovely round. This is a lullaby.
Not a lullaby! This is a brisk bidding farewell to friends, in a major key.
Haida is vigorous and fun - there are two spots that invite a clap, adding to the rhythmic feeling of this song. Along with "Coffee," this is a favorite, frequently requested!
The Hart, He Loves the High Hill
This brisk but pretty round from England contrasts a deer with a rabbit, and a man with a woman! "The lady loves her WILL!" (getting her own way).
Have You Seen the Ghost of John
An unbelievably pretty round, with lyrics that DO NOT do it justice! One of my students' perennial favorites. I have added alternate lyrics in Latin, to make it sing-able for Christmas.
The first round I use with beginning singers. Very singable!
Another brisk Hebrew round, lovely and minor.
A fun 2-part round from Australia, good for classroom singing
Merry, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
A happy song, easy to learn!
A very pretty little tune with nice major harmonies. A quick study!
Short, and very easy. This is a sweet melody with simple harmonies.
A pretty song with lovely lyrics
A song about peace, from Israel. Very lovely.
Viva la musica
A little different - there is a bit of dissonance to learn to sing through. A joyful melody!
A pretty little round with two parts and two verses, about white coral bells flowers along a garden path.
A street-seller's cry from England.
Dianna:
Your website is a light in the darkness. THANK YOU for all you do in helping to spread the love of music. It matters!
Recent Articles
-
Angels We Have Heard on High - Free Christmas Songs Arrangements
Angels We Have Heard on High: children love the fancy "Gloria" chorus, and you can download multiple arrangements for piano, violin, & guitar! -
Gospel Song Jesus Loves Me: Beginner & Easy Piano, Plus Lead Sheets!
Gospel song "Jesus Loves Me" is well-known to many children. Here are easy arrangements to learn the music & each word to Jesus Loves Me, for early piano. -
Easy Piano Sheet Music Swan Lake -Beginners & Intermediate Pianists!
Easy piano sheet music Swan Lake, lovely solos & duets, with lyrics in the beginner arrangements for dreamy students who love imagining. New arrangements! -
The Wellerman Sheet Music: Easy Piano & Lead Sheets!
The Wellerman: Tabs, sheet music & lyrics for piano, guitar, & more! Such a fun, high-energy song to sing & play - learn it fast with letters in the notes! -
Christmas Carol Lyrics Song from the Bible: Free SATB and Guitar Tab
Christmas carol lyrics from the Bible and an old-fashioned carol-like tune combine in this free Christmas song for SATB choir or a solo vocalist with guitar.
Interested in songs from the Bible for your students or church? Check out my other website, SingTheBibleStory.com!
All the first-year material I give my beginner students.
Piano keyboard sheets, scales, chords, note-reading exercises, and over 256 pages of music!
This beautiful song book for piano & voice "Esther, For Such a Time as This", available as a digital download, tells the riveting story of the time when Jews in ancient Persia faced a foe named Haman, and how a brave young queen risked her life to save her people.
A good choice for a singing story-teller, an operatic group, a short theater production, or a class of children!
This book is also available from Amazon as a paperback.
This book is available as a digital download from this site. Visit this page to see some free examples from the book.
It is also available from Amazon as a paperback!
This is the perfect easy start for little pianists.
And when they start reading white-key notes on the staff, this is a fun easy resource to say each week, "Choose a new black-key song at home this week and figure it out to show me next lesson!" They will be spending more time at the piano.
A perfect read aloud storybook
for little boys or girls.
The Adventures of Tonsta highlight the travels of a very young boy with a good heart, who goes about helping folk in trouble.
With a red cap on his head and a sack of tools slung over his shoulder, Tonsta seems to meet people in distress wherever he goes.
Lots of trolls in this book - including one who gives him a Christmas gift!
About the Author
Hi, I'm Dana! (Say that like "Anna".) I'm the owner of Music-for-Music-Teachers.com, and a newer site, SingTheBibleStory.com.
Like some of you, I've been playing the piano since early childhood, and have added a few other instruments along the way, plus an interest in arranging and composing music.
You can find out more about me and the reason for this website at my About Me page.
Recent Articles
-
Angels We Have Heard on High - Free Christmas Songs Arrangements
Angels We Have Heard on High: children love the fancy "Gloria" chorus, and you can download multiple arrangements for piano, violin, & guitar! -
Gospel Song Jesus Loves Me: Beginner & Easy Piano, Plus Lead Sheets!
Gospel song "Jesus Loves Me" is well-known to many children. Here are easy arrangements to learn the music & each word to Jesus Loves Me, for early piano.