Round Music from England
The Hart He Loves the High Wood
I'll bet you've never heard this music round from England before! The words are lovely, and there is a bit of a message, too... which is that a woman wants her own way!
Scroll on down the page to find the free downloadable PDF links.
"The hart, he loves the high wood; the hare, he loves the hill. The knight, he loves his bright sword; the lady loves her will!"
Isn't the alliteration in this poem lovely? Hart, He ... High. Hare, He... Hill.
Then we have "knight" and "bright," and "Lady... Loves... wilL."
Let's make sure everyone understands this old-fashioned terminology. If you aren't familiar with the English from around the time of Shakespeare or the making of the King James Bible, you may have some trouble!
A hart is a deer. A hare is a large rabbit!
Here is the song in the key of A:
Scroll on down the page to find the free downloadable PDF links.
There are echoes in these lyrics of the story of Sir Gawain and the Loathly Lady!
In this old story (which reappears in many forms),King Arthur owes a favor to an "old hag" who assists him when he is in mortal danger.
In return, she asks that one of his knights will wed her. Sir Gawain bravely agrees to have her for wife, and she then tells him she is not as hideous as she appears, and that now he has another choice to make:
Does he wish for her to be UGLY but faithful, or BEAUTIFUL but false?
He does not know what to answer, so finally tells her that she must choose what SHE desires.
That is, of course the right answer, which frees her from a curse! She is transformed into her true self, a beautiful AND virtuous woman!
In the key of Eb:
Scroll on down the page to find the free downloadable PDF links.
I do not think you will find an online video of a choir singing this pretty song... at least, I couldn't. If you have better luck, let me know!
In the key of F:
Scroll on down the page to find the free downloadable PDF links.
Because this round begins each line on a "pick up" note (close to the end of a measure instead of beat 1, at the beginning), I have numbered the parts with large numbers OVER the lines, instead of before each line of music.
One excellent approach to learning rounds when you don't have the weight of a large choir for backup for timid singers:
Teach them just line 1, to start with. Have them sing it over and over again, as YOU navigate through the entire round.
Even singing just that tiny portion may be very tricky for young singers, when they are all alone on a part!
And the round in the key of G:
Scroll on down the page to find the free downloadable PDF links.
I like to help them out by pounding out their part on the piano - rather loudly - while I sing the rest with no assistance from the piano. (Sometimes I fail - it's not always the easiest thing to PLAY their part while singing my own!)
What about those chord symbols? Just in case a guitarist or other instrumentalist wants to play along.
I have found that when students first start learning a new round, softly playing the harmony in the background - the chords - helps them maintain their pitch a bit better.
I first encountered this fun round in the book "150 Rounds for Singing and Teaching." I do not KNOW that it originates from the English Renaissance, but the archaic language and subject matter causes me to suspect so...
Here are the round music free downloadable PDF links:
Download The Hart He Loves the High Wood in the key of A
Download English round in the key of D
Hart He Loves the Highwood in F
Download round music from England in G
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!
Sylvain:
I found great ideas for my guitar unit on your site, as I didn't know where to begin. Thanks to you I will survive my next 6 weeks.
I also teach choir to middle school, and I love your little morning warmups. Looking forward to more of that in the future. Keep up the great work, it is very inspirational for us beginner teachers.
MusicGardenStudios:
This is an absolutely wonderful site!
As a voice and piano teacher looking for enrichment material for beginners, I have found your collections to be comprehensive and purposeful. It is clear that you are a wonderful musician and educator. Thank you!
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.