Gentle Mary Laid Her Child
The iconic holiday tune for Gentle Mary Laid Her Child (or, Good King Wenceslas) is from a Finnish collection of European carols from the 16th century. The simple, catchy melody line and carefully isolated accompaniment voices allow beginning ringers to confidently ring this holiday favorite in church, concert or school.
Handchimes or handbells may be used since the piece uses straight ringing with a few LVs. Two compatible scores are included: #1 – 2-3 oct. and #2 - 2-5 oct. An additional individual score for the EF6 ringer is included, since my ringer in that position needed some extra help to play the part. A unison exercise page that teaches the rhythm, technique and note reading skills necessary is also included – and this page is reproducible for individual marking and even projection is you wish.
The melody is found in both treble and bass voices with half and quarter notes throughout and clearly defined double voicing on both staves. Ideal for worship, concert, school or Level 1 Festival, to encourage confident and precise ringing.
--Part of the “Class Ring” series from ringTrue Handbell Music – which features carefully written and scored concert-worthy pieces with a pedagogical focus that make classroom and rehearsal time efficient and effective.
To see currently available pieces select “Class ring” from the “Search by Series” at the bottom of the Music Selection Assistant page or, for the complete catalog enter RE in the Stock number search box, at HandbellWorld.com
Gentle Mary Laid Her Child L1 2-5 oct. Reproducible RE3037R
Class ring
Perfectly timed for brand new ringers to play confidently at Christmas! This unique reproducible Level 1 score spanning 2-5 octaves is a brilliant pedagogical stepping stone for ringers who want to play “big” music but aren’t quite ready to hold their own in a full score. With every individual ringing part extracted from the score and placed on a 5 line staff, each ringer sees only their own 2 notes, playing their two notes and counting the rests in between. This format makes it incredibly easy for new ringers to play their part with confidence and accuracy without sidetracking the learning process with color coding or written in note names. Mary Laid Her Child uses the same tune as “Good King Wenceslas” the English Christmas carol about a Bohemian king who went on a journey giving alms to the poor; so this piece can be used in both sacred and secular settings.
Teaching notes and a Unison Exercise that introduces all the rhythms are included. A director’s score is also included (but is not reproducible). For ringers who ARE ready to play on a grand staff, a compatible full choir score (L1 for 2-3 and 3-5 oct.) is also available: RE301912. Another score with similarly extracted parts (which is even easier than this particular score) is “Ode to Joy” RE3011ABR.
Part of ringTrue’s Class ring series (pieces with a pedagogical focus for classroom and concert). See more in these series at www.handbellworld.com
Categories: Christmas, Very Easy, Pedagogy, Sacred, Secular, more than one score in the same key, reproducible, extracted parts, school, hymn tune, traditional, English tune