The May Day Carol

Do they melodies have mostly leaps or mostly jumps? Circle any jumps that you
might find!

A.

B.

C.

*This lesson would be taught to a 6th grade, mixed choir, of mostly unchanged
voices. I would begin this piece in February, as by this time, I would have set in
place solfege, hand signs, and some literacy skills. We would continue to work on
this in preparation for the spring concert, which would presumably take place MidMay.
Process:
Greet the choir: It's so hot out! Do you know when the first day of summer is?
It used to be the first of may! They would celebrate May Day with flowers, music,
and dancing.
Let's get our bodies loose for may day dancing
Let's smell the flowers from May Day
Deep sigh!
This festival is out on a farm somewhere, and you accidentally swallow a bug! Hmm
and chew
MM-Ah exercise A back space hand motion
Sigh
Lip Trills
Exercise B on Ve' Ve' with hand wheel hand motion
Sigh
Exercise C on Solfege (sign first)
Audiation exercise- think do but start on re and sing a scale
Look at worksheet, give them one minute to figure it out with a partner
I think you'll recognize these melodies, so as I sing each on solfege, point out the
motion in the air with your finger. I really want to see those leaps!
Have the students sing those sections back
One more time, sing do in your head, and sing a scale
sing and sign the melody line starting at ms. 51
sign the beginning of the second line, and class echoes

half the class sings melody, other sings the signs

sign the top part, class echoes
all three parts, last part follows signs
Look at the next section. In your own part, are there note patterns that you
recognize? Use your sheet as a guide (but they are not exactly the same)

Go to the beginning- does this part look most like what we've learned for part 1, 2,
or 3?

*Boys would be part 3 (melody). If any boys have changed voices can't hit the Bb,
they can remain on the same pitch. Alternate melodies are notated in the music.
Because the beginning of the song is in unison, I will ask the boys for whom the
higher notes are not comfortable, to not sing those notes. When the song expands
to 2, and 3 different parts, they would sing the different melody.

Part 1 would be sung by girls, and unchanged voices

Part 2 would be sung by girls, boys in mid-voice 1, and boys in mid-voice II, which
would have to sing the modified melodies that I have notated in the music.
Part 3 would be sung by girls, boys in mid-voice IIA, New Baritones, and Settling
Baritones, either on the modified melodies, or down the octave.