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The Water Is Wide: the melody (soprano)

The melody of The Water Is Wide, sung by the soprano, in G, from D4 to D5. Hear it on its own or with the others, then sing it and watch each note light up.

Carries the tune, a smooth folk melody that moves mostly by step, sung twice for the two verses.

Range
D4 to D5
Key
G
Guide voice
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How to learn the soprano part

  1. 01 · Your part

    Hear your part on its own until the tune of it is in your ear.

  2. 02 · With the others

    Hear it with the others, so you know where it sits in the chord.

  3. 03 · Sing it

    Sing it with the others under you and watch each note light up as you land it. The mic listens only while it plays, and nothing is recorded.

About The Water Is Wide

Words: traditional, as collected by Cecil Sharp and Charles Marson, Folk Songs from Somerset, third series (1906), no. 66, verses 1 and 6

Tune: traditional, sung by Mrs Cox of High Ham, collected by Cecil Sharp (1906)

The Water Is Wide is a traditional folk song; an older relative, Waly, Waly, was in print by the 1720s. Cecil Sharp heard it five times in Somerset, with tunes and words varying a lot. Our melody and words come from Sharp and Charles Marson's Folk Songs from Somerset, third series (1906), song 66, O Waly, Waly, its tune as sung by Mrs Cox of High Ham. This arrangement is two verses for 2 to 4 singers, slow and lyrical: the alto and tenor sing the words beneath the smooth tune, and the bass holds the low notes on "oo".

All about The Water Is Wide More folk songs, part by part

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Stackapella recording the alto part of Amazing Grace: each note is a bar with its name, and the one being sung says A little low, go up. Stackapella recording the alto part of Amazing Grace: each note is a bar with its name, and the one being sung says A little low, go up. Stackapella recording the alto part of Amazing Grace: each note is a bar with its name, and the one being sung says A little low, go up. Stackapella recording the alto part of Amazing Grace: each note is a bar with its name, and the one being sung says A little low, go up.
  • A guide sings your partHear your line over the others, slow it down, then take your turn.
  • Your notes light upEach note shows where you landed, and a hint when to go up or down.
  • Record every part yourselfStack your takes in time until you're the whole choir.
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