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Were You There: alto part

The alto part of Were You There in G, from B3 to B4. Hear it on its own or with the others, then sing it and watch each note light up.

Rests while the soprano asks each question, echoes her on B, C and B ("were you there?" in verses 1 and 4, "to the tree?" and "in the side?" in verses 2 and 3), then sings with everyone, mostly on B and E, reaching its top B only in each verse's second question, on every "Oh!" and on every "Sometimes".

Range
B3 to B4
Key
G
Guide voice
The app's own voice

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How to learn the alto 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 Were You There

Words: traditional spiritual, as sung at Hampton Institute (published 1909)

Tune: traditional spiritual, as sung at Hampton Institute (published 1909)

Were You There is a spiritual as Hampton Institute's singers sang it. The school's songbook, edited by R. Nathaniel Dett in 1927, also prints a related spiritual, "Did You Hear How Dey Crucified My Lord?", and notes that this one seemed "to be universally more popular". Our tune and words are read from that book's reprint of the 1909 setting, in G as printed; the four parts are our own, checked against its chords. This is four of its five verses for 2 to 4 singers, slow and quiet: the soprano asks each verse's question alone, the others echo her under her held note, and everyone sings the rest together.

All about Were You There More spirituals, 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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