February 1st is just around the corner and the observance of Black History Month arrives with it. To celebrate and educate about this rich cultural heritage, a great resource can be found in the African American Spiritual, perhaps the most significant type of American folk song. By teaching the history, text and tunes of Spirituals we can impart a deeper understanding and awareness of this part of American culture.
Understanding the history of Spirituals and the different types will help those singing and listening have a greater understanding. An informative synopsis produced by the Library of Congress offers a deeper look into this art form and can be found in the article, African American Spirituals. We suggest that a brief history and explanation of the type of Spiritual being performed be shared with your students and audience to offer them a greater connection to what is being presented.
Using handchimes, we can introduce Spirituals in a number of ways. Some of these resources include singing and some do not; either way, we recommend that the text and melody be taught by rote first to insure a deeper understanding of the song and its original use before introducing the handchime parts or score.
The resources below can be found on the ChimeWorks website and are available for immediate purchase and digital download.
Handchimes in the General Music Classroom or Choral Rehearsal
Kum-Bah-Yah (Chords)
- Use:Sacred
- Level:K – 2, 3 – 6
- Chords:3
- Topic:Praise, Spiritual
- Language:English
- Origin:African American Spiritual
Students will harmonize the song by ringing chords when indicated either by chart or color.
Kum-Bah-Yah (Ring & Sing)
- Use:Sacred
- Level:3 – 6
- Topic:Praise, Spiritual
- Language:English
- Origin:African American Spiritual
Students will harmonize the song by reading the text and ringing when a word is outlined and damping when it is underscored.
Come by here is the translation of Kum-bah-yah. This song has been passed down by mouth and has become a favorite of camps and meeting places. Originally, it was sung by those in need.
- Use:Sacred, Secular
- Level:K – 2, 3 – 6
- Type:Chords
- Chords:3
- Topic:Spiritual
- Language:English
- Origin:America
Students will harmonize the song by ringing chords when indicated either by chart or color.
Michael Row the Boat Ashore is an African American Spiritual first noted during the Civil War.
- Use:Sacred, Secular
- Level:K – 2, 3 – 6
- Type:Chords
- Chords:3
- Topic:Peace, Spiritual
- Language:English
- Origin:African American Spiritual
Students will harmonize the song by ringing chords when indicated either by chart or color.
Peace Like A River is an African American Spiritual. The first three items of the “fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22) are love, joy, and peace. This spiritual compares the peace of God to a placidly flowing river, the joy of Christ to a merrily bubbling fountain, and the love of God to a deep, wide ocean.
- Author/Composer/Arranger:Karen Thompson
- Use:Sacred
- Octaves Used – Select One:2 – 3 Octaves
- Level:Level 1, Level 2
- Topic:General
- Origin:African American Spiritual
- Use Caution with Techniques and/or Tempo:Caution
From Singing to Ringing is a valuable resource for teaching and reinforcing some basic, yet essential, music skills needed to ring handbells. Keeping a steady beat and visually tracking music from beat to beat (and measure to measure) are important skills that handbell ringers must accomplish to be successful. The conventional approach to aid in learning these two skills in a handchime/handbell setting is counting aloud by director and/or ringers. From Singing to Ringing serves the same purpose as counting aloud, but in a more enjoyable and engaging way. Additionally, rhythms are easier to perform and internalize when sung. If they can sing it, they can ring it!
For the Handchime Ensemble
- Author/Composer/Arranger:Bill Ingram
- Use:Sacred
- Octaves Used – Select One:2 – 3 Octaves
- Level:Level 1, Level 1+
- Topic:General
- Origin:African American Spiritual
- Use Caution with Techniques and/or Tempo:Caution
Bill Ingram continues the popular level one series with five attractive spirituals. One or two move into the level 1+ rating, offering good teaching opportunities while providing satisfying ringing experiences. These will be useful for school, church or concert venues.
- Author/Composer/Arranger:Bill Ingram
- Use:Sacred
- Octaves Used – Select One:2 – 3 Octaves
- Level:Level 1
- Topic:General
- Origin:African American Spiritual, Ireland
Here is a set of three familiar melodies that share the theme of morning. The titles included are “Jesus in the Morning,” “Morning Has Broken,” and “My Lord, What a Morning.” The graduating levels of difficulty of the pieces make this set an ideal selection for the developing ensemble. Since the melodies are familiar, these are excellent teaching pieces to help ringers identify them on the page and work to bring them out when ringing. Because of their versatility, you may find yourself pulling these out every year.
- Author/Composer/Arranger:Bill Ingram
- Use:Sacred, Secular
- Octaves Used – Select One:12 Note, Small Ensemble
- Level:Level 2, Level 2+
- Topic:General, Spiritual
- Origin:African American Spiritual
As the volume of literature for 12 bells or chimes in F continues to grow, this collection of spirituals will be a welcome addition. The spirituals, listed below, range from lively and bold to reflective and meditative. With no bell changes (thus no tables needed) there will be many opportunities to use these arrangements. Contents: Lord, I Want to Be a Christian; Steal Away; Great Day!; There Is a Balm in Gilead; Every Time I Feel the Spirit
It’s finally summer and the program year has come to a rest; however some may be busy preparing special music for Sunday services, teaching a summer music class or maybe you ring and just can’t get enough! Don’t disregard ringing over the summer just because rehearsals have ended and your musicians have scattered in different directions. There are resources available for fewer ringers and some of them won’t even require a lot of rehearsal! Consider the readily available options below on the