Underneath the Stars

Hello all

Last week you sang this very well in terms of notes. But the offbeat rhythms of this piece are a challenge. Every note is either on the beat (it sounds at the same instant you tap your thigh) or off it (in between two taps). Early in the year I suggested you might like to go through your music and mark which are which as I have in my own copy. There are also a handful of notes which are unusually long. The temptation is to move off these particular syllables too early.

In my own attempts to learn this properly, I found that following these words works. Of course, you need to know the notes too. But if you are confident of the notes, then the words alone laid out as below give you all you need.

If you’d like to do the same, here is the plan. On the beat in caps. Long syllables underlined.

SOPRANOS

oh GO GENT-ly, oh GO GENT-ly

UN-derneath THE stars I’ll meet you
UN-DER-neath the stars I’LL greet you
and THERE be-NEATH THE stars I’ll leave you
be-FORE YOU go of YOUR own free WILL
go gently

UN-derneath THE stars YOU met me
UN-DER-neath THE stars YOU left me
i WON-der IF THE stars RE-gret me
At LEAST you’ll GO of YOUR own FREE WILL
go gently

Here BE-neath THE stars i’m landing and
HERE BE-neath THE stars not ending
Oh WHY on EARTH AM i PRE-tending?
I’m HERE a-GAIN THE stars BE-friending
They COME and go of THEIR own FREE WILL
go gently (same each time)

OH GO GENT-ly, GENT-ly, GENT-ly to end

ALTOS, TENORS AND BASSES

oh GO GENT-ly, oh GO GENT-ly

UN-der-NEATH THE stars I’ll meet you
UN-DER-neath the stars I’LL greet you
and THERE be-NEATH THE stars I’ll leave you
be-FORE YOU GO
GO GENT-ly, GO GENT-ly

UN-der-neath THE stars YOU met me
UN-DER-neath THE stars YOU left me
i WON-der IF THE stars RE-gret me
At LEAST YOU’LL GO

GO GENT-ly

Here BE-neath THE stars i’m landing and
HERE BE-neath THE stars not ending
Oh WHY on EARTH AM i PRE-tending?
I’m HERE a-GAIN THE stars BE-friending
They COME and go of THEIR own FREE
GO GENT-ly (same each time)

OH GO GENT-ly, GENT-ly, GENT-ly to end