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The library · Christmas

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

Felix Mendelssohn

A Mendelssohn melody, first written for the Gutenberg festival in Leipzig: it springs up a fourth, then climbs in stages, like a fanfare.

F major · 4/4 · 60 beats per minute · 20 bars · 1 min 20 · beginner level

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The form

The sections of the piece and their chords: the map you learn before playing a single note.

A B A' C D D E F E' F'

SectionBarsChordsPhrase ending
A 1–2 F · F/A · C
I · I · V		 Imperfect cadence
B 3–4 Am · B♭ · C · F
iii · IV · V · I		 Perfect cadence
A' 5–6 F · Dm7 · G7/B
I · vi7 · V7/V		 —
C 7–8 A7sus4 · C · F · C
III7sus4 · V · I · V		 Imperfect cadence
D 9–10 Am/C · Csus4/E · Csus4
iii · Vsus4 · Vsus4		 Imperfect cadence
D 11–12 Am/C · Csus4/E · Csus4
iii · Vsus4 · Vsus4		 Imperfect cadence
E 13–14 B♭ · B♭aug · Gm
IV · IV+ · ii		 —
F 15–16 C7/B♭ · F/A · C7 · F
V7 · I · V7 · I		 Perfect cadence
E' 17–18 B♭ · Gm/B♭ · Gm
IV · ii · ii		 —
F' 19–20 C7/E · Fsus4/B♭ · C7 · F
V7 · Isus4 · V7 · I		 Perfect cadence

The key

F major
1 flat in the key signature: B♭
Scale
F · G · A · B♭ · C · D · E
Pillar chords
I = F · IV = B♭ · V7 = C7

The tricky passages

  • Bar 9: a melodic leap (octave)

The plan: 13 days

Half an hour a day. First I help you understand the map of the piece, then we lay down the chord framework, learn each section phrase by phrase, work on the tricky passages, put it together and bring it up to tempo, until you can play it from memory.

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