Mary had a little lamb is a folk song written by Sarah Joseph Hale in 1837, while the lyrics were inspired by Mary Sawyer in 1930. It is an American nursery rhyme that is popularly sung among playgroups and children. The song is centered around Mary sawyer who took a vulnerable lamb under her care after the lamb was deserted and rejected by its mother on the family’s farmland. The lamb had a nice fleece that is white as snow and usually follows Mary to school and waits till the closing hour because of the immense love the lamb has for her.
Solfege can be described as a system in which every note of the scale is given its own unique solfege syllable which is used in singing the note every time it is needed. Solfege syllables are also based on the music education method that is used to teach aural skills, pitch, and sight-reading of Western music in music practice and the music learning process.
The tonic Sol-Fa method is popularized by seven syllables, commonly used in English-speaking countries are Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, and Ti. Solfege identifies the relationship between different notes in music and it also helps in letting the learner understand and recognize the patterns accordingly.
Solfege syllables are also universal because musicians or music learner who speak different languages can easily communicate in solfege syllables and sing melodies together without understanding each other’s language.
Table of Contents
MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB SOLFEGE
The 3 major notes that are used in this song are C, D, and E 9( solfege: Do Re Mi only)
LYRICS
“Mary had a little lamb
Little lamb, little lamb
Mary had a little lamb
Its fleece was white as snow”
SOLFEGE
Ma ry had a lit tle lamb
Mi Re Do Re Mi Mi Mi
Lit tle lamb lit tle lamb
Re Re Re Mi Sol Sol
Ma ry had a lit tle lamb
Mi Re Do Re Mi Mi Mi
Its fleece was white as snow
Re Re Re Mi Re Do
LETTER NAMES:
E D C D E E E _ D D D _E E E_
E D C D E E E C D D E D C _ _ _
WHAT SCALE IS MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB?
The simplest way to describe the relationships between different notes in a scale is by using scale degrees. The unit of the scale can be assigned a number and a special name illustrating its functions. We have;
Tonic – the first pitch
Supertonic – above the tonic
Mediant – the halfway between the dominant
Subdominant – it is just below the dominant
Dominant – the five pitches above the tonic
Leading Tone – the half step below the tonic
Mary has a little lamb is performed in C major traditionally, but as a learner, you can use another major key like G major for the purpose of children singers and recorders. Using this scale will make the performance come out well.
STEPS ON HOW TO PLAY MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB ON THE KEYBOARD
Every key comes with a tonic, so definitely all the keys will have a Do. you can see that much emphasis is laid on tonic because it is the beginning and the end of each scale. When you are playing a C major, the pitches are C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C.
Mary had a little lamb solfege is not hard or tricky to play, and there is also a shortcut to playing it as well. You can start by playing on Bb (the right-most black key in the group of 3) to conveniently play it, follow the below steps to guide you through.
STEP 1
Find the correct starting pitch. For the learners, E or Bb is recommended, so if you choose E, make sure to look for the two black keys. The E is the white key to the right and touching the right most of the 2 black keys. Bb is the easiest option for you, so if you’re choosing it you will have to look for the group of 3 black keys. Bb is the right most of the 3 black keys.
STEP 2
Try to place your fingers correctly. Use your right middle finger on the key you chose from before. But if you start on E, place your index finger on the white key to the left of finger 3. This note is D and then continue by placing your thumb on the next white key that is called C. if you start on Bb, place your pointer on the middle black key. This is Ab and finger 2 and places your thumb on the bottom black key. This is Gb and finger 3.
STEP 3
You start by moving them up and down, starting on finger 3, you are to play down and then right back up like this sample below;
32123
STEP 4
Continue by repeating 3,2, and jump. Then add on two more 3s so that you can have three at the end like this:
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Then you can repeat the same step with the 2s. Like this:
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You just have to go back to 3 once and jump to your 5 on either G or Db bringing out:
3212333-222-355-
It should also be noted that instead of jumping to 5, you can repeat 3 again twice.
STEP 5
Like the beginning including the three 3s
321233-222-355-
-3212333-
STEP 6
Fancy the ending. This is the most troublesome part because the majority of people always find it difficult. The fancy ending plays two 2s and then ends with 321like this:
3212333-222-355-
3212333-
22321—
After following all these steps, you can now go further to play your melodious song.
