Music Alone Shall Live,
A Vocal Round

Music Alone Shall Live is a very pretty round with lovely harmonies.  With only two lines of music (three lines of lyrics), it is a quick study!

Vocal round key of C

Line one and line three are the same notes exactly... making this an easy round indeed!

Nevertheless, it is very pretty!

Friends around the world singing together

Listen to a lovely rendition of this traditional German round, starting with one singer and adding voices.  All accomplished musicians, seemingly:


I cannot resist singing along.


vocal round for singers

One of these five keys shown here is sure to be right for your singers!

Originally, this traditional song is from Germany


Himmel und Erde mussen vergeh'n,

Aber die Musici,

aber die Musici,

aber die Musici bleiben besteh'n.


Singing round in Eb

The keys of C, F, or G will be easiest for your beginner pianists/ musicians to play, probably.  One reason I try to provide rounds in a key with no black keys, such as C or Am, is just to make it easier for singers (notoriously inept at note-reading, IN GENERAL) to pick out their part.

Round for singers "Music Alone Shall Live"
Singing round for choir

The links for the vocal rounds:



Download Music Alone Shall Live in the key of C



Download vocal round in the key of D



Download singing round in the key of Eb



Download the song in the key of F



Download Music Alone Shall Live in G


More Rounds at Music-for-Music-Teachers.com


Ah, Poor Bird

 A pretty round with a reach of an octave, slow-moving notes, and easy intervals.  The scale-wise movement makes this song easy for a beginner.


Beauty's But an Idle Boast

With lyrics from an older time, this is more difficult than many rounds, but compensatingly more beautiful, with more complex harmonies as well!


Christ is Born

New lyrics for an old round by Haydn - well-suited to a mix of voices, a satisfying round


Christmas is Coming, the Goose is Getting Fat

Lots of big interval jumps, even octaves, make this round fun and tricky.


Coffee Canon

Originally from Germany (Kaffee), this is great fun to sing!  With new English lyrics that mention mochas, lattes, and "coffee black!"


Dona Nobis Pacem

Difficult!  Quite difficult for beginners, this beautiful round works best with a bigger group of singers, or even instrumentalists, unless your singers are experienced with harmony


For Health & Strength & Daily Bread

Pretty, and fairly easy, as it moves primarily in descending steps, this is a wonderful Thanksgiving song!


Haida, a Hebrew round

Haida is vigorous and fun - there are two spots that invite a clap, adding to the rhythmic feeling of this song.  Along with "Coffee," this is a favorite, frequently requested!


The Hart, He Loves the High Hill

This brisk but pretty round from England compares a deer to a rabbit, and a man to a woman!


Have You Seen the Ghost of John

An unbelievably pretty round, with lyrics that DO NOT do it justice!   One of my students' perennial favorites.


Heigh Ho, Nobody Home

The first round I use with beginning singers. Very singable!


Hinneh Mah Tov

Another brisk Hebrew round, lovely and minor.


Kookaburra

A fun 2-part round from Australia, good for classroom singing


Music Alone Shall Live

A very pretty little tune with nice major harmonies. A quick study! 


Oh How Lovely is the Evening

Short, and very easy.  This is a sweet melody with simple harmonies.


Shalom Chaverim

A song about peace, from Israel. Very lovely.


Viva la musica

A little different - there is a bit of dissonance to learn to sing through.  A joyful melody!


White Sand and Grey Sand

A street-seller's cry from England.  







Interested in songs from the Bible for your students or church?  Check out my other website, SingTheBibleStory.com!

SingTheBibleStory.com clickable logo link

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About the Author

Dana Thynes

Hi, I'm Dana!  (Say that like "Anna".)  I'm the owner of Music-for-Music-Teachers.com, and a newer site, SingTheBibleStory.com.

Like some of you, I've been playing the piano since early childhood, and have added a few other instruments along the way, plus an interest in arranging and composing music.

You can find out more about me and the reason for this website at my About Me page.