Viva la musica
Round for Singing

Viva la musica is a very old round for singing. 

Find it here for treble and bass voices, for guitar, and with AlphaNotes (notes with letter names inside the heads) for voice students who don't read notes well!

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This singing round has a nice range; just an octave.  In both the keys of F and G, the notes are easily reached by most groups.

The only real musical difficulty your singers are likely to encounter is the down-turn of the melody at the end of the first phrase; it is a bit unexpected, and the jump to the following interval feels awkward at first.

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A case could be made for additional fast-changing chords, however, I wanted to keep it simple!

The version below, with three staves, lets singers see where the other parts are when they enter.

Additionally, this arrangement is in the key of D, for singers using the bass clef (staves 2 and 3), and for tenors or altos who are accustomed to singing with the treble clef (staff 1). 

This arrangement is also offered in the key of F.

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Here is the same arrangement, in the key of F, all for treble singers or parts.

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What is the translation of "viva la musica?"

"MUSIC LIVES!"  or possibly, "Long live music!", as in "Vive le France! - Long live France!"

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I am eager to share this easy round with my guitar students; I think we will try finger-picking it classical style.

Michael Praetorius, to whom the "Viva la musica" song is attributed, lived a very long time ago; probably 1571 - 1621.

Though he composed primarily for the Lutheran church, his most familiar work to most people may be a compendium of delightful "dances". 

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He collected and published more than three hundred of these instrumental dances and called them "Terpsichore."  (Pronounced "terp-SIK-uh-ree" - a very fun name to say.)

Terpsichore, a goddess, was one of the nine muses; her specialty was dancing!

You can read a long and engaging biography of Praetorius here...

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The links for the vocal round PDFs:

Download single line arrangement in F

Download single line version in G

The links for the 3-stave versions:

Download 3-stave arrangement for men's voices in D

Download arrangement of Viva la musica for low voices in F

Download treble voice arrangement with 3 staves in F

Download version with 3 staves, treble clef, in G

The link for the guitar tabs version:

Download guitar arrangement with tablature

The link for the lettered-notes arrangement:

Download simplified arrangement with letters in the note-heads