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Once in Royal David’s City

Once in Royal David’s City

Cecil Frances Alexander’s 1848 words to the tune Henry Gauntlett wrote for them in 1849: the whole first verse, a calm melody with dotted rhythms and two-note slurs that rises to a sixth above the root on “Mary.”

Melodies
Level: Intermediate
Melodic pattern
♩ 100
about 1 min
Style: Classical

One repetition of the pattern. In the app it is transposed to your vocal range and scored note by note.

Once in Royal David's City has words by Cecil Frances Alexander (1818–1895), published in 1848, and a tune by Henry John Gauntlett (1805–1876) from 1849. You sing the whole first verse, from “Once in royal David's city” to “Jesus Christ her little child.” It has 54 notes and takes about 29 seconds, in four. The tune starts a fourth below the root and climbs to it in two steps, a major third and then a half step. It uses dotted rhythms and spans from a fourth below the root to a major sixth above.

How to do it

Wait for the count-in. The piano plays the first phrase alone, then plays along.
Start below the root: rise a major third, then a half step up to the root on “roy-.”
Give the dotted rhythms their long and short parts. Slur the two notes on “Da-vid's” and “cat-tle.”
“Where a mother laid her baby” repeats the music of the opening, so sing it the same way.
Start “Mary” high, on the sixth above the root, and let the last line fall back to the root.

Coach's tip: Sing the two-note slurs on “David’s” and “cattle” smoothly, on one vowel. “Mary” starts high – breathe before it and land right on the note.

What to watch out for

The two opening notes below the root are easy to sing flat, so hear the root before you start. Dotted rhythms tend to turn into even notes; keep the short note short. The slurs on “laid her” and “little” can blur into one pitch. The high start of “Mary” is a place to push, so keep it light. Take a breath at the line ends. Stop if you feel any strain.

Who it's for

Level 2, for singers who want a calm melody with dotted rhythms and slurs, and for choir singers. Prepare with Interval: major sixth, for the leap up to “Mary,” and Long phrase on one breath (12 s). No program lists it. The daily training offers it only from 1 December to 6 January, but it is in the library all year. The piano plays along by default; you can switch to “Listen → Sing.”

Practice this exercise

Opens the app in your browser. Free to start, no account needed. Put on headphones first.