I Can Help

It is commonly known that people who focus on others lead happier and healthier lives than those who are "all about me." So why, then, doesn't everyone live by the golden rule if it makes us feel so good?

In this song, there is a young person who chooses to help where he/she can… close to home. A person doesn't have to save the world to make it a better place. Simply bloom where we're planted. Perhaps singing a song about it will kindle the desire to be a giver rather than a taker.

This 2-beat bluegrass tune with traditional country instrumentation includes mandolin and a resonator guitar, commonly known as a dobro. It begins in the key of D major, a happy key for a happy song. The arrangement is 3-part mixed, but feel free to sing it as a 2-part or unison piece depending on the makeup of your choir. Both extracted parts are available on our web site for learning. Though it's sometimes low in the range, our singers felt it was comfortable even while singing out energetically. And your lower, changing, and changed voices will appreciate that range. Still, we included cue notes for the low As, in case those are too low for your part 1 singers.

The form of the song is A A B A C B, with that last chorus modulating to the key of E major. Dynamically, we're at a mezzo forte from the git-go to the end. Adding parts 2 and 3 in the choruses and the bridge make them sound bigger without changing dynamics. Perform it with heart and you'll be good to go.