I'll Be Around For My Friends

"Through highs and through lows, that's just how it goes. I'll always be around for my friends." That's how it is with good friends, right? "I'll Be Around For My Friends" is not only a great song about friendship, it's also a 3-part round. Rounds are an amazing way to introduce singers to part singing. Once they have the melody down, it becomes an exercise in concentration and listening and helps them develop strong aural skills. The neat thing about this round is that it also has a section, beginning at measure 30, that provides the challenge of singing three separate parts as well. It also does this in the coda. Of course, if you prefer to keep things a bit simpler, you could just have everyone sing part 1 in those spots. We are including rehearsal tracks of parts 2 and 3 from these sections on our web site.

The recorded accompaniment features piano, nylon guitar (playing all three parts of the round), electric bass, strings, wind chimes, and a clarinet. We have also provided a playable piano part. So, if you choose to sing this song live, you'd have the option of singing it unison throughout, or as a 2-part round by adjusting the piano accompaniment accordingly. If you go this route, consider adding a guitar or other rhythm band instruments like a tambourine, finger cymbals, and/or rhythm sticks.

Signs of friendship - Our sign language specialist Nate Jones has created teaching videos for this song as well. Especially if you use this piece in performance, signing would be beautiful. Not to mention impressive to your audience! You can find these videos at our web site.