Sing Frère Jacques: the opening phrase, its key and note range
The opening phrase of “Frère Jacques” runs from C4 to E4, 4 semitones, with its tonic on C4 at 120 bpm, and rates easy to sing. Origin: Traditional (French round, 18th century).
Sing Frère Jacques with pitch feedback
The opening phrase of “Frère Jacques” is transcribed here with its tonic on C4 at 120 bpm in 4 beats to the bar. The 8 notes span C4 to E4 — 4 semitones, with 2 leaps of a major third or more — and the span and leaps together rate it easy to sing; a full 4-pass session runs about 0:16.
4 semitones as transcribed. Once you have taken the range test, the practice room opens it fitted to your range, and you can shift it by semitones from there. Without a saved range it opens at this written pitch and is scored in either octave, so a lower voice can sing it an octave down and a higher voice an octave up.
- One time through
- 0:04 at 120 bpm
- A full session
- 0:16 — 4 passes
- Leaps of a major third or more
- 2
Frère Jacques lyrics, as transcribed here
- Frère Jacques, Frère Jacques
The songbook transcribes the opening phrase rather than the whole song, because 4 tight repetitions of a phrase you can hear yourself improve on beats one distracted run at the full thing.
Origin and copyright status
Traditional French round, in circulation since the 18th century.
- Attribution
- Traditional (French round, 18th century)
- Language
- French
Every melody in the songbook is public domain, which is why the whole thing can be sung in a browser without a licence. A specific recording or arrangement of the same tune can still be under copyright — this is our own transcription of the melody.
Genre, era and what it drills
Genre and era say where the melody comes from; “narrow range” is what it asks of a voice.