Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
Spiritual · 1800s · Traditional African American spiritual, often attributed to Wallace Willis (pre-1862)
Sing Swing Low, Sweet Chariot with pitch feedback
“Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” is transcribed here with its tonic on C4 at 84 bpm in 4 beats to the bar. The 14 notes span A3 to G4 — 10 semitones — which rates Hard to sing, and a full 4-pass session runs about 0:46.
10 semitones as transcribed. The practice room transposes it to sit in your own range.
- One time through
- 0:11 at 84 bpm
- A full session
- 0:46 — 4 passes
- Leaps of a third or more
- 4
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot lyrics, as transcribed here
- Swing low, sweet chariot,
- comin' for to carry me home,
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 spiritual, often attributed to Wallace Willis before 1862; first published in the Fisk Jubilee Singers’ 1872 songbook “Jubilee Songs.” Long out of copyright.
- Attribution
- Traditional African American spiritual, often attributed to Wallace Willis (pre-1862)
- Language
- English
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
Tags describe what the melody asks of a voice, not what it sounds like — “spiritual” is the reason to pick it on a given day.