Yonder Come Day

a traditional Georgia Sea Islands spiritual

Additional words, music, and arrangement

by Judith Cook Tucker
 Lyrics
Yonder come day
Day is a breakin’
Yonder come day
Oh my soul
Yonder come day
Day is a breakin’
Sun is a’risin’
In my soul
Melody
Counter Melody
Let’s Put Them Together!
Bass Line
All Together Now!
 Rhythmic Speech
Trees are green and the air is sweet
The good earth is singin’ underneath my feet
I’ll point my feet down that freedom line
Walkin’ that road I’m feelin’ fine
Find the Syncopated Rhythmic Pattern

Trees are green and the air is sweet

The good earth is singin’ under neath my feet
I’ll point my feet down that freedom line
Walkin’ that road I’m feelin’ fine
 Syncopation
● There are strong and weak beats in music.

● When music is stressed on a ‘weak’ beat versus a

strong beat, we call that syncopation

● The syncopated rhythm of the B section of Yonder

Come Day is notated as eighth note, quarter note,
eighth note (du de * de) – we can also use the rhythmic
syllable “syn-co-pa” to indicate this.
 Ternary Form
Yonder Come Day singing section = A

Trees are green…rhythmic speech section = B

Yonder Come Day singing section returns = A

The word ternary means three. Ternary Form in music

means there are three sections – the beginning and
end are the same or similar and the middle section is
different.
 History & Culture
● This melody originated in the communities of the
Georgia Sea Islands off the coastline of the states of
Georgia & South Carolina.

● These islands were a first stop for many African slave

ships making their way to the North American
mainland.

● Because the Sea Islands’ isolation buffered them from

urban and white-dominated culture, the deepest roots
of African-American culture were largely preserved
intact.
 History & Culture
● Like the African-American music found on the North
American mainland, the music of the Sea Islands
includes spirituals, blues, call-and-response songs, field
hollars, work chants, singing games, and stories

● Many children’s playground songs found even in

northern urban areas actually originated in the Sea
Islands. Some of the songs include words, phrases,
pronunciation or sentence structure with links to
Gullah – a regional dialect that developed through a
mixture of English and many African languages.
 History & Culture
● This song is an arrangement by Judith Cook Tucker,
who first heard this song sung by the Sea Islands
Singers in the 1970s at a festival. Bessie Jones is
probably the most famous singer of this group.

● Bessie Jones was famous for her rich voice and her
dedication to the continuation of the Sea Islands
traditions. She collected and recorded many songs and
children’s games.

● Let’s hear and watch her version of this song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOfPJASs-Is
Let’s create our own arrangement!
Some ideas for arranging:

▪ use instruments to accompany the singing

▪ layer in the three singing parts

▪ create movement to go with the tune

▪ compose transitions or a whole new section

 Lesson Planning
● Musicking Standards
1. Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
2. Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied
repertoire of music.
3. Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments
4. Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines
5. Reading and notating music
6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music
7. Evaluating music and music performances
8. Understanding relationships between music, the other arts,
and disciplines outside the arts
9. Understanding music in relation to history and culture
10. Moving to, dancing to, and choreographing, alone and with
others, a varied repertoire of music
 Lesson Planning
● Learning Outcomes/Musical Concepts
● Students will (explore, understand, perform, create,
listen for, identify, analyze, describe) a musical concept
(quarter note pulse, ternary form, syncopation, strong
and weak beats, polyphonic texture, history and culture
of the Georgia Sea Islands, music’s connection to
anthropology) through a musical activity (singing,
performing on instruments, improvising, arranging,
composing, reading and notating).
 Lesson Planning
● Materials
● Song (Yonder Come Day arr. by Judith Cook Tucker)
● Orff Instruments
● Stereo System
● Computer
● LCD Projector
● YouTube recording of Bessie Smith and the Georgia Sea
Island Singers
 Lesson Planning
● Procedures
● Teacher introduces and teaches all three parts of A section by rote, using
“my turn, your turn” gestures. Students echo phrases and patterns
presented by teacher.
● Teacher projects music notation and leads students in solfege with hand
signs.
● Teacher discusses and introduces melody, counter melody, and bass line.
● Teacher introduces B section by rhythmically speaking the phrases,
students echo back.
● Teacher introduces concept of syncopation, students clap rhythm and
identify “syncopa” pattern.
● Teacher introduces ternary form, students perform ternary form.
● Teacher introduces history and culture of the song, students read, watch,
and listen to Bessie Smith recording.
● Teacher and students discuss how the arrangement is different.
● Students create their own arrangement, drawing on ideas presented by
the teacher.
 Lesson Planning
● Assessment
● Assessment will be executed through observation and listening of
students echo patterns.
● Teacher will visually and aurally observe solfege with hand signs and listen
to singing. Only when all students sign and sing the correct pitches will the
teacher move on to the next step.
● Teacher aurally observes students singing melody, countermelody, and
bass line.
● Teacher aurally and visually assesses students’ rhythm clapping and
identification of “syncopa” patterns by asking students to circle the
corresponding words.
● Teacher visually and aurally assesses students performance of ternary
form.
● Teacher asks students to reflect on three things learned from the Bessie
Smith recording with an exit ticket.
● Teacher observes and listens to students’ ideas about arranging and helps
guide students in creating a successful arrangement.