These teaching resources will support you to delve into the iconic catalogue of American songstress Carole King with your students, through group vocal arrangements written and prepared by NYJO Vocalist Daisy Houlder.
Your students will be able to gain a fresh perspective by inserting their voices into the instrumentation of these songs, connecting with the narrative of the lyrics, and bringing their own creative thoughts into the performance.
Below, for each arrangement you will find:
Charts, lyric sheets, and pre-recorded backing tracks.
Teaching notes to support your confidence in leading/conducting the learning process for these arrangements.
Video of NYJO vocalists aged 14-20 performing the arrangements.
Bitter with the Sweet
Bitter with the Sweet is taken from Carole King’s fourth album, released in 1972. The song encourages us to consider how life might not always be sweet, but if you work through those bitter moments then you will appreciate the sweet even more when they come! The song has a really uplifting message of hope which makes it a great choice to explore with young people.
“Though it seems the blues will never end
On this you can depend, they always do!”
Come Down Easy
Come Down Easy is taken from Carole King’s 1972 album, Rhymes and Reasons. The song is a reflection on friendship, love, and the passage of time; encouraging us to slow down and take a moment to focus on the present, finding connection there. This is a great song to work through with young people, providing an opportunity to open up conversations around how busy the world might feel to them today, and what the potential benefits of slowing down a little might look like.
“So come down easy
Let it come down slow.”
So Far Away
So Far Away is taken from Carole King’s second album, Tapestry, which was released in 1971. She wrote this song whilst she was touring, missing her home and family. This song is all about movement vs. stability; should she focus on building a home for herself and her family in one place, or keep following the road? It’s a great starting point for a discussion with your students to find out where they might relate, or disagree, with the emotions that King is expressing.
“I sure hope the road don’t come to own me
There’s so many dreams I’ve yet to find.”
Backing Tracks
Below you can find backing tracks recorded by NYJO Pianist Cal Herron for each of the vocal arrangements.
Teaching Notes
These arrangements should be learnt through a mixture of aural learning and notated music reading. They are a fun and accessible way into choral music reading, supporting your students to develop many other group singing skills and techniques.
At the link below, you can download our Teaching Resource for these arrangements. Specially written by Daisy, these notes will guide you through how she approaches teaching this music.
She discusses the different orders that she approaches leading each tune in, how you can build up the parts successfully with a group, as well as ideas for how you can use these arrangements to teach key concepts like improvisation to your students.
Video for Teachers
Hear from NYJO Vocalist, Daisy Houlder, as she talks you through the process of teaching her Carole King group vocal arrangements to your students!
This video also features footage of young NYJO Vocalists aged 14-20 learning the arrangements with Daisy.
Meet Daisy
Daisy is a London-based jazz vocalist. After studying music in Birmingham, Daisy released her debut EP ‘Until Now’ in 2022. Following the success of this project, Daisy continued to hone her craft studying for her Master’s in Jazz at Trinity Laban and as a vocalist with NYJO.
It is here in London that she has continued to perform and create powerful new music, recently performing at Ronnie Scott’s, Morocco Bound, and The Royal Albert Hall. Alongside her performing career, Daisy has become deeply invested in music education as Director of Music at Francis Holland Preparatory School where she conducts the school’s choir and orchestras.
