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Whoever translated “Frère Jacques” into English must have been new on the job. They got the whole thing wrong.
First of all, the English equivalent ofJacques isn’t John – it’s James or Jacob. If the song had been about a Frenchman named John, it would have been called “Frère Jean.”
Second, the English lyrics make it sound like someone has come to gently wake up the titular monk: “Are you sleeping, Brother John? Morning bells are ringing!” In the original French, Frère Jacques isn’t awoken to the sound of bells. He’s tossed out of bed because he has overslept and it is his job to ring the bells to call everyone to morning prayers.
Personally, I find Jacques much more relatable. Let’s start a petition to get the English lyrics changed and embrace our inner lazy friars.
“Frère Jacques” Playing Tips
“Frère Jacques” is a great step-up song for new learners who have mastered the beginner songs like “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,” “Ode to Joy,” etc. First, it increases the difficulty ever so slightly with a pair of 4-note eighth note runs. Crucially, they’re both the same, and they are easy to play.
Second, it’s a great song to dip your toes into playing chords alongside the melody. Accompanying yourself by playing a chord (usually on the first note of each measure in simple arrangements) is called playing a “chord-melody.” It’s a great way to level up your sound and feel like you’re actually playing music instead of just picking single-note melodies.
“Frère Jacques” is a perfect introduction to chord-melody arrangements because the entire song can be played over a single chord. On low G uke, that chord is a C, which means you can hit any or all of the three lowest strings (open, not fretted) at any time and it will still sound pretty good. In the sheet music, I put these simple chords at the beginning of each measure the second time through the melody.
On high G uke, things are slightly more complicated because the song is transposed up to to F, meaning you can’t just hit open strings whenever you want. Still, the chord-melody portion is fairly simple, at least the first half. The stretch up the 5th fret while holding the modified F chord in measures 13 and 14 will likely be a challenge.
If you have a low G uke, be sure to check out the high G sheet music as well for the more difficult version. You can download both versions using the links at the bottom of the page below the embedded PDF. Happy picking!
“Frère Jacques” Low G Sheet Music Download
“Frère Jacques” High G Sheet Music Download
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