Hymn to the Sea
(grade 1) **
DURATION: 1:17
PRICE: $40
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Currently my simplest piece. In ABABA form, and a minor mode of C (Bb
major key signature), it's mostly homophonic and chorale-like. Ranges
are from Do to La, and there are no eighth notes except in the
percussion. The clarinets stay below the break, and the trumpet's
highest note is A, second space. Easy to play, but intense effect. |
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THE SCORE:
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Dark Majesty
(grade 1) **
Pepper
Editors' Choice Award Winner!! Over 400 copies sold in its
first year!
DURATION: 2:14
PRICE: $42
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IT NOW!
Dark Majesty's grandiose cinematic sound and spectacular climax will
thrill parents and students alike. It's in D Phrygian mode (the notes
of Bb major) with no additional accidentals, so it's easy to play,
though filled with lush, rich harmonies. Only the percussion section
has eighth notes. The song is in 4/4, and prominently features the
quarter, half, quarter rhythm. Clarinets stay below the break and the
1st trumpets' highest note is C, approached by step. |
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THE SCORE:
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Cold But Happy
(grade 1 - 1.5)
DURATION: 1:53
PRICE: $40
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Despite its being in concert Bb, using only Do
to La without eighth notes, this unusual first-year piece has dense
cluster harmonies that will challenge and train your students' ears and
fingers simultaneously. A simple melody is passed from section to
section, while the harmonies change with each repetition. Except for
the rousing stop-time percussion feature, this piece has a light,
reserved elegance.
Challenges include staccato, slurring,
balance, intonation, and counting especially at letters D and F.
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THE SCORE:
Cold
But Happy |
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TO IT:
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Expanding Space
(grade 1 - 1.5)
DURATION: 1:59
PRICE: $40 (specify
1/8th or 1/4 note)
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IT NOW!
I think of this piece as a very simple
ricercar. The simple melody is repeated in different instrumental
combinations, gathering strength and advancing towards the final
climax. The harmony is straightforward; the melody, contagious. (So
much so, that everyone catches it at one point or another!) A neat
feature of this piece is that everyone gets to play percussion (on
their thighs) until his or her instrument's entrance. Besides keeping
everyone occupied, it's valuable rhythm practice.
This piece is available in two versions that
sound almost identical. The easier version uses just Do to La for each
instrument, and is predominantly in quarters, except for the
percussion. The harder version's tempo and note values are cut in half,
and the range extended to Do to Do, except for the clarinets who extend
downward to avoid the break.
Choose the version that suits your band's
needs.
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VIEW
THE SCORE:
Expanding
Space (1/4 notes, Do-La)
Expanding
Space (1/8th notes, Do-Do) |
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TO IT:
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From Ashes
Rising (grade 1.5)
DURATION: 2:37
PRICE: $40
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Subtitled An Anthem for New York
City and the U.S.A. after September 11, 2001, this piece also
stands well on its own. It moves gradually from its very dark and
somber beginning to a triumphant climax.
Clarinets don't cross the break, but an
optional "Cl 1+" part is included for those able to play above the
break. Tpt 1's highest note is D, always led up to by step. Low brass's
highest note is C, with optional Ds. Mostly quarter-notes or longer,
with some easy eighth-notes.
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VIEW
THE SCORE:
From
Ashes Rising |
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TO IT:
Quicktime
(MIDI) (28 k) Use your brower's Back button to
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Ashore!
(grade 1.5) **
DURATION: 2:37
PRICE: $42
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These easy variations on "Michael Row the Boat
Ashore" will expose your band to a variety of styles within a
traditional American song. The 1st trumpets' highest note is D.
Clarinet 1 and 2 do not cross the break, but there is a specially
written optional Clarinet 1+, that gives the more experienced player a
chance to play over the break.
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THE SCORE:
(coming soon) |
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TO IT:
Real
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Entrance of the
Mystics (grade 1.5) **
DURATION: 2:30 - 2:50
PRICE: $42
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Ethereal and other-worldly, and with a quirky,
wizardly midde section, Entrance of the Mystics will expand your
students' ears by introducing them to polychords and clusters. The
trumpet's highest note is D. The clarinets do not cross the break, but
there is an optional clarinet part that allows the better students to
play above the break.
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THE SCORE:
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Are You Ready
to Rock? (grade 1.5) **
DURATION: 2:41
PRICE: $42
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IT NOW!
This song will make your students think
they're in a rock band! Percussion breaks, rock energy, and chords in C
Dorian mode (the notes of Bb major) with only a few accidentals make
this a compelling winner. No percussion in your band? Easy edits are
built in, as are familiar scale practice in eighth notes and easy
syncopation. Clarinets do not cross the break and the 1st trumpet's
highest note is D.
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THE SCORE:
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TO IT:
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Four Sides of a
Dredyl (grade 1.5) **
DURATION: 2:23
PRICE: $42
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Everyone gets a chance to play the melody in
this beautiful arrangement of the well-known Dreydl Song. The harmonies
are humorous and quirky, while the treatment of the chorus offers
valuable quarter note syncopation practice. The contrasting middle
section is a reverent treatment of the blessing of the Hanukkah
candles, richly harmonized in chorale style, followed by a sparse,
mysterious transition to the final half-time Dreydl chorus. Parents
won't know whether to march or dance (all without eighth notes)!
Clarinets don't cross the break and the 1st trumpets' highest note is
Bb.
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THE SCORE:
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Cave of Gold
(grade 2)
DURATION: 3:00
PRICE: $40
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IT NOW!
A beautifully haunting traditional Scottish
bag-pipe melody in a setting that ranges from traditional to lushly
reharmonized. Check out the rhythms--good counting practice! Mostly in
Bb Mixolydian mode (key signature of Eb).
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VIEW
THE SCORE:
Cave of Gold |
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LISTEN
TO IT:
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(MIDI) (28 k) Use your brower's Back button to
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All One Tribe
(grade 2)
DURATION: 4:00 - 4:30 depending on length of drum
breaks
PRICE: $45
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All One Tribe is influenced
by Ghanaian drumming and song, and features original Ghanaian-flavored
melodies. It prominently features the percussion section, (tom toms,
cowbell, and claves). Typical of traditional African music, there is a
lot of call and response among the instruments, both melodically and
rhythmically.
This piece affords young players exposure to
African music in an easily played, fun, and different piece. Your
drummers will be especially challenged, while being introduced to
dead-sticking (where the stick rests on the drum head rather than
rebounding). The homophonic writing provides security for the rest of
the band during the harder rhythms.
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VIEW
THE SCORE:
All One
Tribe |
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LISTEN
TO IT:
Quicktime
(MIDI-- sorry!) (44 k) Use your brower's Back
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Oh, You Little
Candles (grade 2) **
DURATION: 3:36
PRICE: $48
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The original material composed around this
sweet traditional Hanukkah song brings it new life while providing a
gentle introduction and interlude, and a broadly climactic ending.
Great for any concert--not just holiday time! Set in the key of Eb,
this lovely arrangement teaches chromatics, breath support for long
phrases, and counting rests for correct entrances. Only the flute,
oboes, trumpets, and percussion have eighth notes. Clarinets don't
cross the break and first trumpets' highest note is E.
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THE SCORE:
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TO IT:
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Fanfare and
Dances (grade 2) **
DURATION: 2:35
PRICE: $42
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A personal favorite, this composition opens
with a regal fanfare and contains lyrical melodies and robust dances
throughout. The contrapuntal sections provide students with valuable
practice in becoming independent and experienced players. Clarinets 1
and 2 only play below the break, but an optional clarinet part is
provide that ventures higher in the staff. The first trumpets' highest
note is D.
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THE SCORE:
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A Little Neat Music (grade 2.5)
DURATION: 5:00
PRICE: $50
AVAILABLE IN EARLY 2008
A simplified version of the piece commissioned
by the Chelmsford Community Band in 2006-2007. Rockin' power chords are
answered by Baroque counterpoint, Medieval cadences, and Renaissance
brass chorales, only to be interrupted by jazz harmonies in this
powerful musical melange. The audience will go home singing the
melodies of this crowd- and band-pleaser!
Highest notes: Trumpet 1: F, Trombone 1: Eb,
with optional F#, Clarinet 1: C. Optional parts for up to 11
percussionists, as well as electric guitar and bass, are included.
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THE SCORE:
Soon... |
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TO IT:
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Bowen's Big
Night Out (grade 2.5 - 3)
DURATION: 3:48
PRICE: $60
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What if Aaron Copland had been commissioned to
write a piece for the Partridge Family, and Chicago's horn section
crashed the session?
Two endings are provided. The pitches are the
same, but the rhythms in the alternate ending are simplified.
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THE SCORE:
Bowen's
Big Night Out |
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TO IT:
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Nyaah Nyaah
Digressions (grade 3 - 4)
DURATION: 3:38
PRICE: $60
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IT NOW!
Spike Jones meets Kurt Weill in this downright
mischievous piece. It ranges from zany and giddy to heavy and serious,
with powerful percussion, dramatic climaxes, a little fugue, aeleatoric
techniques and dense, dissonant harmonies, all culminating in an
optional tutti "raspberry." As much fun as can be had in school without
breaking any rules.
There are solos to challenge your better
players and enough optional parts to keep up to fifteen percussionists
concentrating, and busy--and that's one per part.
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VIEW
THE SCORE:
Nyaah
Nyaah Digressions |
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TO IT:
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Gamelan Dream
(grade 3.5 - 4)
DURATION: 3:17
PRICE: $60
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This piece evokes the mood and music of
Javanese Gamelan, as filtered through my memories and compositional
style, and distilled for concert band. The individual rhythmic figures
are simple enough, but are put together in ways that will challenge
your band. The percussion parts are really juicy, especially the
mallets! This piece will also show your students how very different and
exotic sounds can be made simply by leaving out a couple of notes from
the major scale.
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VIEW
THE SCORE:
Gamelan
Dream |
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LISTEN
TO IT in Real Audio:
Real
Humans (848 k)
Fake
Humans (MIDI) (792 k) |
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A Little Neat
Music (grade 4.5 - 5)
DURATION: 6:15
PRICE: $85
AVAILABLE IN EARLY 2008
Commissioned by the Chelmsford Community Band
in 2006-2007. Rockin' power chords are answered by Baroque
counterpoint, Medieval cadences, and Renaissance brass chorales, only
to be interrupted by jazz harmonies in this powerful musical melange.
The audience will go home singing the melodies of this crowd- and
band-pleaser!
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VIEW
THE SCORE:
Coming soon... |
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LISTEN
TO IT:
Coming soon... |