February 6, 2016
Dear Blue Band members,
Congratulations on your selection for this year’s honors band. I am very excited to be conducting you and I’m sure we’ll have fun learning together!
I have selected what I hope will be an entertaining, educational, and diverse program for us this year. I will outline some of the important features of each piece below, but first I’d like to emphasize how important it is that you learn all the notes and rhythms before concert day. We will have very little time to work together on these pieces, so please come with your part prepared. Your band directors and private instructors are excellent people to help you with your parts.
The Thunderer (quarter = 120) When practicing this piece, please be aware of the key changes and the repeats. I’d like to suggest that you take a pencil and circle the repeat signs so that you can find them easily when you’re playing the piece.
Declaration and Dance (quarter = 120) Many of you have staccato notes and some accented notes in your music. Please work with your teachers to prepare these articulations so that when we rehearse together, they sound clean as a group.
Sakura (quarter = 96) Sakura, which means “cherry blossom” in Japanese, is about the coming of springtime. This piece has prominent roles for clarinet and percussion. It is important to remember to blend as a group when your section plays the melody. Your sound should not be louder than your neighbor’s sound.
School Supply Rock (quarter = 130) This is a fun piece that uses school supplies as percussion! If your instrument is listed below, please bring the following supplies. We’ll have extras, but we may not have enough for everyone.
flute, oboe, clarinet, alto sax, French horn, mallet percussion: Pencil
trumpet, percussion two: ruler
percussion one: Clipboard
Yellow Submarine (quarter = 110) This will be a fun last piece for our concert. “Yellow Submarine” was sung by The Beatles, one of the most popular bands of all time. There are some tricky rhythms in this song. It may help to look up the song and listen to it (with your parents’ permission).
I will post additional resources and recordings of all of these pieces on my website, www.amybliss.net. With your parents’ permission and help, feel free to stop by my website and use the resources to learn more about this year’s Blue Band concert program.
I look forward to working with each and every one of you!
Dr. Amy Bliss
Dear Blue Band members,
Congratulations on your selection for this year’s honors band. I am very excited to be conducting you and I’m sure we’ll have fun learning together!
I have selected what I hope will be an entertaining, educational, and diverse program for us this year. I will outline some of the important features of each piece below, but first I’d like to emphasize how important it is that you learn all the notes and rhythms before concert day. We will have very little time to work together on these pieces, so please come with your part prepared. Your band directors and private instructors are excellent people to help you with your parts.
The Thunderer (quarter = 120) When practicing this piece, please be aware of the key changes and the repeats. I’d like to suggest that you take a pencil and circle the repeat signs so that you can find them easily when you’re playing the piece.
Declaration and Dance (quarter = 120) Many of you have staccato notes and some accented notes in your music. Please work with your teachers to prepare these articulations so that when we rehearse together, they sound clean as a group.
Sakura (quarter = 96) Sakura, which means “cherry blossom” in Japanese, is about the coming of springtime. This piece has prominent roles for clarinet and percussion. It is important to remember to blend as a group when your section plays the melody. Your sound should not be louder than your neighbor’s sound.
School Supply Rock (quarter = 130) This is a fun piece that uses school supplies as percussion! If your instrument is listed below, please bring the following supplies. We’ll have extras, but we may not have enough for everyone.
flute, oboe, clarinet, alto sax, French horn, mallet percussion: Pencil
trumpet, percussion two: ruler
percussion one: Clipboard
Yellow Submarine (quarter = 110) This will be a fun last piece for our concert. “Yellow Submarine” was sung by The Beatles, one of the most popular bands of all time. There are some tricky rhythms in this song. It may help to look up the song and listen to it (with your parents’ permission).
I will post additional resources and recordings of all of these pieces on my website, www.amybliss.net. With your parents’ permission and help, feel free to stop by my website and use the resources to learn more about this year’s Blue Band concert program.
I look forward to working with each and every one of you!
Dr. Amy Bliss
Additional Resources
The Thunderer
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We will be playing an arrangement of John Philip Sousa's famous march, The Thunderer. John Philip Sousa lived from 1854 until 1932. He is called "The March King" because he wrote 137 marches. Many of his marches are very well-known, like Stars and Stripes Forever, Semper Fidelis, and The Liberty Bell. Here is a video of a military band playing the original version of the march.
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| the_thunderer.aiff.m4a |
Declaration and Dance
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Declaration and Dance is an exciting piece! The opening sounds a bit like a fanfare (a short musical flourish that is typically played by trumpets or other brass instruments, often accompanied by percussion). Here's a file that you can download and listen to the piece.
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| declaration_and_dance.mp3 |
Sakura
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Sakura means "Cherry Blossom" in Japanese. This song has been taught to Japanese school children for over 125 years. The song celebrates the coming of spring and the words in English are: Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms, In fields and villages As far as you can see. Is it a mist, or clouds? Fragrant in the morning sun. Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms, Flowers in full bloom. Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms, Across the spring sky, As far as you can see. Is it a mist, or clouds? Fragrant in the air. Come now, come now, Let's look, at last! |
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| sakura.mp3 |
School Supplies Rock
This piece is going to be so much fun! Many of you will be using school supplies as percussion instruments in this piece, so be sure to check to list to see if you need to bring anything! Here's a file that you can download and listen to the piece.
Who needs to bring what?
flute, oboe, clarinet, alto sax, French horn, mallet percussion: Pencil
trumpet, percussion two: ruler
percussion one: Clipboard
Who needs to bring what?
flute, oboe, clarinet, alto sax, French horn, mallet percussion: Pencil
trumpet, percussion two: ruler
percussion one: Clipboard
| school_supply_rock.mp3 |
Yellow Submarine
This piece will be a great closer to our program! It is a song by The Beatles, who was one of the most popular bands of all time. The Beatles were from Liverpool, England and were very active from about 1960-1970. Even though they split up a long time ago, their music is still incredibly popular! I've uploaded a file of the arrangement of Yellow Submarine that we'll play. Enjoy!
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| yellow_submarine.aiff.m4a |
