Grade 3-4 Compositions

Corsair evokes the image of a Pirate out at Sea. The scene starts with the breathtaking view of a majestic ship, followed by the excitement of the start of an adventure. The ship picks up speed, until it encounters an enemy ship and enters into a fast paced battle. Trumpets soar above the band as the Corsair is victorious. Next the music shifts to the tranquility of a calm ocean at night, lit only by the moon. The ocean is never truly still, and similarly the music rises and falls in an ever changing cycle. The waves become stronger as dawn breaks, as the ship rises and falls with them as they grow into a majestic sunrise. As the new day begins, the excitement of the first returns with new layers joining the fray. The piece ends as the ship sails off the distance, off to another adventure. 

This piece is aimed to be around a Grade 3, with more difficulty in the Trumpet 1 and Mallet Percussion parts. The Horn part has a high range, but stays unison throughout. The percussion is more mallet heavy - both mallet parts are legitimate parts. Mallet Percussion 1 includes an optional Xylophone solo that is closer to grade 4 or 5, but is also just really cool. 

Ghost Dances tells the tales of how ghosts and spirits spend their time when none of the living are watching. It is an eerie, energetic, dark, and in its own strange way, joyous piece. The piece includes three dances, each with their own unique style and flair, but all from the same world. The first dance is an introduction, bringing the ghosts together and setting the stage for the dancing to come. The second dance is a waltz, but with a ghostly twist, flowing both evenly and unevenly at the same time. Driving percussion leads into the third dance, which is a fast paced and dramatic rush as the energy builds. Finally, all the ghosts join in at once for the big finale.

This piece uses a lot of common techniques in slightly less common ways, creating a unique style without the need for substantial new skillsets from the performers. As a percussionist, I have always felt that concert band percussion parts are far easier than wind parts from the same piece. In Ghost Dances, the percussion parts are more difficult than most music of this grade level, being about on par with the difficulty of the wind parts.

Spirit of Adventure is the tale of a grand and exciting adventure across the land, with many trials and tribulations along the way. It draws inspiration from many of the great stories in literature, including some of my own favorites such as The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and the Percy Jackson series (a favorite of my students as well). In particular, it focuses on how these stories evolve over time, forever changing the characters as they navigate the world around them. Musically, there are several motifs throughout the piece, which are constantly changing and evolving until they form something entirely new. 

This piece is aimed for intermediate players, with moments of increased difficulty with breaks in between. It is also a mix of the more repetition-focused style of more beginner music, and the more programmatic nature of many advanced works. The percussion parts are aimed at a small group of independent musicians, and can be fully covered with only 4 players. The Percussion 1 and 2 parts in particular are built around having high school level mallet parts, while also including legitimate drum parts, promoting well-rounded percussionists. 

Run To You is originally from Pentatonix’s PTX, Vol. II Album, and is one of their first original songs. It is written in beautiful 5-part harmony, with artful dissonance throughout. I have always enjoyed acapella, particularly when performed at a very high level, and this song exemplifies that to the fullest. While arranging the music, I was able to analyze the arrangement, and understand some of what makes it sound so unique. In particular, the melody is always one of the middle voices, allowing the harmonies to either open up or become dense independently both above and below the melody. 

I arranged this piece after the software I use, MuseScore, came out with an update allowing for integrated use of high quality sound libraries and more control over audio effects and processing. I used this arrangement as a way to test some of what this update could do, and was impressed by its capability. Naturally, this led to a piece of music prioritizing a beautiful sound over all else. Run To You was perfect for this task, as the source music is so incredibly rich on its own, and deserves to be done justice in any arrangement.