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JAZZ PACK SERIES

Our Jazz Packs typically contain the following items:

- Front Cover page
- Pack Notes
- Full Score
- Instrumental short scores in C, Bb, Eb and F
- Bass parts in C, Bb and Eb (with chord symbols)
- Separate parts for piano, guitar and drumkit
- Improvisation sheets in C, Bb and Eb

* Pack prices include the right to make repeated copies for your own use.
 

No.1 Over The Hill

£15

This is an energetic, funky piece in G minor.

The music is syncopated and features a 'walking bass' much of the time. The melodic line is quick in places, so we rate this piece Moderately Difficult for young players.
The most unusual line-up we've tried with this piece was 2 oboes, alto sax and piano - and it worked a treat!

Programme note :
The title 'Over The Hill' simply describes the shape of the piece: quiet and low at first, building to the loud central section and returning 'mirror-image' to the starting material. The rumour that it had anything to do with the composer's age is completely unfounded . . .

Total pack size for this title is 45 pages
(file size is approximately 1.5 Mb in PDF format)
 

No.2 Second Wind

£15

This is a swing number, in 'big-band' style.

Experiment with different voicings and timbres by asking the players to sit out or switch parts from section to section. Because of the less familiar harmonies and the need for lots of section repeats, we rate this title Moderately Difficult for young players.

Programme note :
Around 20 young people formed a wind band called Second Wind, which enjoyed a lively few years in the mid 1980s as part of the YMCA Glasgow Wind Orchestra setup.
This piece was written as their signature tune.

Total pack size for this title is 53 pages
(file size is approximately 1.5 Mb in PDF format)
 

This title is temporarily unavailable.

No.4 Santa Monica Freeway

£15

This is a driving, 'rock-feel' number.

Imagine the opening scene of a TV cop series set in California : helicopter shot of the hero driving along the ocean freeway in a red convertible, the shot zooming out to show the wider landscape, so the car becomes tiny and distant. Got the idea? Well, this is the theme music!
Although the melodic line is fast, the overall level of the music is straightforward, so we rate this title Moderately Easy for young players.

Programme note :
When Hamilton Grammar School completed their first 24-hour Music Marathon in 2002, this was the piece the band was playing when the bell rang to mark 'time-up'. A feel-good piece for a major feel-good moment!

Total pack size for this title is 40 pages
(file size is approximately 1.4 Mb in PDF format)
 

No.5 Get The Door!

£15

This is a fast, swing-feel novelty piece.

The scenario is that one musician has arrived late and frantically rings doorbells and knocks at the door, trying to attract the attention of the rest of the band who are already in full swing. In the end, while no-one seems willing to go and answer it, the whole band shouts, "Get the door!"
The music is challenging, with complex close harmonies and a really fast tempo, so we rate this title Moderately Difficult for young players.
There is also a crucial part for synthesiser or keyboard, which provides the doorbell sounds. (Alternatively, tuned percussion can be substituted - vibraphone and tubular bells.)

Programme note :
This piece was written in 2002 for the Band at Hamilton Grammar School.

Total pack size for this title is 48 pages
(file size is approximately 1.4 Mb in PDF format)
 

No.6 Honky

£10

This is a fun piece, aimed at younger players.

With a steady Rock feel, the music is syncopated and gives good opportunities for tight ensemble rhythms and dynamics. The music is straightforward within short, repeated sections, so we rate this title Easy for young players.

Programme note :
This piece was written in 2002 for the 1st Year Band Class at St. Andrew's Secondary School, East Kilbride.

Total pack size for this title is 28 pages
(file size is approximately 0.8 Mb in PDF format)
 

No.7 The 68 Second Blues

£10

This is a swing blues March.

The structure and musical content are very straightforward, so we rate this title Easy for young players.
Unlike most of the titles in this series, there is no opportunity for improvisation here.

Programme note :
This piece was written in 1991 at the request of the King's Park Secondary School Band in Glasgow who wanted something "short and jazzy, which sounds more difficult than it is to play". Audiences like to time the performances - just to see if it can be played accurately enough to live up to its name!

Total pack size for this title is 28 pages
(file size is approximately 1.0 Mb in PDF format)
 

MUSIC FOR BEGINNERS

Packs for Beginners contain the following:

- Front Cover page
- Pack Notes
- Full Score
- Instrumental solo parts

Please note that all titles in our beginner packs can also be purchased as singles

* Pack prices include the right to make repeated copies for your own use.
 

Gimme 5

£12

'Gimme 5' is a classroom pack compiled from many 5-note tunes written for young recorder players, but equally suitable for keyboards or tuned percussion. Brought together as a resource pack in 1999, it has proved very popular in schools. Its popularity is due to the winning combination of simplicity and musicality.
The ten tunes in the pack all use just 5 notes - G, A, B, C and D.
But don't go thinking that this makes them all much the same. For a start, only three of the tunes are in the key of G. (There's even one in the key of Bb!) And complementing the range of style, tempo and metre there's plenty of musical detail for young players to get to grips with. Dynamic markings, phrasing, articulation and expression markings need to be learned and observed.
On top of all this, there are the excellent piano accompaniments. Too many beginner books suffer from having simplistic accompaniments. Not so here. We believe that beginners deserve accompaniments that really give them confidence and make them sound good!

Total pack size for this title is 37 pages
(file size is approximately 1.0 Mb in PDF format)
 

Gimme 10

£12

Ten 10-note tunes

'Gimme 10' is a classroom pack which builds on the popular 'Gimme 5' by adding low D, E, F# and upper C# and E.
The ten tunes are presented in a progressive order. And, as with 'Gimme 5' there's a wide range of style, tempo and metre and lots of musical detail.
The piano accompaniments are again generously proportioned, their fullness and richness inspiring confidence in young musicians and making the music highly suitable for performance. Indeed, many of these pieces have taken their place in school concerts!

Total pack size for this title is 42 pages
(file size is approximately 1.3 Mb in PDF format)

Ten progressive pieces in the low register

(This title is currently in revision: please check back in a few weeks)

MUSIC FOR CONCERT BAND
 

Fanfare

£15

A short, slow fanfare for brass ensemble.

Premiered in 1985 in St. Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh, Michael Philip's Fanfare (Op.14) makes a big, impressive sound. The tempo is slow, so there is plenty of time for the vibrant harmonies to ring out.
The Fanfare is scored as follows :
4 trumpets
2 horns
3 trombones
euphonium (with a choice of Treble or Bass clef parts, plus an alternative part for a third horn)
tuba
timpani
side drum
bass drum

Employing the brass section from a standard Concert Band, this piece makes a stunning opener - whether for a Band Concert or for a special occasion.

Programme note :
This Fanfare was also played by the Band of Her Majesty's Royal Marines as part of the musical celebrations of the Centenary of the Forth Bridge in 1990.

Total pack size for this title is 25 pages
(file size is approximately 0.7 Mb in PDF format)
 

Steel Street

£30

A Concert March.

Steel Street is scored for the standard Concert Band and is a lively Concert March in the British tradition. It was written for the YMCA Glasgow Wind Orchestra in 1983 and has been consistently popular since then. A jaunty March section ('Steel Street') is complemented by a dignified Trio ('On Glasgow Green').

Programme note :
Steel Street is a short street in the old part of Glasgow. It was the former location for the YMCA Head Office in the city, and the venue in which the YMCA Glasgow Wind Orchestra was founded.

Total pack size for this title is 71 pages
(file size is approximately 2.0 Mb in PDF format)

CHORAL MUSIC
 

In Heavenly Love Abiding

£5

A bright, uplifting setting of an old hymn.

This is a choral setting, for S.A.T.B. voices, of the familiar words of the old hymn by Anna Laetitia Waring. The brand new tune just asks to be sung, and there is a big piano accompaniment to give the voices a real lift.

* The price includes the right to print off as many copies as you need for your choir.

Programme note :
The première performance of this piece was given in March 2009 by the excellent choir of St. Andrew's Secondary School, Glasgow.

Total pack size for this title is 10 pages
(file size is approximately 0.2 Mb in PDF format)

Sweet and Low

£5

For unaccompanied choir in six parts (SSATBB)

This is a cradle song, a setting of the familiar poem by Tennyson ('Sweet and low, sweet and low, wind of the western sea'). The piece is quiet and haunting, employing some complex harmonies and featuring unusual metres of five and seven beats.
A piano part is included for rehearsal purposes only.

* The price includes the right to print off as many copies as you need for your choir.

Programme note :
This piece was originally one of a set of four songs about the sea, written for a competition run by the King's Singers in 1981.

Total pack size for this title is 6 pages
(file size is approximately 0.2 Mb in PDF format)
 

'Lord, we praise and thank you'

This was written as a simple grace to sing before meals, whether in a family group or larger gatherings. It is an easily learned round and even young children will quickly find they can hold a part on their own.

Programme note :
This simple song tends to get passed around orally and may already have evolved a little over time. Please learn it properly and pass it on correctly, to ensure it remains consistent!
It comes to you as a gift - please enjoy it responsibly.

Total pack size for this title is 2 pages
(file size is just 32 Kb in PDF format)

Here it is: Grace.pdf

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