GAL Rehearsal Music

Here's some help with learning the GAL music.  Click on the various links to listen and play along. Songs are listed in alphabetical order after a "General Stuff" section that applies to all our music.

If we are selected for the Inauguration Parade, we'll do a medley consisting of We're an American Band and the version of Louie Louie that the One More Time Around Again Marching Band has played for a quarter century. Follow the links for play-along versions.

Links to the Brick House Street Routine and YMCA Street Routine are located with rehearsal notes for their respective tunes.

A brief marching tutorial and instructions on how to do the 8-Count Spin also available.

To download songs to your own machine

Right-click on the link to a song, choose "Save Target As ...", select the folder on your PC where you want to place the recording, and then click the Save button. The recording will download to the selected folder. You can play it back by double-clicking the downloaded file or playing it back in any of your favorite players. NOTE: This works for MP3 and WMA files, but not for RealPlayer files (which always live in the network on the server).

Performing the American Band / Louie Louie Medley (PLEASE READ CAREFULLY)

For you out of towners and others who may not have it all straight yet, here's how we perform the medley. In all cases, horns are DOWN at the beginning of We're An American Band (hereafter AmBand). On the first 4 beats of drum intro, horns start coming up slowly. On beat 5 of the intro, horns SNAP into playing position, ready for the first note of music at bar 3. At end of AmBand, the band plays on the first two beats of the final measure ("dah d'DAT!); beats 3 and 4 (rest of measure) go by silently; then tubas start the Louie Louie riff. No rolloff between AmBand and Louie. Although I think it is unlikely to happen, if we are still in the reviewing area and are finishing Louie, I will signal for "continued play". In this case, when Louie ends we'll go immediately into a rolloff, back to the top of AmBand, and do it all again.

IMPORTANT: For tunes 1-4 above, horns come UP into playing position on beat 5 of the rolloff. For the medley (tune 5), horns stay DOWN during the rolloff and come up into position as described above during the drum intro.

EVEN MORE IMPORTANT: As we approach the Presidential Reviewing Stand, the band will be signaled to go silent (so that the performing group ahead of us is not interfered with). We will be signaled when it's our turn. At that point, I will blow one long whistle and four short whistles (just like when we step off at beginning of parade). At that point, we will begin the drum intro for AmBand - NO ROLL-OFF AT THE REVIEWING STAND. Horns will come up into position for playing as described above and we'll perform the medley.

TO RECAP: We WILL use a rolloff for #5 whenever we play it along the regular part of the parade route. We WILL NOT use a rolloff for #5 when we play it at the Presidential Reviewing Stand.

Inauguration Rehearsals - January 10-11, 2009

Just keeps getting better! If you missed these rehearsals, be sure to listen to the middle column of stuff below. There's a new drum cadence; give it a listen and learn where your two verbal parts go. There are two recordings of the medley; one starts with cadence and roll-off so you can see how all the pieces fit, one just includes the music. Give them both a listen and see which time you think we did a better job! Semper Paratus will NOT be used in Washington, DC; we recorded it as a thank you for our AFIC contacts. And finally, don't miss the recording of America the Beautiful that we did today. It'll make your heart pop.

Brick House	Cadence and roll-off (listen for "Let's Eat" in bar 2, "HUNH" in bar 8 -- these are done by the whole band)	Wooly Bully
Semper Paratus	Cadence, Roll-Off, Medley (Here's how all the pieces fit together)
America the Beautiful	We're an American Band and Louie Louie      (our show at the Presidential reviewing stand)

Inauguration Rehearsal - January 8, 2009

Here are the tunes we recorded at the Thursday January 8 rehearsal. They're here for a couple of reasons. First, it gives you the most recent recording of these tunes to rehearse with. Second, it gives you a chance to hear what we sound like -- listen for what you like and what you don't like, then replicate the former and fix the latter. Third, if you've missed some rehearsals please LISTEN CLOSELY to how these tunes are being played. The band has worked VERY HARD on dynamics -- not only overall volume, but fp's and swells as well. We have added MANY volume changes that aren't specifically marked in the music (although you can intuit them from the style and other markings) -- LISTEN FOR AND MARK THOSE PLACES. I hope to get around to listing some of these (below) in next day or two.

General Stuff for All Tunes (Be Sure to Read This Part!)

• We sound best when we listen to each other and balance all the parts across the band. Know when you have the melody and when you don't. When you don't have the melody, get out of the way!
• If you're playing a long note, someone else probably has the interesting part. Even if this note is part of the melody, bring it down in volume so that the interesting counter-melody comes through.
• Dynamics and articulations matter hugely! THIS is what gives the band "style". One volume level gets boring. When we shout and whisper together, it lends interest to the music. When we do that and match articulations, we sound fabulous. Accents, staccatos, hat notes, etc are what make a tune sound "cool".
• EVERYONE has to pay attention to dynamics and articulation. One section (or even one person) who doesn't decrescendo ruins the effect. One person who doesn't play hat notes or staccato notes makes the whole section sound blah. One person who misses a forte-piano makes the effect meaningless.
• When you're playing a melodic line, there are a couple of ways to handle accents. The obvious one is to play the accented notes louder. But it can often be more effective to stress the accents just a little bit, then "ghost" the unaccented notes so that the accents pop out -- much cooler!
• For forte-pianos, use a nice solid attack and then IMMEDIATELY drop the volume way down. The farther you can drop the volume, the better it sounds. If this is an fp with crescendo, DON'T start the crescendo right away -- wait until near the end of the note! There are two reasons for waiting: (1) it is often the case that some other section is playing a cool little part that needs to come through; (2) a big crescendo that happens suddenly is more exciting.
• Cut off the ends of long notes together. Holding a note into a rest sounds sloppy and probably buries some other part that needs to come through.
• Tune your horn! Spend a little time with a tuner, learn which notes on your horn tend to be sharp and which ones tend to be flat so you can compensate. This is especially important for the woodwinds!

Beer Barrel Polka

Recorded October 2009 at Oregon Hill Farm Pumpkin Festival.

• At letter D, only the tubas and drums play; everyone else sings:

  Roll out the barrel, we'll have a barrel of fun.
  Roll out the barrel, we've got the blues on the run.
  Zing, boom, ta-rarrow, sing out a song of good cheer!
  Everybody roll out the barrel, 'cause the band's all here -- HEY!

• Band starts playing again at letter F. As we approach the D.S., molto accelerando (we see how close we can get to warp speed on any given day).

Birdland

Full arrangement (same one we listen to in rehearsal).

IMPORTANT: We play the first 4 measures a total of 3 times (this is DIFFERENT from the recording). First time is basses only; second time adds Trombone 2; third time adds Trombone 1.

Updated Alto Sax part: Since we're short on Tenor Saxes these days, I've cued the tenor part from measure 19 to measure 35 into the alto sax part. I'll bring parts to rehearsal; you can also get one by clicking here. Try using the sample sections below to work on the new part.

I've also produced a MIDI version of the tenor sax / baritone / tuba part between measures 19 and 31 to make it easier to hear and rehearse this tricky part. There are versions at full tempo (160 bpm) and at a slow tempo (124 bpm), and you can also hear it with and without melody parts. You can also see the score for the MIDI version so you can tell exactly what's being played in each part.

• 160 bpm with melody
• 160 bpm without melody
• 124 bpm with melody
• 124 bpm without melody
• score

Brick House

Note: We take the "short ending" (bars 49-50).

Full arrangement (recorded Jan 8, 2009 at GAL rehearsal)

• Bar 1: Percussion rock out here nice and loud -- but make sure you set the "funk" feel so that the band can jump right in behind you. When low brass enters, DROP VOLUME.

• Bars 5-10: Pay close attention to the rhythm in bars 5-10 (5-8 shown above); sooner or later everyone plays it. It sets the "feel" for the whole tune, so it's important to get it right. To get the "funk" feel, the hat notes MUST be short, the style must be light, and note placement must be precise. The trickiest part of the rhythm is placing the fifth note (the sixteenth note) correctly. Click here to listen to the phrase played correctly. The tendency is to play the sixteenth note just a little too late (in fact, it gets played as a thirty-second note instead of a sixteenth note), which produces a slightly jerky and "unfunky" feel. Click here to listen to a "wrong" version with the sixteenth note played too late. Can you hear the difference? Now go listen to the recorded version with the band playing. In bars 5-8, the low brass plays the note too late and it sounds just a bit clunky. In bars 9-10 where the trumpets enter, the low brass is still late, but the trumpets are playing it right -- and you can hear the difference in the attacks. Now skip ahead to the end of the recording (the short ending, bars 49-50) where the whole band plays this figure again. This time the figure is played well and has a whole different feel. We need to get this feel in our heads so that we can do it right from the top!
• Bar 5: Percussion drop down in volume behind the low brass.
• Bar 11: High winds, alto saxes, trumpets, horns - Lean on the "back side" accents here. (Just noticed these myself, we need to work on this since we don't do it on the recording!)
• Bars 13-24: The "important part" alternates here between the high voices and low voices every two bars. High voices need to get out of the way in 15-16, 19-20, 23-24.
• Bars 15-16: Melody people (tenor saxes, trombones, baritones) watch the articulations. Keep the short notes short, lean on the accents -- but still keep the light, groovy feel.

• Bar 18-21 (above): Watch the placement of the sixteenth notes in bar 19! They must be on the upbeat of 1; the usual mistake is to play them a sixteenth late so that the second one comes on the downbeat of two. Click here to listen to this lick played correctly. Click here to listen to the lick with the sixteenth notes shifted too late (wrong). Hear the difference?
• Bar 25: The lead moves to the high woodwinds and trumpets here; they're only playing mf, so everyone else needs to come down behind them. Melody here should emphasize the accents, ghost the other eighth notes to keep the "cool" sound.
• Bar 25-26 etc: In the backing line here (low reeds, low brass), keep the hat notes short, make sure you hit the accent that carries across the barline (this is the think that keeps the groove in this section). Listen to the recording, the band does a nice job there.
• Bars 29-32: Melody people pay close attention to rhythms here, especially in bar 32. Click here to listen to the rhythm in bar 32.
• Bar 33: NOBODY PLAYS ON BEAT 2 OF THIS BAR!!! No instruments, no drums, no tambourines - NOBODY! Beat 2 should be a gigantic gaping hole in the earth that audience figuratively falls into. Then on beat 3, the low brass and saxes come back in like the voice of God <grin>. You MUST be patient and wait until EXACTLY the downbeat of 3 to come back in; if you anticipate, the effect is spoiled. Listen to the recording, where this is done just right!
• Bar 34 etc: The rest of this section has the same feel as the section at 13.
• Bar 41: The tricky part here is the backing part, which starts in the flutes, clarinets, altos, trumpets, and horns, then moves to the other instruments in bar 45. The tied sixteenth must be right on time, not too early, not too late. The long note should be held all the way to the next bar. If you listen to the recording, the first group is playing the sixteenth note just a shade too early (almost sounds like it's on the upbeat). Listen to the way the low brass do it from 45-48, which is better -- right placement of sixteenth note, and a nice job of "stinging" it.
• Bars 41-48: The dynamics are tricky here since this is an 8-bar gradual crescendo across the whole band! Notice that in the backing part, the long note always gets soft. Each time this figure is played, it starts just a little bit louder than it did the previous time. The melody part also gets a tiny bit louder in each bar. In bar 45 where the instruments "switch roles", the low brass has to match the volume level where the trumpets and high winds finished so that we get continuity across the whole 8 bars. (One good way to do this is to listen to the alto saxes, since they have the backing part for the entire 8 bars and can set the pace for the gradual crescendo.) The percussion section can help a lot here by getting really quiet and then helping to lead the gradual build-up. If done well, the relentless drive through here creates great excitement. We don't do the dynamics very well on the recording yet; we don't get soft enough at 41 (should be a much bigger drop), and we don't finish loud enough. The result is that it sounds too much the same. (But we've done this well in other rehearsals so I know we can do it!)

• Bar 49-50: We changed the alto sax and horn parts here. The gliss up to the contrasting note in bar 50 now happens right on beat 2. See above for the changed alto part; the horn part uses the same rhythm. REST OF BAND MUST FP SO THIS RIP CAN BE HEARD!!! Listen here to see how this works.

Brick House Street Routine

Click here for complete description of all the steps in the Brick House street routine. (I moved it to a separate page so that it would be easier to print it out.)

Celebration

Here's a recording of the Chris Crockarell arrangement of Celebration to play along with. This is NOT a GAL recording -- we got it with the chart. Listen to how clean and together it is -- something to strive for!

Here's a GAL version: Recorded October 2009 at Oregon Hill Farm Pumpkin Festival.

• Trumpets are OUT from Letter D to Letter E. On the street, this lets you give your lips a break. In standstill, it gives us time to do a bit of "staging business". About 4 bars before E, trumpets will swagger to the front of the band, form a line, and then belt out that great lick at Letter E to wild applause from the crowd.
• Speaking of the lick at Letter E: The toughest note to get right is that first sixteeenth note in the lick! Listen closely to where it's played in the recording and work to match it.
• Alto saxes play an octave down from the part that's written from Letter E down to the drum break (3 bars from the end). The "official music way" to note this is to write "8vb" on your part right below the staff, with a dashed line that extends across the bars that you're playing down.
• Clarinets and Flutes:  Your part from Letter B down to Letter D is really cool -- and can be tricky! It's probably tough to hear your woodwind buddies with the brass blowing behind you, so here's a little rehearsal help just for you. Click here for just the flutes and clarinets playing from letter B to letter D.

Desperado

Here's GAL's first recording of this tune (June 20, 2010). There's a few strange things going on, and our soloist got lost partway through the last chorus -- but it'll give you a decent sense of the tune. (And given that it was brand new and we'd only rehearsed it for about 40 minutes, it ain't bad!)

Here's a recording of the Ralph Ford arrangement of Desperado (NOT a GAL recording).

Domino

Full arrangement (recorded Feb 11, 2007 at GAL rehearsal). This recording is probably a little faster than we normally play it.

Note: LBWW here means people playing the Low Brass & Woodwinds part (i.e., tenor saxes, trombones, baritones).

Note: Trash line, this tune should have a very strong emphasis on beats 2 and 4 in each measure, lay off of beats 1 and 3.

• Bars 1-4: Pay close attention to the articulations! Hat notes must be short (there is a tendency to play the first note in bars 1 & 3 and last note in bar 2 too long). Keep the running eighth notes smooth, not separated (this is hard for trombones) -- sounds much better and more like the original tune. The feel of the lick is DOT ... boo doo-doo-doo dot dot boo dah-DOT. This lick (which occurs again at bar 45) must have sound like Van Morrison since it's the part of the tune that EVERYBODY remembers!
• Bar 5: Need strong clean attack in the whole notes. Watch the long-short articulations in the descending eighths that follow.
• Bar 9: Articulation and precision of attack in the backing part (flutes, clarinets, altos) is critical in this section. First and last notes in each bar must be short, middle note must be accented. If you do it this way, it's a groovy little part that drives the band down the street. If you don't, it sounds like warmed-over oatmeal that saps the energy of the tune.
• Bar 9: Melody line (LBWW) must watch articulations to get the full effect. Shape the melody, make it cool. This is a place where ghosting the unaccented notes can help (see General Stuff section above). Be sure to keep the hat note SHORT in bars 10, 14; there's a tendency to play it as a full (long) eighth, which sounds dull.
• Bar 9: Tubas have a groovy little line here; be sure to hit the accent and keep the back end of each bar smooth.
• Bar 9: Trash line - a nice rhythm through here is: Rest on beat 1, two eighth notes on beat 2, rest on beat 3, one quarter note on beat 4. Use this rhythm through bar 34.
• Bar 17: LBWW are now the backing part, so bring the volume level down (stay behind the melody). Keep staccatos short, pop the accents just a little to keep driving the tune forward. Listen to how nice this sounds on the recording!
• Bar 17: Trumpets/high winds, it's your turn to shape the melody! Find the accents, ghost other notes so the accents stand out. Clarinets/flutes, don't get screechy!
• Bar 19: Watch the sixteenth note figure, keep it together.
• Bar 24: Make the crescendo happen!
• Bars 27 & 29: Long notes MUST get quieter after you hit them so we can hear the cool counter-melody in the saxes. (Listen to the recording -- which is pretty good, but we can make it come through even more!)
• Bar 30: The "hat" note must be SHORT.
• Bar 32-33: Altos and Horns bring this out; it's the melody line and you're the only ones that have it. After hitting the whole note in 33, get out of the way so that the counter-melody in trumpets and high woodwinds comes through.
• Bars 35: Treat this bar as a forte-piano. Waaaaay down, wait until halfway through bar 36 to come back up! Exceptions: Alto saxes and horns bring out your counter-melody part; tubas can emphasize the rising eighth note line.
• Bars 35-38: Trash line play all eighth nots in 35-36. For 37-38: Rest on beat one, one quarter note on beat 2, rest on beat 3, two eighth notes on beat 4. Use same pattern in 39-44.
• Bars 37-38: The high and low voices in the band trade accented notes on each beat throughout this section; it has to sound like a back-and-forth duet! Keep the long-short feel on the eighth notes.
• Bar 45: Trash line play quarter notes on 2 and 4 through here.
• Bar 45: EVERYONE is playing the lick together, so the articulations must match. See the notes for bars 1-4 to see how to do it.
• Bars 51-52: Watch the hat notes -- SHORT!!!

Frosty the Snowman

Recorded by GAL in November 2009. Note that we play one verse, do a little chant, then play the second verse. The chant is:

Thumpety thump thump, thumpety thump thump,
Look at Frosty go,
Thumpety thump thump, thumpety thump thump,
Over the hills of snow.

GAL Groove

This tune has some of the same feel as Brick House; i.e., that "funk-groove" kinda thing. (For example, the rhythm in the last part of bar 1 is the same as in the main groove of Brick House bar 5.) The section at 31 can be repeated as often as we like for additional solos; one solo is written into the Trumpet 1 part. Pay attention to the articulations - which notes are long and short; this will only sound cool if we all play the articulations the same way.

Full arrangement (MIDI only, but should be good enough to learn from and play along with).

Get Down Tonight

IMPORTANT: We are playing the Nick Baratta arrangement of Get Down Tonight. If you have the other version, please get it out of your folder!!!

IMPORTANT: We've changed the ending for this tune! Put a new repeat at the end of bar 41 that goes back to the beginning of bar 34. Then put a final barline (or write Fine) at the end of bar 43. So the final result is:

• Play beginning as written down to end of bar 41.
• Repeat back to beginning of bar 34; play to end of bar 43.
• Do NOT play any more, we're done. (You can X-out bar 44 to the end)

Dan Dees did a new layout of this tune that includes all these changes so you can just "read straight down the page". If you have the new version, you don't have to mark your music with all the repeats.

The biggest issue with this tune is to get the sixteenth notes played soon enough, so that they finish on the final part of the beat, not the first part of the next beat. In the recording below, you'll hear how sludgy the band sounds, primarily because sixteenth notes keep coming late and sound like they're on the next downbeat. We'll keep working on it! To help you out, here's the main "tuba lick" repeated for 8 bars, with cowbell added so you can hear where the beat it. Trombones, baritones, and tenor saxes - you've also got this part, so you may also find it helpful.

We'll make a better recording at another rehearsal this year, but for now here's something you can kinda play along with. This was recorded by GAL on November 9, 2008, but I've done "audio magic" on it to put it in the form of the new ending described above. This version has problems with intonation and note cracking throughout and is out of sync at the beginning- but hey, you gotta fix that not me! <grin> So: Here the full Nick Baratta arrangement with the altered ending described above.

If you'd like to get a better idea of what this will eventually sound like, here's a link to a 30 second clip from JW Pepper.

Get It On

Listen to and play along with the MIDI playback version of the GAL arrangement.

Gimme Some Lovin'

Recorded October 2009 at Oregon Hill Farm Pumpkin Festival.

Full arrangement (same one we listen to in rehearsal)

• Alto saxes all play Alto 1 for this chart (we need that melody line). There's also a new part for Tenor saxes that doubles the Alto melody.

God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen

Here are two recordings by the band. The November 1 recording is the better-sounding recording of the two, but tempo is probably a little slow for a parade. The November 15 recording is right tempo, but harder to hear.

• Recorded at November 1, 2009 rehearsal
• Recorded at November 15, 2009 rehearsal

You might also like to listen to the recording put out by the music publishers; click here to listen to the Arrangers Publishing version.

Hey Baby!

Recorded October 2009 at Oregon Hill Farm Pumpkin Festival.

• As noted on the parts, we sing at 11 the second time through.
• Watch the rhythms from 28 through 36 in the counter-melody parts.
• Do NOT play the last measure ("no cha-cha-cha").

Hip to Be Square

Starts in Measure 2! (We skip the first bar, which is supposed to be a drum intro)

Recorded October 2009 at Oregon Hill Farm Pumpkin Festival.

Holly Jolly Christmas

Recorded November 2009.

The Horse

Recorded November 22, 2009.

Hot Stuff

Check out the excellent trombone sleaze!!!

Recorded November 22, 2009.

In Heaven There Is No Beer

Recorded October 2009 at Oregon Hill Farm Pumpkin Festival.

Instructions for playing this are on the chart, but we've added some "business".

• Play intro, then play an instrumental verse.
• Sing verses 1 and 2.
• Play an instrumental verse.
• Sing verse 3 and then we cut off the whole band.
• For verse 4: Give us your best choir pose! Verse 4 is sung slowly and is directed. On the last note of the verse ("when our friends aren't heeeeeeerrrrreeee") we hold out "here", then the director cuts it off. The twirlers continue to hold the note through the cutoff. Director tries to cut it again, no luck. On the third (frantic) cut-off, we finally get them to stop singing.
• After a pause, play a delicate triangle hit (or often a gentle cymbal hit) on cue.
• Director then leads the last line ("WE will be drinking all their beer!") in the original tempo.
• Tubas/low brass play their normal last bar (duuuum-da-dum-dum-dum), which gets the band back in again.
• Play one last instrumental verse, finish with HEY!

Joy to the World

Starts in bar 2 ("Jeremiah was a bullfrog"); we skip the awkward bar 1.

Recorded November 22, 2009.

Last Night

Full arrangement (recorded Feb 11, 2007 at GAL rehearsal)

Note: Trash line, this song has a very strong "2 and 4" feel just like Domino.

• Pay attention to the forte-pianos each time we have the long note (like in bar 1). Way down, keep it quiet for a long time, then way up at the end! On each of these, we do a bow and then take 8 beats to come back up.

• Bar 3: Tenor saxes, trombones, baritones, tubas - playing all these eighth notes legato as marked sounds lifeless. Go for a feel that's more like the articulation shown above. For this line, the staccatos aren't really short like they would be normally, just put a little space after each one. (For example: If a "standard" staccato is about 40% the length of the written note, make these about 70% the length of the written note.) Click here to listen to a short sample.
• Bar 3: Flutes, clarinets, alto saxes, trumpets, horns: Maintain the long-short articulation throughout.

• Bars 11-12: Watch the tricky rhythm! The first sixteenth note should get full value; the tied eighth note should get a little bit of an accent. Overall, you want the feel that's shown above. Click here to listen to the rhythm and articulation. (Note that the same pattern occurs again in basrs 23-24, and again for almost the whole band in bars 47-48.)
• Bars 11-12: If you have the long note here, treat it like a forte-piano with crescendo (i.e., shape the note so it's interesting.)
• Bar 15: Flutes and clarinets, keep it light through here! It's too easy for this to get chirpy, which doesn't sound good.
• Bar 25: Keep this note short! Percussion and trash line cuts out except for high hat clicks until bar 27.
• Bar 25: Whole band sings "Awwwwwwwwww -- Last Night!". The "Awww" starts right on beat 2 of bar 25 and continues through beat 1 of bar 26. "Last" is on beat 2 of bar 26, "Night" is on beat 3 of bar 26.
• Bar 27:Trash line - a nice rhythm through here is: Rest on beat 1, two eighth notes on beat 2, rest on beat 3, one quarter note on beat 4. Use this rhythm through bar 36. Note that this is the same rhythm that the flutes are clapping.
• Bar 27 - 37: Get out of the way of the soloist!
• Bar 37-38: Although it's not written this way, our soloist plays through these two measures. Drums and trash line be sure to cut out until bar 38.
• Bars 49-51: One more good fp, keep the last hat note short!

Long Train Runnin'

For a rock tune, this one is pretty complex, with lots of interlayered parts. Use your ear, learn when to bring your part out and when to lay back! The same part (e.g., the "train lick" right at the top) may be important in some places and background in others.

Full arrangement (recorded by GAL Spring 2010)

Here are some MIDI selections to help you get some of the licks straight.

• "Train Lick" - Bar 1 through 4 (saxes, horns, trombones)
• Tuba lick - Bar 5 through 12 (baritones and tubas)
• Trumpet Verse 1 - Bar 10 through 20 (trumpets only)
• Verse 1 - Bar 10 through 20 (trumpets with tuba lick)
• Verse 2 - Bar 22 through 32 (trumpets)
• Verse 3 - Bar 34 through 45 (trombones)
• Verse 4 Countermelody - Bar 46 through 56 (trombones)
• Verse 4 Melody + Countermelody - Bar 44 through 56 (trumpet lead and trombone countermelody)

Louie Louie (OMT Version)

If we get the Inauguration gig, we'll do the OMT version of Louie Louie as part of our reviewing stand medley. Here's a recording a la OMT.

Louie Louie with a Groove

No detailed rehearsal notes yet, but here's a version you can listen to and play along with (played by my music editing program) to start learning the rhythms.

• The section from 25 to 42 can be repeated as many times as desired for soloists. Each soloist plays 8 bars beginning at bar 33.
• Chords are listed for the soloists; if you need help with "what notes go with each chord", see the extra line of music at the bottom of the chart.
• Bar 54 is SUNG, not played. (It's played on the recording because I was too lazy to make it sound different.)

Love Train

UPDATED: New PDFs uploaded with improved legibility on 9/09/09 at 10:10 PM. If you printed a previous copy and your notes look "funny", try reprinting the sheet music for your part from this new set and see if it looks better.

Click here to download sheet music for your part - you can practice it before the September 10 rehearsal to accelerate our progress!

There are several recordings here to help you learn this tune:

• Here's a MIDI playback of the arrangement so you can hear all the pieces and the rhythms.
• Here a recording of the band from August 30, 2009. Since this is the first rehearsal where we worked on the tune, it's less than perfect - but you can hear how the tune sounds "live". As you can tell from the recording, we need to work on the rhythms and on INTONATION.
• Here's a MIDI recording of just the melody parts at Verse 1 so you can learn the rhythms. There are 8 beats, then we're at bar 10.
• Here's a MIDI recording of just the melody parts at Verse 2 so you can learn the rhythms. There are 8 beats, then we're at bar 31.

Notes:

• This is a very "thick" tune, with lots of fat chord Maj9 chords - which only sound good if ALL the parts are played. Make sure that ALL the parts are covered (i.e., don't all play 1st part!). Many parts are DIVIDED in various places; again, be sure all the divisions are covered.
• WATCH INTONATION throughout this tune!
• This tune should have a very rhythmic feel throughout. The background parts should have a feel of a train chug-chugging down the tracks.
• PERCUSSION: This is NOT a heavy percussion tune. Percussion for most of this tune is simple and LIGHT - see your parts. The choked cymbal on the upbeat of 4 throughout can really help drive the sound.
• Intro: Flute and Clarinets start STRONG here! Volume comes down at bar 5, then MUCH further down at bar 10.
• Intro: The sixteenth notes in bar 1 are quick, don't make 'em into eighths! Tenor Saxes and Trombone 1, the grace notes are short and come almost right on the beat to get a "guitar" kind of sound.
• First chorus (bar 5): Doesn't need to be too loud.
• Bar 10: Melody people keep it smooth and full length, just like the original by the O'Jays. Use the MIDI recording above to get the rhythm right; if it's messy, it loses all the effect.
• Bar 10: Trombone 1, pay attention to the articulation on the eighth notes - short, long, short, long. Each bar sounds like "Duh, duh, dak-oo, dak-oo". The full MIDI recording can help you get the feel.
• Bar 18: Flutes & Clarinets, merge nicely with the Alto Saxes as you enter, don't just barge in. Make sure bar 20 sounds sweet! The next to last note in this bar should be E concert, not A concert; this has been corrected in the new (post-August 30) printouts so grab one if you need it!
• Bar 21: Trumpets should "sneak in" here, not barge in - merge with the rest of the melody! (Think of it as the way you sneak in on "America".)
• Bar 31: Again, melody people keep this part smooth and the notes full-length - use the MIDI above to help with rhythms. Tenor Saxes have been added to the melody part at 31 to help bolster the sound; this has been corrected in the new (post-August 30) printouts, so be sure you grab one.
• Bar 31: Alto Saxes pay attention to the articulations here (Dat-dat-dak-oo-dit-DAH-dat-dak-oo ...). This is a cool rhythm part, but KEEP THE VOLUME DOWN so that it doesn't interfere with the melody folks.
• Bar 31: Long notes be sure to stay submerged behind everything else - you're just a little layer that sweetens the sound!
• Bar 41: Trumpets 2 and 3 - this is another "sneak in" place. Be there, but don't draw attention!
• Bar 45: The long string of eighth notes should start quietly and build.
• Bar 52: Big, beautiful, full, lush, orchestra sounds here! Be sure the chords are BOTTOM-heavy; high winds and high brasses don't overblow! This should be a gorgeous sound that knocks people's socks off!
• Bar 58-59: This build in excitement and volume by adding new players as we go. This gets us to ...
• Bar 60: Which is the climax of the song. We have more melody players here than anywhere else in the tune, so it sounds huge without having to overblow. In bars 60-63, the train has reached the peak of the mountain ... then starts down the other side.
• Bar 64: Volume level comes down to mid-range. Melody is Flutes, Clarinets, Bass Clarinet, F Horns, Trombone 1. Everyone else must fit inside that sound.
• Bar 68: Volume level comes way down. Melody is Saxes, Trombones,Baritones. Again, everyone else must fit inside that sound.
• Bar 71: Watch director for the ritard, then a sweet chord to finish.

Mary's Boy Child

Recorded November 22, 2009.

Messin' with the Kid

Recorded October 2009 at Oregon Hill Farm Pumpkin Festival

• Low brass and other melody people: Watch the dotted-eighth/sixteenth figure in bar 21; make sure you wait long enough to play the (tied) sixteenth so that it doesn't sound "square".
• Bar 26: Soul scream on beat 2.
• Ending has been changed! Play bars 37-41, then play bar 40 (again) [this is the new last bar]. Trumpets and high winds can put a stinger on beat 4 of bar 40 the last time (tonic note -- C for trumpets, Bb for flutes, etc).
• No ritard in the last bars -- finish out in normal tempo.

National Anthem March

Full arrangement.

Over the Rainbow

Here's the full arrangement recorded by the band August 30, 2009.

• Watch the key signature! Everybody in the audience knows this tune; if you hit a clunker (and I've heard 'em!), they WILL know it.
• Very lush sound through, stretch the notes to full length, your most beautiful sound with a little vibrato please!
• Be sure to stay under the soloist at 5.
• At 21: Flutes, Clarinets, Trumpet 2 sneak - come in carefully to augment what Trumpet 1 just finished playing.
• DON'T BREATH at 29! The crescendo should grow smoothly from 27 all the way into bar 29. Don't gasp for breath and shorten the last note of 28.
• DON'T BREATH at the end of bar 35! Make sure the last beat of 35 doesn't get short-changed, otherwise it breaks up the melody.
• At 37: Long notes can be bell tones that drop a little in volume after you hit them. This lets the moving part in the Tenor Saxes, Trombones, and Baritones come through.
• Music alteration: Please put a fermata over the last note - no automatic cut-off on beat 5, I want to hold this until it's really done!

Rock That! / September

Here's a recording of GAL playing this chart (recorded June 20, 2010). Sounds surprisingly good given that this was our first full rehearsal of this tune!

Here's a recording of the Michael Sweeney arrangement of Rock That! / September (not a GAL recording).

Shake Rattle and Roll

Recorded October 2009 at Oregon Hill Farm Pumpkin Festival.

Soul Finger

Recorded October 2009 at Oregon Hill Farm Pumpkin Festival.

• We often do this tune "with a vamp", which means we add an extended intro that the band plays while I talk to the crowd. When we do it with a vamp, we play bars 1 and 2 normally, then play bars 3 and 4 over and over and over again (softly) while I do the voice-over. I'll count you back in at bar 5 and the rest of the tune goes normally. You can hear an example of The Vamp on the recording above. (You can also hear one person try to come in early!)
• Watch the articulations to get the "funk feel"; hat notes should be short, watch the long-short-long-short eighth notes in the low brass parts especially.

So Very Hard to Go

No GAL recordings yet; here are some excerpts from the "real thing" to help you with style.

• Verse 1 and Chorus (Bar 7 through approx bar 35)
• Flugelhorn solo and second chorus (bar 35 to bar fifty-something)

Takin' Care of Business

• At 35, we sing instead of play. We split the band down the middle and sing back and forth at each other:
  • Takin' care of business,
• Every day,
• Takin' care of business,
• Every way,
• Takin' care of business,
• It's all mine,
• Takin' care of business,
• And workin' overtime!
• Trumpets must make sure they play the pickups in the last bar before the D.S.; this is what gets us out of the singing and back into playing again.

Takin' It to the Streets

Recorded October 2009 at Oregon Hill Farm Pumpkin Festival.

More extensive notes need to get posted for this!

• Don't play cue notes in the intro.
• Pay close attention to all the dynamic changes! This tune is much more effective when we make the dramatic level changes happen.

Full arrangement.

That's the Way (I Like It)

• As of November 9, 2008: We are now performing this tune with the repeat that's written in the middle (one extra verse and chorus). We have the option of adding a soloist over the top of this section.
• PLEASE NOTE that this is NOT the original Doug Adams arrangement, but the Tolopka arrangement that's based on the Adams arrangement.
• Try to "round off" and connect the groove lick that's at the beginning and end of the tune (we tend to play it square, like a marching band instead of a disco band!). To see what I mean, listen to this one minute segment from the original recording and compare it with our recording below.

Here's the full arrangement to download and play along with (recorded November 9, 2008). This version now contains the repeat section in the middle as noted above. And for good measure, here's the version from the October 2009 Oregon Hill Farm Pumpkin Festival. This has a "squarer" beginning than I wish, but it contains a good version of the solo section in the middle.

Thriller

This is the arrangement by Paul Murtha, in the Series One Marching Band Series published by Hal Leonard.

Here's a GAL recording of the full arrangement, recorded during the prep work for NAMM 2010.

• Throughout: Pay attention to articulations - especially all those staccato and "hat" notes.
• Bar 1: Be sure to wait for the sixteenth note (don't play it too soon). THRIL-LER!
• Low brass at bar 3: Be sure to keep these notes short. Watch out for the sixteenth note at the back end of beat 3 in each measure - don't let it slip onto the downbeat of 4! Getting this line right will make a big difference in whether we sound like a stodgy marching band or a band with a groove! Click here to listen to the Groove starting at bar 3.
• Bar 7: Long notes stay out of the way. Low brass keep the groove going. High woodwinds and trumpets carry the melody. Click here to hear how the melody part from 7 to 31.
• Big build going into 23. At 23, be sure to wait on the sixteenth note (just like at the beginning). Volume comes down again at 25, builds at 27, down again at 29.
• Bar 30: Keep the hat notes short!
• Bar 32: Tenor saxes and trombones are the melody here and should be BIG! All that other stuff needs to be background. Trombones must ACCENT so this part pops. We also had problems with the rhythm through this section, so listen (and practice) below. Also watch out for 39-40, where the rhythm was really rocky.
• Bar 40-41: Many parts here are rhythmically difficult; be sure to listen (and practice) below. Bar 41 should also have a forte-piano with crescendo (you won't hear this in the MIDI version, but do it anyway! <grin>)
  • Click here to listen to the trombone (lead) part from 32 to 42.
  • Click here to listen to the other parts from 32 to 42.
  • Click here to listen to all the parts together from 32 to 42.
• Bar 42: Tubas and baritones: The dotted eighth is staccato; the sixteenth must be accented and placed properly. Again, this keeps us in the groove. (You can hear four bars of this lick in the recordings above.)
• Bar 46: May the long notes mysterious; swell and release the volume.
• Bar 54: SUDDEN LOUD NOTE AND SCREAM!
• Bar 55: Drums must get us back into the final chorus.
• On the D.S.: Be sure to mark the "To Coda" at end of Bar 29; if you play bars 30 and 31 here it'll sound goofy.

We're An American Band

Full arrangement (recorded by GAL on January 8, 2009; includes Louie Louie). For comparison purposes, here is the Tom Wallace recording. [NOTE: Link has been repaired]

This is the front half of the medley that we'll play at the reviewing stand for the Inauguration gig (Louie Louie OMTAAMB is the other).

• Auxiliaries: You might want to get a jump on getting this ready since time will be short once we know we're going. You may be able to use the routines you learned with OMT.
• Drums: Listen to this a few times to get a sense of how the drum parts should work. It'll help if you know how to make the drum breaks work.
• Aux percussion: You can hear lots of tambourine etc in this recording -- listen for places where you can really help with the sound!

Wooly Bully

Full arrangement (recorded Jan 8, 2009 at GAL rehearsal)

• I like to look at folks in the crowd and raise fingers as we chant "Uno-dos-one-two-tres-quatro" -- it gets them engaged.
• Throughout the piece: The background eighth notes must be staccato, light, not too loud. They keep the energy high, but aren't the feature!
• First two played bars: Crisp attacks, then cut off the notes together (especially in bar 3)! Maintain separation between the notes in bars 4-5. We get a powerful start when we get these three bars right, otherwise, it's just blase. (This sounds good in the recording.)
• Whenever you have the melody, cut off the notes at the end of each phrase properly. Listen to the trumpets cut off together in bars 19, 21, 23. Again, this makes the tune tight and powerful!
• Big crescendo in bar 25 and into bar 26, then immediate drop in volume level back to mf.
• Bars 28-31: Note the long-short articulations in the flutes, clarinets, trumpets.
• Bars 33-38: Alto saxes and trombones have the melody, cut off ends of long notes together!
• Bars 40-41: Again, a big crescendo and then sudden drop to mf.
• Pickups to 47: HUGE drop in volume. This MUST include percussion and trash line! On the street, we kinda crouch and sneak along, then come back up 4 bars later when we crescendo.
• Bar 51: Tenor saxes, baritones, tubas have a big crescendo to get the band back to ff.
• Bar 54: Make the hat note SHORT.
• Bar 54: Clarinets and saxes need to wail on this lick. Hit the accents!
• Bar 55: Keep the hat notes SHORT.

YMCA

Full arrangment (uses MIDI instruments).

• At the beginning, be sure we don't get too loud too fast. There's lots of time to play loud later!
• Bar 27: These notes must be short and crisp. Same later on at 45-46.
• Bar 28: Melody people make sure to bring out these pickups.
• Bars 30-31: Trumpets and high winds keep this quiet; it's an ornament, not the melody.
• Bars 38-41: Again, the sixteenth note figure must not overpower the melody. Keep the sixteenths staccato, but the quarter note at end of phrase is tenuto (long).
• At 55: Sing lustily! Only instruments are the basses, plus the alto saxes on the SECOND HALF of each phrase ("You'll be makin' the scene ...").
• Trombones at 64: Make sure to play these pickups to get us going again!
• Bars 72-73: This is a "stack", with different instruments coming in on each beat. Play each note as a bell tone, then immediately get out of the way for the next note.

YMCA Street Routine

YMCA has a street routine that we used on the Pasadena Doo-Dah parade route. Click here for the full routine.

You're a Grand Old Flag

• New for 2007, we've started doing this as a vocal! Play through the song once (down to the first ending), then drums go into a quiet military cadence while we invite the crowd to sing along with us. I'll count you back in and we sing a verse with the crowd (with drums and tuba accompaniment), then take the repeat and play it one more time. Trumpets, play the last bar of the first ending as we end the singing verse (helps get us back into playing again).

You're a grand old flag, You're a high flying flag,
And forever in peace may you wave.
You're the emblem of the land I love,
The home of the free and the brave.
Every heart beats true 'Neath the red, white and blue
Where there's never a boast or brag.
"But should auld acquaintance be forgot"
Keep your eye on the grand old flag.

On the Street: 8-Count Spins

We learned this move for the YMCA Street Routine, but now we do it in the middle of parades just to amuse ourselves. Click here to learn the routine so you won't be left out when your row does it!!!

Parades: How to Turn Corners

We spend a lot more time working on music than we do on marching, but we can still use a little marching help now and then. This short tutorial contains the five Important Rules that'll have you turning corners like a pro in no time.

Last updated:  16 June 2007
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