Welcome to our podcast and BFFs. The podcast where we make your music selection less complicated.
On today's episode we are going to be discussing Cascadia Celebration by Steve Hodges. Cheers
to starting the conversation. So Laura and I were just talking about why haven't we done
this piece yet right before we were recording because we both love it so much and it's probably
because it's kind of one of those older quote unquote grade ones to the Texas PML. Like I played
this piece when I was a super baby band director. I also played it as a baby band director a long
time ago and that's when it was like new and up and coming but it's such a great piece for like
teaching you as a musician how to teach in multiple key signatures multiple time signatures. You do
have to have a solid group but it's it's so cute lighthearted and fun. It sounds like a celebration.
It does. The title is is appropriate completely and I love it's just such a it's such a happy
sounding piece. I had a lot of fun teaching it and we've done it of course even with you know with
our non-varsity bands not only have we conducted it when you know years ago but we've done it at our
own schools with our non-varsity bands. I think this is an oldie but a goodie. Yes. Such a great
piece. So Cascadia is in the key of concert E flat and three four at the beginning. It does
change keys. It modulates to the key of F which is not for the faint of heart right and five four
but don't be intimidated like the five four I think lays really easily. It's about two minutes
two minutes and twenty seconds in length. You do have some split clarinet alto trumpet parts
quite a bit of percussion so you're gonna you're gonna need five to six percussionists on this
but there's lots of cool accessory percussion in this. It's just it is I I love this piece.
It's very very cute so I'm excited to talk about it so it starts off at 110 on the metronome it
stays that way the whole time. It's just jubilant in nature it has some accented parts but a lot
of the piece is not accented it's just full value tongues with some slurs thrown in but it's not
like anything super crazy but at the very beginning you do have to have a really good trumpet section
that's a given. Your clarinet one part should probably be pretty mature too. It does go up above
the staff a little bit and stays at the top of the staff often so you want to make sure at least
your clarinet one is comfortable going over the break and sounding good sounding pretty up high
right that sort of thing so it starts off with like a little like a fan fan yes one and two three
with accents and then the little woodwinds go one and two and three and one in response and then
they do it again and the lows just get one two and three and one not ridiculously difficult and
they're not even changing notes either. Go ahead. Style I think especially in all throughout this
but in this introduction style is really important making sure that the way that we're articulating
the eighth notes is agreeing from the flutes all the way down to the tubas in this section and
then a little bit of lift and then definitely and then also I think across the board in this piece
when you have long notes the tendency is to die away on them and we want the exact opposite now
like what the trumpets and alto start off one and two three we had ours treat that and you've heard
me say this if you've listened to our podcast at all several times we had our students treat it like
a forte piano right um crescendo so there is a crescendo written but treat it like a forte
piano crescendo so that they get out of the way of the moving notes that are coming in this happens
this same idea on these long notes happens all throughout this piece. Once we get to five it's
still kind of part of the introduction the clarinet two and altos get this cool little like one
two three one and two three harmonic line it's really pretty and then at seven we have our first
statement of the melody in the trumpets and they're all together and this is the melody that comes
back over and over and over the lows all have the same rhythm and that makes it really easy to teach
this because they're playing the same thing and they're out of the way very quiet with lifted style
eighth notes or quarter notes or half notes during the trumpet melody at the end on each long note
after the trumpets have their statement so they go one and two three one and two three one and two
and three and one on that long note one the woodwinds clarinet oboe flute they have one and two and
three and one so it's like a little call and response and the kids like that and then they're
out of the way again at 11 and the trumpets come back so what Katie was just talking about about
the low voices having this blocked rhythm half eighth eighth half quarter half this is exactly
what I'm talking about with letting the the white notes fade right the tendency what you're gonna
hear a lot of groups do is go da da da da and you want to make sure that they are not doing that
that we are supporting all the way through those long notes yep the trombone part does go up to
a D here and I know every time I've played this that note has been like a tuning issue so just
making sure it's like the French horns have an upper C the trombones have an upper D the
tubas even are going up to a D so you want to make sure that your students can do that with
success ambient tune and I have my trombones in this I have my trombones play this in fourth
position instead of first position because it's a flat partial in first position and in fourth
position you can adjust the tuning so that is something even when I'm pre-marking parts that
I pre-mark in that hey we're gonna play this one in fourth position right so the same melody goes
on and the trumpets and then at the end though this time it goes one and two and three a one so
it has a real cute little dotted eight sixteenth ending that's not difficult but you want to make
sure there's a little space after the dotted eighth note one and two and three a one so that the 16th
really pops you know and there's lots of clarity in that articulation yep the euphonium part does
not double the trombone part throughout this so that is the trombones like we mentioned you need
strong trumpets in your first clarinet I'd even say that your trombone section needs to be pretty
because of the range that's exactly exactly and they're just really independent they're really
their parts are are really independent I love this whole section right we finish this the woodwinds
the upper woodwinds just like we've continued get to make a little response they get so fanfare this
time one and two three one yes yep and then the lows get to have more of like a little accident
part but trombone again they're on C's above the staff over and over and over so the tuning yes
might be a little bit of an issue and make sure they don't really go in as they sit up there in
that rain yeah I mean that you know that range is not super easy for younger players yeah but
the horn part is more in the normal range like from D to B flat most of the time so it's really
just the trombone euphonium and tuba are doubling each other so they're more on a normal range
when we get to this next phrase this measure 18 now the upper woodwinds the flute nobo and first
clarinet are taking over the same melodic statement that the trumpet had before but now we have this
little rhythmic ostinato that's taking place in the low and mid voices the altos horns and low brass
one and and three one and and three one and they get to do in this part is really cool I love the
way this it even doubles this name I love that word yes it is it's very jaunty you want to make
sure that beat three leads to be one for sure that we don't clip that note short went in and three
went in that is not at all what we want so make sure the melody won't sound like that either one
and two three one and two three not one and two three yeah yes so it's more full value quarter notes
just lifted definitely definitely and then the trumpets kind of answer so we have the reverse
and fair that's right we have the reverse of what we had before when the trumpets were the statement
and the woodwinds answered at the end of the phrase now the trumpets get a little fanfare answer at
the end of the phrase yep and also the low brass when the trumpets do that little fanfare they get
a moment of glory that's what I call it whenever we've played it so they finish they do that
ostinato for three measures then they get one and two and three and one so it's like really cute
because they get to do like more of a moving part it's not horrible but they get a moment where
they get to come out of the spotlight which is good then it continues on with the upper woodwinds
having the melody and they get another they get the same thing trumpets did before one and two
and three a one and then we all in the mid voices get this cool little rhythm one two and three one
and and three and one and that syncopation there is so important yeah and it's just cute and the
kids get it you know lays pretty well and then we don't change key but we change to 5 4 here so now
the snares are off so it's kind of like a different feel mm-hmm and the tambourine comes in and we are
now in 5 4 and when you conduct it you can do it 3 1 2 3 plus 2 that's the way it lays in the music
so it's always 1 2 3 1 2 you can do that you can conduct it in 5 yeah you can certainly do I've
done it the the easier way for my younger group I did it and that's great okay so this is great to
bring up I did it in 5 and the reason we did is because I told my kids I want you to feel really
comfortable anchoring in on beat 1 and I wanted beat 1 to look the same every time right so when
you do a 3 plus 2 there's absolutely nothing wrong with that but I was telling my kids to anchor in
on beat 1 so I only wanted there to be one visual got it one right yep but there is a lot of
syncopation in this section tied notes and so they have to be really comfortable counting do not
start playing this until they can count it correctly right it's 5 4 it feels weird they haven't been
exposed to this right so snares have the rhythm first while everybody's playing a long note that
stayed crescendoing and then at 28 alto and horn come in with the with this cool new melody so it's
one two and and three five sorry I was singing one and three and two I was conducting one two and and four and five one two and and four and five one two and and four five then the flute and the clarinet take over one two and and three and five and five and five yeah but it's it lays really cute and like we said it's not fast so the kids get it the lows
are playing one and four one and four rest yeah and so that's actually a little bit it is tricky then it seems when they first started because they they're not used to feeling that then they keep that we keep going but now the flute clarinet alto they get the melody and lows join in and play longer valued one and four
five one and four five and most of the time they're staying on either the same note or just going up by one step so it's like in the tube apart F F G G A flat A flat B flat B flat so we're not going up a ton or jumping around it's just like scalar in motion now as you're working on this five four section so I think sometimes directors like fall in a
habit of saying hey we have to start at measure one or at the beginning like in the five four I would start right here at measure 32 the only instrument that isn't playing right here at measure 32 is the trumpets and this part a lines way better with the melody in the upper woodwinds and the accompaniment in the mid voices and low voices
whereas back at measure 28 when we first initially were in half the band isn't playing half the band isn't playing the the part that the low brass has we already discussed a little bit more complicated so start where it's a little bit easier where they can you can help them feel successful feeling what five four feels like and then back up
there's some accidentals in the horn part here a little accident on the flute part and the alto part to just one accidental and then it goes back to the key but again that'd be a good thing to mark in their part and remind them to go back to key signature trumpets come in on four and five and to pick up taking over the melody and actually they get like a new part here so we kind of totally new idea
syncopated thing and at 36 we have a new melodic idea now leading into 36 I will tell you measure 35 your upper woodwinds have a dotted half note tied to a half note and man every time I've played this we have had to battle sustaining that long note for five full beats sound to silence they have rested measure 36 so making sure that they are supporting that long note and your flutes and oboes obviously with really good vibrato all the way to
the end that way the trumpets aren't left hanging on their pickup note right and five and one right they everyone should still be playing while the trumpets have those pickups into 36 and these trumpet pickups land on a D so and this is in both trumpet parts so this is written up a little higher so just throwing that out there then there's a counter melody in the alto and horn part in the horn part is a high E flat
D B flat C D D C B flat A G it's up there and they don't have to have to but you want to make sure that your French horns can sound pretty up high it's exposed here there's no woodwinds playing other than alto it's kind of like a brass feature with alto backing up the horns and now I will tell you this little eight measure chunk right here I think this is the most challenging part of the entire piece to make sense
to make it and to make it stay together and hold together because there's no pulse this the percussion drops out and it's just like a little brass corral I guess is kind of how I think of it and like I said it's up a little higher less rhythmic right the lows of like a dotted half note and then a half note and up again at the top of the staff for the trombone part but it's really pretty it's just kind of a mature ish section for a developing band
and then like the the flutes and I think it's clear and oboes I'm kind of take over the melody so we have this four measure chunk where the trumpets have the melody and you have the counter happening in alto and horn and then the flutes and obo take it over now one of the woodwind exactly so one of the things that I think makes this section a little trickier to is the way the phrase lays you'll have a dotted half note moment and then you'll have a half note moment and kids sometimes have trouble trouble
counting that so three four and five and one two three four five and one two three four one four five and one so it is like just that little four measure chunk right there you're gonna spend a long time making sure that the kids are comfortable with their rhythm and that they move in time and like I said the flutes and oboes have that exact same thing the next four measures one of the times that I played this I just remembered because like Lara was going through
it when at 36 I wrote on our trumpet part here a triangle over the dotted because I conducted it in three and then in two or it wasn't me it was my coworker at the time it was our second band but I drew a triangle over the dotted half note and then on the four five and I drew a down arrow on the four and an
up arrow or an up arrow even though it was because my hands were doing that okay so it's like triangle two three down up triangle two three down up so that helped the trumpets to feel that because this is a weird spot yeah it doesn't lay like a hundred like the syncopated parts part lays pretty easy yeah this part you really have to count yeah so anyways then the woodwinds come in and do the exact same thing so flute and clarinet have the melody
there's no brass happening right now then the snares go back on and we change back into three four time and we have the same thing that we had at the beginning one and two and three so it's a little bit different here right now the eighth notes now the way that is different in the beginning sorry the woodwinds are moving around pretty active right here all of the brass are sitting on longer value they're like our
arpeggiated yes yes and then I think maybe my favorite section of the I don't I don't know I just love everything about this piece but yeah it transitions into this cool part right here at measure 48 I will tell you when we get here we have trumpets are on an island with the melody by themselves so they need to sound
really good yeah sorry about that yes you're right but then everybody else including percussion are on these big eighth note hits one and one three and one now it can get really heavy sounding yep if you don't make sure to you know talk to the students about that like we don't want it to we don't want it to be like over the
exactly exactly and then the lows get their moment of glory and they have the melody one and two three one and two three and what winds are just kind of playing above them then we have a little one measure transition one and two and three and now we've changed key
signature so you're only in the key of F for about not even 20 measures 16 measures but it's it can be tricky with a young band because of the key change being so drastic so marking parts like we always talk about is a great idea because then you can pre mark in like
hey trombones now you're doing a natural and a natural because that's that's kind of tricky it is a lot of third to a lot of second you know and the key the key center of E flat is a nice dark rich sounding key for bands especially young bands we go to the key of F and it can be really bright
and it goes up a step and so now trumpets are going even higher they're up on D more often in the melody but then it's the same melody the same melody so you don't have to reteach rhythms right you don't have to reteach style now it's just hey make sure that your notes in the total center are there
and you just have that melody in the upper voices for eight measure phrase and then 63 is just like it just was back at 44 but in the new key where woodwinds are doing our peggiated stuff again one and two and three and and we have a long note in the brass one
not dying away three and one yeah and so it's the same concept just different key you even have the low brass featured again one and two beat don't be out of tune on a natural that is the worst note F C
worst note of the whole piece I swear how many times yes a bunch like it was like we would do one and two stop yeah and like make sure you're in tune on that a natural the number of people who accidentally a flat right there on that note like I can't tell you how many times I've heard
that I've heard that you did yeah and it's just out of tune with the trombone yeah and it's exposed nobody else is playing there is no progress it's trombone euphonic and tuba you don't even have the low reeds to help well it probably is a low read it doesn't say oh you're right you're
right but but it's your low voices nobody else is playing it is so exposed so I would like you know drill and kill those two measures yeah and there's no percussion yeah and then percussion comes back in woodwinds come back in and our peggiate a little bit more
trumpets and with like a fanfare part one and two three one and two three hi one or hi hi hi concert F yeah whenever we played this nobody played the high G with my this was our second band at the time we did not this was our third piece on a
you I'll program I did not trust any of our sweet little developing trumpet players to play a high G at the end so we left that note out because it's covered in other stuff you can have it you can put it in a first clarinet part if you like
right we talked about your first clarinet the clarinet part here is above the staff the whole time yes it is on a high B on a yes so you can take that and that's what we did is we took instead of making that a high B in the clarinet we made those that could do it and sound good on a
G instead so it covered the trumpet part yeah that's a great way to rewrite it to where you still have the note in the cord but it's not going to scream in your face right yeah and then everybody ends on beat one and it is just a delightful cute little piece
I love this piece so much it's so good it's very well written a fun piece to teach a fun piece to play absolutely great way to expose your kids to five four so we love Cascadia celebration we hope you will consider programming this in the future and thank you for joining us on this episode of
Bay and BFF