Welcome to our podcast. Band BFFs. The podcast
where we make your music selection less complicated.
On today's episode, we are going to be discussing
Christmas Around the Band Room by Lisa Galvin.
Cheers to starting the conversation. This is
a really cute arrangement that combines up on
the housetop Jolly Old St. Nicholas and Jingle
Bells. Great for a beginner band or a young sub
-non -varsity band. It's in the key of B -flat.
It's about two minutes in length in 4 -4 time.
No split parts anywhere, but lots of percussion.
There is a good amount of percussion to spread
out amongst your percussion section. Called Christmas
Around the Band Room, everybody gets a chance
at the melody, which is always fun, especially
with a younger group for sure. And Laura and
I were discussing before this episode that a
lot of people are reaching out to us right now
about beginner winter music and what are you
playing and do you have any good new ideas. And
this is a piece that is tried and true and appeals
to the entire audience, parents and students
alike. Because again, like she mentioned, it's
like a little mashup of three different pieces,
which is super fun. So at the very beginning,
it's marked 120 for the tempo, but of course,
go whatever speed the kids need to go to be successful.
It's got, everybody has one, two, three, percussion,
two, three, four, and then everybody, one, two,
and three, four, low brass, low brass, one. So
it's very typical introduction, but it's great
for teaching the low brass how to have a beautiful
little miniature scale going downward, decrescendoing
as they go down so they're out of the way of
the melody when they come in on up. on the housetop.
At five we've got... Up on the house top melody
in trumpet, clarinet, oboe and flute, and sax
has the harmony part to them. And then the bells
part is not on the melody. They have jingle bells
underneath up on the house top. So one of the
things I like about this, obviously there are
lots of different versions. Sometimes you may
want a piece that is written like in half notes
and quarter notes so rhythmically it doesn't
look really challenging. But I think if you have
a band that can handle it, I love that this is
written in quarter eighth note fashion. So they
can start being exposed to that in music. Certainly
at this point in the year, they understand eighth
notes, they're counting eighth notes, they're
playing eighth notes. So I think it's good for
them to have an opportunity to see it in the
music as well. For sure. So after the little
opening two measures, flute and the oboe, clarinet,
then only clarinet along with saxophone now has
one two three four one two three then flute oboe
trumpet joined back again one two and three four
one two three then clarinet and saxophone only
so I like it because it's just like the song
where it's kind of like highs and lows having
a conversation but we don't quite have the low
brass doing the melody yet that's right so we're
passing it around the the higher high and the
medium upper voices. Then at 13 we have the ho
ho ho who wouldn't know now the lows get the
melody and this is a great opportunity to teach
balance so all the upper voices now need to change
their dynamic down to mezzo piano or even softer
so they don't overpower the low voices that have
the melody at 13. Percussion is not as busy in
this section either. Again, written smartly so
that the lows don't have to try to fight to be
heard. They're in a great range though. E flat,
E flat, G, F, F, D, don't breathe, C, C, E flat,
and then don't breathe, D, F, B flat, C, D. Then
they get to take a breath. So we're teaching
them to try to do a four measure phrase as much
as possible. I think this is smart. Katie is
obviously right, like you want to teach your
students not to breathe after every one of those
half notes in the melody, but the way the accompaniment
part is written, they are playing one, rest,
rest, four, one, rest, rest, four, one. So if
you have a kid sneak a breath in there, there
is some support. Yeah, there's some support.
So I just think that's, I think that's written.
Smart writing, yeah, for sure. And then at measure
17, the highs come back in with the melody. One,
two, and three, four, one, two, three, don't
breathe and touch the rest. And then lows. One,
two, and three, four, one, three. And they do
have eighth notes, yeah. Oh yeah, lows have the
tongue. Yep, they have to go from first to fourth
position. They can do it. And then. 21 this section
is a little bit different now the sleigh bells
come in and It gets a little bit thinned out
and like the snare drum part and the upper people
with the melody now have staccatos one two three
One, two, three. It's totally up to you. If you
don't want to teach staccato articulation in
December to your beginners. Which I personally
would not. Right. Just tell the kids, we're going
to ignore those little dots right now. And instead,
we're just going to play it normal style. That
way, it also still matches up with what the lows
have underneath them, which is not staccato.
They have the same accompaniment they had before.
One. Four one. So I think that's totally appropriate.
It's not like you're playing this for a judge.
That's right So you do you and whatever is gonna
help your kids sound sound the best. They need
to sound the best. Absolutely Then they have
a little bit more articulation 1 2 3 4 tongue
slur tongue don't breathe 1 2 3 4 1 stick a breath
3 And then they have the same thing again with
the staccatos again, you can leave it out and
low are again on the accompaniment part on any
whole note like Laura just mentioned where they
might need to like they might be dying away a
little bit with their sound the lows get one
two three four one so they can kind of help cover
up support yeah yeah yeah and then it ends with
the lows going one two three four then the high
people one three and now we're to a jolly Saint
Nicholas, bum bum bum bum bum. lend your ear
this way. There you go. Yeah. Nice job. Nice
job. Yeah. And so the high people have it. The
lows have just whole note chords, really soft
underneath. Snare drum is there to help, you
know, just give a little bit of a pulse. Got
a little triangle now because it's mostly the
high woodwinds that have the melody. I like that
this is a little easier. This section. So now
we've come from something that was a little bit
more challenging. Now everybody. Yeah. Dolly
old St. Nicholas. We're grooving. Yes. Then we
all have a beat. three entrance again it gets
to be forte going into 45 that's the jingle all
the way hey and then jolly old st. Nicholas kind
of like again like a little mashup the low people
get to just keep going on the whole notes and
half notes supporting the uppers then we're all
crescendoing leading to the last little section
at 55 we have that same staccato one two three
yeah the jingle bells so again if you don't like
just keep them long. So it's jingle bells for
two measures, then it's up on the house top for
two measures, and then it's a whole note with
timpani getting to have a little solo. One, two,
three, four, one, and everybody's off on beat
one. There's not a cha -cha -cha, but I really
feel like Laura will do it on sleigh bells. But
it's written very well to where everybody gets
to have something fun, it's not out of your comfort
zone, it's not written up high, the trumpets
aren't playing, you know. up above this you know
above a you know it's just those first like six
-ish notes on your instrument and it everybody
gets to be fun. Very doable melodies they recognize.
Yes super fun well we hope you will consider
programming Christmas around the band room in
the future and thank you for joining us on this
episode of Band BFFs!