WEBVTT 00:00:06.659 --> 00:00:10.660 Welcome to our podcast, Band BFFs. The podcast 00:00:10.660 --> 00:00:13.000 where we make your music selection less complicated. 00:00:13.419 --> 00:00:15.980 On today's episode, we'll be discussing Above 00:00:15.980 --> 00:00:19.140 and Beyond by James Swearingen. Cheers to starting 00:00:19.140 --> 00:00:24.140 the conversation. This is a relatively simple, 00:00:24.460 --> 00:00:26.320 short little fanfare. It's about two minutes 00:00:26.320 --> 00:00:32.039 long, concert E -flat 4 -4. It has a split clarinet 00:00:32.039 --> 00:00:34.979 and split trumpet parts. Pretty minimal percussion, 00:00:35.399 --> 00:00:37.340 five percussion. You can totally make it work 00:00:37.340 --> 00:00:39.500 with five percussion if you have more than that. 00:00:39.719 --> 00:00:41.820 I think especially the mallet part, you could 00:00:41.820 --> 00:00:45.359 split the chimes and bells up. There's definitely 00:00:45.359 --> 00:00:47.700 some, if you've got a larger percussion section, 00:00:47.759 --> 00:00:51.520 there's enough to keep the kids interested. rhythmically 00:00:51.520 --> 00:00:54.100 pretty straight ahead. It's really a pretty stock 00:00:54.100 --> 00:00:56.899 fanfare. Yeah, we were saying this would be a 00:00:56.899 --> 00:01:00.140 great piece to do possibly with like a non varsity 00:01:00.140 --> 00:01:02.780 middle school band at a fall concert or a spring 00:01:02.780 --> 00:01:06.700 concert. You could even possibly do it with like 00:01:06.700 --> 00:01:10.700 a sub non varsity group in the spring because 00:01:10.700 --> 00:01:13.840 like the low brass part doesn't go above a C 00:01:13.840 --> 00:01:17.540 above the staff horn part goes to a C in the 00:01:17.540 --> 00:01:20.219 staff and only one the trumpet goes into C in 00:01:20.219 --> 00:01:23.030 the staff so it's not right yeah range is not 00:01:23.030 --> 00:01:26.010 extreme certainly rhythms are not extreme but 00:01:26.010 --> 00:01:28.329 it it's a piece that I think sounds harder than 00:01:28.329 --> 00:01:31.390 yeah and of course it's well written as a swear 00:01:31.390 --> 00:01:33.969 engine piece so pretty cool it's marked bold 00:01:33.969 --> 00:01:39.950 and powerful BPM 112 starts out with just timpani 00:01:39.950 --> 00:01:42.189 and snare kind of driving it forward one and 00:01:42.189 --> 00:01:45.510 a two and a three and a four and a one and then 00:01:45.510 --> 00:01:48.269 everybody comes in the first melody is in trumpet 00:01:48.269 --> 00:01:51.930 horn alto, clarinet, some of the mid -voices. 00:01:52.109 --> 00:01:55.390 One, two, and three, four, one, two, three. Don't 00:01:55.390 --> 00:01:59.609 breathe here. One, and then flute. joins in one, 00:01:59.609 --> 00:02:03.109 two, and three, four, one, two, and three, and 00:02:03.109 --> 00:02:05.790 like the horn and alto part as a little counter 00:02:05.790 --> 00:02:09.810 melody moment. Then we keep going. I like the 00:02:09.810 --> 00:02:11.789 way the percussion is written here because the 00:02:11.789 --> 00:02:14.250 percussion, while it's not, the snare isn't playing 00:02:14.250 --> 00:02:16.349 the whole time, it's kind of back and forth with 00:02:16.349 --> 00:02:19.409 the melody. It helps to kind of cross that bar 00:02:19.409 --> 00:02:22.129 line where kids are gonna want to take a breath, 00:02:22.129 --> 00:02:24.710 you know, covering up because the snare is playing 00:02:24.710 --> 00:02:26.629 four into one. You know, they've got nothing 00:02:26.629 --> 00:02:28.629 else going on but four into one, helping that 00:02:28.629 --> 00:02:31.389 four lead to one, but do your best to train your 00:02:31.389 --> 00:02:34.729 kids not to breathe there. Yep, six, basically 00:02:34.729 --> 00:02:37.710 the full group playing one, two, and three, four, 00:02:37.969 --> 00:02:40.990 one, two, and three, and then everybody comes 00:02:40.990 --> 00:02:44.669 down soft at eight, piano dynamic, and we have 00:02:44.669 --> 00:02:48.469 easy little accented rhythm here, one, and a 00:02:48.469 --> 00:02:53.669 three, and a one, and a three, one. Yep, so that's, 00:02:53.889 --> 00:02:56.629 sorry, I was counting it in like cut time, but. 00:02:56.590 --> 00:02:59.689 Lots of cool accents as a full group, so matching 00:02:59.689 --> 00:03:02.849 the style here would be something easy to practice 00:03:02.849 --> 00:03:05.889 with a group. Then we have another percussion 00:03:05.889 --> 00:03:09.650 feature at 10. Timpani has a little dotted quarter 00:03:09.650 --> 00:03:12.229 rhythm, snare is continuing on, and we're getting 00:03:12.229 --> 00:03:17.789 softer into 12. At 12, the melody is in the clarinet, 00:03:18.030 --> 00:03:21.370 alto, and horn. The low brass and tenor voices 00:03:21.370 --> 00:03:24.990 are starting the statement by one, but then we 00:03:24.990 --> 00:03:28.090 get a two and three, four, one, two, and three. 00:03:28.090 --> 00:03:29.689 And it's marked heroic. Yes, it's in a range. 00:03:29.969 --> 00:03:32.469 The horn part is definitely a little bit higher 00:03:32.469 --> 00:03:35.729 than the alto or clarinet, and it does get up 00:03:35.729 --> 00:03:37.889 to a D here. Oh, a D, sorry, we didn't see that. 00:03:37.889 --> 00:03:41.030 Yeah, it does get up to a D. But if your horns 00:03:41.030 --> 00:03:45.210 sound good rhythmically, And this is, man. Even 00:03:45.210 --> 00:03:47.330 if you just have one player that can play this, 00:03:47.449 --> 00:03:50.590 this is, it's all slurred. This would be great. 00:03:51.229 --> 00:03:53.689 And horns need to be featured here if you have 00:03:53.689 --> 00:03:56.610 a good horn section. I like that horn and clarinet 00:03:56.610 --> 00:03:58.909 color. That's one of my favorite color combinations 00:03:58.909 --> 00:04:00.949 is horn and clarinet. So I would like the horns 00:04:00.949 --> 00:04:03.110 and clarinets to dominate this over the altos. 00:04:03.409 --> 00:04:05.830 Yep. And the clarinet is written in a lower range, 00:04:05.830 --> 00:04:07.990 which is nice. And clarinets are doubling each 00:04:07.990 --> 00:04:09.870 other here. First and clarinet have the same 00:04:09.870 --> 00:04:11.949 part here. So they're all on the melody. One 00:04:11.949 --> 00:04:13.729 of the things in the way that it's written rest 00:04:13.729 --> 00:04:17.610 to end. three four one two and half note rest. 00:04:17.629 --> 00:04:19.550 Touch the rest. That's right making sure that 00:04:19.550 --> 00:04:22.629 they get sound all the way to silence and the 00:04:22.629 --> 00:04:24.050 low brass. And again it's written where they're 00:04:24.050 --> 00:04:26.329 keeping going like Laura mentioned the percussion 00:04:26.329 --> 00:04:28.990 helps with the four and a one now the lows have 00:04:28.990 --> 00:04:32.250 four and one and so they're continuing on so 00:04:32.250 --> 00:04:34.509 if your kids for some reason can't go all the 00:04:34.509 --> 00:04:36.920 way to the rest. They're kind of covering that. 00:04:36.939 --> 00:04:39.399 I think that's written really smart. Yeah, of 00:04:39.399 --> 00:04:41.459 course. Trumpets are getting to chill right here. 00:04:41.579 --> 00:04:43.379 So this is just everybody else, which is nice. 00:04:43.579 --> 00:04:45.180 Percussion are kind of doing what we were before, 00:04:45.220 --> 00:04:46.839 where they play a measure, they're out of measure. 00:04:47.199 --> 00:04:49.259 They're responding to the melody. So it's like 00:04:49.259 --> 00:04:52.439 a conversation between that melody in those upper 00:04:52.439 --> 00:04:55.819 voices and then the snare drum there. At 18, 00:04:55.920 --> 00:04:59.339 the full group comes in again, 2D piano, and 00:04:59.339 --> 00:05:01.819 we have kind of that build up again, but this 00:05:01.819 --> 00:05:04.540 time instead of everybody having one, two, and 00:05:04.540 --> 00:05:07.759 three, four, and the lows do, the very lows, 00:05:08.060 --> 00:05:10.060 but then the rest of the band has half notes 00:05:10.060 --> 00:05:14.139 going up in like a little scalar motion and accents. 00:05:14.920 --> 00:05:17.100 And crescendoing, building all the way to 20. 00:05:17.220 --> 00:05:20.879 At 20, we have that same featured voice, but 00:05:20.879 --> 00:05:23.920 now the horns are down a little bit more at a 00:05:23.920 --> 00:05:29.120 normal. range with sax and clarinet 2. in the 00:05:29.120 --> 00:05:32.220 counter melody. The melody is taken over by flute, 00:05:32.360 --> 00:05:34.860 oboe, and first clarinet. Still trumpets don't 00:05:34.860 --> 00:05:38.019 have the melody with them. Two and three, four, 00:05:38.139 --> 00:05:41.839 one, two and three, still slurry, and then everybody 00:05:41.839 --> 00:05:44.079 else one and... And this is where trumpets come 00:05:44.079 --> 00:05:46.339 in, but now they're playing the role of like 00:05:46.339 --> 00:05:47.939 the low brass, the tubas, the bass part. It's 00:05:47.939 --> 00:05:51.279 kind of the accompaniment, yep. So the the melodic 00:05:51.279 --> 00:05:53.319 part is still in the upper woodwinds, counter 00:05:53.319 --> 00:05:56.060 melody still in the second clarinet, alto, and 00:05:56.060 --> 00:05:58.079 horn, trumpets coming in with the accompaniment. 00:05:57.930 --> 00:06:04.050 part this continues on until measure 26 then 00:06:04.050 --> 00:06:09.100 the trumpets have the melody along with the with 00:06:09.100 --> 00:06:11.980 the flute and the oboe part here. And we didn't 00:06:11.980 --> 00:06:13.740 talk about it back at Measure 12 when we got 00:06:13.740 --> 00:06:17.300 into this heroic section, sleigh bells adds in. 00:06:17.680 --> 00:06:19.860 We've been talking about like sleigh bells just 00:06:19.860 --> 00:06:23.300 like this. We're seeing this a lot in fanfare 00:06:23.300 --> 00:06:25.319 type things where you have this color of the 00:06:25.319 --> 00:06:27.180 sleigh bells. It's effective. Yeah, it works 00:06:27.180 --> 00:06:29.720 really well. But very cool sleigh bell part that 00:06:29.720 --> 00:06:31.500 does have some accents on it. You want to make 00:06:31.500 --> 00:06:32.959 sure that we hear those accents coming through 00:06:32.959 --> 00:06:35.420 to help keep the energy and momentum moving forward. 00:06:35.579 --> 00:06:39.540 Yep. And then as this part kind of ends up at 00:06:39.540 --> 00:06:43.800 28. We have a pickup note that's marked tenuto 00:06:43.800 --> 00:06:47.560 in flute clarinet and saxophone and that takes 00:06:47.560 --> 00:06:51.240 over the melody and then we kind of lose all 00:06:51.240 --> 00:06:54.879 of the brass here except for tuba so this is 00:06:54.879 --> 00:06:58.379 marked very smooth now it's kind of like a little 00:06:58.379 --> 00:07:00.939 just a woodwind feature that's right it's got 00:07:00.939 --> 00:07:03.800 some little triangle cutesiness a little bit 00:07:03.800 --> 00:07:06.180 of timpani but it's not super important again 00:07:06.180 --> 00:07:10.399 it's with tuba. That's right. And then trumpet 00:07:10.399 --> 00:07:14.379 comes in with horn and alto kind of the mid voices 00:07:14.379 --> 00:07:20.139 join in with the melody at 32 Chimes comes in 00:07:20.139 --> 00:07:22.959 here. We don't have a lot of like pulse obviously 00:07:22.959 --> 00:07:26.240 from like snare or anything So your woodwinds 00:07:26.240 --> 00:07:28.420 will need to watch really well to make sure we 00:07:28.420 --> 00:07:31.300 move together And then we're building everything 00:07:31.300 --> 00:07:35.379 back up again to 36 and right here at 32 This 00:07:35.379 --> 00:07:37.540 is the first time the trumpets come in with the 00:07:37.540 --> 00:07:39.980 melody. Yeah, so we've been featuring horn, we've 00:07:39.980 --> 00:07:42.259 been featuring flute and alto, all these other 00:07:42.259 --> 00:07:44.439 instruments, but right here at 32, this is the 00:07:44.439 --> 00:07:46.720 first time trumpets come in. So this may be if 00:07:46.720 --> 00:07:50.319 you have a trumpet section that you need to program 00:07:50.319 --> 00:07:52.019 a piece that's gonna give them a little bit of 00:07:52.019 --> 00:07:53.439 a face break. Or you don't have any trumpets 00:07:53.439 --> 00:07:56.079 at all. That's right, maybe your trumpet section 00:07:56.079 --> 00:08:00.259 is a little bit weaker. This is scored well to 00:08:00.259 --> 00:08:03.439 help that with your trumpets. Yep, 36 is marked 00:08:03.439 --> 00:08:05.959 again, bold and powerful, and it's back to the 00:08:05.959 --> 00:08:10.250 melody being in clarinets. trumpet and horn one 00:08:10.250 --> 00:08:14.089 two and three four one two three don't breathe 00:08:14.089 --> 00:08:17.790 one two and three four flute and oboe join in 00:08:17.790 --> 00:08:20.329 with the first trumpet on that melody and then 00:08:20.329 --> 00:08:23.050 back to horn and clarinet and sax having the 00:08:23.050 --> 00:08:26.529 little counter melody response one two and three 00:08:26.529 --> 00:08:28.970 with some snare drum coming back in to help with 00:08:28.970 --> 00:08:30.709 pulse again this is very much like what we had 00:08:30.709 --> 00:08:33.289 at the beginning exactly so copy paste keeping 00:08:33.289 --> 00:08:36.789 going flutes have a cutesy little part at 41 00:08:36.909 --> 00:08:41.129 then at 42 we all again have a piano soft one 00:08:41.129 --> 00:08:43.669 two and three four and just like we did at the 00:08:43.669 --> 00:08:49.610 beginning going back to a hit at 44 with snare 00:08:49.610 --> 00:08:52.590 drum having the the cool part leading us up again 00:08:52.590 --> 00:08:57.470 to 46 now right here at 42 it drops down to piano 00:08:57.470 --> 00:09:00.350 immediately by everybody this is very much like 00:09:00.350 --> 00:09:02.950 what we had earlier in the piece and I know sometimes 00:09:02.950 --> 00:09:06.149 for younger bands those terrace dynamic changes 00:09:06.120 --> 00:09:09.139 like that are not always super easy, that would 00:09:09.139 --> 00:09:11.179 be something I would practice in your daily drill. 00:09:11.639 --> 00:09:13.399 You know, so I would take either just some concert 00:09:13.399 --> 00:09:16.000 F exercises or Remingtons or something like that 00:09:16.000 --> 00:09:18.500 and have them practicing going immediately from 00:09:18.500 --> 00:09:24.100 forte to piano. It does go immediately piano, 00:09:24.100 --> 00:09:26.799 but then it crescendos after that. Again, I just 00:09:26.799 --> 00:09:28.919 think those immediate dynamic changes sometimes 00:09:28.919 --> 00:09:30.940 are a little bit harder for younger bands, so 00:09:30.940 --> 00:09:32.940 don't sleep on that and incorporate something 00:09:32.940 --> 00:09:35.980 into your fundamental exercise. that you can 00:09:35.980 --> 00:09:39.779 use to work on that. 46 is marked heroic again 00:09:39.779 --> 00:09:43.440 and now we again are featuring the horn part 00:09:43.440 --> 00:09:48.980 again written in a more easy range with sax and 00:09:48.980 --> 00:09:51.080 clarinet too. Nice little counter melody to the 00:09:51.080 --> 00:09:54.919 flute melody. Yep and the little flute and bells 00:09:54.919 --> 00:09:59.860 part is again doubled in oboe and first clarinet 00:09:59.860 --> 00:10:02.159 so this is just like before again the sleigh 00:10:02.159 --> 00:10:05.000 bells come back as well and then we have our 00:10:05.000 --> 00:10:11.240 little ending at measure 52 we start again a 00:10:11.240 --> 00:10:13.899 terrace dynamic down everybody on pianissimo 00:10:13.899 --> 00:10:17.039 this time the snare has one two e and a three 00:10:17.039 --> 00:10:19.600 four and a one two and a three so you're building 00:10:19.600 --> 00:10:24.139 it up timpani has one two and three chimes are 00:10:24.139 --> 00:10:26.379 going crazy here at a scale going upward with 00:10:26.379 --> 00:10:30.820 the low brass and then we hit measure 54 and 00:10:30.820 --> 00:10:33.700 y 'all I think 54 to the end it's the last six 00:10:33.700 --> 00:10:35.460 measures of the piece I think it's by far the 00:10:35.460 --> 00:10:38.179 most challenging and while we always as we go 00:10:38.059 --> 00:10:40.159 through pieces. Katie and I always start at the 00:10:40.159 --> 00:10:42.279 beginning. That does not mean when you were teaching 00:10:42.279 --> 00:10:44.259 a piece to your band that you necessarily need 00:10:44.259 --> 00:10:47.620 to do that. I would probably start this one here 00:10:47.620 --> 00:10:50.340 at the end. Yeah. Like in the last two measures 00:10:50.340 --> 00:10:53.379 it's almost unison rhythm from everybody and 00:10:53.379 --> 00:10:56.240 the last two measures it has a triplet but this 00:10:56.240 --> 00:10:59.720 little section it is not hard but it's the most 00:10:59.720 --> 00:11:01.960 challenging part. Different tuning, accidentals, 00:11:02.179 --> 00:11:07.000 yeah. So it goes high people have one, four and 00:11:07.000 --> 00:11:09.639 one. and it's got a concert A natural written 00:11:09.639 --> 00:11:14.139 in and then four and one lows have rest two and 00:11:14.139 --> 00:11:18.960 three a natural rest two and two and three four 00:11:18.960 --> 00:11:22.740 one and then timpani gets featured with snare 00:11:22.740 --> 00:11:26.620 but more timpani in the second or the fourth 00:11:26.620 --> 00:11:29.080 to last and third to last measures as everybody's 00:11:29.080 --> 00:11:31.460 crescendoing and then as Laura mentioned the 00:11:31.460 --> 00:11:35.179 full group has a triplet one triple it two four 00:11:35.179 --> 00:11:37.929 and one so yeah Yeah, that rhythm's the toughest 00:11:37.929 --> 00:11:39.830 one in the whole piece. Yeah, for sure, and of 00:11:39.830 --> 00:11:40.690 course you have that entrance. But the whole 00:11:40.690 --> 00:11:43.009 band has it, which is nice. That's right, that's 00:11:43.009 --> 00:11:45.450 right. And then just that entrance on the upbeat 00:11:45.450 --> 00:11:48.929 in the low brass in measure 55. Yeah, and on 00:11:48.929 --> 00:11:51.350 the triplet, they're not changing pitches. That's 00:11:51.350 --> 00:11:53.450 right. It's the same note, so it's a concert 00:11:53.450 --> 00:11:56.610 E flat. Da da da da da da da da. Yep, so they 00:11:56.610 --> 00:11:58.769 don't have to move their fingers, they just have 00:11:58.769 --> 00:12:02.149 to articulate a triplet at that tempo. And that 00:12:02.149 --> 00:12:05.029 would be, just speaking of adding things to your 00:12:05.029 --> 00:12:07.629 fundamental exercise, That's what I would do 00:12:07.629 --> 00:12:17.110 on my like on my or Yeah, or rest rest rest Don't 00:12:17.110 --> 00:12:19.169 don't don't don't don't don't rest rest rest 00:12:19.169 --> 00:12:22.970 Whatever I mean or just call and response have 00:12:22.970 --> 00:12:24.809 woodwinds play it and the brass play That's right. 00:12:24.970 --> 00:12:27.549 You play it on your instrument and then the wood 00:12:27.549 --> 00:12:29.990 the winds play it back at you Whatever you want 00:12:29.990 --> 00:12:32.389 to do, but that way everybody's getting the style 00:12:32.389 --> 00:12:34.990 to line up and the rhythm as well. That's right 00:12:35.259 --> 00:12:38.220 This is such a fun piece. Oh, this would be so 00:12:38.220 --> 00:12:40.440 fun to program at any point in the year with 00:12:40.440 --> 00:12:42.899 your group. So we hope you will consider playing 00:12:42.899 --> 00:12:45.240 Above and Beyond in the future. And thank you 00:12:45.240 --> 00:12:49.120 for joining us on this episode of Band BFFs.