WEBVTT 00:00:06.700 --> 00:00:10.320 Welcome to our podcast, Band BFFs. The podcast 00:00:10.320 --> 00:00:12.580 where we make your music selection less complicated. 00:00:12.900 --> 00:00:14.859 On today's episode, we are going to be discussing 00:00:14.859 --> 00:00:18.059 Panther Rising by Michael Sweeney. Cheers to 00:00:18.059 --> 00:00:22.300 starting the conversation. This is an adorable 00:00:22.300 --> 00:00:24.719 little programmatic piece that is in the key 00:00:24.719 --> 00:00:28.359 of E flat or C minor throughout. It's in 4 -4, 00:00:28.839 --> 00:00:34.179 two minutes in length, limited range, unison, 00:00:34.380 --> 00:00:37.439 low brass, low reed part, not a ton of percussion. 00:00:37.539 --> 00:00:39.500 Katie and I were just discussing, I kind of, 00:00:39.659 --> 00:00:41.500 I like how the percussion is written in this. 00:00:41.719 --> 00:00:44.560 You could do it, you might have to move some 00:00:44.560 --> 00:00:46.140 people around on parts, you could do it with 00:00:46.140 --> 00:00:48.759 as few as four percussionists, five is your safest 00:00:48.759 --> 00:00:52.579 number, but this is written to be snares off 00:00:52.579 --> 00:00:55.359 for a lot so it actually if you have a larger 00:00:55.359 --> 00:00:58.200 percussion section you can put more kids on that 00:00:58.200 --> 00:01:00.159 snare part with snares off and it's not gonna 00:01:00.159 --> 00:01:02.439 overwhelm an ensemble the same way. Yeah and 00:01:02.439 --> 00:01:05.219 there's an advanced percussion part and a regular 00:01:05.219 --> 00:01:07.659 percussion part so if you have a really... Which 00:01:07.659 --> 00:01:10.780 I am a huge fan of composers doing with lower 00:01:10.780 --> 00:01:13.040 music like this. Yeah it definitely helps with 00:01:13.040 --> 00:01:16.120 the kids ability levels. Like when I heard this 00:01:16.120 --> 00:01:18.359 for the first time I told Katie I was like I 00:01:18.359 --> 00:01:20.879 love it because the percussion it sounds like 00:01:20.879 --> 00:01:23.159 the percussion parts are even more like more 00:01:23.159 --> 00:01:25.500 advanced than the rest of the band and often 00:01:25.500 --> 00:01:28.680 in a younger ensemble you find that being the 00:01:28.680 --> 00:01:31.239 case your your percussionists are capable of 00:01:31.239 --> 00:01:34.980 maybe a little bit more challenging lit for that 00:01:34.980 --> 00:01:37.579 level than what the wind players may be so this 00:01:37.579 --> 00:01:40.719 is very smartly right yes it is written to be 00:01:40.719 --> 00:01:45.400 about 140 on the metronome so pretty fast and 00:01:45.400 --> 00:01:48.659 quick and this is a great piece for any middle 00:01:48.659 --> 00:01:52.000 school band for sure. You could program it because 00:01:52.000 --> 00:01:54.400 it kind of sounds a little dark and spooky for 00:01:54.400 --> 00:01:57.400 like a fall concert if you wanted to. You could 00:01:57.400 --> 00:01:59.980 also just do it as a fun piece in the spring. 00:02:00.840 --> 00:02:04.000 So it's got a lot of different uses. If your 00:02:04.000 --> 00:02:06.599 mascot is a panther, I mean come on. It's like 00:02:06.599 --> 00:02:10.960 perfect for you, yes. So what I like about this 00:02:10.960 --> 00:02:13.500 piece is there's so many different teaching elements 00:02:13.500 --> 00:02:17.520 and one of those is that it has a lot of starts, 00:02:17.659 --> 00:02:21.469 mezzo, and has a little four beat crescendo to 00:02:21.469 --> 00:02:24.449 two eighth notes. That little theme comes back 00:02:24.449 --> 00:02:25.969 over and over and over throughout this piece. 00:02:26.349 --> 00:02:29.189 This is a great way. And often unison, right? 00:02:29.289 --> 00:02:32.930 Yeah, it's a unison note. It reminds me, I thought 00:02:32.930 --> 00:02:35.090 this when we were listening to it, it reminds 00:02:35.090 --> 00:02:38.689 me that part, the whole notes that crescendo 00:02:38.689 --> 00:02:40.710 with the whole ensemble reminds me of dance celebration. 00:02:40.750 --> 00:02:43.159 Yeah, I knew you were gonna say that. I mean, 00:02:43.360 --> 00:02:45.580 it's kind of like that, but this piece is is 00:02:45.580 --> 00:02:47.939 a little bit more updated. Yeah. Oh, for sure. 00:02:48.139 --> 00:02:51.060 For sure. So but it's that's a that's a skill 00:02:51.060 --> 00:02:53.080 you have to teach kids how to do. Right. Like 00:02:53.080 --> 00:02:55.180 here's how. First of all, here's how to play 00:02:55.180 --> 00:02:58.060 a concert, see in tune, learn how to use your 00:02:58.060 --> 00:02:59.939 kick slide on the trumpet, you know, stuff like 00:02:59.939 --> 00:03:03.759 that. But then. it's like, here's how to crescendo 00:03:03.759 --> 00:03:07.219 it without it going incredibly sharp. And that's 00:03:07.219 --> 00:03:09.280 a skill that you have to teach no matter the 00:03:09.280 --> 00:03:12.120 level of the band. And so the fact that that 00:03:12.120 --> 00:03:14.900 comes back over and over and over, you can, of 00:03:14.900 --> 00:03:17.219 course, teach that on a concert F. Yeah, working 00:03:17.219 --> 00:03:19.539 into your daily drill. Yeah, do it on, like, 00:03:19.599 --> 00:03:25.139 just on F descending. Just da, da, da, da, da, 00:03:25.139 --> 00:03:28.659 da. you know whatever and and then that way they 00:03:28.659 --> 00:03:31.460 kind of understand like how to tune how to crescendo 00:03:31.460 --> 00:03:34.259 without letting the tuning go haywire but anyway 00:03:34.259 --> 00:03:36.099 that's one of my favorite elements of this piece 00:03:36.099 --> 00:03:39.139 and it starts out that way with a four beat crescendo 00:03:39.139 --> 00:03:42.659 going into um eighth notes now i'm not singing 00:03:42.659 --> 00:03:50.639 a d anymore but and then drums that's exactly 00:03:50.639 --> 00:03:52.580 how the drums sound by the way i mean yeah that 00:03:52.580 --> 00:03:55.900 is what it sounds like yeah um and yes the timpani 00:03:55.900 --> 00:03:59.400 part, they do sound like that. So then the band 00:03:59.400 --> 00:04:02.319 comes in with some just quarter notes and half 00:04:02.319 --> 00:04:06.080 notes with accents. So again, this is another 00:04:06.080 --> 00:04:07.680 great way to teach a little bit of - A lot of 00:04:07.680 --> 00:04:08.800 accents written in there, yeah. Yeah, yeah, a 00:04:08.800 --> 00:04:12.800 little bit of style, but not like, it's all accents. 00:04:12.879 --> 00:04:15.020 So it's not like an accent and then a staccato 00:04:15.020 --> 00:04:18.540 and it's all the same style. And so they're all 00:04:18.540 --> 00:04:21.019 doing accented quarter notes, crescendoing again. 00:04:21.360 --> 00:04:24.600 Then we get this like cool effect of like building 00:04:24.600 --> 00:04:28.100 up like half note chords. Yeah, it's like a reverse 00:04:28.100 --> 00:04:31.040 waterfall. We make it to measure seven and instead 00:04:31.040 --> 00:04:33.100 of it starting at the top and descending and 00:04:33.100 --> 00:04:34.899 trickling down, we kind of start at the bottom 00:04:34.899 --> 00:04:37.339 and build up in this half note reverse waterfall. 00:04:37.680 --> 00:04:39.779 And they kind of do these little hits and then 00:04:39.779 --> 00:04:41.920 the lows again and then the hits and the upper 00:04:41.920 --> 00:04:45.060 people. And then we all kind of land on a chord 00:04:45.060 --> 00:04:50.009 in measure 11. the drums have a really cool part. 00:04:50.209 --> 00:04:53.209 Again, Laura mentioned it snares off in the advanced 00:04:53.209 --> 00:04:56.290 part and in the regular part. And so they kind 00:04:56.290 --> 00:04:59.250 of start this little cool groove, which also 00:04:59.250 --> 00:05:01.790 kind of is a little bit dance celebration -esque, 00:05:01.790 --> 00:05:05.449 I guess. And then, you know, the advanced snare 00:05:05.449 --> 00:05:08.050 part has 16th notes in it. The regular one just 00:05:08.050 --> 00:05:12.209 has eighth notes. When we get to 13, the clarinets 00:05:12.209 --> 00:05:15.069 and the saxes take over for a lovely little melody 00:05:15.069 --> 00:05:17.740 part. The range of this, first of all, the color 00:05:17.740 --> 00:05:19.680 of clarinets and saxes together is always gonna 00:05:19.680 --> 00:05:23.800 be really nice, right? We get some dotted half 00:05:23.800 --> 00:05:26.939 note action in here, which I like, and you're 00:05:26.939 --> 00:05:28.720 gonna see coming up there's even a little bit 00:05:28.720 --> 00:05:31.579 of syncopated dotted quarter stuff. I feel like 00:05:31.579 --> 00:05:34.819 we cover the basses with all of those pretty 00:05:34.819 --> 00:05:38.199 simple rhythms, but nothing is over complicated, 00:05:38.399 --> 00:05:41.420 right? So this melody is really nice, kind of 00:05:41.420 --> 00:05:44.839 calm sounding. It's kind of... No accents anymore. 00:05:45.120 --> 00:05:48.040 Yes. no accents, it's written mezzo forte. Percussion 00:05:48.040 --> 00:05:50.180 are still going, kind of keeping a groove behind 00:05:50.180 --> 00:05:52.379 it, but otherwise we just have this nice easy 00:05:52.379 --> 00:05:55.939 melody flowing in the clarinets and saxes. They 00:05:55.939 --> 00:05:58.899 lay on this for eight measures before we add 00:05:58.899 --> 00:06:01.839 in the rest of the ensemble. The flutes and oboes 00:06:01.839 --> 00:06:05.399 and trumpets join them on that same melody at 00:06:05.399 --> 00:06:09.319 measure 20, is that 21? At measure 21, and then 00:06:09.319 --> 00:06:12.360 we add the cool syncopated accompaniment part, 00:06:12.379 --> 00:06:16.060 so all of the tenor and bass voices. add in on 00:06:16.060 --> 00:06:23.120 this one and one three one and which it's again 00:06:23.120 --> 00:06:26.360 it's a dotted quarter rhythm that's tied so the 00:06:26.360 --> 00:06:29.199 syncopation is you know it's something you'll 00:06:29.199 --> 00:06:31.899 have to review with them but it's the same throughout 00:06:31.899 --> 00:06:34.740 the entire yeah and I think it's good because 00:06:34.740 --> 00:06:37.959 like reviewing dotted quarter notes at any point 00:06:37.959 --> 00:06:39.920 in the year is really helpful and especially 00:06:39.920 --> 00:06:42.399 like if you were to program this for a beginner 00:06:42.399 --> 00:06:44.930 band at the end of the year or or like a concert 00:06:44.930 --> 00:06:47.550 band at any point during the year or even, you 00:06:47.550 --> 00:06:50.009 know, your middle band, your symphonic band at 00:06:50.009 --> 00:06:51.910 the beginning of the year to review all these 00:06:51.910 --> 00:06:55.089 different rhythms. That's such a great idea just 00:06:55.089 --> 00:06:57.209 to make sure that everybody still remembers how 00:06:57.209 --> 00:07:00.949 all of that goes. And then they continue on on 00:07:00.949 --> 00:07:02.810 this. Then we have a little decrescendo again 00:07:02.810 --> 00:07:06.149 on our favorite concert C. There is one measure 00:07:06.149 --> 00:07:10.550 where the low brass and the low reeds have one, 00:07:10.550 --> 00:07:13.870 two, three, four, and the tuning. be a bit iffy 00:07:13.870 --> 00:07:17.089 there in the trombones so just make sure that 00:07:17.089 --> 00:07:20.009 you work on letting that be really like solid 00:07:20.009 --> 00:07:22.250 because nobody else is playing there it's just 00:07:22.250 --> 00:07:24.550 four quarter notes and you're decrescendoing 00:07:24.550 --> 00:07:28.009 on them as well so that's just one little like 00:07:28.009 --> 00:07:31.259 spot to look out for that's measure 28 and then 00:07:31.259 --> 00:07:33.879 we get to 29 where we get a little bit of a new 00:07:33.879 --> 00:07:37.459 part. I love this. This changes ideas. We've 00:07:37.459 --> 00:07:39.980 incorporated eighth notes, moving eighth notes, 00:07:40.079 --> 00:07:42.379 and slurs. This is the first time where we have 00:07:42.379 --> 00:07:45.180 seen slurs in here. The melody is only in flute 00:07:45.180 --> 00:07:47.399 oboe and you get kind of a cute little counter 00:07:47.399 --> 00:07:52.079 melody in alto. There are some, this part becomes 00:07:52.079 --> 00:07:54.180 a little more independent. You have your low 00:07:54.180 --> 00:07:57.819 brass that are playing one thing that is, and 00:07:57.819 --> 00:08:00.220 the low reeds, it's completely different than 00:08:00.199 --> 00:08:03.180 the counter melody that's happening rhythmically 00:08:03.180 --> 00:08:05.860 that's happening in the alto saxes. So this part 00:08:05.860 --> 00:08:07.879 is a little bit more independent. Everybody needs 00:08:07.879 --> 00:08:09.980 to be a little more confident. And the percussion 00:08:09.980 --> 00:08:12.399 goes to playing on the rim, which they think 00:08:12.399 --> 00:08:15.220 is really fun because that's not something you 00:08:15.220 --> 00:08:17.160 always see in your music. It just makes it sound 00:08:17.160 --> 00:08:20.879 really cool. The mallet part is easier than the 00:08:20.879 --> 00:08:22.740 flute, no bow part and the clarinet part, but 00:08:22.740 --> 00:08:25.240 it is like the same. It's like the skeleton. 00:08:25.259 --> 00:08:27.060 It doesn't have all the eighth notes, but it 00:08:27.060 --> 00:08:30.180 has the big stuff. I like that there is. an opportunity 00:08:30.180 --> 00:08:32.820 for slurs in here, especially in those upper 00:08:32.820 --> 00:08:36.120 woodwinds. There's just a little bit of technique 00:08:36.120 --> 00:08:38.899 in there, which I think is good for those woodwind 00:08:38.899 --> 00:08:41.519 players. Really nice. Pretty section. It is. 00:08:41.519 --> 00:08:44.120 It's really pretty. And again, it gives you good 00:08:44.120 --> 00:08:47.279 opportunities to teach like phrasing as well. 00:08:47.620 --> 00:08:50.240 Like don't, you know, don't breathe one and two 00:08:50.240 --> 00:08:52.960 and three, four, one, two, don't breathe here. 00:08:53.039 --> 00:08:57.019 One and two and three, four, one, three, one, 00:08:57.240 --> 00:08:59.179 you know, and so you can teach them about. sneaky 00:08:59.179 --> 00:09:02.740 places to take breaths and then that same spot 00:09:02.740 --> 00:09:04.779 works in the counter melody too if you want to 00:09:04.779 --> 00:09:08.840 try to do that. The lows have like Laura mentioned 00:09:08.840 --> 00:09:11.220 just like kind of an easier part but they do 00:09:11.220 --> 00:09:13.919 have to count rests so just making sure that 00:09:13.919 --> 00:09:16.200 they've got that really in their brain. And there's 00:09:16.200 --> 00:09:19.279 a lot on that low C for the low brass like rhythms 00:09:19.279 --> 00:09:21.440 just on the same note so just making sure that 00:09:21.440 --> 00:09:23.879 they're tonguing firmly enough that you can hear 00:09:23.879 --> 00:09:28.230 the rhythm. Then the full band is in And we're 00:09:28.230 --> 00:09:31.370 getting to a whole note at 37 with another decrescendo 00:09:31.370 --> 00:09:33.429 on it. And we're going to let the drums take 00:09:33.429 --> 00:09:37.370 over again. So there's a six count decrescendo. 00:09:37.669 --> 00:09:40.509 Everybody's got a hard off on beat three. The 00:09:40.509 --> 00:09:43.409 mallet part, the bells, is the melody here. So 00:09:43.409 --> 00:09:46.340 they're doing this little. just one, two, three, 00:09:46.399 --> 00:09:49.340 four, one, two, three, four, and the snares are 00:09:49.340 --> 00:09:51.500 playing, or the toms, I'm sorry, are playing 00:09:51.500 --> 00:09:55.820 like the melody part, and the timpani has its 00:09:55.820 --> 00:09:58.240 own part as well, kind of like as if it were 00:09:58.240 --> 00:10:00.580 its own ensemble. It's a cute little percussion 00:10:00.580 --> 00:10:03.200 break. Yeah, it's for about two and a half measures. 00:10:03.679 --> 00:10:07.590 And then at 41... We go back to that kind of 00:10:07.590 --> 00:10:11.009 that flowing melody from before that was in the 00:10:11.009 --> 00:10:14.529 clarinets and the altos. But this time it's in 00:10:14.529 --> 00:10:16.909 the low brass and low reeds with the counter 00:10:16.909 --> 00:10:19.429 melody being in sax and horn. It's the first 00:10:19.429 --> 00:10:21.570 time we see accidentals, right? Yes. In the sax 00:10:21.570 --> 00:10:23.590 and horn part. Yes. We see some accidentals here 00:10:23.590 --> 00:10:25.990 for the first time. But again the range is so 00:10:25.990 --> 00:10:29.210 nice. So easy. I mean the horn part is like probably 00:10:29.210 --> 00:10:31.389 the highest note has been an A or something. 00:10:31.909 --> 00:10:35.460 The low brass part too. It's not most... it's 00:10:35.460 --> 00:10:39.019 in the staff. So that's it's wonderful to be 00:10:39.019 --> 00:10:43.149 like. either a refresher piece or an end of the 00:10:43.149 --> 00:10:45.490 year piece, maybe for a beginner group or a third 00:10:45.490 --> 00:10:47.429 group. And being able to tackle some of these 00:10:47.429 --> 00:10:48.970 other things we've talked about, some of the 00:10:48.970 --> 00:10:52.250 styles, the tuning, then exactly not having to 00:10:52.250 --> 00:10:55.529 stress about range. Yep. So it's kind of the 00:10:55.529 --> 00:10:58.710 same thing. And again, we've got some snares 00:10:58.710 --> 00:11:01.190 are back on now, but we've got like the two different 00:11:01.190 --> 00:11:03.669 parts advanced or easy. And again, you could 00:11:03.669 --> 00:11:05.250 even have two people playing those different 00:11:05.250 --> 00:11:08.450 parts at the same time. Yes, we get some more 00:11:08.450 --> 00:11:12.029 accidentals here. and then the modality changes 00:11:12.029 --> 00:11:16.029 a little bit at 49 and now the lows don't have 00:11:16.029 --> 00:11:18.490 the melody anymore we go back to the flutes having 00:11:18.490 --> 00:11:22.330 it and then the altos have it with flute this 00:11:22.330 --> 00:11:26.190 time and the trumpets get this like little like 00:11:26.190 --> 00:11:30.429 fanfare type interjection two and three and it's 00:11:30.429 --> 00:11:33.429 got accents the melody part though is still flowing 00:11:33.429 --> 00:11:37.549 then we start kind of building up with some half 00:11:37.549 --> 00:11:40.740 notes every everybody's joining in and then at 00:11:40.740 --> 00:11:44.340 57 we go back to the same thing we had at the 00:11:44.340 --> 00:11:47.779 beginning with the whole note crescendo going 00:11:47.779 --> 00:11:52.759 into the one, one hand and then the same percussion 00:11:52.759 --> 00:11:55.500 stuff. We have the same accents from before. 00:11:55.940 --> 00:11:57.720 A complete recap of the beginning. Leading up 00:11:57.720 --> 00:12:02.440 to 65 where the lows have the melody again and 00:12:02.440 --> 00:12:06.779 now flute, clarinet. horn, trumpet, and sax all 00:12:06.779 --> 00:12:09.000 have the little fanfare part from before. So 00:12:09.000 --> 00:12:11.500 this is the part where I feel like it takes everything 00:12:11.500 --> 00:12:13.879 that we did before, all the different parts, 00:12:13.940 --> 00:12:16.299 and now we're putting it all together. Yes. So 00:12:16.299 --> 00:12:18.940 you have the dotted half note melody, you have 00:12:18.940 --> 00:12:21.279 the fanfare, you've got like this is all coming 00:12:21.279 --> 00:12:24.639 together. Yep. Then the flute and the alto saxophone 00:12:24.639 --> 00:12:27.720 and oboe get to have this new part. three and 00:12:27.720 --> 00:12:30.980 four and one, and there's a slower optional two 00:12:30.980 --> 00:12:35.240 measure, like get slower, I guess, for like effect, 00:12:35.259 --> 00:12:36.500 and then it goes fast. The panther's about to 00:12:36.500 --> 00:12:38.539 pounce. Do you see what I did? Oh yeah, you did 00:12:38.539 --> 00:12:40.580 a little Katie there. Oh gosh, I did, I did. 00:12:40.820 --> 00:12:44.220 Oh my god. That's so fun. And then the last four 00:12:44.220 --> 00:12:47.000 measures are back at all tempo, so it's cute. 00:12:47.299 --> 00:12:49.539 You don't have to do the slow, like the retardando 00:12:49.539 --> 00:12:52.519 if like, you don't want your kids to have to 00:12:52.519 --> 00:12:56.139 deal with that or whatever. But then at 71, it's 00:12:56.139 --> 00:12:59.159 like, basically the very end it's got all accents 00:12:59.159 --> 00:13:03.220 and yeah the panther has pounced. One two three 00:13:03.220 --> 00:13:07.850 done. So yeah, this piece is so fun. It would 00:13:07.850 --> 00:13:11.350 be great to do with a region band. It would be 00:13:11.350 --> 00:13:15.769 great to do as it just was in our district for 00:13:15.769 --> 00:13:19.529 a summer band camp. Again, there are so many 00:13:19.529 --> 00:13:21.570 uses for it and the kids will love it because 00:13:21.570 --> 00:13:25.289 it sounds really cool. But you're having a good 00:13:25.289 --> 00:13:27.850 sneaky time teaching them all kinds of things. 00:13:27.850 --> 00:13:29.289 That's what we love. We love great pieces where 00:13:29.289 --> 00:13:31.370 we can do our sneaky teaching, yes? Yes. That's 00:13:31.370 --> 00:13:34.210 awesome. Well, we hope you will enjoy programming 00:13:34.210 --> 00:13:36.990 Panther Rising in the future. And thank you for 00:13:36.990 --> 00:13:40.789 joining us on this episode of Band BFFs.