Anybody Home? is a theatrical orchestral piece that adds a speaker to the mix. It acts out a scenario of that childhood experience of knocking on the door of a strange house and feeling
Birds in Flight musically imitates the flapping wings of a flocks of birds. As the basses play an ostinato, reminiscent of though easier than the Pachelbel Cannon, the other
Child's Play contains children's games and is relatively easy (as in the expression "child's play"), yet it explores various rhythms, as well as playing on offbeats and coming in mid measure
There have been many violin concertos, and there have been many pieces for school orchestra, but there has never been a concerto for school orchestra featuring the orchestra teacher! However, the most
The narrator tells the joke then the orchestra "acts out" the concept. The first, with its steady dotted rhythm, represents jumping rope. The second imitates a helicopter. Dissonance is used throughout but
Eine Kleine Fun Musik is based on the first movement of the beloved Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, but goes into far-flung territories that would probably have surprised and delighted
The mood of Full Scale Assault is one of attack. Technically it explores full scales (up to two octaves) and scale fragments in the Dorian mode. It also explores note values of eighth, triplet and sixteenth
Inspired by Beethoven's 5th, in which he uses a short phrase in a myriad of ways, Give Me Five finds a mini-myriad of ways to incorporate 5, including the time signature. Technically - all
The High Low Waltz addresses the fundamental issue of moving between F and F#, which entails using the high and low 1st finger on violin and the high and low 2nd finger on violin and viola,
The use of the pick by the whole orchestra (optional for bass) is a prominent feature of Let's Jam!. All instruments should be held celtar (guitar) style (optional for bass). Most of the writing is
This piece can't figure out what it is. But this indecision provides the chance to practice from moving from F to F# and back. The occasional excursion into Eb provides practice for the low 1st finger.
The unifying principle of Open Sesame is the fact that the whole piece was composed using only open strings! This makes it easy in that it doesn't use the left hand, but there are challenges
Porcui the Porcupine is an unusual yet fulfilling piece that creates modernistic soundscapes. The strangeness of the rhythmical sounds creates the somewhat unnerving impression of a porcupine
The Restful March is aptly named because it is a march full of rests! It is a fun and educational piece for beginners who can play the notes of the D major scale. It combines patterns that follow
The Sky is Falling is based on the traditional children's story of the same name about a character known as Chicken Little (aka Henny Penny) who, when hit by an acorn, thought the sky was
This music is meant to sound like the flying meanderings of a bee. As the piece progresses the bee becomes more and more annoying. Finally, the slap on the music stands represents a swat, and the unison
Though considered in Medieval times "the devil in music" the tritone is widely used in modern music. Tritone Mischief provides an opportunity to practice this important interval and the finger
A Walk in the Park is ..."a walk in the park" (easy)! But it is also a virtual walk in the park! With all instruments in 1st position, we hear a strolling theme built on the pentatonic scale,