John McAllister Music

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Transport listeners to a sun-kissed paradise with this fun, lighthearted piece for young band. With its lively melodies and rhythmic beats, this composition invites young musicians and their audiences on a musical journey to a tropical island where the warm sun shines brightly and the rhythmic swaying of palm trees sets the mood. A perfect choice for budding musicians, it offers them an opportunity to explore a variety of musical elements including expanded percussion parts and sounds, and is designed to follow most beginning band methods.

Tropical Sunshine

Concert Band Score & Parts

Engaging and exciting, this piece designed for young band players perfectly captures the essence of tango music. It highlights the harmonic and melodic components of tango, featuring musical contrasts in both style and dynamics along with characteristic weak beat accents. While not a formal tango, hence "Tangoesque," it hints at the style and elements, providing a delightful introduction to this passionate genre and showcasing the vibrant musical traditions of Argentina. Students will enjoy exploring the rhythmic and expressive nuances that make it so captivating.
 
The piece has a loosely AABA structure, with an introduction and a short development section following the B section. Each section includes moments of both melody and accompaniment, which allows for teaching balance and keeps the players engaged. There is ample opportunity to teach dynamics and dynamic contrast throughout. Fun and unique to play, it also serves as a great teaching tool for young musicians!

Tangoesque

Featuring triumphant moments and lyrical passages, this classic patriotic tune is perfect for parades, ceremonies, or concert performances. This arrangement is sure to stand out on the Fourth of July!

America the Beautiful

Marching Band Score & Parts

Building Blocks is a bright and engaging beginning band piece designed to support students in their earliest stages of music-making. Like a child stacking colorful blocks, this piece builds musical foundations one layer at a time. Using the first seven notes most commonly learned on band instruments, the music introduces essential patterns—basic notes and rhythms, scalar passages, and ascending and descending thirds—that serve as the “building blocks” of ensemble playing. 

Each section of the band—brass, woodwinds, and percussion—gets a turn to play melodic or melodic-like material, while also learning to support one another through simple harmonies and accompaniments. The brass and woodwind parts use whole notes, half notes, quarter notes, and rests, reinforcing steady rhythm reading and tone production. The percussion section adds variety and texture, while remaining accessible for first-year players. vWith its focus on fundamental scales and early harmonic patterns, Building Blocks is both educational and rewarding. Perfect for first-year concerts or classroom learning, Building Blocks offers young musicians an opportunity to stack their skills—note by note, measure by measure—into something greater than the sum of its parts.

This piece directly correlates with the Foundation Warm-Up Series. This series is designed to follow most beginning band methods. The early sets focus primarily on airflow, common patterns, and reinforcing concepts presented in the method books. As the series develops, the sets become more like a traditional band warm-up, including long tones, flexibility exercises, articulation, scale patterns, and a chorale.

Building Blocks

Amazon Explorers is a captivating and evocative composition designed for young bands, taking young musicians and audiences on a thrilling journey deep into the heart of the Amazon rainforest. With a lightly programmatic approach, the piece artfully incorporates a rich array of wooden percussion instruments, including maracas, claves, and hand drums, to emulate the soundscape of the jungle. Mallet parts should be played on available wooden instruments like xylophone or marimba.

The piece utilizes modal melodies and harmonies to create a unique texture for the beginning band. Examples include non-scalar patterns and open fifths at times. This can be beneficial to change things up for the young performer when learning various note patterns. There are no written dynamics, but add them in if the group is ready! 

This piece directly correlates with the Foundation Warm-Up Series, specifically set two. The series is designed to follow most beginning band methods. The early sets focus primarily on airflow, common patterns, and reinforcing concepts presented in the method books. As the series develops, the sets become more like a traditional band warm-up, including long tones, flexibility exercises, articulation, scale patterns, and a chorale.

Amazon Explorers

This is a fun and energetic "march style" arrangement of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game." It is written to be a Medium Easy tune that is a great way to teach march style, while utilizing the famous and popular tune. Its a great chance to teach articulations, note lengths, dynamic variations and all the other staples of march style. It could be a great concert starter or closer, especially if you were to kick off baseball season in the Spring or close it out in the Fall.

Baseball March

Lawson's Fork March is a straight-forward march for young (1st to 2nd year typically) bands. It would be a great first piece to start learning "march style." It has simple, accessible melodies, accompanied by the idiomatic low brass (all in unison) and percussion engine. It starts in the key of Eb and modulates to Ab, however it only uses accidentals and doesn't actually change the key signature. Enjoy!

Lawson's Fork March

This music is a set of warm-up chorales for concert band, offering variety when warming up one's band. Bach is the standard when it comes to chorales, and folk song chorales can add a new melodies and harmonies to the fundamentals taught during warm-up. In arranging these chorales, harmonies more idiomatic to the modern day concert band scoring are used, especially at the Grade II/III level. The folk songs included are Loch Lomond, The Parting Glass, Slumber My Darling, and Scarborough Fair.

Folk Song Chorales

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Celebrate the holidays with this fun and flexible set of beginner band duets featuring Jingle Bells, Jolly Old St. Nicholas, and Up On the Housetop! Each tune includes both a straightforward version and a lively variation, giving students the chance to build confidence before tackling a more challenging take on the melody. Written using only the first eight notes typically learned by beginning band students (Ab, A, Bb, C, D, Eb, F, and G), these duets are ideal for the first few months of playing.

The arrangements are fully adaptable and can be mix-and-matched for any combination of band instruments — woodwinds, brass, or mallet percussion — making them perfect for small groups, private lessons, or full beginner ensembles. Students will enjoy hearing how each tune fits together with any instrument pairing, while directors will appreciate the versatility and simplicity. Great for classroom use, holiday concerts, or just spreading a bit of musical cheer!

Three Adaptable Christmas Duets for Beginners

Treble Clef Instruments Duet

Hip Hop Band is an exciting tune to pump up the crowd at sporting events
  and pep rallies (and anywhere else that might need some energy). Infused with
  "hip hop" rhythmic and melodic elements, this tune is quite catchy
  and is sure to get the crowd cheering and dancing along.

Hip Hop Band

Instrument Type

"Little Rondo" is a great piece of chamber music for the young trombonist. It has a light and joyful melody with piano accompaniment (free at: https://soundcloud.com/milleniumbandmusic/little-rondo-accompaniment-free-download ). The music is in a pseudo-rondo form, with the main theme recurring throughout. This solo, achievable within the first two years of playing, would be great for any young trombonist that is venturing into the wonderful world of chamber music!

Little Rondo

Trombone Solo

Offenbach's iconic Can Can, originally from his operetta Orpheus in the Underworld, is a lively and exuberant dance piece that epitomizes the joie de vivre of 19th-century Parisian cabaret culture. Renowned for its infectious rhythm and playful melodies, this arrangement for low brass ensemble captures the energetic spirit of the Can Can, showcasing the versatility and dynamic range of the brass instruments. With its toe-tapping beats and vibrant harmonies, this rendition promises to delight audiences with its irresistible charm and timeless appeal.

This arrangement if for five low brass (4 trombone or baritones and one tuba or bass trombone).

Can Can

Brass Quintet

Classical Chorales is a set of five "classical music" pieces arranged in a chorale/teaching style for concert band. This set includes: New World Symphony (Dvorak), 1812 Overture (Tchaikovsky), Piano Concerto No. 5 (Beethoven), Abendfeier in Venedig (C. Schumann), Ave Corpus Verum (Mozart). The dynamics and specific musical markings have been stripped away to give the director/teacher the most leeway. For example, maybe you want to work only at softer mp-p-pp dynamics. Another customizable option would be to have the ensemble follow the conducting: dynamics, style/articulation, tempo, etc. 

This series aims to assist both young and old musicians in connecting with classical music. Studying and practicing these pieces can establish a sense of familiarity that may spark interest in the original compositions. And while Bach's chorales are exceptional (the industry standard!), these new arrangements can add some variety to the repertoire. 

I recommend listening to the chorales in their original setting and having a conversation about musicality and interpretation. Encouraging young musicians to listen to various recordings can help refine their listening skills. Music educators understand that music is multi-layered, and one can spend their entire life listening, learning, and reflecting. These chorales can serve as a valuable tool for developing a rich ensemble sound and further, instilling a lifelong love of music.

Classical Chorales #1

This is an arrangement of Richard Wagner's "Bridal Chorus" for Saxophone Quartet. It is practically a transcription and doesn't deviate from the original form and structure written in "Lohengrin." This classic wedding song arrangement is perfect for weddings of anybody that knows and loves saxophone players. It's also a great tune for young saxophonists (not too difficult) to practice and perform, as it is quite a recognizable tune, and they will surely get enjoyment from playing it!

Bridal Chorus

Saxophone Quartet

Dragon Warrior is a piece for beginners, as it only uses the first six
  notes typically learned on wind instruments (Concert Bb-Concert G). I wrote
  this to be a piece to get kids excited about playing their instruments and
  making music together (it's definitely not "high art"). It also
  appeals to the imagination and a lot of what we see in film/tv and video
  games these days. 
    
    
    
    If your speakers are powerful enough you can play along with a larger group
  of students using the Youtube accompaniment, maybe as a Fun Friday activity.
  For more information and resources, check out www.johnmcallistermusic.com.

Dragon Warrior

Epic Stadium is a stands tune for marching band, pep band, or other group
  seeking to entertain. This tune begins and ends strongly, with a hip-hop
  groove feel throughout. Definitely a great tune to pump up the team and add
  some great ambiance to the game!

Epic Stadium

From the Composer: 
    
    Guardian is a cinematic adventure for concert band. When crafting this
  piece, I utilized techniques common in film and video game composing. First,
  the harmonic language is that of what you might hear at the latest superhero
  blockbuster to hit the screen. An example of this is m. 28 to m. 29, going
  from a C Minor chord to an F Major chord. This major IV sound creates a
  triumphant and cinematic feel. Another technique I used is motivic
  development. The whole piece is built off three diatonically consecutive
  notes (C, D, Eb). This pattern is varied throughout-articulations, note
  length, reversed, etc-much like film composers will manipulate a leitmotif
  depending on the setting of a particular scene. I love writing for the screen
  because I get to help maximize the dramatic experience. With Guardian, you
  can take your ensemble on your own cinematic journey!

Guardian

Four Original Quartets for Young Band Musicians
This collection features four contrasting original quartets written for any combination of four band instruments, making it an extremely flexible option for mixed and like-instrument ensembles. Instrumentation may include woodwinds, brass, or mallet percussion (such as flute, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, euphonium, tuba, marimba, bells, xylophone, and more), allowing directors to easily adapt the music to their students and available players.

Designed specifically for younger and developing musicians, these quartets provide an excellent introduction to chamber music, encouraging independence, listening skills, balance, and ensemble awareness in a small-group setting. An optional percussion part (snare drum and bass drum) is also included to enhance rhythmic drive and engagement.

Each quartet contains four short movements, offering stylistic variety and focused musical goals:

Triumphantly – A bold, fanfare-like opening in a marcato, marziale style, emphasizing strong articulation and confident tone.

Lightly – A playful, staccato and buoyant movement that encourages precision, lightness, and rhythmic clarity.

Serenely – A lyrical, legato selection designed to develop sustained tone, phrasing, and expressive playing.

Majestically – A brilliant and optimistic finale with strong accents and rich harmonies, providing a satisfying and confident conclusion.

This set is part of the Four Quartets for All Series and may be combined with corresponding quartets in other transpositions, making it ideal for classroom use, chamber recitals, or flexible ensemble programming.

Four Adaptable Quartets

Flexible Instrumentation Quartet

Island Beeze is a light and fun piece for beginning band. Using only
  basic combinations of quarter and eighth notes, this piece is quite
  achievable by young players. The melodies and harmonies give a very island
  sound and the percussion really sells the fun. Island Breeze utilizes cabasa,
  claves, maracas, and congas--all common instruments found in band rooms. If
  needed, substitue instruments (i.e. tom drums instead of congas). Every
  section gets to play melodic passages, including the low brass. There is also
  a short percussion break with clapping to change things up a bit. Note: there
  is only one dynamic written at the beginning. If the performing ensemble is
  ready for more, add some! This piece would be a great addition to brighten up
  a young band concert!

Island Breeze

This arrangement of Up on the Housetop is for young bands at the
  beginning level. The notes and rhythms used are restricted to the (typically)
  first seven notes learned in a band method. This would be a great first
  holiday concert piece. The tambourine part can be played or doubled with
  sleigh bells. There is only one dynamic written at the beginning, but if the
  ensemble is ready for more complex dynamics, add some! This piece should be
  an enjoyable addition to a rousing holiday season!

Up on the Housetop

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