The Twelve Days of Christmas

This well-known Christmas selection will be a great addition to a concert program. It is at a level easily accessible to middle school students grades 6-8, students having been playing for about two years or more. Educational aspects include trills, rest counting, time signature changes, entrances after an eighth rest, melody, and countermelodic passages. The piano part is optional but will be useful with small bands and those with incomplete instrumentation.