All Around the Circle: Concert Band Conductor Score

The familiar Newfoundland melody carries warmth and character, but the quartal harmonies beneath it create an unexpected modern brightness. The piece feels both grounded in tradition and refreshingly contemporary.

Conductors working with Grade 3 concert bands who want to build harmonic awareness without overwhelming ensemble members. This score serves students ready to move beyond tertian harmony into more sophisticated vertical thinking.

• Balance the quartal harmonies carefully during rehearsals by having students sing their harmonic intervals aloud. This trains the ear to hear fourths as stable, complete sonorities rather than unresolved suspensions.
• Bring out the folk melody in the appropriate sections so the quartal harmonies read as creative reharmonization rather than compositional experimentation. The familiar tune grounds the harmonic innovation.
• Pay attention to blend across the woodwind and brass sections, since the quartal chords need consistency in timbre to project the intended color. Uneven doublings will muddy the harmonic effect.

Program this early in a concert where you want to spark curiosity about harmony before moving into more conventional arrangements. It works particularly well when paired with a traditional tertian-based folk arrangement, since the contrast will make both harmonies more audible to your audience.

• Identifying and performing quartal harmonies
• Hearing fourths as complete chords rather than suspensions
• Balancing reharmonized melodies with ensemble texture
• Reading contemporary approaches to folk material