Earth Wind & Fire Best Of

This collection captures the infectious grooves and lush orchestration that made Earth, Wind & Fire essential listening. The arrangements honor the original recordings while offering players a chance to inhabit some of the most joyful and musically complex material in the popular music canon.

Warm, propulsive, and celebratory. These arrangements capture the precision and joy of one of music's greatest bands, blending tight funk fundamentals with moments of genuine sophistication and soul.

This book works for advanced high school bands, community ensembles, and college jazz programs looking to program contemporary funk-soul that has real substance. Players who've mastered fundamentals will find rewarding ensemble and solo challenges here.

• Locked-in rhythm section is non-negotiable; the pocket changes everything about how the horns and reeds sit in these grooves.
• The horn lines often sit in unison or tight harmony; drill intonation from the start, especially in the upper register where these parts tend to live.
• Pay attention to the dynamic contours marked in the score; Earth, Wind & Fire's power comes as much from when they pull back as when they're full out.
• Let the percussion section breathe; these songs have room for subtle cymbal work and syncopated hi-hat figures that color the entire sound.

Use this collection as a concert closer that leaves audiences on their feet, or program individual selections throughout the year as a way to broaden your band's stylistic range. The 88 pages give directors real options for building a contemporary set that still demands serious musicianship.

• Reading syncopated rhythms across 16th-note subdivisions
• Ensemble articulation in funk and soul styles
• Layered horn section balance and blend
• Rhythmic precision in the context of groove-based music
• Listening and responding to rhythm section changes in real time