Feel It Still: Flex Ensemble Conductor Score & Parts

The retro pop vocabulary here feels fresh without requiring your ensemble to master complex modern production techniques. Michael Brown's arrangement captures the song's infectious groove and memorable melody while keeping parts accessible enough that 2-3 level players can lock into the pocket quickly and build confidence.

Bright, propulsive, and immediately hummable. The arrangement maintains the song's retro pop charm with driving rhythms and a melody that sticks with listeners from the first phrase. There's an infectious energy here that energizes both performers and audiences.

Directors programming a pops concert who want something current and engaging without requiring advanced technical demands. Middle school and early high school ensembles benefit from repertoire that feels relevant to their world while building fundamental ensemble skills.

• Nail the bass riff early in rehearsals. It's the anchor of the arrangement, and once your lower voices own it, everything else snaps into place.
• Lean into the rhythmic precision of the pop style rather than treating this as concert band fare. Think groove and pocket rather than classical phrasing.
• Balance the catchy melody line so it cuts through without drowning out the supporting parts; this is ensemble writing, not a solo feature.
• Use a steady tempo and let the recorded accompaniment (if available) establish the feel for your students during early learning stages.

Perfect as a closer to a pops concert or a palate cleanser between heavier concert works. The flexible instrumentation means you can program it whether you're running a full band concert or a smaller ensemble setting, making it ideal for spring concert season when you want contemporary music that draws families to the auditorium.

• Maintaining steady rhythmic pulse in a groove-based style
• Balancing melody against rhythmic accompaniment
• Reading for flexible/non-traditional instrumentation
• Responding to pop and rock stylistic conventions (articulation, phrasing, dynamics)