Flip, Flop and Fly: Choral Octavo SoundTrax CD

Jay Althouse's arrangement honors the original's swagger while making it accessible for high school and college choirs. The swinging feel gives singers genuine fun to play with, and the arrangement sits comfortably for mixed voices while letting the infectious groove do the heavy lifting. Audiences recognize it immediately, and that connection between stage and seat energizes any concert.

Pure joy wrapped in a blues shuffle. The melody bounces with playful mischief, the harmonies swing easy, and the whole thing invites listeners to tap their feet and smile. It's confident without being slick, energetic without being frantic.

High school and college choirs looking for contemporary repertoire that connects to popular music history. This piece works equally well for groups seeking accessible, fun concert material and for programs introducing students to blues form and swung rhythms in a secular context.

• Let the rhythm section lock the groove early in rehearsal. Once the piano, bass, and drums establish the pocket, the choral sound will settle naturally into the swing feel.
• Shape the phrasing around the lyrical hooks rather than phrase marks. These melodies are meant to bounce and breathe with conversational ease, not classical legit singing.
• Balance the parts so the melody cuts through without drowning out the harmonic color underneath. This arrangement has genuine voice-leading; it deserves to be heard.
• Use the recorded accompaniment in early rehearsals to establish the style and tempo. The reference tracks set the groove expectation clearly.

Program this as an opener or second piece to signal a lighter, more contemporary turn in your concert. It pairs naturally with other pop or rock-influenced choral arrangements and gives audiences permission to enjoy music-making that's both skillful and genuinely fun. It also works as a standalone feature on a pop or jazz-themed concert.

• swung eighth-note rhythms and blues shuffle feel
• reading and singing jazz voicings and blues harmony
• phrasing around lyrical content rather than bar lines
• interpreting style markings for popular and blues idioms
• ensemble balance in an accompaniment-driven arrangement