Flip, Flop and Fly: SAB Choral Octavo

Jay Althouse's arrangement captures the swagger and energy of this blues classic while keeping the voicing accessible for mixed choirs. The SAB scoring gives singers room to breathe and shine individually, and the recorded accompaniment lets even smaller programs deliver a fully realized, professional sound. This is the kind of tune that gets audiences smiling from the first downbeat.

Playful and driving. The arrangement bounces with the infectious rhythm of early 1950s R&B, complete with the hip-swaying groove that made the original a hit. There's a lightness here, not a heavy hand; the Althouse setting lets the tune's personality shine through with modern arrangement sophistication and vintage charm in equal measure.

Choirs of mixed voices (SAB) looking for a high-energy secular piece with movie and pop culture recognition. This works equally well for high school choirs building confidence in blues and swing styles, church choirs seeking contemporary material with cross-generational appeal, and community or college groups wanting to program something that lands immediately with audiences.

• Lean into the swing feel. The groove matters more than metronomic precision; encourage singers to listen to the recorded accompaniment and lock into its pocket rather than fight against it.
• Balance the comedic character without overselling it. These lyrics have personality, but the arrangement swings hard enough that genuine musicality reads as fun without caricature.
• Use the SAB voicing to create call-and-response moments between sections. Althouse likely built in opportunities for Sopranos and Altos to trade phrases with Basses; highlight those conversations in rehearsal.
• Check intonation carefully during the blues passages. The blues scale and chromatic inflections can drift if singers aren't listening actively to the harmonic movement around them.

This fits naturally into a set celebrating American popular song or twentieth-century musical traditions. Program it after a ballad to energize an audience, or build a medley of movie and pop culture music that includes this crowd pleaser. The recorded accompaniment makes it practical for concerts of all sizes, and its 12-page length keeps rehearsal time manageable while delivering outsized impact.

• Singing swing rhythm and syncopation in a blues-influenced style
• Interpreting jazz phrasing and articulation in a choral context
• Reading and performing SAB voicing with independent part confidence
• Listening to and locking in with a recorded accompaniment while maintaining individual vocal line integrity