George M. Cohan Americana: Concert Band Conductor Score & Parts
By George M. Cohan / Arranged by David Bobrowitz
Grade: 2
Item: 35-PK01708944
$55.00
Pickup currently not available
Buy Extra Parts (Digital PDF Download)
Parts Added to Cart!
Description
The music of George M. Cohan is timelessly American and unsentimentally patriotic. Delighting audiences for years, his works revel in the delight of all that is America. This collection includes YANKEE DOODLE DANDY, GIVE MY REGARDS TO BROADWAY, and YOU'RE A GRAND OLD FLAG.
George M. Cohan Americana: Concert Band Conductor Score & Parts isn't in MakeMusic Cloud just yet...but it could be. Let us know you'd like to see it, and you'll help shape what comes next. In the meantime, start a free trial and dive into thousands of interactive titles your students can play along with today.
Request This Title
Tell us you want it.
Start Your Free Trial
Explore everything that's ready to play right now.
Sample Audio
No sample audio found.
Sample Video
No sample videos found.
Additional Details
Publisher:
Hal Leonard
SKU:
35-PK01708944
More about this title
About the Composer: George M. Cohan
George M. Cohan (1878-1942) was a performer, playwright, and composer who dominated American musical theater in the early 20th century. His gift for melody and his instinct for what audiences wanted made him one of the most commercially successful songwriters of his era, with a catalog that became the soundtrack to American optimism and national pride.
Cohan's compositions capture a distinctly American vernacular. Rather than aspiring to European operatic sophistication, his melodies sit naturally in the voice and band, his harmonies are straightforward and direct, and his rhythms pulse with the energy of vaudeville and popular song. These qualities have kept his work vital in the concert band repertoire for generations.
Why we love this
Cohan's three most recognizable songs arrive in an arrangement that respects their melodic identity while giving the full band genuine musical work. Bobrowitz's scoring avoids oversaturation; the tunes breathe, the parts serve the songs, and students encounter real patriotic sentiment rather than bombast. At Grade 2, this collection functions as both crowd pleaser and solid pedagogical choice.
What to expect
Sunny, unpretentious, and genuinely joyful. These melodies have survived because they embody an unironic celebration of place and people. The arrangement lets that warmth come through without artifice or unnecessary complexity.
Who it's for
Directors seeking accessible patriotic repertoire that doesn't condescend to younger or developing ensembles. Bands wanting to program recognizable Americana that audiences will connect with instantly, while still offering substantive arranging and genuine playing challenges.
How to get the most out of it
- Shape the opening statement of each melody with slight dynamic swells at the peak phrases; these tunes reward gentle phrasing rather than metronomic uniformity.
- Attend to the march character in the rhythmic figurations, especially in the lower voices. A crisp, lifted articulation in the accompaniment patterns will anchor the forward motion.
- Balance the melody across sections. These pieces live or die by transparency of tune, so check that your solo voices can be heard over the harmonic support.
- Resist the urge to drag the tempo in the softer moments. Cohan's melodies stay afloat on steady pulse, not rubato.
How to use it
Pair these songs on a patriotic or Americana concert, or use them as a centerpiece for a pops program where audience familiarity enhances ensemble confidence. Early in the season, this collection builds morale and demonstrates that concert band music can be both musically sound and immediately gratifying.
Skills your students will build
- Balancing solo lines over harmonic accompaniment patterns
- Maintaining steady pulse in march and dance rhythms
- Phrasing melody in period-appropriate style without sentimentality
- Reading basic concert band instrumentation and ranges