Pick Up the Pieces: Choral SoundPax
By Roger Ball, Malcolm Duncan, Alan Gorrie, Hamish Stuart, Robbie McIntosh, and Owen McIntyre / arr. Jay Althouse
Item: 00-PK-0004023
$25.00
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Description
Scat your way to success with this inventive vocal setting of the '70s favorite, an instrumental soul classic by the Average White Band. May be performed a cappella, with piano, or with the rhythmic SoundTrax CD. SoundPax includes rhy.
Don't just read it, hear it, play along with it, and watch your students grow with it. In MakeMusic Cloud, Pick Up the Pieces: Choral SoundPax comes alive with professional accompaniment, adjustable tempo, and built-in practice tools that turn solo practice into real progress.
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Additional Details
Series:
Alfred Pop Choral Series
Publisher:
Alfred Music
Page Count:
12
SKU:
00-PK-0004023
Instrumentation:
SoundPax
More about this title
About the Composer: Roger Ball
Roger Ball is a Scottish musician and founding member of the Average White Band, the funk and soul ensemble that defined a generation of groove-based music in the 1970s. As keyboardist and primary composer for the band, Ball helped craft the infectious rhythmic signatures and instrumental arrangements that made songs like "Pick Up the Pieces" enduring classics of the soul-funk canon.
Why we love this
This arrangement captures the irresistible grooviness of an undeniable hit while giving your choir something genuinely fun to sing. The scat writing feels playful rather than gimmicky, and the flexibility to perform a cappella, with piano, or with the recorded accompaniment means you can adapt it to whatever resources your ensemble has on hand.
What to expect
Funky, infectious, and utterly conversational. The scat syllables sit comfortably in the voice and invite the kind of playful energy that reminds singers why they love ensemble music in the first place. It feels like a straight-ahead soul groove filtered through an ensemble that knows how to have fun together.
Who it's for
Choirs looking to program something contemporary and immediately engaging, from good high school ensembles through adult community choirs. This works best for groups with at least basic rhythmic confidence and a willingness to embrace a more percussive, groove-based approach to singing.
How to get the most out of it
- Lock the rhythmic pocket with your rhythm section or accompaniment track before focusing on blend. This music lives in precision and swing feel, not perfection of tuning.
- Approach the scat syllables as percussive and articulate rather than lyrical. Crisp consonants and rhythmic clarity matter more than legit singing here.
- Let the recorded SoundTrax guide your tempo and groove reference, especially in early rehearsals. The chart will settle much faster once singers internalize the funk foundation underneath.
- Balance energy between the scat sections and any sung text. The contrast will make both elements land harder.
How to use it
Program this for a set that celebrates popular song and musical crossover, or use it as a high-energy closer that gets audiences on their feet. It pairs well with other pop and contemporary selections and provides welcome stylistic variety in a traditional concert flow.
Skills your students will build
- Scat singing and syllabic vocabulary
- Reading syncopated rhythms in a funk idiom
- Maintaining groove pocket and swing feel within an ensemble
- Blending articulate consonants in ensemble scat writing
- Responding to rhythmic accompaniment and recorded tracks