Short Cuts for Beginning Band -- #3: Concert Band Conductor Score

Story builds each piece around a single, teachable concept, so your students focus on one technical goal at a time while playing music they actually want to play. The four selections here cover essential early-band skills (divisi mallets, articulation, legato, rock style) without feeling like isolated exercises. Your band gets 4:30 of genuine performance material that works in concert and keeps rehearsals energized.

These are spirited, groove-oriented arrangements that bring contemporary energy to the rehearsal hall. You'll hear your students' enthusiasm grow as they recognize the songs, but you'll also hear the care Story took in the voice writing and the clarity of each part's role in the ensemble.

This conductor score is for beginning band directors teaching Grade 1 musicians who are ready for familiar, engaging repertoire that reinforces core technique. Your band will benefit from playing recognizable pop and jazz standards while building specific skills in a transparent, purposeful way.

• Balance the mallet articulation in Gimme Some Lovin' by having percussionists practice the divisi passage slowly and count subdivisions together before bringing it up to tempo.
• In It Don't Mean a Thing, mark the articulation syllables above each note so the articulation style stays consistent across the entire ensemble, especially where the style shifts between short and connected.
• Shape the dynamic contours in Theme from Ice Castles by having players find where their part peaks and where it relaxes, then use that shape to inform their breath support and tone production throughout.
• Lock the rock rhythm section in Any Way You Want It by rehearsing the bass line, snare, and kick drum pattern as a unit before layering in the rest of the band.

Program this collection in an early-season pops concert to showcase your band's foundation work, or use individual pieces across the first semester as technical reinforcement in rehearsal. The variety in style and instrumentation means you can select pieces strategically to address gaps as your band develops.

• Divisi multi-mallet percussion playing
• Articulation consistency across the ensemble (staccato, accent, legato)
• Legato phrasing and dynamic shaping
• Rock style rhythmic feel and repeated-note articulation
• Ensemble balance and rhythmic unison