Sticky Notes: Concert Band Conductor Score & Parts

Gassi constructs this piece around a deceptively simple idea, sound built from motion, and uses it to teach rhythm and ensemble precision without ever feeling like a drill. The architecture reveals itself gradually: what starts as isolated gestures (claps, taps, clicks) coalesces into a coordinated machine, then opens into something lyrical, then surges toward a genuine climax. Your students will feel the difference between playing together and playing as one thing.

Sticky Notes captures the building momentum of kinetic energy. It opens with intimate, simple sounds—a single clap or tap that feels almost conversational—then multiplies that gesture into something powerful and undeniable. The lyrical element that emerges partway through provides breathing room and contrast, preventing the rhythmic drive from becoming relentless.

Young concert bands at the 2.5 grade level who are ready to work on ensemble listening and rhythmic cohesion but need a vehicle that keeps them engaged. This piece suits both developing musicians and those preparing for festival or contest performance.

• Isolate the opening section in sectionals before putting it together full ensemble. Let students feel how their individual sound, a single clap or tap, locks into the collective pulse.
• Conduct the rhythmic layers with clarity, especially when the lyrical motif enters above the pulse. Students need to hear where the contrast lies.
• Build the crescendo deliberately across multiple rehearsals. This is not about playing louder; it's about layering texture, so each new entrance adds weight and momentum.

Program this as a concert opener to energize the audience and showcase your ensemble's coordination, or place it mid-program as a palate cleanser between heavier works. It also works well as a festival or contest selection where the musical clarity and engaging narrative speak quickly to adjudicators.

• Ensemble rhythmic precision and synchronization
• Listening and balance between rhythmic and melodic layers
• Dynamic control and shaping through multi-section crescendos
• Awareness of how individual parts contribute to collective texture
• Stamina and focus during layered entrances