The Dreaded Devious Diabolical Dotted Dragon: B-flat Tenor Saxophone
By Nathan Farrell
Grade: 1.5
Item: 00-PC-0018822_TX1
$3.00
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Description
From the creative mind of Nathan Farrell, The Dreaded Devious Diabolical Dotted Dragon will light your band room up with dragon fire! Knight your students with the armor of subdivision and attack the dreaded dotted quarter note! Protect the villagers with intriguing percussion colors and fun yet surprisingly simple melodic lines. Designed to engage each section of the band with intuitive rhythms that take the bite out of the "dot," your students will love this epic musical quest. (1:50)
Don't just read it, hear it, play along with it, and watch your students grow with it. In MakeMusic Cloud, The Dreaded Devious Diabolical Dotted Dragon: B-flat Tenor Saxophone 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:
Belwin Beginning Band
Publisher:
Alfred Music
SKU:
00-PC-0018822_TX1
More about this title
About the Composer: Nathan Farrell
Nathan Farrell has spent nearly three decades in music education, building a reputation for compositions that balance pedagogical clarity with genuine musical personality. His works appear on rosters from Curnow Music Press, Excelcia Music Publishing, The Salvation Army, and Alfred Music, and he studied composition with James Curnow at Asbury University before earning his Master of Education from the University of South Florida.
Farrell's contributions to music education extend beyond the concert hall. He has led the marching band program at Northside Christian School to nine Florida Marching Band Championships titles and earned induction into the Florida Marching Band Championship Hall of Fame. A member of the Florida Bandmasters Association, his concert works have appeared on the J.W. Pepper Editor's Choice List, and his "Fanfare Brillante" served as a test piece for the International Trombone Association quartet contest. His classroom approach emphasizes innovation and engagement, qualities that animate every score he writes.
Why we love this
Farrell's dragon-slaying narrative wraps a genuine pedagogical mission in irresistible storytelling. The piece targets dotted quarter notes with precision and wit, building subdivision confidence through percussion colors and rhythmic clarity rather than repetitive drill. Your students will ask to play it again.
What to expect
Heroic and playful in equal measure. The piece balances dragon-sized ambition with student-friendly execution, delivering moments of orchestral color and rhythmic momentum that make a 1:50 runtime feel like an epic adventure. There's swagger in the percussion writing and genuine musicality in the lines, never talking down to young musicians.
Who it's for
Beginning and early intermediate bands (Grade 1.5) tackling dotted quarter notes without fear. Directors who want their students to engage musically while conquering a specific rhythmic challenge will find this piece rewarding, as will programs preparing for contest or festival performance.
How to get the most out of it
- Establish the subdivision clearly in rehearsal before introducing the dotted rhythms. Have students tap eighth notes silently while the section plays the dotted pattern to lock the relationship.
- Balance the melodic lines across sections so no single voice dominates the "quest." The intuitiveness of the writing means your parts can blend naturally if you avoid over-doubling.
- Lean into the percussion colors as textural markers. These aren't decorative; they underscore the story and give your rhythm section ownership of the narrative arc.
- Keep the tempo steady and deliberate. The dotted figures need space to breathe, and rushing will undermine the rhythmic clarity students are building.
How to use it
Feature this as a contest or festival selection where both musical interest and pedagogical purpose matter. It also works beautifully as a mid-season confidence builder when introducing dotted rhythms across the ensemble, or as a spring concert opener that establishes energy and engagement from the first phrase.
Skills your students will build
- Dotted quarter note subdivision in varied rhythmic contexts
- Reading and balancing melody across multiple band sections
- Responding to percussion color and textural cues
- Maintaining rhythmic accuracy at steady tempos
- Understanding notation and rhythmic clarity in early repertoire