There'll Be Some Changes Made: SSA Choral Octavo

Shaw's arrangement captures the swagger of this jazz standard while keeping SSA voicing accessible and fun. The part writing invites genuine jazz phrasing without requiring your singers to have prior vocal jazz experience; the rhythmic elasticity feels natural rather than imposed.

Sophisticated without pretension. The piece swings with period charm, full of the kind of good-natured wit you hear in a classic jazz vocal group. It feels conversational and rhythmically playful, like your singers are having a musical inside joke with the audience.

SSA choirs ready to explore jazz repertoire with style and substance. This works for high school ensembles with some singing maturity and for college or community choirs seeking a relatively short, high-impact addition to their season.

• Pay attention to the swing eighth-note feel. Have your singers listen to a classic recording first, then practice the rhythmic placement as an ensemble before layering in lyrics.
• Shape the phrases conversationally rather than in rigid 4-bar units. Let the text and harmonic resolutions guide your phrasing decisions.
• Encourage your singers to exaggerate articulation on the syncopated moments. This clarity makes the jazz idiom land with confidence.
• Balance the soloists and section singing. The arrangement likely features moments where individual voices step forward; rehearse those entrances so they feel like spontaneous interjections, not cued events.

Slot this into a concert that mixes eras and genres. It pairs well with both traditional standards and contemporary pop arrangements, and its 11-page footprint means it won't dominate your rehearsal calendar. Consider programming it as a palate cleanser in the second half, where audiences expect a mood shift.

• Swing rhythm interpretation and eighth-note feel
• Syncopated rhythm reading and execution
• Jazz phrasing and lyrical interpretation
• Ensemble blend in SSA texture with jazz idiom
• Solo and section balance in a vocal jazz context