U Can't Touch This (arr. Paul Murtha): Marching Band Conductor Score & Parts

Murtha has captured the essence of what made this track unstoppable in 1990 and beyond: a relentless groove that students feel instantly, paired with a hook so simple and satisfying that audiences recognize it within the first few notes. The arrangement sits perfectly at Grade 2, giving younger ensembles access to repertoire with genuine cultural weight and contemporary energy without overwhelming their technical capabilities.

Propulsive and irresistible. The arrangement swings with the kind of low-end weight and rhythmic precision that makes students move in their stands. There's swagger built into every section change, yet the writing remains clean and transparent enough that younger players can hear their individual contribution to the larger groove.

Marching bands at the Grade 2 level looking to add energy and pop cultural relevance to their season without sacrificing musicianship. This arrangement works equally well for groups building confidence in funk and hip-hop idioms or for programs aiming to connect with students through music they actually care about.

• Lock the kick drum and bass line together from the first read-through. This arrangement lives and dies by the pocket, so those two voices need to function as a single unit.
• Shape the brass hits with crisp articulation and uniform releases. Murtha's syncopations only land if every player treats them as rhythmic statements, not just notes.
• Keep the tempo locked. This isn't a piece that breathes or flexes; forward momentum is part of the identity. A metronome click might feel rigid in other contexts, but here it serves the groove.
• Balance the melodic line so it cuts through the rhythmic texture. The hook needs to feel inevitable and dominant, which means the section carrying the melody requires dynamic clarity.

Program this as a high-energy opener to establish tone early in a show, or save it for the closer when you want to send the audience out with joy and motion. It pairs well alongside contemporary pop and jazz arrangements and offers a natural entry point for discussions about how hip-hop has shaped modern popular music. Schools building identity around contemporary music pedagogy find this a staple that validates student taste while teaching musicianship.

• Maintaining steady pulse within syncopated funk rhythms
• Synchronized ensemble articulation and release
• Reading and executing syncopated sixteenth-note patterns
• Dynamic shaping and balance across sections
• Understanding groove-based arranging and the relationship between rhythm section and melody