Move Along (marching band arrangement)

Hello all...

my name is Scott, and although a long time reader of the forum a new member. This is a marching band arrangement for Move Along by All American Rejects. If you could offer any comments, critism, or anything it is more than welcome. If you have a piece you would like me to look at just tell me where it is and i'll gladly check it out; :)

thanks guys,

Scott

movealongarrangement.pdf

movealong2.MUS

movealongmidi.MID

the only criticism from me is that you could of given the brass a better part.

any ideas? i can't think of much, especially for the band i'm writing for. when you say brass, i'm guessing youre talking about low brass? the group i'm writing for has enough balance problems so i'm scared too give the brass too much thats not lower support kinda stuff... hmm...

if you have any ideas in a spot i could make more fun for them do enlighten me

also, i'm certainly not a trombonist (sp*) and i dont wanna put in some ridiculous crazy wants to make you eat roadkill riff in there :)

Hey! I really like what you did with this song! I have absolutely no criticism of it except for a few notation issues. I think for ease of reading you could re-write some of the syncopations so that they're all in groups of 1 visible beat. When you have the dotted eighth rhythm in the brass, it sounds perfect, but it could be difficult to read. However, since most (if not all...?) marching bands memorize their music, it's really up to you- do you think the group you're arranging for would be better reading or hearing how it sounds? It would be very easy to teach them the rhythm, but I think it might help to write it out more clearly. So, especially when you have a note right before beat 3, it works better to write it as an eighth note tied over that beat.

Another tip would be to write "arr. Scott Meschke" and give credit to the songwriter. Other than that you've done an amazing job with this project! It would sound really cool as a half time show :)

yea, will do on the arr.by Scott Meschke

see, i'll play the finale mockup for the group i'm writing for so it shouldn't be too bad. I know the dotted 8ths look messy, but 3 dotted 8ths is a quarter note triplet, but since theres 4 on alot of the stuff(chorus,lyrics) i figured it'd look stupid to have, tri-pa-let tri- 4 and| tri-pa-let tri- 4 and, you know? also, for some reason my triplets in finale dont line up as percise as dotted 8ths, thanks though.

edit* oh, and we memorize our music, and not sure what you by syncopations so that they're all in groups of 1 visible beat, sorry, i'm not too bright. :)

ok, like when you have those dotted eighth notes, I think it would be more clear if you put a dotted eighth, a 16th tied to an eighth, and then another eighth. It sounds exactly the same, but looks more readable to most performers because the middle of the beat isn't hidden. does that kinda make sense?

yea, that makes alot of sense.

i just might write it out that way, thanks.

Its a good arrangement to start, but its very long and doesn't have much variation in it. I'd suggest a key change for sure, and maybe develop your own creative twist on the melody to throw in there at some point. The piece not only gets repetitive for the listener, but also for the players, which means a general decline in energy as you go through the arrangement.

It's your arrangement, feel free to get creative and really make it your own. A creative, one of a kind arrangement is fun to make, and even more fun to play, especially if you know that you are the only ensemble playing it.

Yes, i agree... the only problem is that the group i'm writing for pretty much sucks. I moved, and the hs i go to is.... behind...

they have to memorize it of course, so a keychange/variation means more to memorize

if you notice there's really nothing daring in there, everything is in a very comfortable range except for the trumpet 1 part, which can be taken down an octave by most of them.

if i was writing for a college group, or my old hs, sure, they'd probobly be a drum break, key change (maybe), variations on lyrics, etc. variation in who plays the melody, etc.

but... i can't :)

if you realized how bad of a group i'm writing for you'd understand, lol. it sucks, but oh well. They sound like a middle-school group, and a very medicore(sp*) one at that.

but, point taken. I might just switch it up for fun, and keep it for portfolio purposes.

Scott

Now that you mentioned it, I understand why you did it the way you have, and it is good to see that you do know the capabilities of your ensemble, however limited they may be.

Good luck!

Souns like a fun piece. I really like the percussion writing. Haven't heard the original, though.

I can easily visualize the drill team at my high school performing to this. Post a live recording if you ever get the chance.

I like the variation in the rhythms, but it does seem more of a pep band-type piece for the chorusy parts. It's just a little weird for me to picture a marching band playing it.