The FBA Small Schools Committee provides the following resources to assist directors of small bands or bands with limited instrumentation.
Resources for finding literature
- Distinguished Music for the Developing Band, Vol. 1 - Rutgers University Symphonic Band
- Teaching Music Through Performance CD’s
- Talking to other Band Directors
- Performances of Honor Bands i.e. Tri-State, All District, All-State, Mid-West, etc.
- Smart Music to view instrumentation and part difficulty
- Band Series: Flex Band, Build a Band from various publishers
- FBA music list, other state lists
- State MPA programs
- Music for Concert Band (book) by Joseph Kreines & Robert Hansbrough
Articles
Resources for Student Doublers
For students who may be learning a secondary instrument at home to support their school ensemble(s).
- Share this resource page with your students.
- Habits of a Successful Beginner by GIA Publications offers free video start-up clinics for each instrument, and does not require the Successful Habits book to use. Each instrument clinic video covers embouchure, posture, and sound production basics, and provides quality fingering charts.
Publishers of flex-band and small ensemble performance material.
These are not for MPA-stage performance, but for year-round repertoire, and for directors to use as a guide for rescoring when necessary.
- Alfred Music: Flex Titles, Duets for All, Trios for All, Quartets for All
- Bravo Music - Offers Flexible Band, instrument-specific, and mixed ensemble repertoire. Some selections also offer tiered difficulty parts for the same selection!
- Eighth Note Publications: Flexible Band and Interchangeable Ensembles (jazz and classical repertoire). Large variety of brass and woodwind ensembles arranged by part, not specific instrument. Great opportunity for teaching year-round chamber ensembles!
- Hal Leonard - Flex-Band Series
- Murphy Music Press - Flex Band - offers advanced high school and collegiate repertoire
- One Size Fits All Band Books
- Discover and research new repertoire via the Wind Repertory Project
- Check independent publisher and composer websites for flexible scoring offerings. Self-published composers may offer them for sale directly, and may be referred to as “flex” or “adaptable” scoring options.
- Include a bolded emphasis that: Flex-scored selections are not approved for use in MPA performance(s). However, directors may use flexible scoring approaches and principles to make MPA repertoire accessible to their bands. Additionally, directors may use these flex-scored selections for their ensembles at non-adjudicated events throughout the school year, if it means they will make their students and ensembles the most successful!
How to re-score/re-arrange for a small band
- A matrix of generally accepted/reasonable instrumentation options to rescore (altos for horns, muted trumpet for oboe, etc.)
- Arranging and transposition tricks (bari sax plays low brass parts and just changes the printed key signature, etc.)
- Up-to-date copyright versus arrangement laws/practices
Guides for using free or low-cost music notation software.
Having access to workable and efficient notation software is essential for educators who need to rewrite or edit parts for their students. Musescore, Noteflight, and Flat.io come to mind as accessible and affordable options, but our FBA members may be familiar with other alternatives available.
- Free & open-source drill writing software
- OpenMarch is an incredible (free) tool for new high school directors or programs with a limited budget for drill writing. Basic guides and a troubleshooting community are available on the developer’s website.
