Practice Resources

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Below are recordings we are currently practicing. They are listed mostly in alphabetical order. They are provided for you reference, practice, etc. Use these recordings as desired. Here are some suggestions:

• Listen to get the feel of the piece.

• Listen and follow along with the music.

• Sing, hum, whistle or tap your part while listening and following along with the music.

• Play along with the music on your instrument.

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Here's a video Tour and Demos of our Practice Resource page.

When possible the Publisher's Recording will be provided. We may not take it at their speed, and we may make adjustments, but they should definitely help with tricky rhythms. Alternate Videos, such as YouTube, will be provided too, some of which are publisher recordings too. Alternate videos will mostly be other bands, so their quality may not be as polished as the publishers recording; however, you will have more playback control with these videos. Do the YouTube bands a favor, and give them a thumbs-up.

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Hot Spots contains links that are queued directly to sections in our pieces, often transitions, that are challenging and may need special attention.

 

Supplemental Resources contains original sources, alternate versions, etc. These are provided to get a sense of their original presentation or just for fun.

 

YouTube allows you to:

• Queue a video to a specific location in the recording. Do this via the Share button, which allows you to create a time stamped URL for that location, which you can copy and paste into a new browser tab or window. When you refresh your browser, the video will start at that spot. This is useful when working on a specific tricky section in the music repeatedly.

• Adjust the playback speed without affecting the pitch. Do this via the Settings button, which looks like a gear. You can adjust playback speed in 25% preset increments or in 5% increments if using the slider bar. This is useful for complex passages that are too fast at first. Slow them down to understand them better, then increase playback speed to normal. Consider faster than normal to really know you've mastered it.

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Our current selections in concert order:

• At the Movies - The Classics - NOTE: Measure 101, the 2/4 measure near the end, is cut in our performance.​

  • Professional Recording - Click on Preview and then Play Button on the Audio Sample

  • Professional Recording - via YouTube

  • North Jersey Concert Band

  • Supplemental Resources:

    • 2001: A Space Odyssey Opening. Docking Sequence choreographed to Blue Danube - Not part of this piece, but it's too spectacular to omit​

    • "Singin' in the Rain" danced and sung by Gene Kelly

    • "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly"

    • "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" sung by Judy Garland

• James Bond Suite - NOTE: We are not pausing between movements. We are not taking the D.C. al Coda in the second movement, Live and Let Die. We are playing straight from the D.C. to the Coda as if there is no gap. The third movement, For Your Eyes Only, is cut from our performance; therefore, there's an additional link directly to Goldfinger for each band's performance to make it easier to skip past For Your Eyes Only and continue with Goldfinger.

  • Professional Recording and Goldfinger stars at: 7:35

  • The Valley Stream Community Band and queued to Goldfinger

  • Broward Symphonic Band and queued to Goldfinger

  • Corpo Musicale Santa Cecilia di Gloria Maggiore and queued to Goldfinger

  • Supplemental Resources:

    • James Bond Theme from Dr. No​

    • Live and Let Die by Paul McCartney and Wings. Live Concert Performance (Warning: Strobe Lights)

    • For Your Eyes Only sung by Shenna Easton. NOTE: Cut from our performance.

    • Goldfinger sung by Shirley Bassey. Goldfinger Opening Credits

    • James Bond Musical Tribute at 97th Oscars (2025) featuring Doja Cat, LISA, RAYE

• Pirates of the Caribbean

  • Professional Recording - However, it's only snippets of the entire piece. It's not enough to practice along with, but you can get a feel for the piece from the publishers.

  • Partituras Banda Sinfonica - Warning: They take the 5/4 measure, #138, in 4/4. We play it as written in 5/4.

  • Sociedade Filarmónica de Salzedas

  • Jong HarmonieOrkest

  • Hot Spots:

    • Measure 55 - Misterioso start of "The Black Pearl"​

    • Measure 64 - 6/4 accelerando measure of "The Black Pearl" moving into Faster at measure 65, where we are counting these faster measures in one

    • Measure 121 - Driving, with intensity start of "To The Pirate's Cave!"

    • Measure 132 - Leads into changing meter section at Measure 136 with measures in: 6/4, 4/4, 5/4, 4/4, 5/4, 4/4, 3/4, 4/4, 4/4, 3/4 and finally settles back into 4/4 at Measure 147. The beat never changes. Be careful with the 5/4 measures, especially the first 5/4 measure. Do not shorten it to 4/4 by jumping into the next measure too early.

    • Measure 154 - Reaching the finale of the Driving Intensity of "To The Pirate's Cave!" and transitioning through Gently and More Broadly into Measure 166, which starts "One Last Shot"

  • Supplemental Resources:

    • "The Medallion Calls" - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and Movie​

    • "The Black Pearl" - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

    • "To the Pirate's Cave" - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

    • "One Last Shot" - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

    • "He's a Pirate" - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and Movie

• Go The Distance (Vocal Solo) - NOTE: The three videos below use our arrangement, but with a few differences. These performances are instrumental. There is no vocal soloist. We make a few minor changes from the printed arrangement. Measure 18 is in 4/4 rather than 6/4. We repeat from at Measure 31 back to Measure 11.

  • ​Greater Shore Concert Band - MP3 file. Recorded in Spring 2022

  • Crystal Lake Central Tiger Band​

  • University of York Concert Band Society

  • Abingdon Concert Band

  • Supplemental Resources:

    • Original Motion Picture Soundtrack​

    • Movie

• Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban

  • Professional Recording - Click on Preview and then Play Button on the Audio Sample​

  • North Jersey Concert Band

  • Band at the Beach

  • Supplemental Resources from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack:

    • "Hedwig's Theme"​

    • "Hagrid the Professor"

    • "Double Trouble"

    • "A Window to the Past"

• The Golden Age of Broadway - The Musicals of Rodgers and Hammerstein II

  • Professional Recording - via YouTube, but unfortunately there's a chunk of the recording that's missing between "Carousel Waltz" and "Climb Ev'ry Mountain"

  • Forest Hills Adult Community Band​

  • Columbia Concert Band

  • The Prime Time Band - Note: One section jumps the gun at measure 95 when "The Carousel Waltz" starts. They recover by 103, but it's a bit dicey there for a few measures. 

  • Supplemental Resources:

    • "Bali Ha'i" - South Pacific Movie and Charlotte Church​

    • "Oklahoma" - Oklahoma Movie and Hugh Jackman

    • "Getting To Know You" - The King and I Movie and Julie Andrew

    • "The Carousel Waltz" - Carousel Movie and Remastered Carousel Soundtrack

    • "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" - The Sound of Music Movie and Audra McDonald

• West Side Story (Selection)

  • Greater Shore Concert Band - MP3 Files. Recorded in Spring 2017 and Spring 2022

  • Japan Air Self-Defense Force Western Air Band

  • Wilmington Symphonic Winds

  • Surrey Police Band

  • Supplemental Resources:

    • "I Feel Pretty" - Cast Album, Movie (1961), Movie (2021), and Live Performance

    • "Maria" - Cast Album, Movie (1961), Movie (2021), and Live Performance

    • "Something's Coming" - Cast Album, Movie (1961), Movie (2021), and Live Performance

    • "Tonight" - Cast Album, Movie (1961), Movie (2021), and Live Performance

    • "One Hand, One Heart" - Cast Album, Movie (1961), Movie (2021), and Live Performance

    • "Cool" - Cast Album, Movie (1961), Movie (2021), and Live Performance

    • "America" - Cast Album, Movie (1961), Movie (2021), and Live Performance

    • "Gee, Officer Krupke" - Cast Album, Movie (1961), Movie (2021), and Live Performance. This song is not in our set of Selections, but too fun to omit.

• The Phantom of the Opera (Selections from)

  • 京都管楽合奏団ARTY BEARS - Note: The video starts with ads, and there can be as many as two more ad beaks in the middle of the recording. FYI:  京都管楽合奏団 is Japanese for Kyoto Wind Orchestra

  • No Strings Orchestra with organ

  • Loan Star Symphonic Band

  • Hot Spots:

    • Measure 65 - 6/8 count Moderato (in 2) at the start of "Angel of Music". Then at Measure 80, we transition into Slower (in 6) followed immediately with key change at Measure 81. The slower more grand feel continues until Measure 92 and the scream. The queued recordings convey this transition from counting in 2 to counting in 6 very well.​

  • Supplemental Resources:

    • "Think of Me" - Cast Album, Movie, and Live Performance​

    • "Angel of Music" - Cast Album, Movie, and Live Performance

    • "The Phantom of the Opera (Overture)" - Cast Album, Movie, and Live Performance

    • "All I ask of You" - Cast Album, Movie, and Live Performance

    • "The Point of No Return" - Cast Album, Movie, and Live Performance

    • "The Music of the Night" - Cast Album, Movie, and Live Performance

    • The Music of the Night after Night after Night - This is a 22-minute audio story from This American Life about the repetitive (and horrific) life of being in the orchestra pit for Phantom of the Opera on Broadway playing the same music everyday for decades.

• Bring Him Home (Vocal Solo) - NOTE: Many only recordings are not our arrangement or key. However, I found two, including one of our previous performances. We will change things slightly at the ending. Measure 62 is tacit for all instruments with David singing without accompaniment. Instruments return on Measure 63 when David sings Home. Measures 65 and 66 are cut. We jump directly from Measure 64 to the last Measure 67, which is an whole note entrance for many instruments. Watch Jim so that we all come in on Beat One and keep it pp.​

  • Greater Shore Concert Band - MP3 Files. Recorded in Spring 2017 and Spring 2022

  • Greater Shore Concert Band - Video from 2017

  • Josh Groban - Probably not our exact arrangement, but I think it's in the same key as ours and close enough to play along with, which is interesting, since Groban changes the tempo multiple times for his interpretation.

  • Supplemental Resources:

    • Cast Album​

    • Movie with Hugh Jackman

    • 25th Anniversary Concert with Alfie Boe

• Selections from GREASE

  • Musikverein Diepoldsau-Schmitter​

  • Troy High School Concert Band

  • Manawatu Concert Band

  • Supplemental Resources:

    • "Summer Nights" - Cast Album, Movie, and Live Performance​

    • "Greased Lightin'" - Cast Album, Movie and Live Performance

    • "Beauty School Dropout" - Cast Album, Movie and Live Performance

    • "Born to Hand Jive" - Cast Album, Movie and Live Performance

    • "We Go Together" - Cast Album, Movie and Live Performance​

• Star Wars Medley - ENCORE - This arrangement consists of Main Theme => Princess Leia's Theme => Main Theme Reprise via D.S. => Finale via Coda. We are cutting cutting Princess Leia's Theme and the Main Theme Reprise. Our encore arrangement consists of Main Theme => Finale via Coda. There are no online performances for our encore arrangement. There aren't many online performances in general, which is why the selections are not the best quality. However, you can come very close to being able to perform our encore arrangement by starting at the Main Theme reprise and continue to the end.

  • Greater Shore Concert Band - MP3 File. Recorded in Spring 2022. Main Theme Reprise begins at around 3:05 in our recording.​

  • Hawley, MN, High School Freshman Band and Main Theme Reprise to Finale

  • 8th Grade School Band from Knoxville Middle School and Main Theme Reprise to Finale

  • Surprise Pops Band and Main Theme Reprise to Final

  • Supplemental Resources:

    • Main Theme - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and Movie Opening. We had no idea in 1977 what we were about to experience.​

    • Prince Leia's Theme - NOTE: Cut from our performance.

      • Original Motion Picture Soundtrack​

      • Boarding the Millennium Falcon to escape the Death Star

      • R2-D2 plays Leia's message​

• The Stars and Stripes Forever - Traditional ENCORE, but not this concert season

  • Professional Recording

  • Dallas Wind Symphony

  • United States Army Concert Band and State Univesity Symphonic Band