Tumbleweeds
by Doris Gazda
String Orchestra - Sheet Music

Orchestra Cello, Contrabass, Piano, Viola, Violin 1, Violin 2, Violin 3 - Grade 2

SKU: CF.YAS66

Composed by Doris Gazda. FS - SWS. Young String Orchestra. Set of Score and Parts. With Standard notation. 16+16+4+10+10+10+3+8 pages. Carl Fischer Music #YAS66. Published by Carl Fischer Music (CF.YAS66).

ISBN 9780825869426. UPC: 798408069421. 8.5 X 11 inches. Key: D major.

Tumbleweeds, subtitled "A Prairie Waltz," has the sound and flavor of the American southwest. Extremely tuneful, this piece is based on scalewise motion that depicts the sound of tumbleweeds rolling by. Doris Gazda always finds a way to write lovely music that is a joy to teach to students.
Tumbleweeds are the above-ground part of a Russian thistle plant that has broken off from the root. The Russian thistle probably was brought to the American West in shipments of flax seed to Ukrainian farmers living in South Dakota in the 1870s. The thistle plant can grow to be three feet tall and has thousands of seeds. When it is mature, the plant breaks off from its base and because it has round shape, it can roll and tumble in the wind. By rolling through fields and down country roads, it scatters its seeds far and wide.Farmers consider it to be a terrible weed, but sometimes it does provide forage for livestock. It grows in fields and in sandy, desert areas. The large tumbling weeds are often seen tumbling or rolling along on windy days.Every year, the city of Chandler, Arizona, builds a huge “Christmas Tree” out of tumble weeds. A wire frame is placed in the town square and then hundreds of tumbleweeds are fastened to the frame. The tree is spray painted and lit with spotlights. It is a very distinctive and festive sight. When you play Tumbleweeds you will notice that the piece is built with many scales. To me, those scales seem to depict the rolling of the tumbleweeds. I hope you enjoy just rolling along while playing this happy waltz!