The Star Spangled Banner by John Stafford Smith Small Ensemble - Digital Sheet Music

Small Ensemble, Strings B-Flat instrument, B-flat Instruments, Banjo, C Instrument, C Instruments, E-Flat Instrument, E-flat Instruments, F Instrument, F Instruments, Rhythm Instrument, Rhythm Instruments, Voice - Level 2 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.1820974

Composed by Francis Scott Key and John Stafford Smith. Arranged by Donald Jay Smith. This edition: pdf, streaming. Contest, Festival, Historic, Instructional, Patriotic. 11 pages. Donald Jay Smith Music #1381050. Published by Donald Jay Smith Music (A0.1820974).

This was the first FLEX arrangement that I did for a very young band invited to play the national anthem on short notice. I have refined and added string instruments since then. My fear was that the weakest players would only want to play the melody, and they were doomed to fail. So, I wrote a very simple harmony part and only rehearsed with everyone playing the harmony part at first. Then we added on the bass part (containing a Bb concert major scale during the bridge). When most of the band was comfortable playing harmony or bass, we added the melody played by those students who were ahead of the curve and able to cover the range. The result was a very solid sounding full band performance. BUT, I also had in mind the ability of any three instruments to use this three layer arrangement to play the National Anthem anywhere they might be-their soccer game, a family event, etc. Vocals are optional and contain optional harmonization from the bridge to the end. The recommended rehearsal order is: 1. Everyone learns the #2 Harmony part, 2. Everyone learns the #3 Bass part, and then plays just those 2 parts together. 3. Add the #1 Lead part with the students' best able to cover that part. 4. There is always the possibility of having sections switch which part they are playing during a performance for variety and to keep the peace.