The Music of J. Scott McKenzie

Brookpointe Park: Generic Average Grade III Level Music Festival Overture for Band

Below are links to pdf files of an original piece for band that is absolutely FREE to use and even perform.

It is the result of a little experiment of mine to test a theory: How hard is it to write music if you have low standards?

On July 29, 2007 (a rare day where I didn't have anything better to do and had no distractions), I started composing without any idea of what I was going to do, except the general form (ABA), length (4 minutes), instrumentation (school band), and grade level (III or IV).  I set out to answer the question, "If I could just write and dispense with the usual nagging roadblocks such as 'is this the least bit original or interesting,' how long would it take to write a publisher-quality piece?"  I thought I could do it in less than a day.

The answer is...about six hours to write the piece, then another six hours the next day to edit and publish it.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with it; it's solidly scored, reasonably cross-cued for smaller or weaker sections, uses sound compositional techniques worthy of study, offers possible solo passages for many instruments.  I took the time to ensure that it was technically well within the ability level of a typical grade III group.  In short, I think it's as good as just about anything you'd pay $50-60 for.

Despite all that, this piece adds nothing to the quality literature available for young bands.

It's a sad truth.  There's too much music out there is cookie-cutter, boring stuff.  I even feel a little bad contributing to this deep ravine of innocuousness.  I hope you'll notice that I couldn't even bear to sign my own name to the work.

So why do it?  I hope that perhaps the money saved by using this free piece could be better spent on a better one (it doesn't even have to be by me, but I'd appreciate a look).  There's good literature out there--take the time to find it, and don't blow your budget on stuff that a guy can write in an afternoon.

Enjoy:

Score            Woodwind Parts            Brass Parts            Percussion Parts

Cheesy MIDI recording

This music is FREE for the use of band directors everywhere, with just a few caveats:

FEEL FREE TO:

1. photocopy the score and parts as much as you like
2. make minor rewrites or simplifications to suit your instrumentation if necessary
3. perform the work at a school function, concert, festival, or other similar event where no admission fee is charged
4. share this piece with others
5. record the piece for the benefit of you, your students, and their families

DO NOT:

1. edit or erase any part of the original legal notices on hardcopies of the work or the PDF files
2. sell for profit any of the printed materials or a recording of the work

All other legal rights are reserved and in effect.  The title page must accompany any hardcopy of the score.

There you go--you're welcome.