Neil A Kos Music Compan Publisher
Dean Sorenson (b 1963) is the Director o azz Studies at the Universit o Minnesota as ell as a proliic and highl sought-ater composer, arranger, trombonist, educator, and clinician He received his bachelor s degree in trombone perormance rom the Universit o Minnesota and his master s degree in azz arranging and composition rom the Eastman School o Music Mr Sorenson is the co-author o the highl successul Standard o Excellence azz Ensemble Method, an innovative and comprehensive method book or oung azz ensembles The highl anticipated olloup book, The Standard o Excellence Advanced azz Ensemble Method, as released to rave revies and continues the solid, practical techniques introduced in the irst book He is also the author o Standard o Excellence azz Combo Session, and composer o numerous pieces or concert band and azz ensemble published b the Neil A Kos Music Compan As an advocate o azz education and the expansion o the repertoire, he continues to develop creative materials and methods to help students and teachers better understand the art orm An outstanding clinician, conductor, and soloist, he is requentl eatured at estivals and conventions around the countr and abroad He also maintains a ull schedule o concert and recording dates as a Yamaha perorming artist Mr Sorenson has composed and arranged or numerous ensembles, including the lenn Miller Orchestra, the Airmen o Note, the United States Air orce and, and or brass ensembles Proteus 7 and the Chestnut rass Compan He is active as a commissioned composer and arranger or azz ensemble, concert band, and chamber ensembles, and has also ritten several sacred choral pieces Dean is a member o the International Trombone Association (ITA), the American ederation o Musicians, Local 30-73 (AM), the Music Educator s National Conerence (MENC), Minnesota Music Educator s Association (MMEA), the College Music Societ (CMS), the American Composer s orum (AC), the Tin Cities azz Societ (TCS), and the American String Teachers Association (ASTA) or more inormation please visit deansorensonmusiccom ack and orth gets its title rom the dierent rhthm section grooves that alternate throughout the piece The beginning sections are a relaxed cumbia-tpe eel, and the bridge goes into more o a bossa-nova eel In each case, the eighth notes should be plaed straight There is an open solo section rom bars 37-5 This solo section is designed to make it eas or beginning improvisers to be successul Violins, violas, and celli have a suggested solo ritten in their parts Plaers can also improvise using notes rom the maor scale, or ust ri on open or D strings 8 1 st Violin 8 nd Violin 5 Viola 5 Cello 5 String ass 1 uitar 1 Piano 1 Drum Set Additional scores and parts are available 1 Percussion I: Cabasa Claves 1 Percussion II: Shaker ongos or Congas 1 ull Conductor Score
3 ack and orth is intended to introduce students to the art o improvisation in a un and relaxed a The tonal center alternates beteen D7 and maor chords The maor scale can be used over the entire chord progression Take advantage o the open and D strings Like the title sas, ack and orth alternates beteen to dierent grooves oth should be plaed ith straight, not sung, eighth notes This requires little change in phrasing and boing rom the music the are alread plaing Melodic lines are passed around liberall, giving everone a chance to pla a melod at some point The solo section is plaable on a single scale; plaers can pla the provided ritten solo More inormation on the solo section can be ound belo Articulation and bo markings have been ritten in throughout the score, and I urge ou and our students to ollo them careull This ill be a great help in plaing in the proper stle Also, listen careull to the demonstration recording and use this as a model Visit koscom and go to the Strings section o the ebsite or a ull-length recording azz perormance generall requires a rhthm section made up o bass, piano, guitar, drum set, and sometimes auxiliar percussion The bass line can be plaed b the double basses o the string orchestra, but ou ma need to look outside o the string orchestra or piano, guitar, drum set, and percussion plaers The role o the rhthm section is to provide an accompaniment groove on top o hich the rest o the ensemble plas This is especiall important during solo sections, as in bars 37-5 o ack and orth The rhthm section scoring or ack and orth includes guitar, piano, drum set, percussion I, and percussion II parts This scoring is ver lexible, and can be used in man dierent as The bass line ill be plaed b the basses in the string orchestra, and is essential to the music Keep in mind these ideas concerning the rhthm section: ack and orth can be plaed ith string orchestra alone, ithout guitar, piano, drum set, or percussion Hoever, this orchestration ill provide a ver thin accompaniment groove or the solo section beginning at bar 37 I ou onl have limited rhthm section plaers at our disposal, ou ma add an o them to the string orchestra You ma add onl a single part, or an combination o parts The ideal situation is to have all o the rhthm section parts plaed I this is the case, make certain that a good balance is achieved beteen the string orchestra and the rhthm section Drum set and percussion can easil overbalance strings i the plaers are not sensitive to their role in the ensemble The rhthm section plaers should ideall be set up at the back o the string orchestra The string basses ill occup their usual space in the back ro Drums and percussion can set up in the percussion section, and piano and guitar can set up near to them This ill help minimize balance issues and ill allo all o the string plaers to hear sectionṣample the rhthm
The solo section or ack and orth is in bars 37-5, and can be repeated as man times as necessar to allo or man soloists Plaers ma use the ritten solo, or use notes o the maor scale i the ish to improvise a solo I ou or our students are ne to improvising in this context, consider the olloing ideas: Keep the environment ver encouraging and positive Remind students that improvisation is a part o their dail lives, including activities such as deciding hat to ear in the morning, or having a conversation ith another person Collective improvisation is a terriic a to help students experiment ith improvisation ithout eeling isolated Have the rhthm section, or ust the basses i no other rhthm section instruments are available, vamp (repeat) the groove in the solo section and encourage ALL o the violins, violas, and celli to improvise together As students get more comortable, have them improvise in smaller and smaller groups until the are plaing as soloists Have the plaers improvise (collectivel, in small groups, or as soloists) using limited tones rom the maor scale Consider the olloing sequences o tones: /D, A/, C/E/ In practice, it ould ork like this: have students improvise using onl and D Once the are comortable ith and D, the can add and A hile still using and D inall, add C, E, and to complete all o the notes o the scale Keep in mind that this sequence can last over one rehearsal period, or over several eeks, depending on ho much time is devoted to it and ho quickl the students eel comortable improvising DO NOT RUSH IT Allo students to develop at their on pace and ou ill ind that most o them ill be anting to improvise all the time beore long! Use the suggested scales and limited scale tones on the olloing page to help ou get started Photocop the Solo Scale and Limited Scale Tones page and make it available to all students o the orchestra When perorming pieces in a azz stle that include a solo section (like bars 37-5 o ack and orth) it is important that both the conductor and the plaers agree on ho the solo section ill be plaed You have the reedom to choose hom ou ant to solo, and ho man soloists ou ould like to have pla, but plaing the solo section more than 5-6 times could get tedious or the audience and the non-soloing members o the orchestra I ou have had little or no experience ith azz soloists, here are some possible strategies or navigating the solo section: Choose 1-6 soloists and have them each improvise a solo using pitches rom the maor scale I individual students do not eel comortable improvising the ma pla the ritten solo Each soloist ould pla through the solo section one time Choose - groups o students (3-5 plaers per group) and have each group improvise collectivel over the solo section Each group ould pla through the solo section one time Pla the solo section to times Violins I and II pla the ritten solo the irst time, and violas and celli pla the ritten solo the second time Encourage our students to be creative ith this section I everone in our ensemble ishes to solo, consider programming more azz pieces to allo everone the opportunit to pla While most proessional azz bands do not use a conductor, students plaing azz in a string orchestra ill beneit greatl rom having a conductor in ront o the ensemble, ust like hen the pla more standard repertoire Even though the time or the tempo should be taken rom the rhthm section, it is important or the conductor to be able to shape phrases, monitor dnamics, and keep the ensemble together ust because ou are plaing azz does not mean ou can retire our baton! azz is a relativel ne phenomenon in the string orchestra, but is important music or students o ALL instruments to be aare o It is a large part o ho e are as Americans, and it oers students the opportunit to express themselves in as that are not available to them hen plaing more standard repertoire We ant to give our students as broad a musical experience as e can, and azz and improvisation should be a part o that palette I hope ou eno plaing ack and orth, and I hope that ou and our students ill ind it un and educational Dean Sorenson
5 Improvise using the pitches rom the maor scale during the solo section (bars 37-5) Please note that the irst in the scale or string bass is up an octave to take advantage o the open string I ou are ne to improvising, limit the scale tones ou pla This ill allo ou to create simpler melodies quicker and encourage ou to pla more rhthmicall 008 Neil A Kos Music Compan This page authorized or duplication
6 Violin I Violin II Viola Cello String ass uitar Piano Drum Set Percussion I Percussion II Latin q=138 Cabasa Claves C Cm Shaker ongos or Congas Pizz 1 3 {5} {5} Closed H H 5 6 008 Neil A Kos Music Compan, 38 utland Drive, San Diego, Caliornia, 9117 International copright secured All rights reserved Printed in USA WARNIN! The contents o this publication are protected b copright la To cop or reproduce them b an method is an inringement o the copright la Anone ho reproduces coprighted matter is subect to substantial penalties and assessments or each inringement
7 Vln I Vln II Vla Vc S tr Pno D S Perc I Perc II 7 () () 8 9 10 11 (8) (8) 1
8 Vln I Vln II Vla Vc S tr Pno D S Perc I Perc II {13} {13} 13 1 15 16 17 18 () ()
9 Vln I Vln II Vla Vc S tr Pno D S Perc I Perc II C C 19 0 {1} {1} C C Cross-Stick x x x x 1 x x x x 3
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11 Vln I Vln II Vla Vc S tr Pno D S Perc I Perc II 31 () () 3 33 3 C C 35 ÖSol\o\\ \\r\e\a\k ÖSol\o\\ \\r\e\a\k 36
1 Vln I Vln II Vla Vc S tr Pno D S Perc I Perc II {37} {37} ÖOpe\n\ \\o\r\ So\l\o\s] (Suggested Solo) (Suggested Solo) (Suggested Solo) (Suggested Solo) ÖOpe\n\ \\o\r\ So\l\o\s] 37 38 39 () () 0 1
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