Maine Motif Issue 2, Vol. II (Winter, 2018) | Page 14

Re-scoring Parts for Band:
USE WHAT YOU’VE GOT…..
By Craig Skeffington
Most of our programs lack the complete depth that band scores call for. At South
Portland, we run the band program of 96 in three separate sections of 30 + each. The
upside is that we keep more kids in the program; the downside is that the distribution is
somewhat random and only on dress rehearsal days, do we see each other in a full
group. Even though this is less than ideal, I’ve come to embrace the challenge of making
the instrumentation work. My goal each concert is to make each band section/block
viable so they could perform on their own. To that end, I’ve developed some strategies
that might be useful if anyone finds themselves in this same boat. Here are some
ideas….
1. Strings: I used to try and convert string players to band instruments. Why? Because
I couldn’t see past the typical instrumentation in the band world. I have since used
violins to play oboe parts, cellos to play bassoon parts and the obvious, double bass
for tuba parts. The latter isn’t much of a stretch since parts are generally written for
them now, but the cello and violin additions have been great. Since we don’t offer a
strings program, it brings in more kids and the aural effect is really interesting.
2. Use Alfred/Belwin World parts: Most anything done in the Alfred/Belwin library in
the modern age uses world parts. These are parts in non standard (for us) keys, such
as horn parts in Eb, and trombone parts in treble Bb etc. These parts are accessible
by punching in the 5 digit code located on the back of the parts jacket.
3. Bass Lines: Depending on what you have and what the orchestration is, re-write the
bass line, either in whole or part. Is the bassoon or bass clarinet not playing? If the
bari sax is playing a line already covered by another part and NOT playing bass parts
(common in pop scores), re-write the line for them. Any combination of bassoon,
tuba (obvious), bari sax, or bass clarinet is good for moving lines. For more static
motion like chorales, trombone and baritone in it’s low register (down to F2) is
useful.