Grace•ful (Perc Ens 6-8)

grace•ful was written specifically for the C. Alan Publications Ignite Series, which features entertaining yet flexible pieces for young percussion ensembles. Once you begin to rehearse grace•ful, you'll come to find that the character of the music is anything but! It is quirky, awkward, and odd - a spoof on what it means to be "graceful." Along the way, you'll find many grace notes to help the cause, as well syncopated rhythms, unexpected accents, time signature changes, and hemiola.

Genre: Percussion Ensemble | # of Players: 6+
Level: Medium Easy | Duration: 3:10

Instrumentation
Glockenspiel (May double or substitute Vibraphone)
Xylophone (May double or substitute Marimba)
Optional Marimba (May double or substitute Xylophone or Vibraphone)
Bongos (May double or substitute 2 High Toms)
Congas (May double or substitute 2 Medium Toms)
2 Woodblocks/2 Cymbals (May double or substitute other "wood" sounds [temple blocks, jam blocks]. Use any 2 contrasting cymbals)
Timpani (2 drums. May double or substitute 2 Low Toms or Timbales)

Program Notes
grace•ful was written specifically for the C. Alan Publications Ignite Series, which features entertaining yet flexible pieces for young percussion ensembles. Once you begin to rehearse grace•ful, you'll come to find that the character of the music is anything but! It is quirky, awkward, and odd - a spoof on what it means to be "graceful." Along the way, you'll find many grace notes to help the cause, as well syncopated rhythms, unexpected accents, time signature changes, and hemiola.

The main melodic and harmonic ideas come from the four notes that make up the F Major 7 chord: F A C E (also the notes on the spaces of the treble clef!). Throughout the piece, these notes are decorated and danced around by their chromatic lower neighbors which form the E Major 7 chord: E, G# B D#. These cells of notes get along for the most part, but sometimes they lead to a clumsy accident! Typically, grace notes on mallet instruments would be played with wider spacing than a flam on a drum. In grace•ful you should match your flams on the drums to that wider melodic spacing; this will add to the quirky and awkward character of the music.

grace•ful provides an opportunity for your students to learn about music theory (Major 7 chords, minor 7 chords, arpeggios, chromatic neighbors), musical devices (syncopation, hemiola, call and response), and performance practice (spacing of grace notes and flams, timpani muffling), and extended techniques (playing on bowl of timpani, mallet deadstrokes, optional glisses on timpani, mallets).

*In measures 65 and 81, students also have the opportunity to learn about "chance" music. On these fermatas, performers are free to play any sounds they desire and in any order, rhythm, and dynamic. Get creative - the funnier the better! Some mallet glisses in bar 35 would be a good idea, and a timpani gliss at the end is definitely in order.

The IGNITE Series for the Developing Percussion Ensemble
This unique series was designed specifically for young percussionists as they experience the magic of playing in a percussion ensemble. Each piece provides the director and students with great flexibility – from the number of players to the tempo to the instrumentation.

Light a fire under your students today!