Music Works Grade 1

Commissioned by the Cabarrus All-County Middle School Band (Concord, North Carolina), this work was inspired by the composer's Irish heritage and the rich history of Ireland. With three main themes, t...

This traditional style march for very young players has all the right ingredients to become a winner. From the tutti first strain, to the percussion break, to the woodwind trio and rousing final strai...

This Rossini classic is carefully arranged for beginning level bands by Julie Griffin. This famous melody is always a great program number and fun for your students too!

Grade 1-1. 5. One of the most moving melodies ever written is this well-known theme from Holst's Jupiter (from The Planets). Paul Murtha has beautifully adapted this for the beginning level through sk...

Easy marches that sound authentic and still work with beginners are hard to find. Here is a gem from Eric Osterling that works great even with small bands with incomplete instrumentation. With catchy...

Composed using a single fast tempo throughout, this dynamic work for 2nd year players is filled with imagery and intensity beyond what you normally find at this easy level. Whether the approaching red...

Already a classic in the grade 1 repertoire, Anne McGinty's composition sounds sophisticated without being hard. It features effective use of polychords, modal harmonies and a driving percussion part....

Beginning groups will love this unique programmatic suite of four short movements, each of which portrays a well known prehistoric creature (or two!). Clever and very easy, it includes: Stegosaurus, B...

Here is the perfect first march for your beginning band! Using solid scoring techniques, Forward March! features strong melodic writing with easy counterlines, a short percussion break, a trio melody...

Drawing on the rich and varied tradition of Celtic folk songs, this piece opens with the touching and melodious 'The Parting Glass. ' The flutes and percussion take center stage on the dance-like 'Tha...

Here is an outstanding selection for very young bands written in an uplifting festive style. There is a nice variety in scoring even for this easy level, and very effective use of dynamics. Easy and f...

Written in a style similar to Michael's popular Celtic Air and Dance, here is another terrific setting of Celtic tunes arranged for very young bands. This arrangement opens with a beautiful and flowin...

Following in Michael's popular Celtic Air and Dance format, here are two contrasting melodies associated with centuries of Irish conflict and turmoil. The haunting ballad The Foggy Dew was composed sh...

Featuring mini-variations on the folk tune Cumberland Gap, this easy overture provides a musical portrait of travel through the Appalachian Mountains. Composed in a single tempo, there is still plenty...

What kid doesn't love a train! This entertaining and fun piece for beginning bands calls for some lucky student (or administrator) to be featured on a wooden train whistle (the cheap kind!). Along the...

Featuring a relentless rhythmic drive and powerful-sounding themes, here is an effective and exciting piece for second-year players. Utilizing a single tempo and no syncopation, this is a great tool f...

Not only is this an intriguing concert piece for 2nd year players, it's also a great way to introduce the basics of simple intervals. It's sure to be an entertaining piece for every section of the ban...

This thrilling and cinematic adventure is rolling down the tracks with expert scoring using simple chromaticism, driving percussion and thrilling rhythmic energy. Your students won't want to stop prac...

Epic Journey takes us on a heroic, cinematic odyssey using a sudden shift in dynamics and an unexpected key change to create drama and excitement. With a sophistication beyond what you'd expect at thi...

Wind Machines can refer either to the various machines that are driven by the wind, or the soaring sound of a wind band. In a cinematic style, this composition takes us high in the sky, soaring above...

A lush and cinematic work for beginner level bands that creates the perfect vision of a peaceful night sky filled with stars. Whimsical scoring will give your young musicians the perfect opportunity t...

The beauty and majesty that is planet Earth comes to life through soaring fanfares, delicate melodic lines, bold harmonies and colorful orchestrations all while being carefully scored to be accessible...

This incredibly well-written work for beginning players lives up to its title! Your young musicians will absolutelty love this heroic piece that sounds like it was written as the score to a movie abou...

Beginning groups will love this unique programmatic suite of four short movements, each of which portrays a well known prehistoric creature (or two!). Clever and very easy, it includes: Stegosaurus, B...

Michael Sweeney has successfully harnessed the menacing power of this Moussorgsky classic in this easy version that remains amazingly true to the original. Featuring interesting parts for all sections...