The Wellerman

The Wellerman has been a very popular sea shanty in recent years, and students and audiences love the sound of its rich harmonies. In the past, I have used it as a middle school band concert closer, but it could certainly fill an opening role, or as a simple stand tune for high school pep band.

This flexible quartet is designed with all ages of players in mind, featuring 3 main parts (Parts 1, 2, and 4) and one optional simplified part (Part 3). It also comes with optional percussion parts for snare drum, bass drum, and hand drums (Djembe, congas, cajon, etc.). The arrangement has been carefully crafted so that any mixture of instruments can play the piece.

WHAT YOU GET:

• Score in C
• 5 sets of parts in Treble C, Bb, Eb, F, and Bass Clef (4 parts per transposition, 20 parts total)
• 3 optional percussion parts (drumset/snare and bass drum; hand drums; tambourine)
• Packaged as a .ZIP for easy downloading and part management

While it can be performed with just 3 players, I recommend having 4 or 8 players (2 per part) for maximum effect.