If you're happy and you know it - for flexible Concert Band (easy-intermediate)

Instrumentation: Flexible Concert Band

Duration: ~ 1-2'

Difficulty level: easy - intermediate

This piece is an easy to easy-medium arrangement for wind bands of any size, with optional and extra parts to ensure each part is covered. It was originally written with child audience participation in mind, with suggestions to the director for how to lengthen the piece beyond two verses as needed. It may be performed with a chorus, solo singer and participating audience, or as an instrumental as desired.

Performance notes:

The drumset player should have a suspended triangle at the ready for bar 14, notated with a triangle notehead.

If drumset is not available or there are more percussionists than needed, split up the drumset part into 5 individual components: kick>bass drum, snare, hi-hat (or suspended cymbal), toms (or timpani), and triangle. The hi-hat player should cover all ride cymbal hits; if no hi-hat is available, play the hi-hat parts on suspended cymbal using cymbal chokes. Any remaining extra percussionIsts should play the flute or euphonium parts on mallet instruments.

This arrangement is originally intended for 2x runthroughs of the melody with the audience singing along as written, with the first time being "clap" and the second "stomp"; however, the ensemble may optionally decide to repeat more than once. In this case, the chosen percussion instruments played in those "response" bars should correspond to the type of sound the audience is making (i.e. high/low, pitched/unpitched).

In the case that the piece will be played through more than 2 times, the director may choose to have some players tacet the first few times in order to let the piece build to the end.

Click on "Preview" to download a demo recording of the piece in its entirety.

For more works from the arranger, visit www.adamclaussen.com