The Tenants' Polka (Husmannspolka)

The Tenants' Polka is yet another lively Scandinavian traditional dance tune!

The Violin 2 and Cello 2 parts in this arrangement should be fairly easy to play. The Cello 1 section, on the other hand, needs to be comfortable with playing in second/third/fourth position. A nice challenge for the oldest cellists in the Junior string orchestra!

One elephant – or more!

This arrangement was made as a part of The Double Bass Project, but for a spesific concert with both junior and youth orchestra members playing together in one big orchestra.

The unusual thing about this particular orchestra was that it had 5 – five! – double bass players, which, let me tell you, is no common occurence in our small town. We had two of my cellists-turned-bassists, one junior bassist, one youth bassist, and the bass teacher. I really wanted a piece with which to show off this incredible bass section, and this Danish elephant march was the result. Well – I'm not the first to cast the double bass in the role of the elephant...

We actually had the whole bass section stand in front of the orchestra for this piece, and it seemed to me that it was very popular!

As this piece is meant to be played by musicians of varying ages and abilities, some of the parts are super easy (Violin 3, Cello 2 and Double bass 2 can all be played on open strings), some are just easy, and some – notably the Violin 1 part – require more experienced students.

I include the beginners' part, Violin 3 and Cello 2 (in Norwegian only, sorry!), which is basically rhythms on the open A string.

Dance of the Lonely Moon Man

Another one of my own compositions for our Junior orchestra: The Dance of the Lonely Moon Man, a sort of wistful spaceman passacaglia...

Dino Dances 1: Velociraptor Waltz

This velociraptor seems to be a little dizzy – maybe he has been running around in circles for too long?

P.S. Complete parts for  the Velociraptor Waltz and the other Dino Dances are available at Sheet Music Plus: Dino Dances for Junior String Orchestra

Dino Dances 2: Tyrannosaurus Tango

Who knew the T-rex was such an elegant dancer?

Note: The Cello 1 part may be played by a soloist.

P.S. Complete parts for the Tyrannosaurus Tango and three other Dino Dances are available at Sheet Music Plus:  Dino Dances for Junior String Orchestra

Listen to Tyrannosaurus Tango here!

Dino Dances 3: Brachiosaurus Boogie

The Dino Dances were actually inspired by the drawings of the amazing children's book illustrator Paul Stickland. I'm starting with the last one, that way they will end up in the right order on the blog (you see, I'm learning...).

Like in the other Double Bass Project pieces, the bass part is playable on open strings. But in this piece the bass section gets to show off a little, too, starting at letter B. Who says open string parts have to be dull?

The brachiosaurus is way too awesome a creature to have a regular ending to its dance. In the last chord, everyone should play as high a note as they can on their instrument. This will result in a sort of microtonal cluster. What the brachiosaurus actually does (or says) here, I leave to the imagination of the musicians!

P.S. Complete parts for the Brachiosaurus Boogie and the other Dino Dances (with a bonus movement!) are available at Sheet Music Plus: Dino Dances for Junior String Orchestra

Synes du om meg?/Ut å søke tjeneste – Two folksongs from Norway

A new piece for The Double Bass Project: Two Norwegian folk tunes. The song called "Synes du om meg?" (Do you love me?) starts at letter A, and "Ut å søke tjeneste" (Seeking a post) starts at letter B.

Like in most of my other Junior pieces, the Violin 2 and Cello 2 parts are intended for the least experienced musicians in the orchestra. Nevertheless I have tried to make them as musically meaningful as possible – to encourage practicing at home!

Polly Wolly Doodle

A well known tune for Junior string orchestra, with a very easy double bass part!

In my experience, most children find it easier to play fast notes than long slow ones. That's why most of the Junior pieces on this blog are of the lively kind. Also, they tend to be more popular – many of my youngest students seem to rate music by speed: the faster the better! Nevertheless, I do have some pieces of the slightly more slow and soulful kind up my sleeve... Stay tuned!

The Double Bass Project

This year saw the dawning of The Double Bass Project in our Junior orchestra. The background being that a) we recently aquired two 1/4-size double basses, and b) our cello section is very large at the moment – in fact we have as many cellists as violinists! Being a cellist myself, of course I think this is just great. But it also provided an unmissable opportunity to let our cellists try out the double bass.

And so I divided the cellists in pairs, and decided that by the end of the spring term, all of them shall have played the double bass in the orchestra at a minimum of one concert. So far this has been very popular, and the cellists all look forward eagerly to having their turn on the double bass (I even think some of the violinists are a bit jealous...). Not to mention that the orchestra sounds so much better with a double bass section!

The cellist-turned-bassist pairs all get three lessons to learn the very basics of double bass playing. Then they get to play the bass in two or three pieces in the next orchestra concert.

This also means that I have had to make some new pieces to suit these aspiring bassist. The upcoming pieces on this blog (tagged with Double Bass Project) will therefore have a double bass part that is very easy – only open strings – but that requires some orchestra experience (such as being able to count rests). I hope other string teachers will find this useful, too!

Back-stick dance

Another lively junior piece with very beginner-friendly violin 2 and cello 2 parts: Back-stick dance, a traditional scandinavian dance game ("Kjeppryggedans" in Norwegian).

Junior Suite 2: Rainy Reggae

This is the second of the three little pieces for junior strings that together form a "Junior Suite". The pieces have an optional viola part, and the double bass part may also be played by cellos (in this movement the double bass part is optional).

Part three of the Junior Suite coming soon! :)

Junior Suite 1: Arrival of the Acrobats

This is the first of three little pieces for junior strings that together form a "Junior Suite". The pieces have an optional viola part, and the double bass part may also be played by cellos.

I have given the first violins some technically challenging tasks in this suite, while the second violins get to stay in fairly safe territory...

Stand by for part two! :)

Hopp, vennen min – Jump, little friend

Another traditional tune for the juniors, this time from Solør in southeastern Norway. 

Here the parts are marked with individual dynamics. The original tune moves through all the parts, but it's always marked f (starting in the cellos at bar 5, then the second violins take over at bar 9 etc.). The point is that everyone should be able to hear which part has the tune. After all, one of the most important lessons in beginners' ensemble playing is learning to listen to the others!

Note: If any of the cellists don't play in fourth position yet, they may skip the short intro and start playing at letter A.

Saint James Infirmary Blues

Time for another youth orchestra piece! Shorter and less technically demanding than the Grieg Lyric Pieces, this melancoly melody is nice for working on a rich, warm string orchestra sound.

Camptown Races

This is actually a two-part arrangement of a well known minstrel melody. The first part (violin 1/cello 1) is the tune itself. The second part (violin 2/cello 2) is very simple, but still melodious. It should be well suited for a beginner who is just learning the notes in first position on the D string.

If all your orchestra players are of similar age and ability, why not switch parts on the repeat? That way the violins may play part 2 and the cellos part 1 the first time, and vice versa the cecond time.

Ach, du lieber Augustin

Another piece for the youngest string players: a little German waltz tune reminiscient of old music boxes!

Billy Boy

A new piece for junior strings: my arrangement of the North American traditional tune Billy Boy!
The viola part is optional, i.e. if you're lucky enough to have a viola section in your orchestra, it may replace the cello 1 section (and vice versa).

Like in my other Junior pieces, the second violin part is a little easier to play than the first. Also the cello 1 part is slightly more technically challenging than the cello 2 part. But my goal is, as always, that every player should have a part that's interesting enough to be practiced at home!

Mattachins – Old French Sword Dance

This little arrangement was written for the same orchestra as Dudlebska. All the parts are quite easy to play, although the second violin part is a little easier than the first. A nice piece for working on dynamics!

Grieg: Three Lyric Pieces – 3. Halling

Part three of the Three Lyric Pieces by Edvard Grieg. The Halling is a traditional Norwegian dance in which a male dancer gets to show off his athletic skills:

The viola part may be substituted for the cello 1 part.

I appreciate your views on my arrangements! :)