Band Training

Free Scores

Compositions for brass

Salute to Medan
O Tano Batak
Hallelujah Chorus (Handel)
Scoring

Salute to Medan

When asked about the folk songs of Southeast Asia, most people (if they know any such songs at all!) usually cite standards such as Chan Mali Chan and Bengawan Solo. However, there are hundreds of others. This selection, written especially for the Medan Band by Australian composer Noel Jones, includes four well loved traditional Indonesian songs from across the archipelago that are hardly known outside the country. The arrangement was written for brass band, but I have provided a brass ensemble score as well. If fact, by following the scoring scheme given at the bottom of this page, you can get your whole concert band to play along.

As is standard practice on this website, the music has been released into the public domain for non-commercial use. The music should not provide any technical difficulties for the average lower secondary school band.

Here are the first few bars from the brass ensemble score:

Download the brass ensemble score here (183kb), and the brass band score here (214kb). A full set of parts can be downloaded here (481kb)

O Tano Batak

O Tano Batak is widely regarded as one of the unofficial “national anthems” of the Batak people of North Sumatra (Indonesia). It is a folk song about that tells the story of someone who has traveled all over the world but still remembers his homeland. Batak choirs often sing it at cultural festivals. You can download the lyrics of the song in the original Batak language, together with translations into Bahasa Indonesia (the Indonesian national language) and English here.

Here are the first few bars taken from my arrangement for brass ensemble:

 Download the brass ensemble score here (316 Kb) and the brass band score here (316Kb). A full set of parts can be downloaded here (704 Kb).

Scoring

Performance note: These arrangements were originally written for a British-style brass band in Medan (the provincial capital of North Sumatra, Indonesia). They therefore reflect both the strengths and weaknesses of the young players in that particular band as well as the peculiarities of the brass band style in general. For example, a sharp distinction is made between the euphonium and the baritone part, something that is rare in concert or wind band music. Since it is an essential part of the harmony, the baritone part is more important than the euphonium part. The latter being little more than a decoration.

By taking advantage of the scoring scheme given below, you can play Salute to Medan and O Tano Batak with just four players! Alternatively, enjoy the richer harmonic colour provided by the entire section.

Substitutions

You can also get your whole wind band to play along by using the following substitutions: