Sample Mp3

This somewhat programmatic piece was composed while in the woods with my dog on a blustery fall day. The title has numerous meanings, "Tree" being pretty obvious because I was in the woods! However, the "tree" is also how most Trinidadians pronounce the number 3. I had been discussing Trini slang as well as triplets and different note groupings with my beginning university steel band, and as a compositional challenge, I tried to write a piece using as many note groupings of three as possible (not necessarily triplets), without it sounding obvious I was doing so. None of my students noticed the tri-note groupings until they had learned the piece and I mentioned it to them, so hopefully they are disguised pretty well.

"Tings" is also Trini slang for "Things", but also implies bell-like tones which is what letters F, G, H, and I should sound like. More on that in the performance notes.  I hope your band enjoys this musical trip through the woods! -Mat

Difficulty: Easy/Medium (great for junior high, high school, and college steel bands)

Instrumentation: tenor/double tenor(can be played on 2nds)/double seconds/guitar-cello/bass/drum set/various wind chimes

ITEM ID : SDMB-012