Sample Mp3

Arranged for Steel Band by Mat Britain 

Notes- 

Lead/Tenor part requires a bit of dexterity and understanding of alternating sticking. A few licks will require starting slow and increasing tempo as your band gets the parts under their hands. Otherwise, there is quite a bit of repetition.

The separate Guitar & Cello parts are essential.

Pedagogical Points/Performance Notes-

While searching the crop of Soca tunes for Carnival 2023, I came across this song. The Tamboo Bamboo sounding loop immediately caught my attention, along with the fact it is so different than the standard “cut & paste” Soca’s that come out each year.

Having your students listen to the source material is essential. My arrangement follows the song's form closely and is in the same key as the original, A minor.

Every section of the band has the melody at some point, so having them all learn the A minor scale would be a good starting point. As always, make sure the melody can be heard and adjust dynamics accordingly.

Engine Room (Tamboo Bamboo, Shekere, Bottle)- Though a traditional drum set can be added, I found that using these instruments instead created a groove closer to the source material, while at the same time keeping this tune from sounding like the other Soca songs programed on our concert. It also gives your Engine Room players something different to play. I utilized this song as an opportunity to explain Tamboo Bamboo and Bottle & Spoon to our concert audience.

Tamboo Bamboo- If you can’t find a decent size piece of bamboo (try your local zoo!), you can use PVC pipe or something similar. Try finding a piece that is a low pitch, close to the pitch of the original recording. The notes on the downbeats are played by "stamping" the tube on the ground (wood, tile, cement, works better than carpet). The notes marked by an x are played with a stick on the side of the tube. Search "Tamboo Bamboo" on YouTube to get an idea of traditional Tamboo Bamboo playing from Trinidad & Tobago.

Shekere- This part may seem "boring", just playing the downbeats for essentially the entire song. However, it is crucial to holding the groove together. Having the player use a click track/metronome with earbuds during rehearsals will ensure a steady tempo for the band to lock in to and be a good exercise in playing with a click.

Bottle- The bottle can be played with a spoon or small metal rod like a triangle beater. Like the Shekere part, it is not rhythmically complex, but it is essential to the groove.

• If you have a talented percussionist, the Shekere and Bottle parts can be combined and played by one player. This will take some practice!

Style- Contemporary Soca

I hope your band enjoys learning this song! If you like this one, check out my arrangement of "Break You Down" by the same artist, also available on MauMauMusic.

Thanks, -Mat

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

Instrumentation: tenor/double tenor (can be played on Dbl 2nds)/double seconds/guitar/cello/bass/tamboo bamboo (1-low)/shekere/ bottle

ITEM ID : SDMB-017