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"Big People Party" by Farmer Nappy

List Price: $47.00
Price: $42.00

Difficulty: Medium (great for high school and college steel bands)

"Vibes" was one of the most played songs both on the road and especially for Panorama in 2012 with well over a dozen steel bands in Trinidad choosing this song for the competition. A nice tempo, catchy melody, and great....

Product ID SDMB-008-Big_People_Party
ISBN SDMB-008
Date Added
02/07/2016

Sample Mp3

Arranged for Steel Band by Mat Britain 

“Big People Party” was one of the biggest Soca hits of 2014. At Carnival time there are parties or fetes as they are called in Trinidad. Some are open to the public, others are considered “exclusive” which usually means either an invitation, an expensive ticket, or both. The lyrics in this song talk about how this person really wants to go to this all-inclusive fete which will no doubt include a DJ and/or live band, food and drink.  “Big People” refers to “rich”, well-to-do folks who will be in attendance. It would be the equivalent of backstage passes for a big concert or court-side seats for a big game. 

I stuck with the original form of this song with the exception of the fade out ending. Nearly all of the background vocal and horn parts are spread throughout the band. The chord structure is simple but to avoid too much repetition the bass line changes slightly at almost every new section of the song and the 2nds and Guitars/Cellos have a nice unison motif that happens at the end of many phrases. The challenge for this tune will be the syncopated rhythms and getting it to groove.  There is much room for additional Engine Room participation in this song. Listening to the original you will hear a Brazilian cuica, a vibra-slap, as well as other cool percussion instruments not normally found in the Engine Room.   An internet search for this song is a must. My Steel Band students at Vanderbilt University started working on this song right before Spring Break and many of them said that “Big People Party” was on heavy rotation while they were traveling and enjoying their break. It is a really infectious song that is perfect to either open or close a concert. Have fun!!


Difficulty: Medium (great for high school and college steel bands)

Instrumentation: tenor/double tenor/double seconds/guitar/cello/bass/ drum set/engine room

ITEM ID : SDMB-008

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