FJHmusic.com > Instrumental Music > Feedback Forum        Want to share your comments about a piece you've read or performed? Would you like to give us comments about this website? This is a place to discuss the FJH instrumental catalog with other directors and students. We'd love to hear about your experiences with instrumental music from FJH!    Click here to post your comments Comments: << | Previous Page | Next Page | >> Comments on: Invictus I played this piece in a wind ensemble under the direction of John Skelton and it was one of the most emotional pieces we ever performed. This piece is full of stunning texture and tearful themes that will stick in your mind forever. Justin Student AL Comments on: Among the Clouds This is an amazing piece! It is really awesome how one part gives a "question" and other parts give the "answer!" When you start at the beginning, the way it is so soft then crescendos into this one huge mass of instruments playing their own individual part is truly amazing!! You really feel you are "Among the Clouds!" INCREDIBLE! Brock Student KS Comments on: Phantom Ship We'll be playing this in our upcoming concert, and its just a fantastic piece! If you want to give your french horns a piece that they have to practice, this is it! Also, for the first alto sax, its like a work out! The con moto is the best part! Any band directors looking for an interesting piece that an intermediate band can play, be sure to listen to this one. Chelsie Student OH Comments on: Socrates, the Amazing Mississippi Map Turtle This piece was recommended by a friend. It is fun to do, and brass ranges are moderate, but the funk rhythms are tricky in some spots. Socrates takes a strong, clean bass bone on some fast moving unison lines with the bari sax, along with a good funk drummer, but even a mid-level bass player sounds good with the lines Fraley wrote. I especially like the silent measures inserted here and there in the piece – they make the audience want more, and when the funk groove comes back in it creates a 'wow' moment for most audiences. This is a good choice for festival, and it is fun for the home-town crowd as well. The band enjoys it and so do I. There is something subtle about this piece that seems to bring out the best in my solists. Try it. You'll like it. B. Quatman High School Director FL Comments on: Suspension Bridge Suspension Bridge is a Latin number that sounds more difficult than it is. There is a lot of unison, and range demands are moderate for the brass. The promo says it is a percussion feature, but there is really only a brief free drum solo at the end. The rest of the tune moves back and forth between a driving Latin feel and a laid-back swing effect. Played softly and with the contrast as called for in the score, this chart works exceptionally well. I have used it with three different high-school level groups (mid-to advanced levels), and achieved straight Superior ratings every time. It requires a decent drummer to maintain the intensity, and a good bass bone doesn't hurt, but frankly even a mid-level high school jazz group can do very well at Festival with this very fine work. B. Quatman High School Director FL Comments on: Jericho Jericho is arranged in the style of Sing, Sing, Sing. It is achievable by a strong middle school band, and it is an extraordinary crowd-pleaser at the high school level. We do a lot of community gigs, and we have used Jericho as our opener for every community performance we have done for three years now. It has a lot of internal energy and a familiar, tuneful melodic line. The short mini-solos can be done by the trumpet section in unison, or by a soloist. No improvisation in this tune, except a little free-style work for the drums. The Gene Krupa style opening sets up the first power hit, which gets the attention of even the most jaded audiences. Chris did a great job on this one. I highly recommend it for any high school jazz ensemble and for advanced middle school groups. B. Quatman High School Director FL Comments on: Zifflemeyer Blues I had been searching for the perfect swing chart for our #1 band at the North Fort Myers School of the Arts. This is it. It is demanding but not overpowering for trombones – trumpet range is moderate, and the sound is powerful with a great shuffle feel. It works very well for festival performance, and frankly, I just enjoy working the chart, as do the kids in the band. This is not an easy chart to play well, but it is not as difficult as it sounds. Thanks Ben Davis for commissioning this work – if you have good trombones, and want an achievable, tuneful work, this hits the mark. B. Quatman High School Director FL Comments on: Star Above, Shine Brightly We are playing this song in concert band right now. And I love it! It's so powerful, and it almost brings you to tears. Awesome piece of music! Katie Student WI Comments: << | Previous Page | Next Page | >> Click here to post your comments  About Us :: Composers & Writers :: Contact Us :: Conventions & Workshops Piano Adventures® :: Piano Music :: Guitar Music :: Concert Band Music Jazz Ensemble Music :: String Orchestra Music :: Solo & Ensemble Music Canzonique Music :: Percussion Music :: :: Home Copyright © The FJH Music Company Inc.