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  The “March of the Aliens”

  This web page describes an exciting, new concert band march, “March of the Aliens”. The basic tempo of the march can vary from 144 to 172 beats per minute, depending on the size of the aliens.

  “Text Version”    
   
MIDI Sample
 
     
See the Score
  Basic Boring Bio    
   
“First Contact”
 
     
Related Sites

  “Text Version” of the March
  The march is written in 4/4 time, and is in the key of f minor. The introduction begins with seven measures of full tutti chords. In measure six the bass voices begin a moving bass figure, setting the stage for the melody taken up by the upper voices. The cornets, trumpets and trombones play a rhythmic background figure. All through the first theme the drums maintain a very strong, driving pattern.
    The second theme is much smoother in style, with many quarter note triplets. The brass again play a rhythmic background, muted this time. After a third wandering theme, a fugal section builds up to a surprising da capo to the opening forte tutti. A full sounding coda completes the piece.
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  MIDI Sample
  If you have a sound card and an plug-in such as Crescendo (available free from www.liveupdate.com ) you can hear the first part of the march by clicking on March of the Aliens

See the Score
  If you have the plug-in Adobe Acrobat Reader (available free from www.adobe.com ) you can take a look at the first page of the march by clicking on Score, Page 1.

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  Basic Boring Bio
  I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, a city with polka bands, marching bands and the Cleveland Orchestra. I played first chair clarinet in the Cleveland All-City Orchestra, the All-Ohio Boys Band, the Ohio High School State Orchestra, the Ohio State University Concert Band, and the All-Ohio College Band.
    While at Ohio State, I was able to look toward the back of the clarinet section and see an up-and-coming clarinetist named Richard Stoltzman. He is now a world-class clarinetist. Evidently he kept practicing.
    After teaching public school music for twelve years, I got interested in computers and became a computer programmer. I have been able to maintain my solid amateur status on flute, clarinet, violin, viola and piano. No problem having to turn down a concert career.
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  “First Contact”
  If you would like to discuss the availability of the score and parts, I can be reached at webmaster@johnoblak.com

Related Sites
For information about concert bands and related topics: www.concertbandmusic.com
J.W. Pepper's Music Database Search: www.jwpepper.com
The World of Wind Ensembles and Symphonic Bands: www.uwm.edu/~mcmahan/winds
The music notation software Finale was used to create the score and parts. Purchase the latest version at www.codamusic.com
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