Instrumentation

• Flute/Oboe

• Clarinet

• Bass Clarinet/ Baritone TC

• Alto Saxophone

• Tenor Saxophone

• Baritone Saxophone

• Trumpet

• F Horn

• Trombone/Baritone/ Bassoon

• Tuba

• Xylophone (optional)

• Timpani (optional)

• Snare Drum

• Bass Drum

• Suspended Cymbal

• Triangle/Tambourine (optional)

Rehearsal Notes

• Every instrument has the melody or a feature at some point in the song

• Instruments use only the first 6 notes of the Concert B-flat Scale (except F Horn, see below)

• F Horn has notes written outside of the first 6 notes of the Concert B-flat scale, however those notes are in a more accessible range for beginning F Horn students

• This version has 6 percussion parts, and the Percussion parts are written so each part can be played by a single player, but can also be easily divided up for larger percussion sections.

• Timpani, Xylophone, Triangle and Tambourine are optional percussion parts if dealing with a smaller percussion section
  

Program Notes

Dots is inspired by the artistic work of painter Georges Seurat. Seurat lived from 1859-1891, and painted using a style referred to as pointillism. Pointillism is a painting technique where instead of using brush strokes to create the art, the artist uses small dots of paint. The style depends on the ability of our eyes to merge the dots together to create the colors and images that the painter intends. While from a distance the eye merges the color dots together and the image seems to be one fluid piece of art, when viewed up close the individual dots can be seen, and they can seem to be random.

This song aims to create a musical image in the same way Seurat created his art, with a consistent steady rhythm of eighth notes present throughout the song. Every instrument gets to play melody and harmony, and contributes to the eighth note motif present throughout the song.

This version of the song is written for beginning bands, with all instruments using only the first 6 notes of the concert B-flat scale. This version includes six percussion parts, each part is playable by a single performer, however the Triangle/Tambourine Part can be split if the band has a large percussion section. The Timpani, Xylophone, Triangle and Tambourine parts are optional if performing with a smaller percussion section. The F Horn part has been adjusted to use different notes that fall outside of the first 6 notes of the concert B-flat scale but match a more comfortable range for beginning F Horn students.