Instrumentation

• Flute

• Oboe

• Bassoon

• Clarinet

• Bass Clarinet

• Alto Saxophone

• Tenor Saxophone

• Baritone Saxophone

• Trumpet

• F Horn

• Trombone

• Euphonium (BC and TC)

• Tuba

• Timpani (optional)

• Xylophone (optional)

• Snare Drum

• Advanced Snare Drum (optional)

• Bass Drum

• Suspended Cymbal

• Triangle

• Wind Chimes

Rehearsal Notes

• The entire song uses only the first six notes of the Concert B-flat scale, making it a perfect song for beginning bands looking to branch out from method books and into more serious band literature

• All wind players have the opportunity to play the melody at some point throughout the song, the full melody is included in the Rhythm and Melody guide which can be used as a teaching tool.

• The song uses 8 unique percussion parts, but is playable with only 5 of these parts, as the optional parts add to the song but don’t significantly detract from the overall performance if they can’t be performed

• The conductor can use either or both the Snare Drum and Advanced Snare Drum parts

• This song has a partner song for this tune, Red Sky In The Morning Sailor’s Warning, which uses the same melody but changes the starting note while still staying within the first six notes of the Concert B-flat Scale. This can be used to explain how composers use one melody to create many songs that sound very different from each other.

Program Notes

The title of this tune comes from weather folklore that states that the color of the sky at various times of day can warn of impending storms. A red sky at night is viewed as a beautiful and peaceful sky that doesn’t forecast impending storms.