Crash, Bang, Wallop! Series: Clockwork Calypso, Creepy Crotchets and Dragon Dance.(Book Review)

by Keith Bartlett. UnitedMusic Publishers Ltd./Theodore Presser Company (588 North Gulph Rd., long of Prussia, PA 19406), 2002. $41.95 each. Late elementary.

Crash, Bang, Wallop! sounds like great fun and it is! This series of six pieces written for classroom percussion with piano accompaniment is definitely not rhythm band music. This music is imaginative, sophisticated and charming and requires solid music reading abilities and careful counting skills. These pieces will provide a fun, challenging ensemble experience for any music class--vocal, piano, strings or winds.

The best features of this well-planned series are its practicality and adaptability. Instruments used in the orchestrations are a piano and various combinations of percussion and rhythm band instruments. If a recommended instrument is not available, any similar alternative will do, and the number of players per part is left to the teacher's discretion. Each piece contains "Handy Hints" for teachers, giving suggestions for substituting instruments and achieving the best results from available instruments. Such flexibility makes it possible for any class to enjoy these compositions--even those on limited budgets.

Each piece contains a conductor's and piano score, separate parts for each percussion group and a CD performance of the work. All parts are printed in dear, easy-to-read notation, and all but the piano and conductor's score are reproducible. Individual percussion parts require knowledge of all basic note and rest values, including eighth and dotted quarter/eighth ...