News & Views Saturday, May 25, 2013

Category: Staff Picks

Walk a Mile in my Shoes 24 May, 2013

We’ve all heard the expression “Walk a mile in my shoes.”  Even the late Joe South had a hit song by that title back in 1970. It basically means that you shouldn’t judge anyone until you realize what their life experience is.

Can we trade shoes for a moment?  Here is Stanton’s life experience.

At Stanton’s Sheet Music, our sales representatives have virtually all earned Music Education degrees, many have taught in the public and/or private schools, many teach or have taught private lessons, many have worked in church music settings, and many of them are “gigging” musicians.  We are musicians and we speak “Music.”  One of our main objectives, when choosing new music to promote each year, is to find music that we would want to use if we were teaching or programming music for the church and/or school year.

Several of the staff members are also deeply involved in the constant updating of our website, www.stantons.com.  We keep adding website applications that will make things easier and more productive for our customers – things like our Virtual Workshops, our Listening Library, our Wishlist feature, the Stanton’s Jukebox, the advanced search with multiple search options and many others.  Stanton’s website has the capability of allowing customers to download sheet music for many titles, and we also stock tens of thousands of titles on our shelves for immediate delivery.

Our bookkeeping department keeps things clean and simple, with clear, concise invoices and monthly statements for school and church accounts.  We accept itemized and open purchase orders and can set up new institutional accounts in minutes.  We also accept Visa, MasterCard and Discover for personal or institutional purchases.

So if you were in our shoes, what would you want to do to help our customers?  Do you have any suggestions of things we could do to improve our service to you?  Are there things on our website that you like to see presented differently?  Have you ever found yourself thinking, “Gee, if only Stanton’s could…”

If so, let us know!  Share your ideas with us, and perhaps we can institute them – maybe we already do and you just don’t know it!  Email us (greatservice@stantons.com), give us a call (1-800-42-MUSIC – 1-800-426-8742), or stop in and chat (330 S. 4th St., Columbus, Ohio 43215). We want to make our service to you better than anything you’ve experienced at other sheet music companies.  We try to wear your shoes when thinking of how to serve you better, but we don’t know your complete life experience.  We’ve been here for our customers since 1960, and know that if we can help you to be successful, we will be successful. Please let us know anything we can do to enhance your music purchasing experience!

Wedding Albums for String Trios, Duets and Solos 22 May, 2013

String Players – do you play wedding gigs through the summer?  These Latham Music collections are “must-haves” for your gig folders.

String Trio
Wedding Album 1 for String Trio
arranged by Lynne Latham
for Violin, Viola and Cello, with optional Violin 2 for Viola
16 wedding standards much like the quartet book – plus Pachelbel’s Canon, which is not included in any of the quartet collections.

Wedding Album 1 for Piano Trio
arranged by Lynne Latham
for Piano, Violin and Cello
16 wedding standards same as the string trio book.

Wedding Album 2 for String Trio
arranged by Lynne Latham
for Violin, Viola and Cello, with optional Violin 2 for Viola
9 prelude/postlude pieces including Mozart’s Alleluja from Exultate Jubilate, Beethoven’s Ode to Joy, Bach’s Wachet Auf , Sheep May Safely Graze and more – same as the second quartet album.

Wedding Album 2 for Piano Trio
arranged by Lynne Latham
for Piano, Violin and Cello
9 prelude/postlude pieces same as the string trio book.

Wedding Album 3 for String Trio
arranged by Lynne Latham
for Violin, Viola and Cello, with optional Violin 2 for Viola
7 prelude/postlude pieces including Charpentier’s Te Deum, Bach-Gounod’s Ave Maria, Massenet’s Meditation from Thais and a suite of four pieces from Purcell’s The Fairy Queen and more – same as the third quartet album.

Wedding Album 3 for Piano Trio
arranged by Lynne Latham
for Piano, Violin and Cello
7 prelude/postlude pieces same as the string trio book.

String Duo
Weddings for Two
arranged by Lynne Latham
for two violins or violin and viola or violin and cello
Violin 1 (first part)
Violin 2 (second part)
Viola (second part)
Cello (second part)
Must have first violin, then add one of the other books.  23 standard wedding and prelude/postlude selections as found in the quartet and trio collections.

String Solo with Accompaniment
Violinist’s Wedding Album 1
arranged by Lynne Latham with piano accompaniment
Violinist’s Wedding Album 1 w/CD
arranged by Lynne Latham with CD accompaniment
22 wedding and prelude/postlude standards

Violinist’s Wedding Album 2
arranged by Lynne Latham with piano accompaniment
11 prelude/postlude pieces

Violist’s Wedding Album 1
arranged by Lynne Latham with piano accompaniment
22 wedding and prelude/postlude standards

Cellist’s Wedding Album 1
arranged by Ted Hunter and Lynne Latham with piano accompaniment
11 wedding standards

Cellist’s Wedding Album 2
arranged by Lynne Latham with piano accompaniment
14 prelude/postlude pieces

For more information on these and other materials for strings, contact Stanton’s Orchestra Department. Shop Stanton’s for all your sheet music needs!

Strive for Excellence with your Choir! 21 May, 2013

Stanton’s Sheet Music is pleased to announce our 20th annual Excellence in Choral Literature Clinic on Saturday August 24, 2013! This session was designed to help you select concert and contest literature from some of choral music’s most distinguished composers, featuring the best in new music for mixed, treble, and men’s choirs at all levels of difficulty. Registration fee includes a complimentary packet of over 30 titles.

Come join us to discover beautiful music and share ideas with colleagues and friends! For more information, please check out our video below, contact us by email, or call us at 1.800.426.8742. Register online NOW!

Click here to watch video

Wedding Albums for String Quartet 20 May, 2013

String Players – do you play wedding gigs through the summer?  These Latham Music collections are “must-haves” for your gig folders.

Wedding Album 1 for String Quartet
arranged by Lynne Latham
12 wedding standards, including the Wagner and Mendelssohn wedding marches, Clarke’s Trumpet Voluntary, Purcell’s Trumpet Tune, Schubert’s Ave Maria and more.

Wedding Album 2 for String Quartet
arranged by Lynne Latham
9 prelude/postlude pieces including Mozart’s Alleluja from Exultate Jubilate, Beethoven’s Ode to Joy, Bach’s Wachet Auf , Sheep May Safely Graze and more.

Wedding Album 3 for String Quartet
arranged by Lynne Latham
7 prelude/postlude pieces including Charpentier’s Te Deum, Bach-Gounod’s Ave Maria, Massenet’s Meditation from Thais and a suite of four pieces from Purcell’s The Fairy Queen and more.

Wedding Album 4 for String Quartet
arranged by Lynne Latham and Catherine McMichael
10 pieces subtitled Beautiful Music for Meditation including Faure’s Pie Jesu from Requiem, MacDowell’s To a Wild Rose, Prayer from Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, Adagio from Beethoven’s Pathetique Sonata and more.

Wedding Album for Trumpet and String Quartet
arranged by Lynne Latham
10 wedding standards for Trumpet and String Quartet, including the Wagner, Mendelssohn, Clarke and Purcell from the Wedding Album 1 for String Quartet plus trumpet-worthy selections such as La Rejouissance from Handel’s Royal Fireworks, Mouret’s Rondeau, Hornpipe from Handel’s Water Music, Purcell’s Sonata for Trumpet and Strings and more.

For more information on these and other materials for strings, contact Stanton’s Orchestra Department. Shop Stanton’s for all your sheet music needs!

Autoharpin’ 17 May, 2013

In 1881, Charles Zimmerman invented the Autoharp.  In the 1960′s, Rhythm Band began to import Chromaharps from Japan.  They are much the same instrument.  Both have 36 strings and buttons on bars to press down, each bar pressed down produces a different chord.  Elementary music teachers nearly always have one or the other in the instrument cabinet in the classroom.  Much more can be done with an Autoharp or Chromaharp than simple strumming.  Fancier strums can be employed, and there is a way to do some picking. Folksingers often include an Autoharp in their collection of  instruments they use to accompany themselves. Mother Maybelle Carter is one of the best known autoharp players. It’s a much more versatile instrument than many people realize.  Mel Bay’s Complete Method for Autoharp or Chromaharp has 48 lessons teaching everything from learning to read music and tuning to advanced strumming.  This book of sheet music for Autoharp was written by Meg Peterson, and includes a CD.  For more information about this or other Autoharp music, please call us at 1-800-42-MUSIC, email us at keyboard@stantons.com, or visit our website at http://www.stantons.com. Shop Stanton’s for all your sheet music needs!

“The Educator’s Guide to Grants” 16 May, 2013

Would you like funding to update your music technology resources? Do you need uniforms or instruments for the marching band? Are you searching for funding for professional development or travel to study abroad? The Educator’s Guide to Grants is designed to help schools and non-profits find funding and create proposals to access funds successfully. Novices just learning to negotiate grant writing and more experienced writers seeking million-dollar awards will find insight and assistance with this guide. A CD-ROM included with the book features a screened list of hundreds of funding sources matched to each grant area.

Shop Stanton’s for your sheet music needs!

Attention: Elementary Music Teachers! 15 May, 2013

gm logoElementary General Music Clinic
Wednesday 7/31/2013, 9:00 am-12:30 pm
Columbia Heights UMC
REGISTRATION: $20.00
Stanton’s Sheet Music is excited to welcome back Cristi Cary Miller as our clinician for the 31st edition of our Elementary General Music Clinic. This is one of Stanton’s longest running and most successful clinics, showcasing the best new teacher resources, song collections, games, musicals and more! We are sure that you will find materials that will keep you and your students interested throughout the year. Get your school year started on the right foot!

First Lessons Dulcimer 14 May, 2013

Have you recently acquired a lap dulcimer, and now want to know what to do with it?   It’s not too hard to learn: there are a lot of helpful books, DVDs and CDs available!

Joyce Ochs has written a helpful method book for the dulcimer in DAD tuning.  First Lessons Dulcimer  includes a CD that will help you tune your dulcimer and what the songs are supposed to sound like. All the basics are here. Basic chords and strums are taught, and beginning melody picking is introduced.

When you are comfortable with your dulcimer,  Stanton’s has a selection of more dulcimer books to choose from. There are dulcimer hymns and books of folk songs for dulcimer.  For more dulcimer music, call us at 1-800-42-MUSIC, email us at keyboard@stantons.com, or visit our website at http://www.stantons.com.  Shop Stanton’s for all your sheet music needs!

Music Budget – Use It or Lose It! 10 May, 2013

String Teachers – do you still have money left on a Purchase Order that you need to spend – or you’ll lose it? Get the best “Bang for your Buck” with one or more of the newest String Supplement books for young players:

Essential Musicianship for Strings – Fundamental Ensemble Concepts
Essential Musicianship for Strings – Intermediate Ensemble Concepts
by Michael Allen, Robert Gillespie and Pamela Tellejohn Hayes
*Rounds and Arrangements, correlating with the Essential Elements 2000 for Strings, Book 1 and 2
*The Fundamental book centers around the keys of D, G and C major
*The Intermediate book is based on the keys  D, A, F, Bb major plus g and d minor
*Through rounds, teach how different musical lines can be performed at the same time
* Establish a foundation for playing ensemble music as they learn to listen and play with other parts

Steps to Successful Ensembles
by Jeremy Woolstenhulme
*For first to second year players, loosely correlated with String Basics method book
*More advanced players can use it for sight-reading practice
*24 ensemble pieces, original compositions and arrangements, sequentially presented in order of difficulty
*Starts with short all-pizzicato selections and concludes with J. S. Bach’s Peasant Cantata
*Each piece has optional piano accompaniment, three have optional percussion

Sound Innovations – Sound Development
Warm-Up Exercises for Tone and Technique for Intermediate String Orchestra
by Bob Phillips and Kirk Moss
*Emphasis on playing with a characteristic beautiful string sound
*Tone – Bowing lanes, bow weight, bow speed
*Bowing – right hand skills and specific techniques – hooked bowings, martele, spiccato, colle
*Shifting – starting with harmonics and presented through finger patterns.  3rd & 5th and an introduction to 2nd & 4th
*Scales/Arpeggios – one or two octaves, up through 3 sharps and 3 flats, traditional and alternate fingerings
*Chorales/Rhythms – harmonized chorales and drones plus rhythm exercises in a variety of meters

and coming off the press soon…
Sound Innovations – Sound Development
Warm-Up Exercises for Tone and Technique for Advanced String Orchestra
by Bob Phillips and Kirk Moss

Contact Stanton’s orchestra department for more information on any of these products. Shop Stanton’s for all your sheet music needs!

“You’ll Be In My Heart” 09 May, 2013

You’ll Be In My Heart, the classic ballad from “Tarzan” by Phil Collins is now available in a remarkable setting for more advanced choirs! Opening as a gentle lullaby, the vocal lines build into an expansive concert work with fully voiced choral harmonies and sweeping piano arpeggios. The arrangement builds through several exciting modulations before returning to the gentle strains of the opening. This arrangement is a perfect choice for end-of-year concerts or graduation!

For more repertoire suggestions for closing out your school year, please contact us!  Shop Stanton’s for all your sheet music needs!

Happy Birthday, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky! May 7, 1840 07 May, 2013

The Seasons, Opus 37b

This collection of twelve pieces, one for each month, came about because of a commission from N. M. Bernard, editor of the St Petersburg music magazine, Nuvellist. Each month  during 1876,   Tchaikovsky wrote a short piano piece portraying subjects  and activities typical of that month, and it was published in that month’s edition of Nuvellis.  The result is this lovely collection of character pieces.  “Troika”, written for the month of November, stands on its own. It is bright and bouncy, like riding in a troika being drawn by fast horses.  It was a favorite encore of Sergei Rachmaninoff.    “Barcarolle“, written for June, is so pretty that it has been arranged for flute, violin, viola, string bass, and orchestra.  Written on an intermediate to advanced level, this entire work is considered standard literature for today’s pianists. For more information about this collection of sheet music or other collections of piano music, please contact us at 1-800-42-MUSIC, email us at keyboard@stantons.com, or visit our website at http://www.stantons.com.   Shop Stanton’s for all your sheet music needs.

Deluxe Accordion Method 06 May, 2013

Not so long ago, a customer remarked to me that the accordion was “coming back” (into favor).  Momentarily, I was puzzled. For me, as a member of the folk music/dance community, the accordion never “went away!”

How do today’s players learn to play? One very helpful resource is Mel Bay’s Deluxe Accordion Method, written by Frank Zucco. How to read music , rhythms,  how to use the bass keys, and how to best control the bellows are all taught in a book that is easy to understand. Although written for children, this instruction book is easily used by adults, also. In addition, there are other books of sheet music for accordion.  There are collections of pop tunes, polkas,  international dance tunes, Irish songs, and other ethnic collections.

If you are dusting off your old accordion, or you are aspiring to become an accordionist, we have a good selection of methods and sheet music books for you! For more information about accordion music, please call us at 1-800-42-MUSIC, email us at keyboard@stantons.com, or check out our website at http://www.stantons.com. Shop Stanton’s for all your sheet music needs.

Wolfgang’s “Wunderkind” Sonatas 01 May, 2013

Young Wolfgang A. Mozart was already composing keyboard music by the age of seven.  The Sonatas Vol. 1 (Wunderkind) were published by the end of February 1764 in Salzburg, when Wolfgang was eight years old.  Four sonatas were included: KV 6 and 7,  (called Opus 1 by the publisher) and KV 8 and 9, (called Opus 2 by the publisher).  The Sonatas Vol. 2 contains “The London Sonatas”, KV. 10-15, published as “Opus 3″  in March of 1765.  Sonatas Vol. 3 contains KV 26-31, written while the family was in The Hague, published in April of 1766 as “Opus 4″.  Note: “Wunderkind” means “wonder child”,  apt for a child prodigy!   These collections are on an early intermediate to intermediate level. The early sonatas are delightful to play.  It is interesting to note the progress of young Mozart’s maturity from Sonatas Vol. 1 to Sonatas Vol. 3.  Any one of these collections is a worthy addition to a pianist’s library.  If you would like to know more about these collections or other piano solo music, please contact us at 1-800-42-MUSIC, email us at keyboard@stantons.com, or visit our website, www.stantons.com. Shop Stanton’s for all your sheet music needs!

SAVE THE DATE – Sacred Choral Reading Session 30 April, 2013

Stanton’s is pleased to welcome back Mary McDonald as our clinician for the August Church Choral Music reading session! Mary McDonald’s music and talents have blessed choirs and congregations across the country for nearly thirty years.

McDonald_Mary_RGBMary is a well-known composer of more than 700 choral anthems, many seasonal cantatas, and keyboard collections. She previously served as a sacred music editor for a major publishing company and continues to serve in editorial consultant role for The Lorenz Corporation in Dayton, Ohio. She is published with every major publisher of church music and has had numerous top-selling anthems. Her unique blend of heart, hands, and humor, combined with a wide range of writing and performing styles, keep her in constant demand as a keyboard artist and keyboard and choral clinician.

Your registration includes a packet of over 40 new choral anthems that are hand-picked from the hundreds published each year. We look forward to seeing you on August 10th for a wonderful morning of singing with one of the nation’s most sought after church music experts.

Sacred Choral Reading Session
Saturday 8/10/2013, 9:00 am-12:30 pm
Battelle Fine Arts Center, Otterbein University
195 West Park St., Westerville OH 43081
Cost: $20.00 (There is no pre-registration; you may register the day of the clinic beginning at 8:30.)
email our choral department for more details

Sacred Piano Reading Session
- Also featuring Mary McDonald
Saturday 8/10/2013, 2:00 pm-4:30 pm
Stanton’s Sheet Music,
330 South 4th St., Columbus OH 43215
Cost: Free!
email our keyboard department for more details

Shop Stanton’s for all your sheet music needs!

The Nashville Number System 29 April, 2013

What is the Nashville Number System?   It is probably the easiest, fastest method to transpose keys for people who play chords.  For session players and jammers, it is the way to change keys instantly.  Duck’s Deluxe explains and illustrates the Nashville Number System with a dial that shows the guitar chords and basic progressions.  If you don’t play guitar, it doesn’t matter.  All you have to do is use the chords for your own instrument and follow the chord progressions.  This dial is indispensable for learning the Nashville number system.  It’s a great time saver for those who work with vocalists, and need to change keys on the spot! For more information about this or other helpful guides for playing guitar, call us at 1-800-42-MUSIC, write us at keyboard@stantons.com, or check out our website at www.stantons.com.  Shop Stanton’s for all your sheet music needs.

Life of Pi 26 April, 2013

00115938Canadian composer Mychael Danna  won Best Original Score for Life of Pi, the movie.  The story of a 16 year old boy lost at sea with a Bengal tiger for 227 days was  written by Yann Martel, and adapted for a  movie directed by Ang Lee.  The piece “Pondicherry” is about the town that Pi came from.  By the sound of it, it seems that Pi was happy there.  “First Night, First Day” has plenty of tension in it, pretty, but surreal, with the occasional clash of seconds and sevenths.  If you’ve seen the movie, you know where that tension comes from!  A total of fifteen pieces are in this collection of sheet music.  The final question for this story seems to be, “Which Story Do You Prefer?”, which is the next to last piece in this collection. So, which story do you prefer?  For more information about this collection of movie music or others, call  us at 1-800-42-MUSIC, email us at keyboard@stantons.com, or visit our website, www.stantons.com  Shop Stanton’s for all your sheet music needs!

Salute America! 25 April, 2013

Let your concert band show pride in their country with one of these great new arrangements – perfect for your spring or summer concert, or any patriotic occasion!

Aces High
Ron Goodwin, arr. Larry Daehn
Grade 3.5
Aviation history honors the flying aces of the Battle of Britain, as does this stalwart march/movie theme, splendidly executed with powerful, heroically flowing themes laced with spirited woodwind ostinati and triumphant fanfares.

Suite for Band: New England Sketches
Gene Milford
Grade 3.5
A great descriptive suite with outstanding original music by Gene Milford interspersed with familiar old tunes. A masterwork!

The Blue and the Gray
Clare Grundman, arr. Robert Longfield
Grade 3
Published in 1961 commemorating 100 years after the start of the Civil War, Clare Grundman’s classic work has become a staple in the repertoire. Robert Longfield’s adaptation for younger bands maintains the character of the original as well as all of the tunes, but in a shorter and more concise setting.

For more recommendations like this, browse Patriotic music for Concert Band at stantons.com. Shop Stanton’s for all your sheet music needs!

Register NOW – Excellence in Choral Literature Clinic! 24 April, 2013

Stanton’s Sheet Music is pleased to announce our 20th annual Excellence in Choral Literature Clinic on Saturday August 24, 2013! This session was designed to help you select concert and contest literature from some of choral music’s most distinguished composers, featuring the best in new music for mixed, treble, and men’s choirs at all levels of difficulty. Registration fee includes a complimentary packet of over 30 titles.

Come join us to discover beautiful music and share ideas with colleagues and friends! For more information, please check out our video below, contact us by email, or call us at 1.800.426.8742. Register online NOW!

Click here to watch video

20th and 21st Century “Classic” Piano Music 23 April, 2013

48022710The word “classic” tends to mean an art form that is so good  that it will be enjoyed for generations.  The “British Piano Sampler“  includes 12 “classic” works by 8 composers, all from the “Modern” era.  (20th and 21st  century time period.)  Alec Rowley is represented by his collection, “Old English Worthies”, a set of ten easy pieces by other English composers.  Arthur Benjamin‘s  ”Jamaican Rhumba” simply has to be included.  Karl Jenkins‘  ”Madog”  from 2009 is in this collection. For those who love  modern piano compositions, or for those who wish to sample the modern repertoire, this is a great collection.  For more information, call us at 1-800-42-MUSIC, email us at keyboard@stantons.com, or look at our website, www.stantons.com.  Shop Stanton’s for all your sheet music  needs!

The Music of James Reese Europe 19 April, 2013

James Reese Europe 00110581was born in Mobile, Alabama in 1880.  Although he only lived to age 39, he became an accomplished orchestra conductor, band leader, and a successful composer of popular songs, marches, and dance music.  He was a key figure in the evolution of orchestral ragtime into jazz.  Some of Europe’s works are still performed today by ragtime pianists and military bands.  Following a concert at Carnegie Hall on March 11, 1914,  the New York “Evening Post” described Europe as “one of the most remarkable of men, not only of his race, but in the music world of this country.”

James Reese Europe was an effective champion of African-American musicians and performers in all idioms, and helped to gain acceptance for them in the USA and abroad.  This collection of sheet music, “The Music of James Reese Europe“, is important because the works within it show Europe’s skill, imagination and versatility in his composing.  It is a valuable resource for early pop, ragtime and dance music. For more information about this or other collections of music, please contact us at 1-800-42-MUSIC, email us at keyboard@stantons.com, or visit our website at www.stantons.com. Shop Stanton’s for all your sheet music needs!