Benefits of a Previously Composed Show

I began arranging for marching band and drum corps in 1990 and jumped at the opportunities presented to me by Mr. Mark Stone (Director of Ayala High School) and Mr. Rob Babel (Director of Fort Zumwalt North High Schhool) in the winter of 2001 to compose original music for the football field. I honestly had no idea what to expect during the fall of 2002 with these shows, but the results were more than I could have ever hoped for. Ayala placed 2nd at the Western Band Association Finals with my show Clocks and Fort Zumwalt North made great strides over previous years with my show The Trojan War.

To this day, Ayala and Fort Zumwalt North have commissioned me for original shows and have continued their great successes (Ayala made Bands of America Grand Nationals Finals in 2004 and FZN were the Greater St. Louis Silver Division Champions in 2005).

On the coattails of both bands great seasons in 2002, I was commissioned to do more original shows by several other bands in the country for 2003. A year later, I began getting requests by band directors across the country to purchase my previously written original shows as they had heard about my compositions. In 2005, I decided to build this website with the help of my friend Brian Haslanger to make my compositions available to bands around the world.

One of the questions I hear most is "What are the benefits to purchasing one of your previously composed shows versus hiring you to do an arrangement or commissioning you to do a new original?" Well, here are those benefits...

  • Customization. Even though you would be purchasing a show that wasn't written specifically for your band, it CAN be customized to meet your needs. With possibilities such as customized instrumentation (say you only have 6 Trumpets and the show was written for 16), minor edits (your show length is only 6.5 minutes and the show is 8) and minor changes (your woodwinds aren't quite as "graceful" as Ayala's so we need to water down the runs a little), you will be getting a show that is still very much tailored for your band.
  • Exclusivity. One thing I have been striving to do is provide each band that purchases one of my previously composed shows the peace of mind that they will be able to go into EVERY competition and not have to worry about another band performing the same music. For example, if you decide to do an arrangement of say, "The Planets", more than likely you won't know if you will be the only band at every show you attend that season actually performing "The Planets". Although all of the arrangements may sound different, they are all in fact, the same music. By performing one of my previously composed shows, you will have that peace of mind and be able to worry about other (more important) topics.
  • Percussion. Battery and pit percussion parts are available for ALL of my previously composed shows by noted arrangers such as Caleb Rothe, Mike Jackson, Ike Jackson, John Pollard, Vinnie Angelo and Mike Huestis. These parts come "as is" and for the price are a great tool for band directors to either use right off the page or to have their own percussion staff adapt to meet the exact level of their students and members.
  • Cost Effective. Using general costs, here is an example of a band who is deciding to do customized arrangements while basing their show off of music that is NOT in the public domain and will need permission to arrange. To hire a company such as Bands of America, CopyCat Music Licensing or even JKS Music to obtain the permission to arrange for you, we begin with roughly a $250 fee. Say there are 3 pieces in the show and the publisher charges $150 for each piece, we are now up to $700. Now, add $1,000 for the actual wind arrangements and $500 for the actual percussion arrangements (these are extremely low fees and ones I don't think can be found these days) and you are already well above what it would cost to purchase one of my previously composed shows WITH customized instrumentation, WITH minor changes & edits and WITH battery and pit percussion parts.
  • Time Effective. Going back to the example of the band requesting permission to arrange, the average time a publisher takes to grant permission (in my experience) is around 6-8 weeks. This is time spent BEFORE the arranger(s) can even begin the writing process. If you were to purchase one of my previously composed shows, the turnaround time is usually less than 2 weeks depending on the specific requests and the time of year. The maximum time needed would never exceed 4 weeks.

I have been given many compliments on my original music in that it has melody, thoughtfulness and character that most contemporary music lacks. With every show I write, I try to paint pictures as a film composer would but without the benefit of the actual visual scene. Because of this, the music has to actually tell the story to the audience through orchestration, flow and melody. I think music that students can have fun playing (while still challenging them AND allowing for great performance) is extremely important in our activity and are the goals I set forth with on every project.

I hope this information makes sense and helps you as you prepare for the upcoming marching band season.

Sincerely,
John M. Meehan