In light of the current coronavirus pandemic, I find the following words from Martin Luther (circa the 16th century) both comforting and convicting:

“I shall ask God mercifully to protect us. Then I shall fumigate, help purify the air, administer medicine and take it. I shall avoid places and persons where my presence is not needed in order not to become contaminated and thus perchance inflict and pollute others and so cause their death as a result of my negligence. If God should wish to take me, he will surely find me and I have done what he has expected of me and so I am not responsible for either my own death or the death of others. If my neighbor needs me however I shall not avoid place or person but will go freely as stated above. See this is such a God-fearing faith because it is neither brash no foolhardy and does not tempt God”

Martin Luther
Luther’s Works
Volume 43, Page 132
Whether One May Flee from a Deadly Plague
Written to Rev. Dr. John Hess

Five years ago (wow!) I created a custom backing track arrangement of “Borning Cry” for my wedding. It’s occurred to me that others may want to use this piece, so here it is (right-click links to save): [mp3 | wav]

Feel free to use this however you wish, but please credit the original author of the hymn: John Ylvisaker.

MuseScore: Noel [C]
PDF (Concert C): Noel [C]
PDF (Concert Bb): Noel [D]
PDF (Concert Eb): Noel [A]

MuseScore: Joy to the World [C]
PDF (Concert C): Joy to the World [C]
PDF (Concert Bb): Joy to the World [D]
PDF (Concert Eb): Joy to the World [A]

MuseScore: Go Tell it on the Mountain [D]
PDF (Concert C): Go Tell it on the Mountain [D]
PDF (Concert Bb): Go Tell it on the Mountain [E]
PDF (Concert Eb): Go Tell it on the Mountain [B]

MuseScore: Come Thou Long Expected Jesus [E]
PDF (Concert C): Come Thou Long Expected Jesus [E]
PDF (Concert Bb): Come Thou Long Expected Jesus [F#]
PDF (Concert Eb): Come Thou Long Expected Jesus [C#]

MuseScore: All Glory Be to Christ [D-E]
PDF (Concert C): All Glory Be to Christ [D-E]
PDF (Concert Bb): All Glory Be to Christ [E-F#]
PDF (Concert Eb): All Glory Be to Christ [B-C#]

Two staples of the Rice University Marching Owl Band (MOB) music library are Louie Louie and Shout; as a result, (the original recordings of) these selections frequently get played at MOB weddings (among other events). It seems that, every time this happens, folks remark how different (and how much longer) they are compared to the MOB arrangements. So, I’ve rectified that.

The following are the original artist recordings of these songs, but re-cut to match the MOB arrangements. Hopefully future MOB-sters can avoid rotator-cuff injuries by dancing to these revisions rather than the uber-long originals. Enjoy!

MP3: Louie Louie
WAV: Louie Louie
MP3: Shout
WAV: Shout

Oh, and if you do use either of these, be sure to support the original artist by purchasing a copy as well. 😎

Original Louie Louie: https://www.amazon.com/Louie/dp/B000QP6SVY
Original Shout: https://www.amazon.com/Shout-Pts-1-2/dp/B013XBW1OA

I recently had the great pleasure of playing “The Water is Wide” on accordion for a wedding. As part of that process, I took the time to transcribe the melody and the (wicked) accordion solo from Karla Bonoff‘s recording. Since this was a bit of a challenge (lots of sixteenth note triplets to work out), I figured I’d share the sheet music with the digital universe. Enjoy!

PDF: The Water is Wide
MuseScore: The Water is Wide

00 - Alto Sax 1:

 01 - Alto Sax 2:

 02 - Tenor Sax 1:

 03 - Tenor Sax 2:

 04 - Baritone Sax 1:

 05 - Baritone Sax 2:

 06 - Soprano Sax 1:

 07 - Soprano Sax 2:

 08 - Jazz Clarinet:

 09 - Jazz Flute:

 10 - Harmonica:

 11 - Panpipes:

 12 - Piccolo Trumpet:

 13 - Harmon Trumpet:

 14 - Trumpet:

 15 - Cup Mute Trumpet:

 16 - Ballad Trombone:

 17 - Trombone:

 18 - Cup Trombone:

 19 - Pop Brass Section:

 20 - Classical C Flute:

 21 - Classical Oboe:

 22 - Classical English Horn:

 23 - Classical Clarinet:

 24 - Classical Bass Clarinet:

 25 - Classical French Horn:

 26 - Classical French Horn Bells:

 27 - Classical Bassoon:

 28 - Trumpet Ensemble:

 29 - Trombone Ensemble:

 30 - Hard Alto Sax:

 31 - Soft Alto Sax:

 32 - Hard Tenor Sax:

 33 - Soft Tenor Sax:

 34 - Hard Baritone Sax:

 35 - Soft Baritone Sax:

 36 - Hard Soprano Sax:

 37 - Soft Soprano Sax:

 38 - Sax Section 1:

 39 - Sax Section 2:

 40 - Muted Brass Section:

 41 - Woodwinds Section 1:

 42 - Woodwinds Section 2:

 43 - Woodwinds Section 3:

 44 - Trumpet n Mute:

 45 - Wide Trumpets:

 46 - Classy Brass Section:

 47 - Classic Square:

 48 - Classic Triangle:

 49 - Reece:

 50 - B3 Organ Thin:

 51 - B3 Pinball Wizard:

 52 - B3 Hard Attack:

 53 - B3 B3 Classic:

 54 - Rock Organ:

 55 - Drawbar Organ:

 56 - Raunchy Lead 3:

 57 - Raunchy Lead 1:

 58 - Angry Organ:

 59 - Raunchy Lead 2:

 60 - Triangle to Pulse:

 61 - Happy Organ Wide:

 62 - Square MW Growl:

 63 - Saw MW Growl:

 64 - Bubbler:

 65 - Partial to You:

 66 - Thick Octaves:

 67 - Mono Edge:

 68 - Aggro Pluck:

 69 - Accordingly:

 70 - Big Brasser:

 71 - Fat and Foamy:

 72 - Forment Bass:

 73 - Mod Sinker:

 74 - Ye Ol Brass:

 75 - Dual Quack:

 76 - Square Stack:

 77 - Ducky:

 78 - Try Me:

 79 - Spectral Move:

 80 - Vocal Oh Bass:

 81 - Electro Rezo:

 82 - Nsync:

 83 - Classic Rez Saw:

 84 - Classic Sine:

 85 - Blade Runner:

 86 - Ana Synth:

 87 - Big Woop:

 88 - FM Synth:

 89 - Vowel Synth 1:

 90 - LFO Squares:

 91 - Thin Pulse:

 92 - Stereo Filters:

 93 - Fifths Saws:

 94 - Twisted Flute:

 95 - Wide Fuzz:

 96 - Vowel Synth 2:

 97 - Feed Me:

 98 - Mono Brazz:

 99 - Brassy Synth: