A School of HONK tune should have…
- a distinct bass/percussion groove that gets people moving (though note that we have a lot of “rock” tunes already, so variety for our percussion section is on our mind)
- a recognizable, or very catchy, melody and/or chorus and/or horn riff etc. which isn’t too ornate for beginning players (or else can be meaningfully and musically simplified for beginners to play along)
- enough (4+) different musical ideas to allow for an arrangement with simple/complex lines, and at least 3 different song parts (unless it’s a “warm up” song like Rock Anthem of We Got That Fire)
- some clear SoH-type message/connotation/chant/refrain – about the universal individual-only-through-collective empowerment (“we got that fire,” “let’s go get ‘em”) universal love (“groove is in the heart”) or universal will to play (“Ghostbusters,” “ooh-aah, push it,” “funkytown”) etc., the universal struggle for women’s rights (“she gone say I be lady-o”) etc.
More generally, our repertoire should…
- cover a wide range of genres/grooves/time signatures/feels, but always to inspire dance
- encourage direct audience participation through rhythm and some form of “familiarity”
- have parts that feel different, but connected, within the song
- have opportunities for improvisation through solo or soli parts, call and response, etc.
- be popular music (as in, well known and loved the world over for catchiness and/or values related to the above)
When arranging a School of HONK tune we need to…
- build the song around simple/intuitive parts, but also include more complex parts/harmonies/rhythms
- heed the different ranges and other constraints of beginners on their respective instruments
- make sure to think about the percussion section, also of varying experience (Is there something new/interesting/varying for them to do in this song, or borrow/tweak from existing beats we play?)
- Exploit the contrasting range of sounds/octaves/timbres of different instruments/sections in ways that are musically complementary
Some additional thoughts…
- We want all School of HONK tunes to be great tunes, tunes that many, many people have “voted for” with their hips and their feet and their memorable moments. But not all such great tunes are good School of HONK tunes, for many obvious and some other more subtle reasons
- Just because a pop song has a fun, catchy horn lick or backing line, or a righteous two-word refrain, doesn’t make that tune either great or necessarily a good tune for School of HONK
- Great tunes can come from anywhere, but just as important as the original tune is how to arrange the song for our group
- A catchy melody can be wonderful, but a compelling groove is absolutely essential to our music
- We generally avoid playing the handful of iconic tunes that everyone the world over associates with brass bands (e,g., When The Saints Go Marching In, Chameleon, Bella Ciao, etc.)
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, something that can be hard to keep in mind is just how many incredible songs there are out there in the world. We might not play my #1 favorite, or yours, but luckily there are a billion others for us to play together!