FEATURES OF THIS WEB CATALOG
- Each of the 350-plus titles featured on this site has a full-length studio demo recording of the arrangement, which you'll receive free with every Sheet Music order.
- Part learning audio aids called "Vocal Part Tracks" and "Minus-One Tracks" help your students get past the note-learning stage and get ready to make real music in rehearsal much sooner than without. (See any product page for info about these tracks)
- Accompaniment Tracks for the accompanied charts (formerly known here as "Rhythm Tracks") allow you to rehearse along with the rhythm section parts from the demo, preparing your singers for the real thing and letting you step away from the piano to focus more on their singing.
- An advanced filtering system allows you to narrow down your search of the catalog for just what you need for your group. When you're ready, head over to the Full Catalog and check the boxes on the left side of the page to more quickly get to what you really need.
- You can also search for a specific title using the magnifying glass search tool in the menu at the top of the page.
THE MUSIC
- The stylistic tendency of the arrangements featured here is deliberately "modern", which really connects with students. While many of the titles come from the past 30 years (or so) of popular music, the harmonic and rhythmic content is nearly always informed by contemporary instrumental jazz, resulting in a unique, exciting and diverse catalog.
- Even the most complex charts are written with students in mind; Great attention is paid to optimal voice-leading and accurate, clean notation.
- The voicings listed (SSATB, etc) are always meant to indicate the MAXIMUM number of ensemble part splits that happen in the chart. Keep in mind that even though a chart is listed as SSAAATTBaB, it's likely that a good portion of the chart (especially when accompanied by rhythm section) is written with fewer parts, so the chart may not be as dense and complex as the voicing may make it seem.
DIFFICULTY LEVELS
- Level 1: Very few Level 1 charts are currently available at KerryMarsh.com, however, in principle, we would consider a level 1 chart to be best for elementary students. They might be entirely unison charts, perhaps with some two-part writing.
- Level 2: Also known here as STARTER SERIES Charts, and useable by most junior high groups and many beginning high school ensembles. These charts are written to sound more advanced than they really are, though, and collegiate and community groups have also had success with these in performance!
- Level 3: The writing is aimed at high school groups. Rhythms may become more complex here, although the demos and Part Tracks help the students get past those hurdles. The harmonic content may get more advanced, with some dissonant vertical writing, however, the voice-leading into those chords is handled with great care.
- Level 4: This level is aimed at fairly advanced high school groups and most collegiate groups. The difficulty is just below what professional groups tend to write for themselves, and a wide array of interesting options are available for harmonic and rhythmic content.
- Level 5: These charts contain the largest amount of material to learn, relative to the other levels, whether that's high complexity, more actual music to learn, extra-challenging rhythm section parts, or all of the above and more! These charts are at a professional level, although I've heard many advanced high school and collegiate groups wow their audiences with some level 5 music!
- Half-levels (3.5, etc.): It's just what you'd think...we made the subjective call that that chart fell squarely in between two of the above levels and didn't really seem to solidly be one or the other.
PURCHASING
- All products sold on this website are delivered digitally, allowing for very fast delivery, so you can get right to work on a chart just minutes after ordering.
- Your purchase grants you the right to legally print and make copies of the sheet music as you need for your own ensemble (although, of course it's still illegal to share with other institutions, as with printed music).
- When you check out, whether paying with a school or personal credit card or choosing to by later using a check and/or purchase order, you'll receive the links to download your digital sheet music and audio files immediately, along with an invoice. If you find that any of this hasn't arrived within minutes of completing your order, you may wish to check any spam folders you might have for your email account, or just email me so I can manually send your materials.
- When using a Purchase Order, simply message me through this website with that number and I'll edit and re-send your invoice, so you can process your check request.
- When you're viewing a particular title and are looking to purchase the digital sheet music, find the button marked either "Sheet Music" or "Sheet Music and All Tracks Pack (with SkyTracks)", then click the "Add to cart" button. Sheet Music (purchased alone) is typically priced at a flat fee of $75 for most titles, and the "Sheet Music and All Tracks" packages are usually the same price as the Sheet Music along with all available audio learning tracks, plus $10, for which you'll also receive access to a special in-browser mixer that allows your students extra control over their learning/listening experience with the demo. You'll also receive access to the recording "stems" for the demo, which you can use in a Digital Audio Workstation as guide tracks for your group's recording project.
- After checkout, you will receive an email with a link to download a .zip file containing a .pdf file with all of the sheet music to print for rehearsal and performance (including rhythm section parts). You'll also find an .mp3 file of the full-length demo for your convenience.
- Mentioned above, Vocal Part Tracks, Minus-One Tracks and Accompaniment Tracks are available for most titles.
For more info, don't miss the "INFO" menu item at the top of the page, which opens a drop-down menu. Also, try out the Listening Space for a collection of demo playlists!
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