Sands of Alexandria - Original Marching Show

After 8 months of work, I present my 3rd original marching show "Sands of Alexandria. " This show captivates the traverse across a barren desert, desperately trying to find lost riches. But with limited time and resources, will the riches be found before its too late? Probably not…
Selections include:
Arabian Nights - Alan Menken
Arabian Dances - Roland Barrett
Bacchanale from "Samson & Delilah" - Saint Saens
Every Reborn - Dario Marianelli
“The Plague” The Prince of Egypt - Hanz Zimmer & Stephen Schwartz
And original music by Amias Campbell
Start Date: 9/28/22
Completion Date: 5/19/23
I do not own any of the arrangements used in this composition. This was created for fun. I do not receive any monetization of any kind on this video.

[@therealnocommonsense]

Enjoy

[@eatluxury8907]

send me this

[@TURBO-JACKED]

Nice Danae bachanale reference in 2

[@seymour_as2498]

Fire 🔥 also soprano sax part nice

[@houstondarden1789]

LET THIS MAN COOK

[@davispogor4460]

saw the four staccato quarter notes and immediately knew it was Arabian Dances. Amazing job.

[@litbowlofcereal4892]

nahhh frrrr

[@Mob-tq7gv]

Thanks for giving the bass clarinet an actually fun part to play. That second mvmt woodwind feature was cool.

[@diminuendo7525]

either the players would love it or hate it lol

[@jacobgarza3817]

Danse Bacchanale goes so hard what

[@ALC0890]

You should upload the percussion score

[@calebvogel7492]

I watched the whole thing for an unresolved chord 🥲🥲🥲. It was very beautiful and captivating throughout tho.

[@therealnocommonsense]

Who needs chord resolutions

[@calebvogel7492]

@@therealnocommonsense chord resolutions are overrated anyway 🙄

[@ryebreadtastesfunny]

damn that was so cool!! i can hear a lot of parts and instrumentations inspired by hebron (and maybe a little bloo?!) i liked how you used dissonance. egyptian-inspired shows are generally cheesy but this one seemed more refined (maybe something that dci arrangers might do.) how long did it take you to make this?

[@therealnocommonsense]

I started working on this last September

[@noodle_png]

i wish my school could play stuff like this 😢

[@samrusso3383]

That opener reminds me of North Andover 2010.

[@openocean9370]

The second double tonguing feature is amazing. Feels really retro and cool. Would love a more involved low brass part, once again we are getting no love😢 Awesome job tho❤

[@yourlocaldrumaddict]

I would not be upset if this is my schools 24 production.

[@Zion_]

Amazing

[@user-ro8jm8mq2i]

nice show👍👍👍

[@HernandezEncoreDCIMore]

Absolute banger my boy

[@bloonawsome7310]

Wow this is really really amazing.. hope to actually see it on a field one day!

[@theincompletepackage]

honestly quite a bit better than i could have imagined

[@DJskywrd]

i got chills dude, this was amazing. keep up the great work! im also gonna show this to my bd lol

[@eliroegge4323]

I cannot wait to hear your music on a field soon! It's gonna happen

[@dredd3302]

nice job

[@gavinlloll]

im praying for the day this comes out on musescore or an updated version of this releases with some instruments in musescore 4 sounds

[@CalebOberlenderMedia]

👏👏👏

[@seymour_as2498]

He’s cookin

[@Jeremee22]

This is giving me" House Of Glass" vibes

[@trumpetparker9771]

the soprano sax solo strikes again

[@ethanle8565]

Would it be possible for you to upload the percussion parts as well?

[@fnaflol99graves67]

Can we a see a percussion score?

[@daxdenman]

altos get the best part...as we deserve :D

[@Atlas.444]

Random question, I have been in marching band for about 5/6 years now and I wanted to start playing different pieces (I play brass but trumpet mainly) and I wanted to know how I could get my hands on the trumpet parts for this piece to play it!

[@GustavAhlbrand]

no trombone feature :(

[@MuseSoundsScoreandSounds]

Hi. This is great! How do you go about arranging something like this? I’ve always wanted to give it a try but failed in the process.

[@therealnocommonsense]

Tbh it's just a lot of trial and error. Sometimes I will watch shows of HS bands or Dci groups to get an idea of what to do. When I listen to these groups I try to listen to how their music is composed and distributed throughout the different instrument groups. Once I became familiar with the instrumentation's structure, I used that as a foundation to write my own stuff. For example, if you were to take a look at any of my marching shows, you'll be able to hear that I either give mello's and sax's the melody or a counter melody quite often, rather than giving them more of an accompaniment type part for low brass (that happened because I listened to too much blue knights). With enough time you'll eventually find your own groove and writing style, but most of the time it won't happen immediately. I've been trying to write marching shows for the past 4 years and have just now begun to understand the fundamentals better. So if there isn't a legitimate deadline, don't rush the process of writing the music, take your time with it. Another trick I use is if I get writer's block, I simply don't touch the score for a couple of days and let what has been written marinate. For instance, about a year ago when I wanted to write a full marching show I didn't have any ideas, but while I was in a Walmart I heard a song playing that had a nice chord progression, and that's when it motif of the show hit me. I don't really remember the song tho. Long story short, take your time and feel the music, use it as a way to express your emotions and write what makes you happy.

[@extremelybaldcardboard]

amazing show! when screen recording in musescore, is there a way i can remove everything on the screen besides the score? i figured out how to hide everything except the top bar with all the parts, settings options in the top left, and the mixer button

[@therealnocommonsense]

When I record, I adjust what part of the screen I want to see. I don't think it's possible to make the top bar hidden. I do hide the panels on the side

[@dakotariedlinger1591]

Is this on musescore? If so, what is the sounds you use?

[@therealnocommonsense]

@@dakotariedlinger1591 I use the basic ms sounds and MDL drumline

[@extremelybaldcardboard]

@@therealnocommonsense hey! i’m premiering my marching show on my channel at 3:30 if you would be able to join!

[@dartz2870]

Did you make this bro. This fire!!!!

[@therealnocommonsense]

Yes! This is an original arrangement

[@dartz2870]

@@therealnocommonsense Wow!! Props to you man!

[@andr3fn]

danse bacchanale 👀

[@osirious_07]

1:00 Arabian Dances?

[@CheesecakeEnchanted]

I have been wondering this for about forever but where do you go to make the music and let it play back to you? (also it is really spanking cool!)

[@therealnocommonsense]

I use a free software called Musescore

[@ethanle8565]

Would it be cool if I wrote my own percussion parts to this show? I wanted to ask for permission before doing anything.

[@AmazingErrChannel]

How do you write stuff like this? I want to write marching band shows like this but the show I wrote is nothing close to being as good as this one. How?

[@therealnocommonsense]

One of the major things that will help your music writing is "consistency." Always be patient when writing music, it's a process that takes time to fine tune. What I used to do when I was in middle school was I liked to watch a lot of drum corps and marching band shows. Looking back I think I watched enough of those that I now unintentionally add some of the techniques that are commonly used in dci and high school band such as - how to apply dynamics - the strengths and weaknesses of different instruments - which instruments blend with others - the basics on phrasing - how chord structures work You can probably find some videos that explain these things in more detail. During COVID I remember doing a lot of score studying. I would find a score of a concert band piece I liked and I would find the score and follow along with a recording. On some occasions I would even rewrite the entire score onto musescore just for fun. This also unintentionally taught me some fundamentals in music writing. The way I learned may not be the way that you learn, and that's ok. You don't have to do exactly what I do to achieve want you want when it comes to writing. We all have our own style. If you have any other questions, I'll be happy to answer them whenever I get the chance.

[@AmazingErrChannel]

@@therealnocommonsense thanks for the advice man. I’ve started writing smaller things like singular movements recently. I got into DCI and marching band like last year and I probably should watch more shows to get to know the activity more too lol

[@tylerm.4640]

What software did you use to make this? Ive been trying to find a good software to write music and i cant find one with the good tam tam sound, suspended cymbal, and any high note on a woodwind. Lol

[@therealnocommonsense]

Musescore 3

[@pookey6052]

do you have the percussion parts anywhere?

[@basicmango8972]

How did you learn music theory and how did you learn to write stuff like this?

[@therealnocommonsense]

Well for music theory my band director taught me the basics (intervals and chord tuning) and I spend some of my free time experimenting with some of the more advanced stuff. When it comes to writing music I am self taught. I didn't take any classes or lessons on how to compose, I just tried to do it on my own. If you do decide to start writing music, don't get frustrated if you're not great at it at first, neither was I. I'd say start with writing for small ensembles or solo instruments first. Once you better understand the fundamentals of the instruments you are writing for, you can begin to write for larger performance forces. For example, I started out with just writing trumpet music, then worked my way to woodwind and brass quartets, and then to concert band and symphony compositions. I've been writing music for just over 5 1/2 years, but ive still got a lot to learn Overall, always be determined to work towards greater things. Music is a long process and will take the average person years to master. Don't let others convince you that you can't do it. Use your emotions in the music you create and write because you want to.

[@basicmango8972]

@therealnocommonsense I haven't been a music theory class before so what could I use to learn music theory?

[@therealnocommonsense]

​@@basicmango8972 you can try musictheory.net

[@MindTCG_GabeTSupreme]

5:03

[@AmealYT]

I swear I'll get 13 done bro I promise

[@therealnocommonsense]

we'll see

[@BlueJayDro]

Clicked so fast

[@msewell763]

So.... hypothetically is this show meant to have people marching cymbals on the field

[@therealnocommonsense]

Nah

[@msewell763]

@@therealnocommonsense huh.... Then is there a drum set part or smthn

[@therealnocommonsense]

@@msewell763 I didn't right a drum set part either

[@murkish8268]

What software do you use?

[@therealnocommonsense]

Musescore 3 & 4

[@murkish8268]

@@therealnocommonsense do you write percussion parts separately from the winds?

[@therealnocommonsense]

@@murkish8268 Nah I usually write the perc parts on the same score as the winds, but I usually hide the perc. for the sake of the score not looking too cluttered.

[@murkish8268]

I see. Normally what is your process for composing? i.e. melody first? or drumline first? etc

[@therealnocommonsense]

@@murkish8268 I usually start by writing out the brass so I figure out how I'm gonna do the chord structure. They I'll double the brass parts onto the woodwinds and sometimes add a couple of extra 16th notes to spice it up a little. Then I'll do the battery parts and end with front ens.

[@spidernh]

i liked all of it except movement 2 (only bc we played that last year and it was my favorite and i don't like hearing a different arrangement of it; you did nothing wrong) also didn't like the soprano solo though (again not your fault, just bc afaik only one person at our school plays soprano and so i can't suggest this to my band director. it sounded really good though.)

[@fondleballsxi]

Disappointed that arabesque didn't make its way in

[@therealnocommonsense]

It was supposed to be the 2nd mvmt but I scrapped it

[@fondleballsxi]

@@therealnocommonsense would have gone so hard

[@fondleballsxi]

clear springs high school marching band 2020 wannabe 🥱🥱🥱🥱 edit: this is a joke

[@ALC0890]

You should upload the percussion score