Morning Madness (a novelty featuring the Percussion Section)

What strikes a note of fear in every living, breathing man, woman and child? The title of this zany salute 'says it all!' From the insistent buzzing of the alarm clock to the rush hour race down the highway, Morning Madness uses all of the 'morning sounds' and gives your group a marvelous opportunity to become inventive. Be sure to throw in as many visuals as your percussion section can manage. 'Tis a hoot!

The premiese of the piece is to poke fun at the rush we all face each morning as we get ready for work, school or other activities. This piece can and should be more than a sound experience. You may want to use props and visuals to enhance the comedic effect. I will briefly outline how I think this piece should be put together, but don't be limited by this outline. Go wild, and have some fun.

At the beginning the band should perform Brahm's Lullaby very beautifully before some of the band members begin snoring. You may want to have the percussion section in nightcaps, or even lying down at the beginning. The beauty of the lullaby should be rudely interrupted by the most obnoxious alarm clock you can find.

Following the alarm, the day begins slowly during the excerpt from Beethoven's 5th. Some of the band should yawn and stretch as if trying to get out of bed. This leads to the climax of this section - the coffee grinder, which is followed by slurping from coffee mugs and saying "Ahh"! Have the band members use cups of water, or coffee is so desired. This is followed of course by Handel's Hallelujah Chorus.

Rossini's Barber of Seville gets us started on nour daily routine, with the percussion banging on pots and pans and water glsses to get us through breakfast, as others in the band continue to slurp coffee. We then the move to gygiene noises, with gargling and teeth brushing (this is a great spot for as many visuals as possible). This is then followed by the blow dryers. Let them go full blast! Then work it up into a huge frenzy before the band yells, "Get in the car!"

Now we are off and running to Rossini's William Tell Overture. The car horns in this section can be any kind youu can find. Make sure that they are obnoxious and of differing pitches. Also, any other car noises you can come up with can be incorporated in this section. (Check out some baby toys; they have great car sounds). Again, more visual would be great here! The piece is completed with a police whistle and a siren; I guess we were going too fast!

It is important that members of the band take their parts in this spectacle seriously. The band should be strive to play the piece as seriously as possible. Let the audience do the laughing. The best comedians are the ones who don't laugh at their own jokes.

I hope that you, your students and your audience will find this piece enjoyable. It is intended to be humorous, but it is also a good opportunity to introduce your students to some great classical music. Good luck, and have fun.

Larry Clark,
Miami, Florida 1998