The following is the rehearsal notes I wrote for players of the Massed Band:

Pachelbel’s Canon Rehearsal Notes

I arranged this piece of music due to an unforeseen (yet should be foreseen) circumstance. Despite the fact that the Moorabbin Brass Band has a huge collection of brass band pieces, there is not a single piece for wind band. Worse still, I have recently relocated my personal library of wind band scores from my home to the schools I teach, and they are all double locked while I have only one of the two keys…

This arrangement took me about 5 hours to finish and proof-read. Please notify me of any wrong note - after you are dead sure it is not your mistake…

The piece is arranged in a way that the building up is achieved through careful scoring so there is no need for anyone, under any circumstance, to blast their heads off even when ff is called for. Demi-semi-quavers may look intimidating but if one takes a deep breathe and takes a look once again, they are hugely tamed by the slow speed and are only as fast as semi-quavers at around moderato. One more hint is that they are all after the first semi-quaver, either a note or a rest, of a down beat.

Hope that gives you a little reassurance in learning your part – I better stop here before I start confusing you and myself. Nevertheless, enjoy and I will see you all at the massed band rehearsal.

Best Regards, Joseph Yu Musical Director Moorabbin Brass Band