The Piedmont Highlander

The Student News Site of Piedmont High School

The Piedmont Highlander

The Piedmont Highlander

Pep band arranges popular songs

Pep+band+arranges+popular+songs

She didn’t arrange the placement of the instruments, or direct the pep band through the piece, however she did make the stands at the homecoming rally explode with applause with her own arrangement of “I’ll Make a Man Out of You.”

The pep band performed junior Veronica Wong’s arranged piece at the homecoming rally. This is Wong’s second arranged piece.

Pep Band Courtesy of Jenn Fox“The best part of arranging a piece is when we’ve practiced it a few times and it sounds good,” Wong said. “Everyone’s getting into it and I’m like, ‘Whoa, I’m the one who arranged this.’”

Junior Cato Liest said that classmates admire students who have completed arrangements.

“The program Noteflight makes it a lot easier to arrange, but still it is not something that comes naturally to everyone,” band director Andria Mullan said.

Veronica said that she spreads out the time she arranges a song over the course of a few days, taking about three to four hours total.

“There is a lot of music theory involved,” Mullan said. “Students who have a musical background have that knowledge base to make it easier, but anyone is welcome to try it.”

Along with “I’ll Make a Man Out of You,” Wong arranged the song “Never Gonna Give You Up,” a popular piece that Wong and pep band conductor senior Sutter Kraetzer decided on.

Mullan said that student arranged pieces are completely optional but there is a lot of motivation coming from pep band members to help each other and create their own musical arrangements.

“I want students to be excited about what they’re playing,” Mullan said. “It helps when they’ve spent the time to put in an arrangement.”

Liest said that this year, more classmates have begun to show interest in arranging pieces than previous years.

“I’m in the process of arranging a piece right now,” Liest said.

Mullan said that student arranged pieces are a nice way of incorporating leadership.

“The cool thing about arranging pieces is that there is always room to improve,” Wong said. “I hope to get better with more experience.”

Donate to The Piedmont Highlander

Your donation will support the student journalists of Piedmont High School. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs.

More to Discover
Donate to The Piedmont Highlander