School of HONK ran its third Camp HONK this past month. An extension of the very successful (by enrollment numbers, which have started to decline the past few years) Somerville String Camp, Camp HONK is a two week long camp that runs from 9am-noon each weekday. We invite people of any age, who have been playing their instruments for at least a year, to join us for a week of playing and parading. It’s a great environment with the early hour for such loud noise-making being my main—and only—complaint.

This year, as part of this Program of Study, I wanted to make a point of arranging a new song for beginners. At School of HONK, all of our songs have “simple parts anyone can play.” We prioritize high pay-off songs that use simple lines and phrases to great musical effect, because we not only want new players to be able to play with us, we want them to be playing *satisfying *and *musically significant *lines. Some of our songs are just incredibly simple, high pay-off songs in this way. Period. No simplification needed. Rock Anthem uses three notes and a call and response. We Got That Fire clocks in with a whopping five notes.

But, as we’ve both grown our repertoire and the collective musicianship of our group, the desire for more complex songs has arisen, and so we also have songs like La Murga de Panama or Billie Jean, which are quite tricky but for which we offer alternative, counter-melodies and harmonies new players can opt into playing. So, I’ve been on the look out for a new, simple song to bring to the group, and I think I found it in the Jock Jam classic Y’all Ready for This (This is the only video I have right now). The song demonstrably works, but here are some of the things I think make it work so well:

  1. While the full song is quite simple and tackle-able in full by new players, there is also a meaningful one-note version of the song that can be taught to brand new players, on the spot, and in such a way that you can play the song live rather than breaking out into sections to show notes and fingerings. This allows new players to focus on simply consistently creating sounds and then thinking about rhythms.

  2. Still, in terms of its arrangement, there are some tricks. Having the whole band drop out for 2.5 beats is hard. I won’t happen the *first *time. But, not only is it incredibly satisfying once you do achieve it, it’s something the *ensemble *has to work on. It’s an exercise in collectively listening, watching, counting, and anticipating, not individual technique.

  3. The song is upbeat and exciting. While many “simple” songs derive a part of their simplicity from having only a few notes and playing them slowly (think Hot Crossed Buns) this song is fast and upbeat. But, the technical challenge isn’t just handed over to the rhythm section. The drum part, because it’s spread out across multiple drums means that new players are only having to hit their drums once per beat.

  4. There are a variety of parts, four to be exact. One is the incredibly popular melody, one involves yelling, one is a call and response, and one is a solo section. This means that, with just one note, you are actually participating in four different melodies and feels within the same song. If School of HONK decides to take on this song, varying the drum parts to accentuate these differences would be something I’d definitely want to tackle.

  5. Vocals are key. Yelling “Hey!” during Part 2 gives people a break from playing, providing a moment to actually appreciate the song that’s being played but also to catch their breath and get back on the beat if they’ve become swept up in the tune’s quick tempo.

The only negative thing about this tune, I’d say, is what Kevin refers to as its testosterone. It is a traditional stadium jam and therefore connected to the values of that arena (yep, I did that). Ultimately, School of HONK will have to decide if we think we can make this song mean something new in our context or if we think this is just one of those great songs (like Macklemore’s Thriftshop) that just is what it is (shitty jam by a white rapper) and even though it would sound awesome in brass (thank you LGMC), oh well.