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It’s a bird …
It’s a plane …
It’s Man of Steel, an arrangement by Brian Perez based on Hans Zimmer’s majestic soundtrack from the 2013 film of the same name.
Symbolizing an ideal of hope, the piece remains true to Zimmer’s signature style: simple, soaring themes juxtaposed with layer upon layer of tribal drum patterns.
The arrangement offers flexible personnel (9–16 or more players) and instrumentation, making it playable in a wide range of programs. Although the keyboard parts only require two mallets—keeping them accessible to developing players—many of these parts call for fast playing with “two-height” dynamics, making it an ideal crossover piece for programs looking to further expose their marching percussion students to more mallet playing.
More powerful than a locomotive, Man of Steel will transport listeners of all ages up, up, and away!
This arrangement was crafted specially for the Spring High School Percussion Group from Spring, Texas, under the direction of JD Guzman. It ships as a fully bound score with printed parts.
Crotales (or 2nd glockenspiel)
Glockenspiel
*Chimes
Xylophone
Vibraphone (+ optional 2nd vibraphone)
Marimba 1 (low A) may share w/ M3
*Marimba 2 (low A w/ optional low F notes) may share w/ M4
Marimba 3 (low A) may share w/ M1
Marimba 4 (5-octave)
Piano
*Synthesizer
4 Timpani
Drums — *concert bass drum, large marching bass drum, marching snare drum (or field drum), medium-large tom, *large tom
*Cymbals & gongs — suspended cymbal, tam-tam
*optional
What a great choice for a percussion ensemble arrangement! Published in 2023, it is an arrangement from the 2013 movie Man of Steel. This work is perfect for any younger percussion ensemble that wants to take on something that sounds a little more serious without delving into any four-mallet keyboard or highly intricate percussion parts. In fact, the most strenuous part for the majority of players involves some easy sixteenths and sextuplets towards the end of the work. However, because of the instrumentation, addition of piano and synth, and a larger number of performers, it gives an air of being epic and important.
One great feature of this arrangement is the instrumentation. Ensembles can perform this work with a minimum of nine players but also double up keyboard parts and have more than the suggested 16 performers. There are some techniques that younger players will find fun, such as bowing on vibraphones and crotales. Incorporating the marching drums into the ensemble could be a very cool way of getting hardcore drumline students involved and buy in to concert music.
Although this arrangement is from a superhero movie, it’s not one of the more recognizable themes that you’ve heard way too many times. If you didn’t know it was from a movie, you would still understand that it’s meant to give feelings of hope and triumph — a very cool way for a younger ensemble to play something a little more on the serious-sounding side. This could be a great opportunity to talk to your students about performing and movement, as every note of this melody and chord progression should mean something. It would be great as a concert opener!
—Ben Cantrell
Percussive Notes
Vol. 62, No. 2, April 2024
It’s a bird …
It’s a plane …
It’s Man of Steel, an arrangement by Brian Perez based on Hans Zimmer’s majestic soundtrack from the 2013 film of the same name.
Symbolizing an ideal of hope, the piece remains true to Zimmer’s signature style: simple, soaring themes juxtaposed with layer upon layer of tribal drum patterns.
The arrangement offers flexible personnel (9–16 or more players) and instrumentation, making it playable in a wide range of programs. Although the keyboard parts only require two mallets—keeping them accessible to developing players—many of these parts call for fast playing with “two-height” dynamics, making it an ideal crossover piece for programs looking to further expose their marching percussion students to more mallet playing.
More powerful than a locomotive, Man of Steel will transport listeners of all ages up, up, and away!
This arrangement was crafted specially for the Spring High School Percussion Group from Spring, Texas, under the direction of JD Guzman. It ships as a fully bound score with printed parts.
Crotales (or 2nd glockenspiel)
Glockenspiel
*Chimes
Xylophone
Vibraphone (+ optional 2nd vibraphone)
Marimba 1 (low A) may share w/ M3
*Marimba 2 (low A w/ optional low F notes) may share w/ M4
Marimba 3 (low A) may share w/ M1
Marimba 4 (5-octave)
Piano
*Synthesizer
4 Timpani
Drums — *concert bass drum, large marching bass drum, marching snare drum (or field drum), medium-large tom, *large tom
*Cymbals & gongs — suspended cymbal, tam-tam
*optional
What a great choice for a percussion ensemble arrangement! Published in 2023, it is an arrangement from the 2013 movie Man of Steel. This work is perfect for any younger percussion ensemble that wants to take on something that sounds a little more serious without delving into any four-mallet keyboard or highly intricate percussion parts. In fact, the most strenuous part for the majority of players involves some easy sixteenths and sextuplets towards the end of the work. However, because of the instrumentation, addition of piano and synth, and a larger number of performers, it gives an air of being epic and important.
One great feature of this arrangement is the instrumentation. Ensembles can perform this work with a minimum of nine players but also double up keyboard parts and have more than the suggested 16 performers. There are some techniques that younger players will find fun, such as bowing on vibraphones and crotales. Incorporating the marching drums into the ensemble could be a very cool way of getting hardcore drumline students involved and buy in to concert music.
Although this arrangement is from a superhero movie, it’s not one of the more recognizable themes that you’ve heard way too many times. If you didn’t know it was from a movie, you would still understand that it’s meant to give feelings of hope and triumph — a very cool way for a younger ensemble to play something a little more on the serious-sounding side. This could be a great opportunity to talk to your students about performing and movement, as every note of this melody and chord progression should mean something. It would be great as a concert opener!
—Ben Cantrell
Percussive Notes
Vol. 62, No. 2, April 2024
