Composing an Ensemble-Friendly™ 2/4 march

Alan Jones, the author of the pipe band study, “Insights into Pipe Band Ensemble” and composer of the 16 original MSR pipe tunes that accompany it, outlines the steps he follows when writing an “Ensemble-Friendly™” pipe tune. In this article, Alan puts the findings of his study into practice – selecting an ensemble-friendly rhythm “Profile” and, from this, creating a new, two-parted, 2/4 march with a closely integrated snare drum accompaniment.