Guide

School concert medley ideas

5 min read

A medley is the easiest way to give a school concert a big finish. Parents recognise every tune, every section gets a moment, and nobody has to learn three complete songs. The catch is that young players have narrow ranges and little stamina, so the arrangement has to be planned around them.

Pick songs the students already know

Ask the class. Students practise songs they like, and the audience enjoys their enthusiasm. Good themes:

Film and TV themes, with a different film for each section of the band.
Decades: one hit each from the 60s, 80s and 2000s.
Seasonal: winter or holiday songs for the December concert, see Christmas medley ideas.
Around the world: folk songs from the countries in your class.

Three or four songs of about a minute each is plenty.

Choose keys for beginners, not for the original recording

Beginner bands read most easily in concert B♭, E♭ and F major. In those keys trumpets and clarinets play in C, G or D, and alto saxes in G, C or D. Recorders and primary-school choirs do well in C, F and G.

If a song's original key is awkward, move it. Nobody in the audience will notice that the second song is a tone lower than the record. The instrument range checker shows whether a melody sits comfortably for each instrument, and how far to shift it if not.

Keep the transitions simple

Young musicians lose their place at key changes. Three transitions that always work:

Same key: the drums play a two-bar fill and the next song starts.
A fourth up (for example F to B♭): add a seventh to the last chord and you are there.
A stop: everyone holds a long chord, the conductor cuts off, and the next song starts on a fresh count-in.

Mark every key change with a double bar and a reminder of the new key signature in each part. The medley key planner suggests an order with the fewest awkward changes.

Give every section a turn

Pass the melody around: flutes and clarinets on the first song, trumpets on the second, saxes or the choir on the third, and everyone together on the last chorus. Students who only play accompaniment for four minutes get bored, and the audience notices.

Length and stamina

3 to 5 minutes is right for most school medleys.
Give brass players a few bars of rest every 16 to 24 bars.
Keep the loudest section for the end, when everyone joins in.

Rehearsal tip

Rehearse the transitions separately: the last four bars of each song plus the first four of the next. That is where medleys fall apart, and it takes ten minutes to fix.

Let Medley Writer do the transcribing

Upload the songs, choose the parts and the order, and get a full arrangement for your band with the transitions written in. Free during the beta.

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