Arlen – Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Composer: H. Arlen (1939)
Duration: 3.5-4 minutes
Price: £20
Grade: 4-6
Instrumentation: 10 Trumpet Ensemble

Somewhere Over the Rainbow is a beautiful song from 1939’s Wizard of Oz film, featuring a beautiful sung rendition by the young Judy Garland. Harold Arlen was an incredible American composer of popular songs and a remarkable tunesmith.

This lyrical close harmony version was written in 2018 for the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire first year trumpet club, as a tool to work on phrasing, tuning and balance. Not a difficult technical playthrough, it really relies on the player’s fundamentals of sound and ensemble. It is also a good excuse to try and match cup mute sounds, and a little harmon mute at the end. The idea behind the arrangement is that every part gets the melody at least once.

Please enjoy the version I made below to support the NHS and key workers during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown.