Tokie Bird Flew Away for Trumpet Trio

Description

Tokie Bird Flew Away

Advanced Trumpet Trio

By Eddie Lewis

If you would like to read the true life story behind this composition, I tell that story at the bottom of this page.

Tokie Bird Flew Away is an advanced trumpet trio with four movements labeled as “Memories”. They are short movements with the full duration being just over three minutes long.

The first “Memory” is a slow hymn-like movement. This first movement of Tokie Bird Flew Away features a pedal C throughout most of the way. It also has some very pretty suspensions.

The second “Memory” of Tokie Bird Flew Away is a fast movement in call and response form. In this movement, the first player does the “call” while the second part takes the “lead”. This movement is short but exciting.

The third “Memory” is a march with some interesting harmonies and rhythmic applications.

The fourth “Memory” closes the piece out with some intricate six-eight patterns with lots of double-tonguing.

Trumpet Master Skill Level

If you are familiar with our skill level system, you know that our Trumpet Master Skill level includes notes up to the E above High C. Range is not the only aspect in distinguishing our skill levels, but it’s the most obvious.

Also contributing to the skill level of Tokie Bird Flew Away is the rhythmic complexity and technique levels. There is also a chops component. The first movement looks easy, but it takes a lot of control to play it softly with the right phrasing and tone quality.

Play Along Video

Tokie Bird Flew Away has a play-along video in our You Play First Chair video series. The original intent of these play along videos is to give students around the world music to play online in the style of Music Minus One. But the videos are also a very good way for you to take the piece for a test drive.

Click HERE to go to the Tokie Bird Flew Away – You Play First Chair video.

The Back Story

What brought me out of my two-year, trumpet sheet music publishing slumber? Why am I publishing this trumpet trio now, after two years of very little sheet music being published?

The short answer…

Because my favorite cat died.

I called her “Tokie Bird”.

She was one year old when she died, and it devastated me.

I’m not whining, and I’m only sharing this part of the story because it’s relevant to the composition. When I come home from a dialysis treatment, it’s often extremely difficult to stay awake or get anything done. When I plopped down on the sofa to close my eyes for a minute or two, Tokie Bird would see me and quickly run, jump and land on my chest. Then she would push her face into my beard and start purring away.

I called her Tokie because she looks like a tiger. Since my nickname has always been Tiger (hence the store name “Tiger Music”), I called this little kitten Tocayo, which is the Spanish word for someone who shares the same name. I called her Tokie for short.

Tokie was one of four rescue kittens that we hand fed when their mother died. For some reason, Tokie became very, very attached to me. And apparently, I grew very, very attached to her, because, as I said earlier, losing her was devastating to me.

I composed Tokie Bird Flew Away to “get it out of my system”. I call the movements “Memories” because I don’t want to ever forget this very special animal. We have other cats and I love them all. But Tokie will always stand out in my memory as one of the most affectionate cats I ever met.

Tokie Bird Flew Away Score Video

The following video is meant to give you an opportunity to view the score while listening to the recording. I hope you enjoy it.