Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, you can, it happens quite frequently! Standing O is proud to be the provider of countless “first championship” and “highest score in our history” seasons. Many of our bands are longtime, repeating clients, because they know music by Standing O will be exciting, effective, achievable, and allow their program to be successful. Check out our clients page to see for yourself.

Yes, you can. With no-cost delayed billing, you can have your show delivered immediately and pay on the date you choose. As a former band director, and currently providing music to hundreds of schools across the country, I know every school budget is different. We will work with you to ensure you get your show materials as quickly as possible.

Absolutely, and we encourage you to do so! Standing O is committed to ensuring that your show is a perfect fit for your performers. Purchase wind and/or percussion notation files as an addon to your show to make any edits you want at any time. Or, have Standing O customize your book for an added fee, based on the time it will take to complete your customizations.

Yes you can! While most bands prefer to keep the original theme, you have the complete freedom to change the title and/or theme of the show. If these adjustments require new electronics, voiceovers, or anything else, Standing O can do it all.

We do, for free, because it is a lot to deal with, and as a band director, you’ve got enough to worry about. The vast majority of shows are all original music, but for shows that require any copyright permissions, Standing O will handle it all. In many instances, Standing O has been able to form direct relationships with the publishers to save you time and money from using a third party license exchange. For the few arrangements that require we use Tresona, all songs are pre-approved, eliminating wait time. Standing O will ensure copyrights will not hold up your show delivery. After we’ve done the leg work, all you’ll need to do is submit payment.

Regional exclusivity means once you purchase a show, no other bands in the area will be permitted to purchase the same show for the current season, ensuring you won’t compete against the same show. It is included with every purchase, and does not cost extra.

You will receive exclusive rights to the show within the class of your primary competitive circuit and class/division. If another band in your area wants to purchase the same show, Standing O will first communicate with both programs to determine if there will be any conflicts throughout the season. If any conflicts exist, the first band to purchase the show will decide. Please be sure to communicate any BOA Regional Contests you plan on attending, so we can confirm there will be no conflicts.

All payments can conveniently be submitted online by ACH-Transfer (no charge), or a Credit Card (small additional fee applies.) For bands that need to submit a Purchase Order, we can submit a quote first to generate a PO number, followed by an invoice. All invoices are submitted digitally, allowing for easier record keeping and eliminating needless paperwork.

While ensemble size can vary widely around the country, Standing O classifies ensemble size using these numbers:

SM-M – Less than 40 marching winds and percussion with reduced instrumentation. Our SM-M shows were originally written for bands with these numbers, who have achieved great success with these shows. A larger, younger ensemble could also perform any of these shows, and instrumentation or difficulty level could be expanded if needed.

M-L – More than 40 marching winds and percussion with full instrumentation. While these shows were originally commissioned for medium to large ensembles with full instrumentation, many smaller bands across the country have purchased full instrumentation and modified for reduced instrumentation. These ensembles have achieved fantastic results, such as Phoenix High School in Phoenix, NY, who has won numerous and consecutive NYSFBC Class SS2 Championships, performing shows originally written for full instrumentation with 25 winds.

Wind difficulty is rated on a Grade 2-5 scale. Most shows fit within a range of difficulty, for example, Grade 2-3 or Grade 3-4.
Grade 2 – Ideal for a smaller (less than 40 winds) or beginning competitive level ensemble.
Grade 3 – Intermediate level, some challenging yet finger-friendly parts, ideal for any size ensemble.
Grade 4 – Advanced level, numerous challenging yet finger-friendly parts, ideal for a larger ensemble (more than 50 winds) but could be very successful with a smaller band that can play the parts with high levels of achievement.
Grade 5 – Very challenging parts, technical features and advanced elements. Ideal for larger ensembles.

Percussion difficulty is rated as Easy, Medium, and Hard. Most shows fit within a range of difficulty, for example, Easy-Medium, or Medium-Hard.

Easy – Designed for smaller and/or younger sections. Scoring is more thick, with a few achievable section feature moments. Parts are written with traditional stickings and minimal complex/compound rhythms. Great for developing programs!
Medium – Intermediate level, for the typical section. Mallet parts contain more complex runs and battery parts contain more complex rhythmic figures and rudiments. Section feature moments are challenging yet attainable.
Hard – Advanced writing for the strongest of musicians. The score contains frequent melodic and rhythmic complexity and section features are designed to push your students’ achievement.

Rob’s schedule is typically set and full by January 1, and availability is limited. We highly recommend starting the conversation after Thanksgiving weekend, or earlier, for the following year.

3 months is typical for an all original show, which provides enough time to write your music at the highest level, make adjustments if needed, format your PDF files and create your audio package.

Yes! We are happy to offer a reduced instrumentation version of all shows to our clients with smaller bands, free of charge! Our reduced instrumentation shows still retain all the energy, character, and quality from the full-instrumentation versions, and parts are carefully re-scored to ensure harmonic voicing and balance remain in place using the following instrumentation:

1 Piccolo/Flute (on the same part)
1 Clarinet
1 Alto Sax
1 Tenor Sax
1 Bari Sax

2 Trumpets
1 Horn
2 Low Brass
1 Tuba/Sousaphone

**Please note that this reduced instrumentation is fixed. If you have smaller instrumentation than this or wish to reduce your percussion instrumentation, we strongly recommend purchasing the notation files add-on or having us customize your show so we can ensure proper voicing and orchestration.