Arcade 1920s

Before the days of video games or even movies, the Penny Arcade served as enjoyment for the kids and adults of the era. Arcade 1920s is a percussion quartet written for the young percussion ensemble. The players are responsible for playing both pitched and non-pitched percussion instruments, "toys" to create the sounds of the arcade in the 1920s.

Program Notes

Before the days of video games or even movies, the Penny Arcade served as enjoyment for the kids and adults of the era. Early non-electric pinball, hand cranked horse races, throwing games, love testing machines, skeeball, fortune telling games, and the mutoscope, an early hand cranked devise which displayed "moving pictures" through binocular lenses, kept kids busy for hours. Arcade 1920s hopes to recapture the music of the era and the sounds of an arcade filled with people enjoying the games on a warm, sunny afternoon at an amusement park. Listen to the sizzles, clangs, booms and bangs as tickets pour out of the winning machines.

Grade Level: Medium Easy
Copyright: 2023
Number of Players: 4
Duration: 1:35
Publisher: C. Alan Publications
Type: Quartet
Category: Percussion

Listen to Recordings

Sample PDFs

• Arcade_1920s.pdf

Instrumentation

Player 1: Vibraslap, Temple Blocks
Player 2: Xylophone (or Vibraphone), Triangle, Snare Drum, Bell Plate (or Cymbal Dome)
Player 3: Chimes, Bass Drum, Police Whistle
Player 4: 3-octave Marimba (or Xylophone), Mounted Ratchet, Brake Drum )or Cowbell), Tambourine (on a padded table or stand), Splash Cymbal