Flute choir meets heavy metal!

Avenged Sevenfold is one of my absolute favorite heavy metal bands. I don't usually hear a flute choir when I listen to their songs, or mostly any heavy metal songs for that matter, but A Little Piece of Heaven is so creative, so musical, and so funny, that I couldn't help it. Also, Oingo Boingo headed up the instrumental parts of the original song, which is evident.

If you are unfamiliar with heavy metal, you don't need to know anything about this song, other than it's incredibly unique and has to be played with an attitude. Accentuate the down beats, lay off the full vibratos, keep pushing the tempo - it never should slow down, and channel your inner rocker.

This song was the brainchild of the late James "The Rev" Sullivan. With the help of Oingo Boingo musicians, the song was scored to include an orchestra, full wind section, and choir. This arrangement is less than half the length of the original song, but it still clocks in at around 3 1/2 minutes.

This arrangement is scored for 4 flutes, alto, bass, contrabass, and upright string bass or keyboard. It is essential that there is a strong bass line. The upright bass part could also be played by any bass clef C instrument, like a euphonium, trombone, or tuba. If you are lucky enough to know a drummer, that would help a great deal too. I did not include a drum part, only because I am not knowledgeable enough at writing for drums and would rather leave it out than mess it up!

I hope you and your group will enjoy playing this song as much as I enjoyed arranging it. And I hope your audience will like it too!

Super Mario Bros was a super popular Nintendo game, but I think the song was even more so. Back in the 80's, game music was written to attract attention to the game itself, rather than enhance the player's experience during the game. It was more or less, just a catchy tune. However, when Koji Kondo wrote the music to Super Mario Bros, he created it as an active part of the game. This idea would help change game music forever.

I feel as if I don't need to give any comments on how to play this piece, but I will say that in the interest of not inundating the sheet music with dots everywhere, this song should be played staccato throughout the piece unless otherwise noted.

This piece has a lot of syncopation, but it is repetitive, so musicians with intermediate skills should be able to play this piece.

Scored for piccolo, 4 C, alto, and bass flutes.

Duration: 2.5 minutes