Featured Piece: From The Start

Today’s featured piece: From The Start by Laufey.

Instrumentation SATB + rhythm section (optional string quartet)

Difficulty Level Easy to medium

Who It’s Good For High school or collegiate choir or vocal jazz ensemble.

Where to Purchase Buy it online or via your sheet music dealer.

What’s the Story? Laufey had the most streamed song of 2023 with a bossa nova that sounds like it could have been written in 1961! I wrote the arrangement to be accessible, engaging, and fun to sing. It has a mixture of unison/2-part harmony along with some close 4-part harmony in what I would call a Manhattan Transfer style. It follows the exact form of Laufey’s recording, though it could be easily extended for improvisation.

Can I Hear It? Yes! Here’s Shades of Blue performing it this past winter.