I’ve been thinking a lot about Leroy Anderson’s Christmas classic Sleigh Ride lately. (You’ll hear some of my favourite renditions at the end of this post. If you so nothing else, please scroll down and listen to Sleigh Rough.)

Anyway I’ve been thinking about this number partly because -

• we’re playing it in the Oakville Wind Orchestra at our Christmas concert on Saturday - I’d say “hey you should come!” but it’s SOLD OUT;

• the Barra MacNeils played it in THEIR Christmas concert last night - a lovely rendition by Sheumas on piano. (You should definitely come to that show too.)

Both of these are, I hope, competently played. Well, the Barra MacNeils one certainly was. On the other hand, the 2nd trombone of the Oakville Wind Orchestra - namely, me - is having trouble with a few bars.

I mean, seriously, look at this section after letter D -

I know we’re in the key of G, but WHO WRITES A NOTE LIKE E SHARP IN A TROMBONE PART? (Not to mention, in the previous bar, A SHARP.)

This was jarring enough that I actually practiced these eight bars last night. (Thankfully nobody else was home at the time.)

so anyway

Sleigh Ride is a Christmas classic that Leroy Anderson wrote in 1948, first for Arthur Fielder and the Boston Pops, and it’s since found its way into the repertoire of seemingly every band in they history of concert bands.

We are all required to play it at every Christmas concert. It’s in the Universal Code of Concert Band Justice or something.

It’s fun, despite the weird section at letter D, and the percussionists have a great time doing fake whip-crack sounds, and of course it famously ends with one of your trumpet players trying to make a horse-whinnying sound.

a few different versions I have bookmarked over the years

Sleigh Ride

Here’s what it probably SHOULD sound like.

The Boston Pops. Leroy Anderson - who I recently learned was once the director of the Harvard band - wrote it for this group. This is as good as it gets.

Dismay Ride

however I think the French Horns aren’t as thrilled with this piece. Here’s Dismay Ride,a brilliant response to the agony of constant off-beats -

MORE HORSES

Towards the end, whoever your best or most outlandish trumpeter is, is supposed to perform a horse whinny.

Someone has kindly edited 20 different versions of that together.

(My apologies for a Facebook link and any associated cookie nonsense)

MORE SLAPSTICK

The percussion get to use a slapstick - usually a couple of pieces of wood hinged at one end - to perform a whip crack. You know, you’re being pulled by a horse. I remember being in one band where they couldn’t find a slapstick, and I did the whip crack part by taking off my belt, folding it in half and … well you can sort of make a whip sound that way.

But why not do it bigger?

ALL SLAPSTICK

Who needs the rest of the band?

Sleigh Rough

THIS one is my all-time favourite. As the Youtube title says, it’s either the best or worst version ever recorded.

This one’s been kicking around YouTube for years, and I always wondered what the story behind it was. And so did the person who uploaded it. But - amazingly - the guitarist chimed in in the comments to fill in the names.

it’s Jerry McPherson, on guitar, Scott Williamson on drums, Joeie Canaday on bass and Jason Webb on piano..

It takes some amazing talent to pull off something this chaotic, apparently recorded in one take in Nashville in 2007 by some studio musicians as an inside joke. I am so happy it’s out there. Please enjoy.