Sailing the Seven Seas Concert Band - Digital Sheet Music

SKU: A0.1863397

Sea shanties as a genre of folk song have existed for centuries, and were originally work songs used to accompany the actions involved in physical labor. While shanties were work songs, an offshoot formed purely for leisurely occasions, and with the addition of instruments like the fiddle or concertina, developed into a new genre called “sea songs.” Sea shanties and sea songs have their roots in borrowing melodies from other folk songs, primarily from the British, American, and Caribbean traditions, as well as making their own melodies. However, as steam-powered ships were being developed and used in increasing numbers by navies, the need for human labor, and consequently, shanties, began to die down.
During the 19th and 20th centuries, sea shanties started to make a revival, especially in film and television, literature, and video games. Notable examples include Moby Dick, Spongebob Squarepants, and Assassin’s Creed featuring re-arrangements or borrowed elements of shanties. What really brought sea shanties back into the limelight, however, was when musician and TikToker Nathan Evans released his own version of "Wellerman" in late December 2020. The cover gained massive traction throughout January and February 2021, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and spurred many remixes, covers, and other versions to not just "Wellerman," but to other shanties and sea songs.

"Sailing the Seven Seas" is a suite of ten sea shanties and sea songs, despite it being subtitled as just “A Sea Shanty Suite.” This particular suite, however, is a remastered version of an earlier suite I made of the same name, dating back to September 2021. At that time, I was a sophomore in high school, and my band director then had programmed a piece called Sea Shanties, compiled by Zack Wilson, which included "Wellerman" and "Roll the Old Chariot Along." I took inspiration from that piece and made my own version, with those two songs and the addition of "Drunken Sailor," "Spanish Ladies," and "My Mother Told Me." The new version of the suite, started over four years later in February 2026, adds an additional five shanties and sea songs, and with the addition of a proper introduction and coda, the final product ends up being a 9-minute long concert suite.

INSTRUMENTATION
Piccolo
Flute 1 / 2
Oboe 1 / 2
Bassoon 1 / 2
Eb Clarinet
Bb Clarinet 1 - 3
Eb Alto Clarinet
Bb Bass Clarinet
Bb Contrabass Clarinet (Eb Contra-Alto Available)
Alto Saxophone 1 / 2
Tenor Saxophone
Baritone Saxophone

Bb Trumpet 1 - 3
Flugelhorn 1 / 2 (or Bb Trumpet 4 / 5)
F Horn 1 - 4
Tenor Trombone 1 - 3
Bass Trombone
Euphonium (BC + TC)
Tuba
Double Bass

Timpani
Mallets 1 (Chimes, Glockenspiel)
Mallets 2 (Xylophone, 2 Wood Blocks)
Percussion 1 (Snare Drum, Suspended Crash Cymbal)
Percussion 2 (Bass Drum, Tam-tam)
Percussion 3 (Suspended Cymbal, Tambourine)
Percussion 4 (Ocean Drum, Brake Drum, Clash Cymbals).