The Self-Publisher's Calendar: Instrumental Edition
If you write for band, orchestra, or jazz ensemble, your year runs on the school calendar, and the best time to publish is about a month before directors start looking.
Our original Self-Publisher's Calendar mapped the broad buying seasons for every kind of musician: Easter in March, weddings in spring, holiday music from August on. This 2.0 edition zooms in on instrumental ensembles. It lays out, September through May, the themes directors program and the themes we plan to spotlight in our emails to them. Get your arrangements live before each spotlight, and you give your music its best shot at landing on a stand.
How to use this calendar
Work backward from two dates: the spotlight month and the performance your piece is written for. Directors set a concert program about eight weeks out, so a Halloween chart that goes live in late October has already missed most of its buyers.
Pick the month you want to target.
Aim to have the piece published by the first of the month before. If it's written for a specific concert or contest, use the earlier "Have it live by" date from the programming table below.
Count back your own writing time from there. If a full concert band chart takes you six weeks, a September release means starting in June.
Tag and title clearly. Put the theme in your title or description ("Halloween," "Fanfare," "Grade 2") so directors and our team can find it.
When directors program, by ensemble
Directors usually lock in a concert program about eight weeks before the performance, and contest and marching music is chosen months earlier. A common rule is to have repertoire set and folders handed out eight weeks out. Florida's band association also treats about eight weeks as the main prep window before its festivals. Add time for browsing, ordering, and printing parts, and your music needs to be live about three months before the performance it's meant for.
| Ensemble and event | Performs | Directors choose music | Have it live by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Concert band and orchestra: fall concert | October to November | Summer to early September | July |
| Concert band and orchestra: winter or holiday concert | Mid-December | August to mid-October | August to September |
| Concert band and orchestra: contest and festival | February to April | November to January, after midyear auditions | September to October |
| Jazz ensemble: festival season | January to May | Late summer to fall | August to September |
| Concert band and orchestra: spring concert and commencement | April to May | February to March | January to February |
| Marching and pep band: stand tunes | Football season, then pep band through basketball season | Summer, before band camp | May to June |
| All ensembles: next school year | Following fall | April to August | April to May |
Two things to know about contest music:
Many states require music from an approved list. Texas uses the UIL Prescribed Music List and Florida uses the FBA list, for example. Other festivals, such as MICCA in Massachusetts, let directors choose but recommend the lists.
Directors need legitimate copies. MICCA disqualifies photocopied scores from medal adjudication but accepts digital downloads clearly labeled from the publisher or distributor. An ArrangeMe purchase meets that bar.
A note on marching band: ArrangeMe titles can't be used for exclusive competitive programming, so skip the competition field show. Stand tunes are the opportunity. These are the short, high-energy pop and rock charts bands play in the stands at football games and pep rallies, and pep bands carry them into basketball season. Directors usually pick them over the summer so they're ready for band camp, which makes May and June the time to publish.
The instrumental calendar, September to May
| Spotlight month | Themes | Publish by | What directors want |
|---|---|---|---|
| September | Halloween, new concert works, movie themes | August | Fresh repertoire for the first concert, and spooky or cinematic pieces kids are excited to play |
| October | Halloween, fanfares and openers, holiday, Top 40 pop | September | Short, bright openers to start a program; pop charts that bring in an audience |
| November | Holiday, Disney, new lyrical works, holiday quick learns | October | Pieces that come together in two or three rehearsals before winter break |
| December | Midyear releases, Midwest Clinic features | November | New titles to review over break; music that shows well at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago |
| January | Contest works, midyear releases | December | Graded works that meet festival and adjudication requirements |
| February | Black History Month | January | Works by Black composers and music rooted in jazz, blues, gospel, and spirituals |
| March | Women's History Month, pop hits for spring concert, anniversaries, ASTA features | February | Works by women composers; string features timed to the American String Teachers Association conference; anniversary tie-ins for a milestone film, album, or composer |
| April | Spring concert quick learns, commencement | March | Easy-to-prepare closers and processionals for graduation |
| May | New releases | April | A first look at next year's repertoire while directors plan over summer |
A few themes are worth a note:
Quick learns (November and April) are the busiest windows of the year for directors. Keep ranges comfortable, rhythms readable, and the length around three minutes.
Openers and fanfares are short by design. Under two minutes is a strength, not a weakness.
Contest works sell on grade level. State the grade clearly and check it against your state's festival list where you can.
Spotlight months and programming windows don't always line up. A full-length holiday piece meant for a December concert needs to be live by August or September to make most programs. The November spotlight is better suited to quick learns and pieces for later winter events.
Year-round ideas
Some themes work any month. They are worth keeping in your queue between spotlights.
Arrange what directors grew up with. Most band and orchestra directors were in middle or high school in the 1980s, 90s, or 2000s. The hits of those decades make for charts that directors are excited to program.
Follow the screen. Classic songs that found new life through a movie, TV show, streaming series, or TikTok trend reach both directors and students.
Write jazz by style. We sort jazz spotlights by style: swing, Latin, ballad, and so on. Label your style clearly so your chart lands in the right email.
Start now
Whatever month you're reading this, a programming window is about to open. Find today on the calendar, look three months ahead, and write for that. Pick one month on this calendar, count back your writing time, and get started. When your arrangement is ready, publish it on ArrangeMe.
