Walking Frog, The

From Wind Repertory Project
Karl King

Karl King


This article is a stub. If you can help add information to it,
please join the WRP and visit the FAQ (left sidebar) for information.


General Info

Year: 1919
Duration: c. 2:18
Difficulty: IV (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: C.L. Barnhouse
Cost: Score and Parts - $55.00

For additional availability information, see Discussion tab, above.


Instrumentation

Full Score
C Piccolo/Flute
Oboe
Bassoon
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
E-flat Alto Saxophone
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Cornets Solo-I-II-III
E-flat Horn or Alto I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba
Drums

(percussion detail desired)


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

To my friend, Baker and Dalzell.

-Program Note from parts


Karl King wrote the rag two-step The Walking Frog in 1919 to accompany the clown act of Baker and Dazell, who would walk around the performance area dressed as two enormous frogs.

-Program Notes from Heritage Encyclopedia of Band Music


The emergence of ragtime coincided with the great era of the concert bands. The similarities between the marches, two steps, cakewalks, and ragtime pieces resulted in an intermingling of these forms. Karl King probably wrote The Walking Frog during 1917/1918 while he was director of the Barnum and Bailey’s Circus Band but it was not published until 1919 after he had left the circus. He originally wrote this piece as a circus walk-about, but its infectious charm soon made it a favorite with many other circus acts.

- Program Note by University of Missouri (Columbia) Symphonic Band


The Order of the Walking Frog was a semi-serious organization founded and administered by Mark Foutch, a friend of Karl King and conductor of the Mark Foutch Brass Band 1954-1977, 1993-2002 in Champaign, Illinois. Membership was open to any conductor who would play The Walking Frog without apology. Members received a certificate and a thirty-seven cent stipend. Those honored by invitation to membership included John Bourgeois and Tim Foley of the U.S. Marine Band, Harry Begian and James Keene of the University of Illinois, and Robert F. O'Brien of the University of Notre Dame.

-Information from The Show is on the Podium


Media


State Ratings

None discovered thus far.


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

  • Cornell College (Mt. Vernon, Iowa) Symphonic Band (Joshua W. Neuenschwander, conductor) - 15 April 2022
  • University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign) Summer Band (Jeananne Nichols, conductor) - 19 July 2018
  • Karl L. King Municipal Band (Fort Dodge, Iowa) (Jerrod P. Jimmerson, conductor) – 28 June 2015
  • Grand Street Campus Wind Ensemble (Jeff W. Ball, conductor) – 14 May 2014


Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music

  • Coast Guards (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Clark) (1942/2009)


All Wind Works


Resources