Miranda Lin-Manuel

Music from "Encanto"

It was really fun to make an arrangement on these three great melodies from Encanto! Here, the band will be able to work with latin rhythms, syncopation (which doesn't rush) and with possible solo elements on the melody. Use your imagination and feel free to re-arrange to let your musicians shine. (Example: bar 27 and onwards can be performed as a duet)

All three songs can be played separately. They have different degrees of difficulty and if the band lack the ability to perform the last melody, you can easily stop before that.

1. "We don't talk about Bruno" (1-55) benefits greatly from having a Guiro saying "go-ap tsh tsh". This piece can be stopped by playing to the end of bar 54. If you want to play this piece only, you can easily extend it, by repeating from 27, perhaps with other soloists?

2. "Surface Pressure" (55-116) If the cowbell-part is not played, percussionists have to play these two weak beats in 56. The groove for drum set is also very important from 68. Also, that you get a proper swing feeling on 84- 98 and that the drummer in 99 really goes back to even eighths. If you want to extend this piece, you may repeat from 84. If you want to end after this song, you can insert a ritardando 2 bars before 116 and preferably add a quarter note high G, then a quarter rest, and then a darker G. Another possibility is to repeat from 84 and then stop at the first note in 100.

3. "The Family Madrigal" can of course also be played alone. This is truly a song that gets people clapping! I have chosen to make the opening rhythm a little easier by adding an eighth note to the one (120) If the ensemble has a very good understanding of rhythm, it can be skipped, but then the only tone in the phrase that is on the pulse beats will be the quarter note in the second measure. You can start the piece straight on bar 120 without the drum intro. If you want to extend this piece, you can repeat 152 - 199. (Or you can go all the way back to 136) If you do so, you can perhaps skip the first house at the end, if the audience is not standing on the chairs dancing

Have fun performing this arrangement!

The Movie

Encanto is a 2021 American computer-animated musical fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. It follows a multigenerational Colombian family, the Madrigals, led by a matriarch (Botero) whose children and grandchildren-except for Mirabel Madrigal (Beatriz)-receive magical gifts from a miracle that helps them serve the people in their rural community called the Encanto. When Mirabel learns that the family is losing their magic, she sets out to find out what is happening, and save her family and their magical house.

Encanto premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles on November 3, 2021 The film received critical acclaim for its characterization, music, animation, voice acting, emotional depth, and cultural fidelity; reviews named magic realism and transgenerational trauma as the film's core concepts. Publications have described Encanto as a cultural phenomenon. The film was nominated for three awards at the 94th Academy Awards, winning Best Animated Feature, and received numerous other accolades.

The film's soundtrack also became a success, reaching number one on the US Billboard 200 and UK Compilation Albums charts; "We Don't Talk About Bruno" and "Surface Pressure" were its two most successful songs, with the former topping both the US Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles Chart for multiple weeks.

Bjørn Morten Kjærnes