After a quarrel within the brass band in Brederwiede, Holland, the village finds itself with two brass bands. Each is determined to win an upcoming musical tournament; each is even more determined that the other should not win; and each approach the same composer to write a piece that will secure victory. Meanwhile, neither bandleader realises that their offspring have fallen in love with one another. Haanstra, the director, was most acclaimed for his short documentaries, but the mix of irreverence and affection he brought to those hit the right note in his first, and by far most successful, fictional work.