Arranging study group session #1

[tbeltrans]

Originally Posted by Grinning Boy

Hey Tony I was just in the Show and Tell section and listened to it several times. Beautiful job! Again we have very similar tastes in music as I love that song myself.

Also after the video YouTube took me to other videos. Was that you playing the Conti guitar on "When I Fall In Love? If so another beautiful job. I also had a Conti guitar at one point and have several of his courses. We travel in the same circles it appears!

When I saw your post here I thought I was going to see your arrangement of "Wish" here. I worked on it last night and may be ready to post a first run soon!

Paul

Thanks Paul! Yes, that was me playing "When I Fall In Love". Though I want to continue playing standards, my interests do not lie in doing it in that manner anymore. I think I could do it better on my classical with a bit of arranging. That was pure chord melody.

Well, I guess I better get on that "When You Wish". I intend to post study group stuff here. The next tune I want to put in Show and Tell is probably Glenn Campbell's "By the Time I Get To Phoenix", again on my classical guitar.

Tony

[Grinning Boy]

Originally Posted by tbeltrans

Thanks Paul! Yes, that was me playing "When I Fall In Love". Though I want to continue playing standards, my interests do not lie in doing it in that manner anymore. I think I could do it better on my classical with a bit of arranging. That was pure chord melody.

Well, I guess I better get on that "When You Wish". I intend to post study group stuff here. The next tune I want to put in Show and Tell is probably Glenn Campbell's "By the Time I Get To Phoenix", again on my classical guitar.

Tony

I'm with you. I prefer freer sounding arrangements than straight chord melody with a chord on each note. Also, although I generally like hearing others play archtops, I tried to bond with several over the years and I kept coming back to acoustics (and nylon strings to a lesser degree). I like the physicality of playing those more I think...having the sound more or less in my arms and in my face!

[tbeltrans]

Originally Posted by Grinning Boy

I'm with you. I prefer freer sounding arrangements than straight chord melody with a chord on each note. Also, although I generally like hearing others play archtops, I tried to bond with several over the years and I kept coming back to acoustics (and nylon strings to a lesser degree). I like the physicality of playing those more I think...having the sound more or less in my arms and in my face!

I'm with you there. Archtops can produce that late night "smokey" sound that is perfect for straight chord melody, that at least I can't get from an acoustic. However, I think that a classical guitar, with its typically warm and full sound does really well with chord melody. Obviously Bill Piburn and Earl Klugh agree.

Tony

[tbeltrans]

OK. Here we go! Didn't that sound cheesy enough?

Anyway, here is my first video of "When You Wish...":



In this thread, we are allowed to put whatever we feel comfortable with regarding the tune we are arranging. My video is NOT a performance, but instead a view into how I work with my basic arrangement, with all the pauses, losing my place as I am considering how I want to play a passage this time around, etc. I think there is enough in this video to get a sense of how the arrangement feels and sounds overall. The problem is that every time I start to play this tune, I seem to think of all kinds of things I can do, different chords I can play, etc. It is way too soon to lock it down and call it done.

Tony

[rick-slo]

One of my versions of "When You Wish Upon A Star" that I have been working on:
In C major. Combo of jazz, classical, Travis elements. Working the progression.
Double intro, theme, variations, theme.

http://dcoombsguitar.com/Temp/WishUponAStar.mp3

[tbeltrans]

Originally Posted by rick-slo

One of my versions of "When You Wish Upon A Star" that I have been working on:
In C major. Combo of jazz, classical, Travis elements. Working the progression.
Double intro, theme, variations, theme.

http://dcoombsguitar.com/Temp/WishUponAStar.mp3

Derk,

That is absolutely superb! Thanks for jumping in here.

I will be working on an intro, an ending (outtro) and other elements to pull my arrangement together. Right now, it is in pieces all over the floor, so to speak. But I want to have a series of videos as it takes shape. Hopefully, when I am done it will sound as cohesive as yours, though maybe not as sophisticated.

Tony

[Grinning Boy]

Originally Posted by tbeltrans

OK. Here we go! Didn't that sound cheesy enough?

Anyway, here is my first video of "When You Wish...":



In this thread, we are allowed to put whatever we feel comfortable with regarding the tune we are arranging. My video is NOT a performance, but instead a view into how I work with my basic arrangement, with all the pauses, losing my place as I am considering how I want to play a passage this time around, etc. I think there is enough in this video to get a sense of how the arrangement feels and sounds overall. The problem is that every time I start to play this tune, I seem to think of all kinds of things I can do, different chords I can play, etc. It is way too soon to lock it down and call it done.

Tony

Hey Tony that is really coming along nicely. I really like the jazzy chords you're laying underneath the melody. I think playing the melody slowly does lend itself to more f the chord melody style like you're using. I look forward to seeing its progression!
Paul

[Grinning Boy]

Originally Posted by rick-slo

One of my versions of "When You Wish Upon A Star" that I have been working on:
In C major. Combo of jazz, classical, Travis elements. Working the progression.
Double intro, theme, variations, theme.

http://dcoombsguitar.com/Temp/WishUponAStar.mp3

Wow Derek I agree with Tony, that was superb! Sounds really great with awesome tone!. It hadn't occurred to me for that song to be upbeat but it really works. Very creative. I also really like the improv you went into. Thanks for posting that

Paul

[Nailpicker]

Originally Posted by tbeltrans

OK. Here we go! Didn't that sound cheesy enough?

Anyway, here is my first video of "When You Wish...":

Very nice Tony. I appreciate being able to watch what you are doing, not just hear it.

Originally Posted by rick-slo

One of my versions of "When You Wish Upon A Star" that I have been working on:
In C major. Combo of jazz, classical, Travis elements. Working the progression.
Double intro, theme, variations, theme.

http://dcoombsguitar.com/Temp/WishUponAStar.mp3

rick-slo, that is an incredibly excellent, professional rendition and playing of it.
Nice recording sound too.

[tbeltrans]

I already knew that Derek is "player" (a complimentary term probably only applied to a musician ), since I have some of his MP3 albums. The man knows how to put a tune together and also how to create one himself.

Tony

[Grinning Boy]

Well I've given song #2 a shot. Again nerves took over a little when I hit that record button!

The lead sheet I had off Wikifonia was in the key of C and that felt like a good one to use.

Hopefully I posted the video correctly this time. Thanks for checking it out!

Paul

Regular Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYfz...ature=youtu.be

[Nailpicker]

Originally Posted by Grinning Boy

Again nerves took over a little when I hit that record button!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYfz...ature=youtu.be

That do happen for us non-pros dudn't it? I've heard tell even the pros are subject to it.
But a nice nice arrangement IMO GB.
Listening to all these nice arrangements can't help but inspire me to keep me continuing to build upon my version. For me it's a slow, gradual assimulation process. Just about the time I think I'm mostly finished building a song I get another idea to add, or I get bored with it, or I hear someone else's version that inspires me to pick up on the build process again.
Also, this study group is already interesting in hearing how different people imagine, hear, interpret and translate differently the same song.

[EllaMom]

Wow, Paul, that was great! The runs up the neck ( or is it down?)...really added to your rendition. You said you had a lead sheet. Were you just making up the rest as you went along? Or did you write down your arrangement? Or did you practice it a few times and play your arrangement from memory, looking at the lead sheet only?

BTW, you said you felt a bit nervous, but that did not show at all!

Well done.

[Grinning Boy]

Tony mentioned it would be nice if we could speak about our approach, etc. It didn't dawn on me to actually do it in a video, but now that I have my new video recorder I realized that I can! So this video is me blabbing about (I mean presenting) my approach. I promise not to plague this forum with too many videos!! It's sort of like when I got my new Wah Wah pedal...I didn't want to turn it off

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMns...ature=youtu.be

[rick-slo]

Thanks for the nice arrangements by Tony, Nailpicker and Grinning Boy. It's interesting to hear what others are doing. For me with the tempo I chose it was a stretch to get enough song length out of it without going to far away from the melody and chord progressions or just being too repetitive. If I spend more time on it it will be to rearrange what I did somewhat - perhaps add a key change or slow the tempo and make a waltz out of it.