Over the Rainbow - Arranging Study Group?

[Grinning Boy]

Hi All,

In the playing sub-group some of us have been kicking around having an instrumental arranging self study group. It sounds like fun to me so to show my support I went out and got a Zoom Q8 and put this together, my very first video. Over the Rainbow was a song we had been discussing over there so I put this arrangement together.

Anyway, a fellow member suggested I post it here as well and I thought I would in order to promote the study group to others interested in joining. I was amazed how nervous I got hitting the "record" button so there are definitely some trouble spots in it

Thanks for checking it and the group out! Paul.



Actual link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMFJuzqFFfw

[Glennwillow]

Cool! Good job on a tough song! What a classic! And you made it sound good!

- Glenn

[TacomaDR20]

Nice job, one of my favorite fingerstyle tunes

[reeve21]

Great job on this, Paul.

I also tense up when recording, and I don't even do video!

[Tahitijack]

Nicely done! I love this song and for those interested, it is one that is easy to learn allowing you to move along to add your own touches to it to make it your own.

Having said all that to me its becoming the "Stairway" of fingestyle players. I get to a lot of acoustic concerts which all to often include Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Just went to a show Saturday night and yup, they played it. I'd offer another great recognizable song as alternative, "When You Wish Upon A Star". Hope you have much fun with it.

[bbrown]

That was very nice Paul. Some creative flourishes there. Thanks for posting!

--Bill

BTW, I did the tune as well, adding the longish intro that Harold Arlen wrote for it.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YeotM4gL0M

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0YeotM4gL0M" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Nailpicker]

Very nice Grinning Boy. Your version has challenged me, compelled me to expand my own version of that beautiful song.

[tbeltrans]

Awww heck...anybody could do that! How many guitar players does it take to change a light bulb? 50. 1 to change the bulb and 49 to talk about how much better they could do it. Just kidding!!

True enough, "Over the Rainbow" ha become a favorite for arrangers, and with good reason. It is a well knwon and loved tune by players and listeners alike for its strong melody and (for players) nice, workable harmony.

Paul, you did a really nice job on this! Keep it up, and give that new Q8 a workout.

As Paul mentioned, there is a thread in the Play section, in which we have been discussing arranging. The OP specifically pointed to a Youtube video of "Over the Rainbow" when asked what style she was interested playing. So, we started in arranging that tune. It was her fault, not ours. she cold have said "Stairway To Heaven" and w would have blindly gone over that cliff too.

Anyway, some of us are interested in starting a study group thread. I have been thinking of a tune to do that with, and somebody here mentioned "When You Wish Upon A Star". Great idea! Let's do that. I am off to start that thread. Look for it in the Play section.

Again, great work there Paul!

By the way, for folks looking for an easy to use video camera, the Zoom Q8 is a good one. Out of the box, you really don't need to read a book on how to use it. Just fire it up and off you go! A cool feature is that the viewer thing flips around so that you can see exactly what the camera sees while sitting with your guitar, making it easy to do the video in one take.

I am sure there are better cameras around now, but the Q8 is so easy to use for those of us not interested in messing around with the equipment to get the video right.

Tony

[Grinning Boy]

Thank you everyone for your very nice and kind comments! I really appreciate it....gives me confidence to maybe do some more (if I can get over the record button twitching I get!!)

Bill I watched your video arrangement and it was beautiful. I loved the arrangement and the amazing lush tone you get! I never knew the song had that nice intro.

Tahitijack, it's really funny that you mentioned Stairway because it happened to come on in my car just the other day and I hadn't heard it in some time. I was thinking at the time "this song still rocks"!!

I'm very glad Tony got the arranging group thread up and running and he picked When You Wish Upon a Star as Tahitijack suggested. That's a wonderful song that brings back great memories for sure. It will be fun to give it a try.

[VTexan]

...wonderfully creative. Nicely executed.

1 BIG critique: zoom the camera in. The back of the room is inconsequential; we don't need to see it.

And besides, for guys like me who play a far inferior version of the song, we can see more of what your hands are doing.

[tbeltrans]

Originally Posted by VTexan

...wonderfully creative. Nicely executed.

1 BIG critique: zoom the camera in. The back of the room is inconsequential; we don't need to see it.

And besides, for guys like me who play a far inferior version of the song, we can see more of what your hands are doing.

This is a good point and I will have to experiment a bit with it too. On the Q8, I believe we can set the level of zoom to minimize the fish eye effect. However, it may be a bit more work to get the player and the guitar in the frame and properly centered. With the fish eye, if you are somewhere in the room, you are in the video.

Tony

[Grinning Boy]

Originally Posted by VTexan

...wonderfully creative. Nicely executed.

1 BIG critique: zoom the camera in. The back of the room is inconsequential; we don't need to see it.

And besides, for guys like me who play a far inferior version of the song, we can see more of what your hands are doing.

Thank you very much for the kind words VTexan! That makes my day for sure!

I think I was a little camera shy with this being my first one. Next time I will take your advice and get closer. I'm thinking of trying to use a stand to come in more from a top angle.