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  #16  
Old 04-14-2017, 04:02 PM
EllaMom EllaMom is offline
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Here's a really interesting arrangement of Imagine, by Muriel Anderson, and not because she's playing it on a harp guitar, either. Her use of harmonics, for instance, is something I'd not heard in other renditions I've come across. Anyway, I thought I'd share:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38sVRH7Muz0
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  #17  
Old 04-14-2017, 04:23 PM
tbeltrans tbeltrans is offline
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Originally Posted by EllaMom View Post
Here's a really interesting arrangement of Imagine, by Muriel Anderson, and not because she's playing it on a harp guitar, either. Her use of harmonics, for instance, is something I'd not heard in other renditions I've come across. Anyway, I thought I'd share:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38sVRH7Muz0
Bringing Muriel Anderson into the arranging thread is a bit like showing up with an 8 foot tall friend for a neighborhood basketball game.

I like her arrangement, but then I think she is particularly musical in whatever she does. Her arrangements sing, rather than sounding technical or "accurate" to the original recording. She interprets and lets her arrangements soar.

Tony
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  #18  
Old 04-14-2017, 04:25 PM
tbeltrans tbeltrans is offline
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Originally Posted by EllaMom View Post
Hey, y'all won't hurt my feelings if you choose another tune. What do I know, after all...I've never arranged a song before!
Ah yes, but have you DERANGED a song before.

Tony
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  #19  
Old 04-14-2017, 04:32 PM
EllaMom EllaMom is offline
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Ah yes, but have you DERANGED a song before.

Tony
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  #20  
Old 04-14-2017, 04:41 PM
tbeltrans tbeltrans is offline
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Here I thought I had a decent collection of fakebooks, but I don't have an arrangement of "Imagine". I have some books of Beatles tunes, but they only have Beatles tunes, not Paul McCartney or John Lennon alone tunes.

So, I grabbed a recording of "Imagine" off of Youtube. A tip: look for the "lyrics" Youtube videos of a song because those seem to be the album cut, rather than the official video with a bunch of extra stuff in it.

From what I can hear, the tune is in C and pretty much goes between C and F, and then Ami Dmi, and then later on has G and E7s in it that sound a bit strange. I will figure it out from that and then work up an arrangement. I may not get all the chords right as per whatever you folks have for sheet music, but I think I can get it to sound right. I will figure out the melody and write up my typical block style arrangement to work from. This may take a bit longer than having everything figured out for me by some publisher. Oh well. Music is a HEARING art, so shame on me if I can't get it this way.

If I am way off base and it is in some other key and my chord guesses are wrong, please let me know sooner than later. I am not asking anybody to give me the sheet music or to write out the chords and lyrics. What I said here really does sound right to me, so I think I am pretty close. But if not, can some kind soul set me straight?

Just tell me what key it is really in and maybe I can go from there. The only reason I have to doubt my initial guess is that I am hearing some chords that go out of key, such as the E7. But the rest of it seems to be in C.

Edit: I have the melody pretty much figured out and it seems straightforward. Much of it is G to B and then down to A (all in the octave above middle C) for the first part, and the rest of it is within a limited range too. The highest note I have found so far is G in the 2nd octave above middle C, and the lowest is G in the octave above middle C, so a relatively narrow range. I believe now that I have the key and chords right, though those E7s still seem a bit strange to me. The rest of it seems fine though. I don't yet know if I will transpose it to another key. I could play the whole thing in first position with what I have heard so far, but then there would not be room for any variation to make it more interesting.

Any comments from those fortunate enough to have sheet music?

I have other stuff to do tonight, so I will try to get back to this sometime tomorrow.

Tony
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Last edited by tbeltrans; 04-14-2017 at 05:02 PM.
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  #21  
Old 04-14-2017, 05:17 PM
EllaMom EllaMom is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tbeltrans View Post
Here I thought I had a decent collection of fakebooks, but I don't have an arrangement of "Imagine". I have some books of Beatles tunes, but they only have Beatles tunes, not Paul McCartney or John Lennon alone tunes.

So, I grabbed a recording of "Imagine" off of Youtube. A tip: look for the "lyrics" Youtube videos of a song because those seem to be the album cut, rather than the official video with a bunch of extra stuff in it.

From what I can hear, the tune is in C and pretty much goes between C and F, and then Ami Dmi, and then later on has G and E7s in it that sound a bit strange. I will figure it out from that and then work up an arrangement. I may not get all the chords right as per whatever you folks have for sheet music, but I think I can get it to sound right. I will figure out the melody and write up my typical block style arrangement to work from. This may take a bit longer than having everything figured out for me by some publisher. Oh well. Music is a HEARING art, so shame on me if I can't get it this way.

If I am way off base and it is in some other key and my chord guesses are wrong, please let me know sooner than later. I am not asking anybody to give me the sheet music or to write out the chords and lyrics. What I said here really does sound right to me, so I think I am pretty close. But if not, can some kind soul set me straight?

Just tell me what key it is really in and maybe I can go from there. The only reason I have to doubt my initial guess is that I am hearing some chords that go out of key, such as the E7. But the rest of it seems to be in C.

Edit: I have the melody pretty much figured out and it seems straightforward. Much of it is G to B and then down to A (all in the octave above middle C) for the first part, and the rest of it is within a limited range too. The highest note I have found so far is G in the 2nd octave above middle C, and the lowest is G in the octave above middle C, so a relatively narrow range. I believe now that I have the key and chords right, though those E7s still seem a bit strange to me. The rest of it seems fine though. I don't yet know if I will transpose it to another key. I could play the whole thing in first position with what I have heard so far, but then there would not be room for any variation to make it more interesting.

Any comments from those fortunate enough to have sheet music?

I have other stuff to do tonight, so I will try to get back to this sometime tomorrow.

Tony
I didn't realize until just now that Imagine is NOT a Beatles tune! Lennon wrote it a year after they broke up. I don't know whether to feel young (too young to know this) or stupid (because I'm really not that young)!

I do have one version of Imagine, in "Fingerpicking Pop"...a Hal Leonard publication. The song is in C.

Chords: C, Cmaj7, F, Am/E, Dm, Dm/C, G, C/G, E, E7....in no particular order! (Just kidding )

Does that help?
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  #22  
Old 04-14-2017, 05:24 PM
stanron stanron is offline
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I would treat a recording with more respect than sheet music. The version I heard on the tube was in B. C seems more likely but that key has a lot to do with the fact that John Lennon was singing. The key was to match his voice. In C I'm hearing mainly C, F G and in the last part an E major before the F. (I might well change some of these to their relative minors). There are some nice descending runs against chords which could become chords in their own right or be treated as slash chords. Key wise I tried it in C and G but I think I will go with E. The open E and A strings will help with the strong chord I to IV repeats.
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  #23  
Old 04-17-2017, 06:59 AM
stanron stanron is offline
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OK this is an attempt at Imagine. I'm finding that as I enter my eighth decade it takes me longer and longer to learn to play stuff.
This recording is heavily edited down from something a lot longer and and if I thought I could get anything better sooner than next month I'd give it another go.

Principles, I decided some years ago to play only in standard tuning and to not use a capo. I tried C and G as keys but eventually realised that the Key of E gave me the two open bass strings for the first part and I went with that. If anyone wants notation and tab I can do it but it won't be exactly what I play here but a kind of idealised, maybe simplified. version.

https://app.box.com/s/o75ph7thnja0nb0t6w3bghf1an1ausxy
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  #24  
Old 04-17-2017, 09:24 AM
tbeltrans tbeltrans is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stanron View Post
OK this is an attempt at Imagine. I'm finding that as I enter my eighth decade it takes me longer and longer to learn to play stuff.
This recording is heavily edited down from something a lot longer and and if I thought I could get anything better sooner than next month I'd give it another go.

Principles, I decided some years ago to play only in standard tuning and to not use a capo. I tried C and G as keys but eventually realised that the Key of E gave me the two open bass strings for the first part and I went with that. If anyone wants notation and tab I can do it but it won't be exactly what I play here but a kind of idealised, maybe simplified. version.

https://app.box.com/s/o75ph7thnja0nb0t6w3bghf1an1ausxy
Very nice arrangement, stanron! I think I will consider various keys to breathe life into an arrangement too.

I have not been feeling well for a few days now. I think at least some of that is due to some medication my doctor gave me last week. You all have seen and heard the fine print in the pharmaceutical ads that your nose can fall off, you can turn orange, and you could even die, but the medication will cure what ails you in the process.

Also, and I don't know if this is a function of getting older, but typing as been getting more and more difficult for me. I seem to be reversing letters in nearly every other word, and having to go back and correct these to make my typing readable. I have been noticing this getting worse over the past few years.

Tony
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- Anxiously waiting...
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  #25  
Old 04-17-2017, 09:47 AM
Grinning Boy Grinning Boy is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stanron View Post
OK this is an attempt at Imagine. I'm finding that as I enter my eighth decade it takes me longer and longer to learn to play stuff.
This recording is heavily edited down from something a lot longer and and if I thought I could get anything better sooner than next month I'd give it another go.

Principles, I decided some years ago to play only in standard tuning and to not use a capo. I tried C and G as keys but eventually realised that the Key of E gave me the two open bass strings for the first part and I went with that. If anyone wants notation and tab I can do it but it won't be exactly what I play here but a kind of idealised, maybe simplified. version.

https://app.box.com/s/o75ph7thnja0nb0t6w3bghf1an1ausxy
Hey Stanron, that was really great. It's a very enjoyable and interesting arrangement. It had almost a bluesy quality that worked very well. Thanks for posting and being the first to go out on the limb!
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  #26  
Old 04-17-2017, 12:07 PM
SunnyDee SunnyDee is offline
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Originally Posted by stanron View Post
Awwwwwww, I liked it a lot. Really liked the percussive bit. Sorry, I don't know enough about arranging to say anything intelligent, but I really liked it.
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  #27  
Old 04-17-2017, 07:09 PM
EllaMom EllaMom is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stanron View Post
OK this is an attempt at Imagine. I'm finding that as I enter my eighth decade it takes me longer and longer to learn to play stuff.
This recording is heavily edited down from something a lot longer and and if I thought I could get anything better sooner than next month I'd give it another go.

Principles, I decided some years ago to play only in standard tuning and to not use a capo. I tried C and G as keys but eventually realised that the Key of E gave me the two open bass strings for the first part and I went with that. If anyone wants notation and tab I can do it but it won't be exactly what I play here but a kind of idealised, maybe simplified. version.

https://app.box.com/s/o75ph7thnja0nb0t6w3bghf1an1ausxy
Well done, stanron. You took Imagine in a direction I would never have even considered....the blues! And it works very well. Thanks for sharing this. Imagine is one song I've been working on for many weeks, a pre-arranged, easy version. You give me courage to step away from that a bit. Explore!
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  #28  
Old 04-18-2017, 03:10 AM
stanron stanron is offline
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tbeltrans, Grinning Boy, SunnyDee and EllaMom, thanks for the kind words. As I said earlier the version I got on youtube sounded like it was in B major. The second time I tried I got a version in C.
Code:
Intro
|C - - Cmaj7| F - - - |repeated

Verse A part
|C - - Cmaj7| F - - - |C - - Cmaj7| F - - - | x2

| F - F/E - |Dm- Dm/C-| G - - -   | G7 - - -|

Chorus B part
| F - G -   | C - E - | F - G -   | C - E - |
| F - G -   | C - E - | F - G -   | C - - - |
Note in the B part 2nd 4th and 6th bars he actually plays

|C Cmaj7 E E7|

but that messes the chart spacing up and it is the accompaniment and that is the bit you most change when arranging.

|C - E - |

is the underlying 'bare bones'

Another note, in EllaMoms chords she gives Am/E where I've got F/E. On guitar in this key the only difference is whether you play the first string open or at the first fret. When I transposed it, thinking F/E was simpler.
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  #29  
Old 04-24-2017, 08:27 AM
stanron stanron is offline
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Here's another arrangement. This time in A, three open bass notes for chords I, IV, and V.


[IMG][/IMG]

Here's an mp3 file generated by the score.

https://app.box.com/s/v81ilb0tmwg6p3x2w6e3wn0su9ss6tya

No cruelty to chords here folks. Not a single one slapped.
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  #30  
Old 04-24-2017, 11:38 AM
Grinning Boy Grinning Boy is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stanron View Post
Here's another arrangement. This time in A, three open bass notes for chords I, IV, and V.


[IMG][/IMG]

Here's an mp3 file generated by the score.

https://app.box.com/s/v81ilb0tmwg6p3x2w6e3wn0su9ss6tya

No cruelty to chords here folks. Not a single one slapped.
That's really nice Stanron! I wish I had a guitar at work with me to give it a try. I really like the melody ad libs you put in there. So are you going to do a live recording of it?

I am planning on contributing to this thread myself, hopefully soon. I appreciate you bringing it back up Stanron.
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