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"Moon River" (Henry Mancini)

 
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Mark
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Joined: 26 Feb 2007
Posts: 479
Location: Portland, OR

PostPosted: Wed Oct 08, 2008 8:26 am    Post subject: "Moon River" (Henry Mancini) Reply with quote

Fellow Guitarists,

Well, from the lack of activity here I guess I'm the only one in this forum who is arranging standards and recording on a regular basis. In fact, I've actually arranged countless tunes for solo guitar in a wide variety of styles over many years, and am pretty much a self-taught arranger who has learned by the seat of his pants in taking on great tunes with classic melodies, plus observing what others have done (much like improvising).

In either case, I just uploaded this recent recording of Moon River by Henry Mancini, one of my favorite tunes. It was done fingerstyle on a nylon-string classical guitar. Rubato ("free time") with an intro and ending that both feature turnaround sequences w/subs. Modest licks/fills throughout, but nothing to detract from the beautiful melody itself.

Hope all of you enjoy it and if you have questions regarding arranging or performance, fire away. More to come...

- Mark
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Larry_DC



Joined: 31 Mar 2007
Posts: 207

PostPosted: Wed Oct 08, 2008 11:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

That sounds so good on the nylon string guitar. I wonder if you could explain how you go about arranging a song. I think a lot of us tend to follow the chords and try ti fit the melody in. I find that if I play the melody first, then go about adding bass and harmony it's a more fruitful exercise.
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Mark
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 08, 2008 6:28 pm    Post subject: Re: Arranging for Solo Guitar Reply with quote

Larry_DC wrote:
That sounds so good on the nylon string guitar. I wonder if you could explain how you go about arranging a song. I think a lot of us tend to follow the chords and try ti fit the melody in. I find that if I play the melody first, then go about adding bass and harmony it's a more fruitful exercise.


Larry,

Thanks. One of the main reasons I prefer the cutaway nylon-string for arranging is that the easy access to the upper register makes whatever I come up with playable on an electric guitar as well, archtop or otherwise. I also like the string spacing for fingerstyle use, although this ballad arrangement could be readily adapted for using a flatpick.

Yes, what you described pretty much sums up my standard operating procedure:

Melody is #1 and finding a key that has good range for solo guitar, ideally between the open B and high E (12th fret), give or take a few steps in either direction. This is much like viewing the guitar as your vocalist and asking "What key do you prefer?" In that sense I never feel bound by the original concert key of a tune.

Bass is #2 in my book, then I fill in the rest of the harmony based on the standard chord progression. If you actually listen to this arrangement very carefully, you'll note that most of the choices in chord voicings (including substitutions) are driven by the desired bass note. To me the bass line should stand up on its own, as if you were playing the bass itself.

More than anything else, the secret to arranging for solo guitar is to just do it every day, and you don't even have to be a good sight-reader to arrange because it so heavily involves the ear. Many of my first attempts in retrospect were terrible, just like my first ventures into the world of jazz improv. But guess what? You keep what works and bring that to the next project, discard the rest, and eventually (as with improvising) everything sounds good right out of the box. Wink

- Mark
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Bob Parsons



Joined: 28 Apr 2007
Posts: 27
Location: Anchorage, AK

PostPosted: Thu Oct 09, 2008 5:44 pm    Post subject: Moon River Reply with quote

One. I love that song. It goes back to my childhood hearing my mom sing along with tunes like that. Two, As a side note, one of my students is Perry Como's nephew! Anyway, Three, one thing that always killed me about Tal Farlow was his intros. And Mark, your intro and ending on this tune confirms that those two parts of the song are perhaps the most important. Thanks a mil for sharing that one.
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Mark
VM Coach


Joined: 26 Feb 2007
Posts: 479
Location: Portland, OR

PostPosted: Sun Oct 12, 2008 5:55 pm    Post subject: Re: Moon River Reply with quote

Bob Parsons wrote:
Mark, your intro and ending on this tune confirms that those two parts of the song are perhaps the most important. Thanks a mil for sharing that one.


Bob,

You're more than welcome. I approach each arrangement differently, but normally I like to underline the melody with occasional fills as opposed to doing an extensive improvisation that often loses the average listener. To me the melody is the tune and what they mainly wish to here. However, intros and endings are another matter altogether, and represent a great opportunity for personal expression while establishing both a first and last impression.

- Mark
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Dean



Joined: 19 Apr 2007
Posts: 287
Location: California

PostPosted: Sun Oct 12, 2008 10:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I am just now learning intros and endings.They make a great place to add your flavor to a song.Fills are another place for putting your sig on a piece of music.I ,too ,like the melody of a song when playing.I guess I just like notes better then chords,now more then before,because I am reading better.It is cool to do both,because you can really tweek a song knowing it inside and out.JMO
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thaydon



Joined: 31 Mar 2007
Posts: 80
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio

PostPosted: Mon Oct 13, 2008 5:10 pm    Post subject: Re: Arranging for Solo Guitar Reply with quote

Quote:
In that sense I never feel bound by the original concert key of a tune. Mark.



Well, after reading this I decided to arrange blue monk in the key of A, and it is much easier to solo over the changes in a solo context because of the use of the high open E string and low E and A for bass line purposes.
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Todd
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Mark
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Location: Portland, OR

PostPosted: Tue Oct 14, 2008 4:04 am    Post subject: Re: Arranging for Solo Guitar Reply with quote

thaydon wrote:
Well, after reading this I decided to arrange blue monk in the key of A, and it is much easier to solo over the changes in a solo context because of the use of the high open E string and low E and A for bass line purposes.


Todd,

So I take it that you're playing the melody in 3rds with pedal open string bass notes? Funny... I hadn't done that before with "Blue Monk" but it worked like a charm! Wink

However, I have done something similar with other jazz blues heads. For instance, in a band context I play "All Blues" in G, but for solo guitar in E in order to get the piano voicings with open bass strings. I also transposed Benny Goodman's "Soft Winds" from Bb to A for the same reason, and years ago arranged Miles' "Freddie the Freeloader" from Bb to A to facilitate a walking bass line throughout.

The main distinction here is whether your arranging intentions are for solo or ensemble application. If the former I always give myself total latitude, even though I usually learn it first in the original concert key. All for now...

- Mark
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thaydon



Joined: 31 Mar 2007
Posts: 80
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio

PostPosted: Tue Oct 14, 2008 11:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mark;

yes, i use thirds, and i also play it using 10ths, using the 6th and 3rd strings going up the neck etc. the key of A makes it possible to hit the five chord E7th and take the B on the 6th string and glide it all the way down to the open E 6th string.
Thanks for the ideas on the other tunes.
I also want to eventually work on blue moon with a walking baseline like i saw tommy emmanuel do in concert!
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Todd
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Mark
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Posts: 479
Location: Portland, OR

PostPosted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 8:40 am    Post subject: Re: Tommy Emmanuel Reply with quote

thaydon wrote:
Thanks for the ideas on the other tunes. I also want to eventually work on blue moon with a walking baseline like i saw tommy emmanuel do in concert!


Todd,

Sure thing, man. Btw, TE is one of my favorite guitarists. You know, I gave up playing steel-string guitars in favor of the nylon-string almost 40 years ago, but if there's ever been a guitar player who has made me reconsider that decision, it's Tommy Emmanuel. Wink

- Mark
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