Before and After
See and hear
my arrangements and transcriptions
from widely contrasting types of source material.
Example #1: An experienced composer, Jed wrote a bluesy arrangement for this song. As the scene developed in workshop, it became clear that the overt sexuality of the original accompaniment now seemed in conflict with the shy nature of the character. A new arrangement was needed!
I removed the intro, took out most of the swing feel and the walking bass, made the song sparser, and had the tempo push and pull.
Click the image below
to hear and view Jed's song
in its original, jazzy style.
Click the image below
to hear and view what I did with the song.
After
ARRANGEMENT BY ALBERT
Before and After Examples
Used With Writers' Permission
Example #2: Laurie is a theatre director who is writing her own music and lyrics for the first time. She's a talented songwriter, but she's new at notating music and in demonstrating her material. So she writes out her melodies as accurately as she can and we discuss her intentions thoroughly.
Here's Laurie's original manuscript—
melody & lyric only, no chords or accompaniment.
I adjusted the song structure (with Laurie's input) and created an accompaniment from scratch.
After
ARRANGEMENT BY ALBERT
Before and After Examples
Used With Writers' Permission
Example #3: One morning in 1975, George Cavender, the director of the Michigan Marching Band, told me he'd heard our tubas musically prodding Michigan hockey fans into shouting a time-honored U of M cheer.
Professor Cavender sang for me the bass line he'd heard, and that afternoon the full band rehearsed my resulting arrangement—Let's Go Blue!—for the very first time.
Click the image below to hear (a re-enactment) of my encounter with Professor Cavender, on that long-ago Fall morning.
Disclaimer:
Not Professor Cavender's actual voice, but
An Incredible Simulation!™
To that bass line I added a melody, harmony, countermelodies, and a rhythmic underpinning. I also gave it a longer structure, to allow time for 100,000+ noisy fans to notice that the band was playing (always thinking "practical").
Click the image below to hear my arrangement:
After
ARRANGEMENT BY ALBERT
Before and After Examples
Used With Writers' Permission
For more of the backstory
of Let's Go Blue!,
click this
image...
BEFORE ARRANGEMENT BY ALBERT
Click the image below to hear and view
[coming soon]
After ARRANGEMENT BY ALBERT
Click the image below to hear and view
[coming soon]
Future Before and After Examples
Will Be Used Only With Writers' Permission
