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#41884 - 02/18/02 09:35 AM MOVIE MAGIC DISCUSSION Part 2
Frank Bez Offline
Member

Registered: 12/11/99
Posts: 260
Loc: Avila Beach, CA, U.S.A.
Dear Friends,

Many thanks for your kind comments and suggestions. I hope you will continue to write and tell us about your musical experiences. Here is the next installment of arranging the Movie Magic songs.

FILE 6 My friend Donnie, who is a coconspirator in the yearly Frankie and Donnie Show just loves the whistle. I just hadn’t found a use for it until “Raiders March” came along in the John Williams score for RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. I’m using two whistles in Panel Memory 1. I couldn’t decide which one I liked more, so I used them both. The one from the General Midi section of Sound Explorer is a reminder that we tend to forget about some of the General Midi sounds that are useful.

Panel Memory 6 I wanted to add a horn to my usual Strings and Mellow Ensemble combination. You hear this frequently - a trumpet playing on top of the string section - in a spirited passage. So, you will note a coronet edited into the Mellow Ensemble creating Mellow Horn Ensemble in the Sound Memory.

In addition a cymbal crash has been edited into one of the user positions in the Performance Pads.

FILE 7 “Ruby” the Heinz Roemheld song from RUBY GENTRY offers a good answer to the criticism frequently made by musicians about the repetitive styles used in arranger keyboards not sounding like real performances even though the instruments sound authentic. Let’s look at the mix of Composer variations in this song.

Intro The standard Bossanova was extended to 8 measures and strings added.

Var. 1 Standard 4 measure rhythm with no counter melody.
Var. 2 Pattern extended to 8 measures, with the string countermelody starting in the middle of the third measure.
Var. 3 4 measure pattern, with strings held through all 4 measures.
Var. 4 4 measure pattern with strings moving through all 4 measures.

By frequently changing from one variation to another especially when a single solo voice is being played the repetitive pattern criticism can be eliminated. In a great deal of popular music the countermelody isn’t introduced in the first measure of the phrase. With some patterns, muting some of the parts will also work to make a more varied backing.

Panel Memory 5 The electric piano is introduced and I play a brief Ad Lib solo using a progression that is the basis of many a pop song. In the key of C it is C, Am, Dm, G7 and back to C. Or for any key go I, VI, II, V, I. This short progression generally serves in a pinch when a break is needed. It also saves the day for me when I’m asked to play a little tune and I don’t have any music. You can play any sequence of notes in the scale of the key you are playing in. If you hit a note that doesn’t sound right, quickly get off of it and make seem as if your move was intentional.

Panel Memory 8 Finally in the close of the song I add the Bossa Guitar from the Performance Pads to drive the song home.

FILE 8

There is nothing extraordinary here. The Bronislau Kaper song “Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo is played conventionally with the insertion of the very nice Traditional Waltz solos in the Performance Pads - first the major solo, then the minor solo and back to the major, giving time to stretch while the keyboards plays by itself.

FILE 9

Here is sort of a stream of conciseness medley, starting with “When I Grow Too Old To Dream”, the Sigmund Romberg tune from THE NIGHT IS YOUNG and moving to “You Stepped Out Of A Dream” and on to “Dream”. The starting voice is the Bandoneon, a very pretty instrument which I also placed in the intro, the solo pad and the ending to tie the group together. Note that I change the rhythm toward the end of the Bandoneon solo to move from 3/4 to 4/4 time, which is one of a number of ways to make a rhythm transition. Another is to hold the right hand chord through the change from one to the other or to stop the beat and then introduce the new beat with just the bass and drums and gradually bring in the other instruments. I’m sure you can think of more.

FILE 10

Henry Mancini’s “In The Arms Of Love” from the film WHAT DID YOU DO IN THE WAR DADDY? has long been a favorite with organists, so I wanted to end up playing the song in the traditional Uhump Phaaa style of the theater organist. I think that there is something about the B flat 9, A9, A flat 9, G9 move that Mancini makes toward the end of the song that really gets organists.

The simple guitar Intro and first pass with the Shakuhachi Flute sort of sets it up for the organ. Check out the organ Sound Edits. There are a great many sounds in our instrument for building wonderful organ registrations.

A few words on the final songs will come shortly.

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#41885 - 02/18/02 12:20 PM Re: MOVIE MAGIC DISCUSSION Part 2
BEBOP Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 01/02/00
Posts: 3781
Loc: San Jose, California
Great job you are doing here Frank. We really appreciate you on this forum. Keep up the good work. Your arrangements are supurb.


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BEBOP
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Bill Forrest in SAN JOSE, CALIF. USA
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#41886 - 02/19/02 01:53 PM Re: MOVIE MAGIC DISCUSSION Part 2
Mike Harrison Offline
Member

Registered: 01/16/02
Posts: 78
Loc: Oxford U.K.
Hi Frank
I have been waiting for part two, and here it is, your talk through of the way you achieved your arrangements is pure magic.
Thanks Frank.
Mike

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