Keeping the Pace!

OK, Two Cans a Week. Take Next Week Off!

Well, dang if I didn't complete two new arrangements this week! I've been listening to these songs and letting them soak in for a while now, so by the time I approached them my mental sketches were quite well developed. I knew how I was going to voice or vocally orchestra large stretches of them. Sure, there were some surprises and things to work out, and there were new ideas that just popped out as I handled certain sequences. Both these songs came from an era where part singing was predominant.

Maybe I get a "bye" week, but I'll be using the time to chart out new projects for the future. Here's a peek at some sections of the pieces.

I'll Be Doggone

Marvin Gaye made a big hit with this song in 1965, his first million seller. This Smokey Robinson composition was a great platform for Gaye to wail. While it really rocks - it presents an interesting challenge to an arranger. It sits in the same harmonic place for long stretches. It makes great dance music, but you need a lot of ideas to spice up a song that begins with 8 measures of A, followed by another 8 measures of A. Here is a small section from my arrangement:

I Love You, Gypsy Woman

Earlier in the week, I finished an Impressions song by the great Curtis Mayfield. This was another tune that fairly fell into place after a lot of listening, because it lent itself so easily to a cappella. The song reached #20 on the Hit Parade in 1962 and has been covered by Carlos Santana and Jimi Hendrix, among others. It has tremendous energy propelling it from start to finish. Mayfield had given it a very vocal treatment in 1962 that helped make it easy to translate to a cappella. You'll see in this snippet, as in the previous one, the use of patter for the ensemble to avoid using too many nonsense sounds, creating more of a vocal texture.

I think both these numbers will be a lot of fun for Blue of a Kind to sing. If you'd be interested in previewing any of these arrangements for your singing group, let me know.