Moonlight Serenade

[BobM]

Gimme a clue Bob...does the original recording sound better in the lower octave than the new....dont wanna shoot myself in foot by sending wrong version for demo...I trust your judgement probably more than my own...cheers LostHobos

I cant find the newer one at the moment, did you take it down? Surprisingly I felt that the new one sounded too high, which is the basis of my comments of setting the key to suit the instrument when possible. Not at all helpful to you, I know.

Maybe stay with the original but try to achieve a little more separation by cleaning up the LH a little, maybe use a straight octave RH tuning?

A good example setting the key to the instrument is Aint Misbehaving by Fats Waller. Originally in C sung by FW himself and a good key for male vocal, but too low to sit on the Trumpet, so they like to play it in Eb because its not too shrill on the middle section. Female vocalists prefer the key of of G, not good the the trumpet again, unless it in an intense manner, but very nice for lyrical trombone, and so it goes. Glenn Miller who wrote MS performed it in Eb, but most printed versions are in F, and so it goes...

It might be a good idea to check out some commercial jazz players on YouTube to see which registers and octave positions that they use. I know that when Ive played with Harry H, (not on the box) that he does tend to play in the higher octave with the Bassoon register on Cassotto.

BobM.

 

[acordiansam]

What also may fit as a change is to play it a time through with just single note melody then start adding the cords. It can also allow you to relax and swing it some more if that's what you like. It always helps me to get it started in the swing of things.

Most of all have fun and enjoy you are doing great!

 

[losthobos]

Cheers Bob...sound advice
On topic of keys i was once playing with harry h , the tune was The Way You look Tonight...i started playing in D and he looked at me perplexed and asked why i'd chosen said key...I'd picked only because i'd worked it out on ukulele in that key whilst bored on holiday and transposed to accordion when i got home...
Anyway conversation continued after that with hH explaining that songs we're often written in accordance with the instrument to be played on... ie Key of C,F or G for piano (or Fsharp minor if your a blind George Shearing)...Eb for a brass led tune, Bb for a woodwind led, E or A for guitar blues men etc...i found this interesting..
Later that day i was talking to Richard holmes (an arranger for BBC and most anything recorded in the 70,s) and he told me a bulk of his work is now salvaging transcripts where people have written orchestral pieces for movies etc on computers with midi sound cards who haven't realised that the physical instrument itself only has a certain range...said people are quite perplexed when told a clarinet can't go that low...etc
horses for courses i guess...when i'm with HH i must say he constantly changes register according to his feeling on the day...but he does have a switch on his Borsini that allowsall the reeds he's playing to go into a cassotto chamber...???

 

[dan]

thanks Losthobos for subjecting your work in progress to scrutiny. Lots to learn by following this thread. I like the rich chords and basoon tone on your arrangement but agree with bob that the LH RH range overlap makes the sound a bit muddy. Will be anxious to hear your next version

 

[BobM]

"MS" is a slow foxtrot, and so a bass/chord, bass/chord rhythm will work just fine, and bearing in mind that it needn't be unrelenting, on the LH leave gaps between details played on the RH to let it breathe.

Having said all of that, as my ex father in-law used to say, "A problem shared is a problem doubled"...

BobM.