What Makes A GREAT Post?

[Keith88]

"Getting To Know You" is a song from the 1951 Broadway musical "The King and I," with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein and music by Richard Rodgers and the 1956 film of the same name. Its well-known lyrics describe a teacher's feelings about her new pupils at the start of a school year.

The song is of great musical interest because of the motivic nature of its composition. It has an unusual structure: it is a 32-bar with four 8-measure sections all of which begin with the same melodic motive, and has not the typical AABA or ABAC form. In fact, the whole composition is written around a single motivic phrase: a three-note scalar rising eighth note triplet and a rising skip to a longer note. Depending on how strictly one defines the motive, there are fifteen uses of it in this song. Compare this to "Siempre En Mi Corazón (Always In My Heart)" https://www.irealb.com/forums/showth...ado-Kim-Gannon for another such example.

There are a number of performances of this song available. The standard is by Marni Nixon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vlx6gQWfjp0 from the film sound track. Others are by Julie Andrews https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbbYY-pAmlY,
James Taylor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7E8dC2g_XA (a country version with some interesting harmonic changes), and, for nostalgia, a bouncy early 1950s performance by Betty White https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WB49Meb6J18.

This song was popular when I was a boy and we sang it in class when I was in elementary school. It is another forgotten song of the 1950s that is well-received by my retirement-home audiences.

My chart pretty much follows the standard chord changes. A lead sheet for this song can be found in a number of books: The Ultimate Fake Book and The Ultimate Broadway Fake Book (both by Hal Leonard) and The Original Legal Musicians Fake Book (Hansen House). I play it as a "bounce," 120 bpm with the Jazz–Ballad Swing style. It does work with the Jazz–Swing Two/Four style as well, but I find that the cymbals in the percussion track detract from the light feeling of the tune.

I hope you enjoy playing this light-hearted, fun song as much as I do.

Getting To Know You - Rodgers and Hammerstein

[Keith88]

"I Have Dreamed" is a song from the 1951 Broadway musical "The King and I," with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein and music by Richard Rodgers and the 1956 film of the same name. It was also featured in the 1995 film "The American President." It is a companion piece with "Getting To Know You," a chart for which I posted last month. It is another example of Roger's repeated use of a melodic cell to craft a tightly-composed and very lovely song.

The song has an unusual structure: call it AA'A"B. The three A's each are 8 measures in length and all start with the same 2-measure melodic/harmonic cell, each starting on a different scale degree. The first and third A each use the cell twice, so that there are a total of five uses of the cell within the first 24 measures of the song. The B section is 12 measures in length and bears no melodic relationship to the A section.

There are many version available on YouTube. My chord chart follows the harmonies in a beautiful recording by the late singer Nancy LaMott (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gu2a_ZEsi_o) and is a different take from Jerry's fine chart presented above. It has a simple 4-measure intro vamp. I play it with a light-rock feel and use the Latin–Brazil: Bossa Acoustic style at 100 bpm. Lead sheets can be found in The Ultimate Fake Book and The Ultimate Broadway Fake Book, both published by Hal Leonard.

I hope you like the chart. I enjoy playing this beautiful, unfortunately neglected tune from almost 70 years ago.

I Have Dreamed (k ver) - Rodgers-Hammerstein

[Keith88]

Hi Timothy,

"If You Love Me" is a slow ballad by Melody Gardot, Dadi Carvalho, and Pierre Aderne. It has a straightforward 32-bar AABA structure and is built around a I-vi-ii-V progression. When I first heard it this afternoon, it reminded me of many 1950s teenage love ballads (I was there, so I ought to know) that were popular then.

The harmony is simple, and I kept it that way in the chord chart. Note that in measure 6 (and the other two similar instances), I placed the Ab7 chord on the third beat; I'm not sure if it was on the third or fourth beat in the recording but either way, it's a matter of taste.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ylRj-W0fis

I did not include the introduction, but I did include the short tag at the end. I hope this arrangement works for you.

If You Love Me - Gardot-Carvalho-Aderne

[Keith88]

"Small Fry" is a song by Hoagy Carmichael and Frank Loesser from the 1938 film "Sing You Sinners." It has a straightforward 32-bar AABA structure. The harmony, by itself, is not particularly adventurous, but the way it interacts with the melody has one item of special interest.

My chord chart follows the standard chord changes with one exception: in the fifth measure of the "A" section, the standard changes are Eb and Eb7 (in the chart's key of Eb) but I used a tritone substitution for the Eb7 chord, which is an A9#11 chord. The reason for this is that the melody note (an Eb or its enharmonic equivalent D#) is itself the #11 of A. The next note in the melody, the first note of the sixth measure, is a D, which is the #11 of the next chord, an Ab9. Thus, the two melody notes descend by a minor second, and the two chords also descend by a minor second. I liked the parallelism and so made the substitution.

A lead sheet for "Small Fry" can be found in some older fakebooks and can be readily found on the web.

My chart has a tag coda which is present in the original song.

I hope the chart will prove useful to you.

Small Fry - Hoagy Carmichael-Frank Loesser

[Keith88]

Additional thoughts about chord chart submissions

What is a pianist (or guitarist) to do when he sees an A9#11 chord in a chord chart. An average Joe or Jane might simplify it because he hasn't the experience to correctly handle it and instead just play an A7 chord. I would suggest voicing it, from the bottom up, with the 3rd, 7th, 9th, and #11 on top. For a pianist, the right thumb on a C#, 2nd finger on a G, the 3rd finger on a B, and the 5th finger on a D# (=Eb, the melody note). This is an open voicing with an attractive sound, containing the necessary 3rd and 7th inside and the #11 sticking out on top. The next chord, an Ab9#11, can be easily played by moving down by a half-step. By putting the 3rd finger on the Bb, the 4th and 5th fingers are free to play the melody.

Jerry's post brings up an important issue: what belongs in a chord chart submitted to the forums? Should the chart be written for maximum legibility, especially if the chart is to be read on a small screen, like my iPhone 7? Should it be bare-bones, so that a beginner can play the chords without a struggle or improvise over the changes without getting hung up in chord extensions? Should it be more sophisticated, so that a melody player or singer can use it as an effective backing track? Should it reflect the way a real jazz musician conceives of the song? As someone whose charts are among the best and most elegant posted to the forums, I'm sure he has considered these issues.

When I wrote the chord chart for "Small Fry," I had several aims in mind. I wanted to quickly respond to GG's request, in case he (or are you a she?) needed it right away. I wanted a chart that was readable and easy on the eyes. I didn't know how he wanted to use it or his level of musical experience or knowledge. However, it had to be accurate and reflect the harmonic structure of the tune. Let's face it, we're dealing with a composition by Carmichael and Loesser, two of the twentieth century's great song composers, and the chart should have the sophistication that the song deserves. Thus, I tempered justice with mercy and submitted the chart found above.

A more sophisticated and I think more accurate version of "Small Fry" follows this paragraph. It contains additional chords with extensions. Note the ii-V-i in the second measure, fourth line (and similar instances) which is the way that many would automatically play, even if it weren't written in the chord chart. Note the tritone sub at the end of the first ending; the melody note is the root of the V7, which means that it is the #11 of the tritone sub, just as it was in the fifth measure of the A section. While the chart is more accurate and the backing track sounds better, it sacrifices easy readability and might confuse someone with less knowledge. Is this chart better? For whom? When is "better the enemy of good?"

Small Fry (v2) - Hoagy Carmichael, Frank Loesser

Finally, here is a third version that might reflect the way I'd actually play it. Note the additional color tones in some chords. In addition, there is yet another tritone sub, this one in the second measure, fourth line. It fills in a four-note descending bassline and sounds good, at least to me. I is also no more difficult to play than the second chart: the Db9#11 contains the same notes in the right hand (F, Cb, Eb, and G) as the G7#5 (F, B, D#, and G) and is voiced exactly the same. The chart creates a nice backing track. However, it sacrifices even more readability. One might argue it creates a straight jacket for an improviser over the changes because of all of the extensions. Is it a better chord chart than either of the other two? For whom might it be better?

Small Fry (v3) - Hoagy Carmichael, Frank Loesser

So GG, which do you like best? Which is more useful to you and how will you use it? Please let us know.

Regards,
Keith

[CyrilleB]

I repost the chart because when I wanted to edit it to add a reference track.

So here's the reference track:
https://youtu.be/9tZWLRh3xmU?si=8xVNXi3sp-8dkwFN
The chart follows the structure of that reference track

Turn Your Love Around (George Benson) - Graydon-Lukather-Champlin

[GregH3000]

This is a version of "Moose the Mooche" that I got through interlibrary loan in WA state. It transcribed all of Bird's solos, and for what it's worth, I thought it was worthy of inclusion since it is quite different from the one on the Jazz list.

Moose The Mooche - Atlantic Music Corp- - Charlie Parker

[GregH3000]

I was rather surprised this tune wasn't done yet. This arrangement is not based on the more well-known Dionne Warwick(e) version, it is the pop hit Bacharach recorded over in swinging London that has an instrumental bridge (not that this fact matters, I guess). I was able to use the Break feature to match up the entrance of the percussion track on the second verse, as on the single: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58db0IGpiVM)

Trains and Boats and Planes - B. Bacharach

[ukerichard]

Moonlight Becomes You - Jimmy Van Heusen

The song was first recorded on May 5, 1942 by Bobby Sherwood and His Orchestra - Vocal by Kitty Kallen, and it was released in November of that year.
https://youtu.be/KOdh5WgUPzs?si=ZHc1kZefick8Pddo

Moonlight Becomes You was written for movie Road to Morocco, and it was recorded by Bing Crosby on June 12, 1942. The movie was released on November 10, 1942.
https://youtu.be/dUmkz95E7mw?si=6RlmlyQkvXhEWEk_

Bing Crosby recorded it again with Scott Trotter and His Orchestra. That version was also released in November 1942.
https://youtu.be/B3BKZiQnISs?si=jJCb_dYddZVHlcxb


This is my transcription in iRP from the original sheet music from 1942.
Moonlight Becomes You - rp VSM - Jimmy Van Heusen (Words by Johnny Burke) 1942


And this is my reharmonization, the way I play it.
Moonlight Becomes You - RP - Jimmy Van Heusen (1942)


This one is my transcription of Matt Munisteri’s version on his album It's Been Swell: The Hillside Recordings.
Moonlight Becomes You - rp (Matt Munisteri) - Jimmy Van Heusen (1942)

https://mattmunisteri.bandcamp.com/a...ide-recordings


For comparison, the version found in the 1460 playlist:
Moonlight Becomes You - Jimmy Van-Heusen


Other versions:

Moonlight Becomes You - rp (Real Jazz Book) - Jimmy Van Heusen (1942)

Moonlight Becomes You - rp (Real Book Of Blues) - Jimmy Van Heusen (1942)

Moonlight Becomes You - rp (Great Gig Blue Book) - Jimmy Van Heusen (1942)

[ukerichard]

Tonight You Belong To Me - Lee David
Words by Billy Rose
1926

Not sure in which forum this song really belongs. Mods, feel free to move it if you feel there is a better place.

This song was originally in 3/4, and it was titled “To-night You Belong To Me”

First recorded by Irving Kaufman in 1926, it became a hit the next year when Gene Austin recorded it.

Irving Kaufman (1926 version)
https://youtu.be/usrACzwJToM?si=mDr3z1luzKDeItiP

Gene Austen (recorded in December 1926, released in February 1927)
https://youtu.be/S-HoFhLRuO4?si=lk9_2P6YQnqG6yg9

Patience and Prudence’s version in 1956 was also a hit.
https://youtu.be/W4dqfrzJPbc?si=PbYbSoF-Je3Coha6

Of course, when thinking about this song, many people will immediately remember the version in the 1979 movie The Jerk with Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters. Despite Martin being an excellent banjo player, the ukulele part we hear is not actually played by him but by jazz ukulele player Lyle Ritz.
https://youtu.be/wyinJyWUhas?si=y6zEk-A7GXeKa0M7

Nice vocals and guitar accompaniment on this 2010 recording by Jane Monheit and John Pizzarelli.
https://youtu.be/sZ1xUO4sCQg?si=mbz_7DXAiQJujlpY

Here is my transcription of the song, including the verse and in 3/4 time - and in the original key of Eb.

Tonight You Belong To Me - rp VSM - Lee David (words by Billy Rose) 1926

Not nearly as jazzy as the version in the Jazz 1460 Standards but my changes are based on the way the song was played originally.

Tonight You Belong To Me - Rose-David