Nights In White Satin

Song:  Nights In White Satin

Group:  The Moody Blues

This is one of my favorite songs.

It filled much of my young life with great visions of the future

from when I had first heard it.

Now...

first of all...

I had modified this song on the orchestral line from about 

measure 42 onwards.

I just like the sound of the mini scale run that the orchestra had done 

in earlier portions of the song too much to just have some of the 

more sustained notes after them, to not continue with 

a modified version added and then the runs repeated 

where they are not in the original song...

yet, where they had still matched.

I had also ended the song where I thought I could feasibly do so

(just before the full orchestra takes over)...

as it is my intention for my elder sister, her husband, and I

to be able to eventually play this song...

and I have to consider the instruments we will be playing.

My elder sister will have the keyboard...

her husband will be on the bass guitar...

and I will be playing the bass flute.

My elder sister is the only one who had any real formal music training...

however, she hasn't played the piano for over 40 years...

and she was only an intermediate player with but a few years 

of once a week piano lessons as a teenager.

Both, her husband and I are, essentially, self taught...

and are very much beginners in music.

I have taught myself how to read music (I am a continuing student)...

and I transcribe, transpose, compose, and modify music...

by ear.

My brother in law cannot read music...

but he will play by ear...

and repetition  :)

So...

I have to keep our skill levels, and instruments played...

in mind when I select music.

In this song...

my sister and I will try playing both parts...

and then decide which one will be the keyboard portion.

We will have to decide which one ultimately sounds best once we get together.

However, it may be a while...

as we are still busy with other aspects of our lives...

which will make it difficult to practice our respective parts...

and to get together enough to play the song as a unit.

I am trying to compile and transcribe the music that I would 

like for us to eventually play.

I also intend to teach myself classical guitar sometime in the future...

as I love the sound, and the music

(this will be by ear...as I only wish to accompany myself 

on particular songs...not as a mainstay instrument).

This way I will be able to virtually accompany myself on some 

very beautiful songs through recorded music layering.

I have been much more busy than I had originally envisioned...

so, I will have to alter some things in my life

so I may have more time to practice music.

I cannot stress enough of how valuable my transcriptions

have been to me in understanding music.

I especially enjoy modifying music...

and composing.

In it...

I find, and greatly enjoy, creative freedom.

I learn by doing...

and as I go.

The self teaching process...

for me...

is so interesting...

so stimulating...

well...

is just so much fun.

I am developing my musical ear more and more with each transcription.

I can now, far more easily, take apart music that I hear...

and lay down appropriately timed and nuanced notes...

most often by monkey hear...monkey do

(Playing by ear...then transcribing the notes I had played...

so I could then play the whole song by what I had written).

If you are just learning an instrument...

easily within the first month of playing...

you can transcribe simple music.

And if you can transcribe music...

you can compose it using the notes and timing you do know.

All you have to have is a love of music.

And...

if you love listening to music...

you will greatly heighten your love and appreciation

for music by learning how to become part of it.

--------------

I am not so arrogant to think that I do not make mistakes.

Sometimes my ear may be off...

especially where many instruments overlap in their playing.

If you spot an error...

please comment freely.

I appreciate learning from spotted errors.

Time To Say Goodbye

Song:  Time To Say Goodbye

Performing Artists:  Andrea Bocelli / Sarah Brightman

A timeless masterpiece.

Their voices are absolutely brilliant.

Watch for the time change...

and for the accenting.

This is a fun one to play...

and for Bass Flute players...

keep the high notes as open as possible(as always with all notes)...

as the crystal clarity of Sarah Brightman's voice 

must ring through.

And just as importantly...

you must bring up the notes from the diaphragm

as Andrea Bocelli's voice is particularly resonant.

While these general rules should always be followed...

when playing opera singers in particular...

where you may be able to get away with not doing it on other songs

by other singers...

it is not so when playing opera.

Their highly trained voices are filled with such depth, power in all notes...

and full and rich resonance.  

The only way to match and achieve this is to play with a fully open and relaxed...

throat, embouchure, and diaphragm. 

This is the way all notes should be played...

even though it is easier for notes to slip.

However, once this way of playing is grasped...

your Bass Flute will positively sing.

And...

NO...

I am not a master of this...

but, it is the way I try to always practice.

It makes all the difference between a good and productive session...

and a wasted one.

Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me

Song:  Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me

Artist:  Elton John

This took awhile because I had to get the fluctuations

 in Elton John's voice just right.

He has great depth in his singing because he will slur from one note...

to sometimes many notes, to the modified note, in an instant.

It sometimes sounds like just one note at first...

as it is almost imperceptible at times.

I made a couple of additions just to make it sound more interesting on the Bass Flute

(One ascending and one descending scale).

Although Elton John has many great songs...

this one is my personal favorite.

Watch for the grace notes.

They are sometimes very quick...

and sometimes not so quick...

as notated.

You will also notice that some do not slur to the next note...

as they are the same note.

Crossing The Sweetwater

Song:  Crossing The Sweetwater

Flute:  Jeannine Goeckeritz

Harp:  Tamara Oswald

Arranged by:  Sam Cardon

I love this song.

It is such a beautiful composition...

and it is so beautifully played.

This transcription is how the song sounds when played on the Concert Flute.

When played on the Bass Flute...

it comes out one octave lower.

If you are playing the Bass Flute...

and you wish it to be at the same pitch...

just play it one octave higher.

I actually like playing this song one octave lower.

After listening carefully to the song...
I decided to let my elder sister come up with the piano portion.

The harp is often played with two hands playing different notes at the same time...
as is with the piano.

I tried to write it out for just one hand play...
on the piano portion...
but it just didn't sound right.

So...
once my sister writes out her portion...
I will then publish it.

In the meantime...
I am off to search for another song with which to transcribe.

Cavatina

Song:  Cavatina

Composer:  Stanley Myers

Flute:  Misao Hatozaki

I absolutely loved this song from the first time I had heard it

in the movie 'The Deer Hunter'...in 1978.

I love Misao Hatozaki's rendition of it.

Now...

I had to transpose some of the song...

as she is playing a Concert Flute (It is one octave higher in pitch)...

and she just goes out of my upper range for the Base Flute.

However, it still sounds very beautiful with the transposition down one octave... 

(From measure 36)

so the Bass Flute may play it.