In an earlier post, I talked about writing and recording both versions of The Promised Land. I wanted to do a black gospel choir arrangement for the background vocals. Most people who know me know that I play music primarily by ear. I can read music, but I’m not very good at it. Practically all of the other songs that I have recorded are arrangements that existed only in my head prior to the sessions or were developed during the recording process. For this recording, I felt the a little more planning was in order.
I started with a music notation software called Finale. I was able to put together the harmonies that I wanted and plan the arc of the song. The software is flexible enough to allow me to preview the arrangements. I put together a final plan for the song and printed out a copy to use during the session. A few nights ago, I was going through my records and found the arrangement. I compared the sheet music to what I actually recorded and they are relatively close. There are a few places where I thought I needed a note to be flat when it didn’t. There is one whole section where my arrangement goes higher than I am able to go. I did adjust during the recording, but the planning gave me a basic idea about how I wanted to stack the harmonies and made the adjusting easier.
The photo is from the first page of an attempted transcription of the recording. It is not a copy of the original document that I recorded from. If you are interested in getting a .pdf copy of the transcription or a .pdf of the original arrangement, email me at artwheeler@artwheelermusic.net. Please specify which one you want. I will send both if you are interested. I’ll also put you on my mailing list for other exclusive information about my music.