OK, don't laugh. It's a guilty pleasure. And it has a good pedigree. It's based on Frédéric Chopin's Prelude in C Minor, Opus 28, Number 20. The problem is it's a piano piece as done by Barry Manilow (and of course, Chopin). After his last few lines of lyrics BM goes back into the Chopin version.
I want to do it on acoustic guitar, but obviously it won't be like Barry Manilow's or Donna Summer's or Take That's (thank God). Nor do I want it like any of those. The only chord sheet I can find, other than on Musicnotes.com, which I am not paying $5.25 for a piano transcription with only a passing nod to guitar, is this one. I have no idea who transcribed it, since it's not at all like the original. I think it's Take That's because of the line "You're my lifeline, angel of my lifetime". I kind of like the line "Our hearts beating, angel of my lifetime..." BM sings "Sweet Melissa, angel..."; Donna Summer sings "Oh sweet Peter, angel..." (who the heck are Melissa and Peter!? :?).
COULD IT BE MAGIC
Am......G.........Cm..................Bb
Spirits move me, every time I'm near you
Cm................Bb...........C7
Whirling like a cyclone in my mind
Am.........G..........Cm...........Bb
You're my lifeline, angel of my lifetime (or)
Our hearts beating, angel of my lifetime
Cm..............Bb..........C7
Answer to all answers I can find
C......Fm...C...Fm....Db....G............Eb
Baby I want you come, come, come into my arms
F...............Db...............C7
Let me feel the wonder of all of you
C...........Fm.C..Fm...Db.....G..............Eb
Could it be magic now, now, now and hold on fast
F.................Db.......C7
Could this be the magic at last
(Repeat chord progression the same way for next verses)
I'm looking for some ideas on what you guys would do. I'm thinking of using a tempo that is jazzier than the piano (and a strumming pattern to match) but not as frantic as Take That's. Lining up the chords needs work and I guess will go along with the tempo and rhythm.
This is BM's recording http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xBG_d-_6bc It's actually very nice.
Since I'm asking for help, I probably shouldn't torture you with the Take That version http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbiEOYv2Dyo&feature=PlayList&p=832EE4516F61360F&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=8 to show what I don't want.
I'm also thinking of using the first verse's chords as an intro, since this version has none. Taking a piano piece to guitar is a bit of a challenge sometimes, though I was finally able to accomplish it with Leon Russell's Magic Mirror. As someone pointed out to me somewhere, sometime recently, a piano-to-guitar transcription will never be the same. There must always be concessions and reworkings.
Sorry for the torture; and thanks for any and all ideas (and throwing of stones, rocks and beer bottles 8)).
It is difficult to answer when one does not understand the question.
COULD IT BE MAGIC
Am......G.........Cm..................Bb
Spirits move me, every time I'm near you
Cm................Bb...........C7
Whirling like a cyclone in my mind
Am.........G..........Cm...........Bb
You're my lifeline, angel of my lifetime (or)
Our hearts beating, angel of my lifetime
Cm..............Bb..........C7
Answer to all answers I can find
C......Fm...C...Fm....Db....G............Eb
Baby I want you come, come, come into my arms
F...............Db...............C7
Let me feel the wonder of all of you
C...........Fm.C..Fm...Db.....G..............Eb
Could it be magic now, now, now and hold on fast
F.................Db.......C7
Could this be the magic at last
(Repeat chord progression the same way for next verses)
I'm looking for some ideas on what you guys would do.
First of all, I'd find a transcription that gets the codes right. On Manilow's (definitive) version, which is in C minor, the chord on "Spirits..." is C major. (Check it out at about 1:02 of the YouTube recording.) I haven't followed out the whole posted transcription vs. the original, but when somebody can't (or won't) catch the difference between a major and a minor chord, I move along to other sources.
When rearranging pop songs I have no problem tinkering with chords, but I like to know exactly what I'm tinkering with before I start.
My general practice for arranging:
- Get the original into a competent lead sheet.
- Find appropriate key for singers, if any will be singing; and find a graceful key/tuning/capo position as starting place for guitar.
- Transcribe with the guitar in my lap, looking for places that might require a rethinking of guitar tuning or capo position. (That Db chord in the posted version might be one. I'm happy to change tunings/capo-ings for the sake of one hard chord, unless it throws the whole rest of the arrangement into some bizarre positions.)
That Chopin prelude is in any library, in almost any collection of "59 Piano Pieces You Like to Play" or the like. Honestly, I'd start there. Get the thing down to Roman numerals, and look at distinctive features such as chromatic lines beneath the melody.
Tempo & style: Manilow's so lugubrious most of the time. I put together a fun version of Manilow's "Mandy" as an upbeat pop song way back when, based on a little two-measure guitar hook. Keep an ear open for opportunities for hooks, which may or may not be related the original version. (I think my "Mandy" hook was related to Manilow's version by, like, one interval and a three-note diatonic line.)
There are innumerable possibilities, even with something as intricate as "Could it be Magic." Please keep us posted as you go along!
"You can't write a chord ugly enough to say what you want to say sometimes, so you have to rely on a giraffe filled with whipped cream." - Frank Zappa
I hear what you are saying, and I don't disagree. I think it should have some semblence of faithfulness to the original! I appreciate the critique and expected as much. The transcription I had seemed altogether too easy to be possible; too good to be true. Chopin's work is only in the intro and outro. The rest of the song is Manilow's and Adrienne Anderson.
I am usually disheartened when there are so few sources for an otherwise popular song. The websites I've hit all have the disclaimer of having to remove the entries due to legal hassles. So, the problem is there are no other sheets except for a couple that are on musicnotes.com and sheetmusicdirect.com. It's not that I don't want to pay the $5.25 for them... I have paid and downloaded for other sheets when I could not find anything else. I'm not looking to deprive anyone their just recompense. Even then they were not entirely accurate vis-a-vis the sound of the recording. But you pays your money and you takes your chances... caveat emptor.
I don't know if you can see this, but this is what musicnotes.com offers: http://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0044784&mnuid=UC07W2X5XP554924WSQBBKU6HCVP9V0700GWSNK7 Sheetmusicdirect offers the same one http://www.sheetmusicdirect.us/search/productDetail.do?itemId=1000006832
I may very well buy and download one of these and adapt as necessary. One fun thing to do, I think, will be the single note run after the Cm(add2), and the single fill and lead notes. If I do this, it will be a project not to be rushed through.
It is difficult to answer when one does not understand the question.
Chopin's work is only in the intro and outro.
Manilow uses some of Chopin's chords verbatim in the chorus FWIW.
"You can't write a chord ugly enough to say what you want to say sometimes, so you have to rely on a giraffe filled with whipped cream." - Frank Zappa
Here's the prelude, if you need it:
https://ccrma.stanford.edu/~craig/keyscape/chopin-op28no20/prelude20.pdf
"You can't write a chord ugly enough to say what you want to say sometimes, so you have to rely on a giraffe filled with whipped cream." - Frank Zappa
Chopin's work is only in the intro and outro.
Manilow uses some of Chopin's chords verbatim in the chorus FWIW.
I didn't know that. I was going by something I read somewhere, or imagined I read, and it stuck in my head. I didn't even know what the song was based on until I decided to add it to my song book and started looking into it. I think it's pretty under-rated.
It is difficult to answer when one does not understand the question.
Here's the prelude, if you need it:
https://ccrma.stanford.edu/~craig/keyscape/chopin-op28no20/prelude20.pdf
Wow, thanks. My reading is slow, but I eventually get there. That may very well come in handy. I think I'm going to go with the published version. At least when I play the first page sample (that's all they give you without buying), it sounds like the piece.
It is difficult to answer when one does not understand the question.
Chopin's work is only in the intro and outro.
Manilow uses some of Chopin's chords verbatim in the chorus FWIW.
I didn't know that. I was going by something I read somewhere, or imagined I read, and it stuck in my head. I didn't even know what the song was based on until I decided to add it to my song book and started looking into it. I think it's pretty under-rated.
Definitely under-rated. Pop composers have been stealing from the classics forever, and this is one of the best thefts of all. :lol:
Manilow's chorus harmonies are in m. 5-6, or m. 9-10 if you prefer.
"You can't write a chord ugly enough to say what you want to say sometimes, so you have to rely on a giraffe filled with whipped cream." - Frank Zappa
OK, Minotaur, now I have the dang song stuck in my head. Thanks a lot. :wink:
"You can't write a chord ugly enough to say what you want to say sometimes, so you have to rely on a giraffe filled with whipped cream." - Frank Zappa
OK, Minotaur, now I have the dang song stuck in my head. Thanks a lot. :wink:
You want Macarena instead? Don't push me! :lol:
I found a power tab on UG of Chopin's Prelude 20 in C minor. You can't believe how faithful it sounds. Moreover, it's got standard notation and guitar tab. The musicnotes version cuts the intro very short, which I dislike. I'll take the tabs, write out the chords, compare them to the chords in the published copy's intro, and if they match, then it's a pretty safe bet the rest of the song is fairly accurate.
I know, I'm like a pitbull with a project. :mrgreen:
It is difficult to answer when one does not understand the question.
OK, Minotaur, now I have the dang song stuck in my head. Thanks a lot. :wink:
You want Macarena instead? Don't push me! :lol:
When you have a song stuck in your head, the only cure is to get a different song stuck in your head. Most ABBA songs are safe choices. :)
I found a power tab on UG of Chopin's Prelude 20 in C minor. You can't believe how faithful it sounds. Moreover, it's got standard notation and guitar tab. The musicnotes version cuts the intro very short, which I dislike.
That's great! Got a link? (The shortened intro BTW was for the AM-single version, if i recall correctly.)
I'll take the tabs, write out the chords, compare them to the chords in the published copy's intro, and if they match, then it's a pretty safe bet the rest of the song is fairly accurate.
And then the real fun can begin. I'm hearing the song in a fast-tempo bluegrass version at the moment....
I know, I'm like a pitbull with a project. :mrgreen:
Yeah... I'm both suggestible and obsessive-compulsive, which makes forums like this kinda dangerous. :P
"You can't write a chord ugly enough to say what you want to say sometimes, so you have to rely on a giraffe filled with whipped cream." - Frank Zappa
OK, Minotaur, now I have the dang song stuck in my head. Thanks a lot. :wink:
You want Macarena instead? Don't push me! :lol:
When you have a song stuck in your head, the only cure is to get a different song stuck in your head. Most ABBA songs are safe choices. :)
I found a power tab on UG of Chopin's Prelude 20 in C minor. You can't believe how faithful it sounds. Moreover, it's got standard notation and guitar tab. The musicnotes version cuts the intro very short, which I dislike.
That's great! Got a link? (The shortened intro BTW was for the AM-single version, if i recall correctly.)
I'll take the tabs, write out the chords, compare them to the chords in the published copy's intro, and if they match, then it's a pretty safe bet the rest of the song is fairly accurate.
And then the real fun can begin. I'm hearing the song in a fast-tempo bluegrass version at the moment....
I know, I'm like a pitbull with a project. :mrgreen:
Yeah... I'm both suggestible and obsessive-compulsive, which makes forums like this kinda dangerous. :P
It is difficult to answer when one does not understand the question.
Hi Crow and Mino'. Hope you don't mind me joining in on the fun. :D
I've just messed a bit with that as displayed on the MusicNotes sample. I changed a couple voicings like the G7 to (3-5-3-4-3-3), and on the Ebmaj7 to Dm7 piece, I went from Ebmaj7(X-6-8-7-8-6) to Dm7(X-5-7-5-6-5) just to make the changes easier. I think they sound a bit better, at least under my fingers.
I've went through a similar excercise with another piano tune. Billy Joel's "Just The Way You Are". My Billy Joel book had some really easy looking chord charts that turned out to be partial chords of the full versions. I kind of did whatever flowed right in my mind and fingers.
For each of these songs, I use a little hybrid thing mentioned to me in a thread here last year. I do a full strum or rake or whatever, followed by a few single notes kind of arpeggio style and mostly on the g-b-e strings while the chord is still fretted. I couldn't do it by sight on TAB in reasonable timing to save my life, but I just kind of pluck or pick the strings. Hard to describe. Perhaps it's because for once, I am playing music instead of TAB. :?: :?:
Speaking of song books, that one $5 song sheet is part of a 20 song book for $18. I think I'll probably get it. I'm finding myself quite addicted to song books. I could have worse vices, I guess. :lol:
Oh, and I don't know why it took so long, but my wife (of 20 years) and I both admitted to each other within the past few years that we had the Barry Manilow Live album from the 70's. The one where he's standing X style, as if he was a target. Anyhow, I don't care what anyone thinks. If I like something, I do. Too old to run and duck. We've got the CD now, complete with the Mandy/Could It Be Magic combo. Good stuff. :)
Roy
"I wonder if a composer ever intentionally composed a piece that was physically impossible to play and stuck it away to be found years later after his death, knowing it would forever drive perfectionist musicians crazy." - George Carlin
Hi Crow and Mino'. Hope you don't mind me joining in on the fun. :D
Hey Roy, no problem. I can use all the advice and help I can get. I downloaded the sheetmusicdirect copy. It's pretty much the same as the musicnotes version. It looks pretty decent. The online playback sounded good, considering it's a midi. And at least it starts on Cm. :roll:
As expected, there are a few typos, but you find that in any published book too. For $3.99 I think I have a good start.
I've just messed a bit with that as displayed on the MusicNotes sample. I changed a couple voicings like the G7 to (3-5-3-4-3-3), and on the Ebmaj7 to Dm7 piece, I went from Ebmaj7(X-6-8-7-8-6) to Dm7(X-5-7-5-6-5) just to make the changes easier. I think they sound a bit better, at least under my fingers.
I'm sure I'll have to do similar, especially if there is too much of a reach for my fingers.
For each of these songs, I use a little hybrid thing mentioned to me in a thread here last year. I do a full strum or rake or whatever, followed by a few single notes kind of arpeggio style and mostly on the g-b-e strings while the chord is still fretted. I couldn't do it by sight on TAB in reasonable timing to save my life, but I just kind of pluck or pick the strings. Hard to describe. Perhaps it's because for once, I am playing music instead of TAB. :?: :?:
I see some of that coming down the 'pike too. There are lead-in and passing notes that I don't think you can do without. Especially between the intro and the start of the lyrics. Some piano piece translate to guitar very easily; others are a bear. My former teacher pointed out that keyboardists have 10 fingers to use. There are arpeggios they can play over chords and other little fills and frills. Magic Mirror drove me to distraction because Leon plays an arpeggio over the Em Bm7 chords in the intro. I can't do that on guitar. I can only play the chords. It takes either two guitars or a guitar and keyboard. And you can't work single notes or an arpeggio in because it ruins the rhythm.
Btw, the original one I posted is the Take That version.
I'm just getting really tired of internet tabs and chord sheets that are altogether just plain downright wrong. I also downloaded I Don't Know How to Love Him from Jesus Christ Superstar. I have the original sheet from almost 40 years ago that I used for my Magnus Chord Organ. The sheet is almost useless, being on the verge of disintegrating. But the one I downloaded looks to be the real McCoy.
It is difficult to answer when one does not understand the question.
I'll second the giving up on internet tab it's mostly junk and a waste of time, there are more things wrong with a given tab then right usually.
But I have to give you props for going through the pain of trying to transpose the song from piano...
"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll!
