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i'm doing a little version of this song for fun for myself.
wanted to see how my vocs come out etc.
voc tests etc.
i normally write my own songs//stuff, but always wanted
to see if some voc ideas i had might work. (or not..lol.)
n try some alternative arrange ideas.
so a question.
confused bout key.
thought i might do it A to G etc.
then on each voc verse change up a semi tone.
eg Bflat to G sharp etc etc.
a question , what was the key of bensons version.??
(which i love btw.)
some versions of the song are quite fast.
but i wanna slow it down a bit.
n try some different things n vocal scats etc etc.
looking to do it at 115 to 118 bpm.
tween verses will prolly do a voc scat.
n before last verse n on outtro lead geetar break.
the main challenge of this song is not just arrangement
but also building the proper sound picture n energy etc.
any comments appreciated.
retired puter engr....powertracks on amd......NICE !
"what is the black art of audio engineering ?"
my silly songs...motagator.com/bmanning
see my tips in the tips section.
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Quote:
then on each voc verse change up a semi tone.
eg Bflat to G sharp etc etc.
Bb to G# is a wee bit more than a semitone, mate. They are like 8 semitones apart if moving upward.
"On Broadway" is a I,IV,V sequence that moves from the root down a step and repeats that down a step throughout the IV and V also. Ab-Gb Ab Gb-Gb etc.
The song itself *already* transposes up a semitone in every iteration of the verse. Georgie usually only went up twice, actually, one transposition up a semitone for each verse. After that he would typically stay in the last of the three keys played and jam and scat out.
I think you will find that *most* of the time George Benson would start the song in the key of Ab. Second verse, up a semitone to A. Third verse, Bb and stay there for the Bb gospel blues jam. --Better *KNOW* yer bebop scale here as well as the Pentatonic Minor and the corresponding Melodic minor, at the least -- with good backbeat rhythm sense. This is where swing meats headon with Four on the Floor.
No musician should need a chart to play this tune.
If you really want to do something fun and interesting with this one, back in the day when this one was a hit, was in a band where we would take it into an uptempo jam on Edgar Winter's "Frankenstein" at the end of the Benson jam, in Bb minor. Yeah, we were weird. But it worked.
One more thing about George Benson. Most cats sing what they play when they are scatting along. George plays what he sings. Think about that a minute.
--Mac
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mac.
sorry got a blinkin cold.
i didnt explain right.
i'm aware of the chord changes "within" the verses.
the block sequence etc.
at verse change was where i was thinking of moving "the whole sequence block"
up a semitone.
i meant bflat to gsharp moving down.
thanks n cheers , you confirmed original was Aflat to start.
i once had bensons version here but lost it when i moved house.
i was thinking of moving up a semitone from original to push my vocs.
so was thinking of starting in A.
so 3 verses.
first one starts on A.
second on Bflat.
n third verse on B.
just wanna have a fun jammy with it.
n see what i can do.
cheers.
retired puter engr....powertracks on amd......NICE !
"what is the black art of audio engineering ?"
my silly songs...motagator.com/bmanning
see my tips in the tips section.
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Bb to G# moving down isn't a semitone either.
Its a Whole Step.
Have Fun,
--Mac
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mac i know its a whole step.
i meant change the whole chord combo/sequence on verse change up a semitone...
so if verse 1 is A to G ,
then verse 2 is Bflat to gsharp.
etc etc..
retired puter engr....powertracks on amd......NICE !
"what is the black art of audio engineering ?"
my silly songs...motagator.com/bmanning
see my tips in the tips section.
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Well, that's how George Benson played it, only he started on the Ab and then goes up the semitone for each verse.
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Funny, I would have said it's in G because that's where I've been with it since forever. I've never seen a chart for it. Maybe it was the old cassette or even 8 track we picked it up from at the time or the vocalist wanted it down a half, I have no clue now. Good grief, change the key on that after all these years, I'll forget how to play...
Don't worry Mac, just kidding.
Bob
Biab/RB latest build, Win 11 Pro, Ryzen 5 5600 G, 512 Gig SSD, 16 Gigs Ram, Steinberg UR22 MkII, Roland Sonic Cell, Kurzweil PC3, Hammond SK1, Korg PA3XPro, Garritan JABB, Hypercanvas, Sampletank 3, more.
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Journeyman
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Mr. Mac: You should cut Mr. Manning some slack here -- I believe you have mis-read his initial post. Here is a little broader context from his post: "thought i might do it A to G etc. then on each voc verse change up a semi tone. eg Bflat to G sharp etc etc. " That is, he clearly knows the diff between a half step and a full step, but his "A to G", or "Bb to G#" was simply what the song does for the first eight bars -- go back and forth, a whole step, every two beats, whatever key you're in. He just writes a weird sort of prose. "Style" lets say. Just tryna help. Brad 
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Quote:
Quote:
One more thing about George Benson. Most cats sing what they play when they are scatting along. George plays what he sings. Think about that a minute.
--Mac
I don't know if anybody realizes this, but it's HUGE. It's like he mastered TWO instruments, his voice and his guitar. Shades of Ella.
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cheers.
ive done up a rough arrange now..
and yes i'm aware of the vocal/guitar scatting interplay.
been trying that today.
its just a fun tune ive always wanted to do.
retired puter engr....powertracks on amd......NICE !
"what is the black art of audio engineering ?"
my silly songs...motagator.com/bmanning
see my tips in the tips section.
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