Tag: Pop music

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All Sheet Music Film Music Rock and Pop Music

Shallow

(from “A Star is Born”)

Words and music by Stefani Germanotta, Anthony Rossomando, Andrew Wyatt, and Mark Robson; Arranged by Elena Fortin

Shallow Cover

This is an advanced intermediate piano solo arrangement of the beautiful song “Shallow” from “A Star is Born”, made famous by Lady Gaga (aka Stefani Germanotta) and Bradley Cooper.

I have been working on arrangements that have stood the test of time and that I consider to be beautiful and inspirational. While this piece is fairly young (it came out in 2018), it’s one of those pieces that give you chills when you hear it. I have never seen the movie, although I have seen various YouTube videos of this being performed by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper.

There is something magical in the melody and in the emotion that they convey when they play and perform this song together.

About the arrangement

This arrangement follows the basic structure of the vocal arrangement (intro, verse, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, outro). The arrangement stays fairly plain at first and gradually introduces some alternate melodies and fills. The left hand alternates between gentle arpeggios and areas of strong octaves and chords to build a powerful chorus and bridge section.

The arrangement was written for the early-advanced to advanced pianist. I enjoyed adding to the melodic line to fill it out in the piano solo version–the vocal version has Lady Gaga’s lovely voice to add beauty to the melodic line, but the piano solo version needs a little more!

Video Performance

Purchase Information

Clicking on the link below will bring you to a new site: Sheet Music Plus. This arrangement is under copyright with the ArrangeMe program by Hal Leonard.

Sheet Music Plus – Shallow

Sheet Music Sample

Shallow Sheet Music Sample

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Categories
All Sheet Music Classically Inspired Inspirational and Uplifting

Con Te Partirò (Time to Say Goodbye)

Words and music by Francesco Sartori and Lucio Quarantotto; Arranged by Elena Fortin

Con Te Partirò (Time To Say Goodbye) Cover

This piece was made famous by Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman–two classical artists that brought more mainstream listeners to this type of music. The piece has gone on to become something of a signature song for Mr. Bocelli.

The direct translation of “Con te Partirò” is “I’ll Leave with You”. English lyrics were changed to “Time to Say Goodbye”, making it one of those songs that has been used for weddings and funerals.

The piece has been translated into several different languages, and has topped the charts in several countries, been covered by many different performers, been sampled, and has been used in films, sports, and television.

For me, I chose to arrange this song because it has one of those beautiful melodies that is timeless and has staying power.

About the arrangement

This 5 page arrangement is written in the key of D major (2 sharps), with a modulation to the key of A major (3 sharps) towards the end of the song. The piece is a beautiful, expressive one and should be played cantabile (in a singing style). The arrangement explores sweeping arpeggios in the left hand, full chordal textures, rhythm figures of three notes vs. four notes or two notes, and is written in a classical style.

I often hear book authors comment that sometimes the characters in their books do the unexpected. I could say the same about this piece! I intended it to be a romantic-style interpretation, but I had been following news stories that turned the ending assertively in a Tchaikovsky-piano-concerto-like style… The ending is full of power and hope.

Video Performance

Purchase Information

Clicking on the link below will bring you to a new site: Sheet Music Plus. This arrangement is under copyright with the ArrangeMe program by Hal Leonard.

Sheet Music Plus – Con te Partirò – Time to Say Goodbye

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Con Te Partirò - Time To Say Goodbye Sheet Music Sample

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Categories
All Sheet Music Church and Hymn Music Rock and Pop Music

Hallelujah

Words and music by Leonard Cohen; Arranged by Elena Fortin

Hallelujah Cover

Leonard Cohen was a Canadian singer, songwriter, poet, and novelist. This beautiful song has been covered by many famous artists over the years–proving that it is a classic song that can be used in so many different ways. It has been used in TV shows, films, as a Christmas piece, for funerals, weddings, worship, and in the midst of tragedies.

This piece almost didn’t get arranged–I played with it for a month or two and set it aside in favour of other arrangements, but brought it out again and finally finished it. I hesitated to upload it–there were already a LOT of arrangements of this piece. But I am so glad that I did eventually share it–it won two awards at SMP Press: as a top seller in the Popular Music Category for 2020, and as runner-up in the Popular Solo Music Category also in 2020. It remains one of my best sellers on Sheet Music Plus.

About the arrangement

The arrangement is written in 6/8 time, with arpeggios in the bass for the most part, and a verse and chorus repeated three times, each time a little bit differently and with a little bit of melodic variation.

The arrangement is intended for intermediate to early advanced players–it has four-note chords, some octave work, and an area where there are challenging bass leaps in the left hand.

Video Performance

Purchase Information

Clicking on the link below will bring you to a new site: Sheet Music Plus. This arrangement is under copyright with the ArrangeMe program by Hal Leonard.

Sheet Music Plus – Hallelujah

Sheet Music Sample

Hallelujah sample sheet music

Audio Sample

Categories
All Sheet Music Film Music Rock and Pop Music

Let It Be

Words and music by John Lennon and Paul McCartney; Arranged by Elena Fortin

Let It Be Cover

I went about this arrangement a little backwards–I normally have the copyright permissions arranged before I start working on a song, but I watched the hilarious movie “Yesterday” and this song started going through my head.

For those who haven’t seen it, the premise of the movie is based on what would happen if people woke up one day to a world that didn’t have the Beatles, and only one person–a guitarist remembered all the music and had to educate the world. It was a very interesting idea! I decided to work my way through arranging some of their songs and I am certainly glad to live in a world where the Beatles exist!

After watching the movie, this little arrangement popped into my head and worked its’ magic through my fingers. I finished the arrangement pretty quickly, and THEN decided to look for licensing. Thankfully, that finally got sorted so I could make the sheet music available! Yay!

About the arrangement

The arrangement is written in 4/4 time in the key of C major. The arrangement is very smooth and flowing and I make some different choices with the melody rhythm, and sometimes take liberties with the melodic line. I mean, if I was a Beatle, and I played my songs for many years, and I had to perform these songs for many years, I’d probably play around with the melody lines too! It’s nice that you can take the structure of their song and play around with it to make it more suitable as a piano solo which is what I intended with this version.

The arrangement is intended for intermediate to early advanced players–the left hand has a lot of movement, and later in the piece, there are some challenging melodic runs in the right hand, offbeat rhythms, including quarter note triplets, and a quintuplet thrown in there too!

Video Performance

Purchase Information

Clicking on the link below will bring you to a new site: Sheet Music Plus. This arrangement is under copyright with the ArrangeMe program by Hal Leonard.

Sheet Music Plus – Let It Be

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