The Instrumental Score of SMiLE

[Dunderhead]

I'm hoping some of you could help me out, I'm trying to figure out just what instruments all the SMILE songs have been scored for. I understand that the contract sheets list the different players but I do not have access to any copies of those. With some songs I could figure it out, like Cabinessence, but I'm wondering if anyone had this on info on hand.

[hypehat]

I was about to be all like 'The Sessions book has every instrument on the session' but I guess you don't have that?

[guitarfool2002]

I'm a little confused by the question: Are you looking for a complete rundown of instrumentation on the original Smile sessions from the box set, or BWPS the album/live show score? That would be a massive list and task if you're asking what I think you're asking...if it's the Smile sessions from 66-67 the best resource would be, as mentioned, the book that came with the box set. Most of the important info from the contracts is listed there.

[Joshilyn Hoisington]

Incidentally, it would be neat to see somebody transcribe Smile and put out a full score book.

[hypehat]

Incidentally, it would be neat to see somebody transcribe Smile and put out a full score book.

Would buy.

I mean, how impossible is it now we have BWPS? Everything could be isolated/transcribed by publisher stooges. The BWPS book is just piano/vocals iirc, and between me and the internet I can do that myself! Every other arrangement is the problem....

[SBonilla]

Incidentally, it would be neat to see somebody transcribe Smile and put out a full score book.

I mean, how impossible is it now we have BWPS? Everything could be isolated/transcribed by publisher stooges.

Then any home producer stooge could reproduce it at will...... walla voila badda bing bang!

[Joshilyn Hoisington]

It's pretty time consuming.  You don't really need to isolate things, if you have good ears and time to put in a lot of listens.  I've transcribed parts of Pet Sounds, but it's kind of a big undertaking.

[guitarfool2002]

Transcribing anything from a recording into a score is very time-consuming, definitely. I've transcribed several Beach Boys bass lines and other various guitar parts here and there, and even trying to isolate one bass note for accuracy in a mono recording from 1965 can take much longer than some might think it would. A lot of parts got buried in dense mixes, or masked by other instrumental parts. BWPS, with the clarity in a more modern recording, would be the best source but to be brutally honest about it, Darian or someone in the band could be contacted and they'd have the actual scores and parts which were used on the Smile tours and for recording the album. Why spend potentially a few dozen hours doing it by ear when the parts exist on a laptop or on score paper somewhere in California as we speak?

That's one of the reasons why I'm still a bit puzzled by the original question: What information on Smile is being asked for, short of a full score for every track on the box set or a score from the live Smile? And do you want a concert score or a transposed score?

[Jaco]

Just stay close to the notes Brian wrote, and magic appears, like f.e. the Fendertones do and others:

Look/I Ran/Song for Children (Beach Boys Instrumental Cover)
youtu.be/uNhBvss1D2k

That's me* on everything--electric guitar, keyboards (piano, harpsichord, glockenspiel), fretless bass, fender bass, drums, muted trumpet, clarinet, french horn (which, by the magic of modern technology, doubles as a tuba), flute, tambourine, and sleigh bells

*= same guy from this post
SMiLE Recreation (Suite One), played and sung from scratch by me. Have a listen!
http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,12492.0.html

Isn't it wonderful?

[Jaco]

That guy adwolf16 (aka egon spengler) must have written out / transcribed alot, just as the arrangers of the Fendertones and Brian's Band. Isn't it true that Darian Sahanaja rewrote most of the scores for SMiLE?

There are complete Beatles scores, for all the individual parts, why not official editions for the Beach Boys?

[Iron Horse-Apples]

It's pretty time consuming.  You don't really need to isolate things, if you have good ears and time to put in a lot of listens.  I've transcribed parts of Pet Sounds, but it's kind of a big undertaking.

Am I right in thinking it was you who transcribed (perfectly) the honky-tonk line from "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times"?  That was smashing.

[c-man]

Incidentally, it would be neat to see somebody transcribe Smile and put out a full score book.

I mean, how impossible is it now we have BWPS? Everything could be isolated/transcribed by publisher stooges.

Then any home producer stooge could reproduce it at will...... walla voila badda bing bang!

When I was listening to the SMiLE session tapes, taking notes and putting together the Sessionography, I compared what I was hearing (in terms of instruments used) to what Brian's band played on the live BWPS DVD.  Aside from obviously condensing some bigger string and brass parts so they could be played by the Stockholm Strings and Horns, I noticed that Nicky Wonder played the 6-string Dano bass on quite a few songs, but they weren't necessarily the same songs that had a Dano on the original recordings.  Also, they used a trombone to play a couple of parts that were actually played by French horn on the '66-'67 tapes (not that I could necessarily tell the differnce just by listening, but Brian referred to the French horn by name over the talkback). 

[guitarfool2002]

Incidentally, it would be neat to see somebody transcribe Smile and put out a full score book.

I mean, how impossible is it now we have BWPS? Everything could be isolated/transcribed by publisher stooges.

Then any home producer stooge could reproduce it at will...... walla voila badda bing bang!

When I was listening to the SMiLE session tapes, taking notes and putting together the Sessionography, I compared what I was hearing (in terms of instruments used) to what Brian's band played on the live BWPS DVD.  Aside from obviously condensing some bigger string and brass parts so they could be played by the Stockholm Strings and Horns, I noticed that Nicky Wonder played the 6-string Dano bass on quite a few songs, but they weren't necessarily the same songs that had a Dano on the original recordings.  Also, they used a trombone to play a couple of parts that were actually played by French horn on the '66-'67 tapes (not that I could necessarily tell the differnce just by listening, but Brian referred to the French horn by name over the talkback). 

This is interesting: I'm still impressed by how they were able to divide up the parts to be played live, and it's coming up on 8 years since the Smile tour. Do you think the examples of the French Horn and Dano were substitutions based on necessity and efficiency on stage, or were they based on going for a different sound? Not that it made that much of a difference for live audiences, but a trombone versus French Horn might be noticeable.

I can't even remember if Brian's band had a French Horn on stage - did they?

[Sam_BFC]

Probyn plays some french horn on the Smile DVD doesn't he?

[c-man]

This is interesting: I'm still impressed by how they were able to divide up the parts to be played live, and it's coming up on 8 years since the Smile tour. Do you think the examples of the French Horn and Dano were substitutions based on necessity and efficiency on stage, or were they based on going for a different sound? Not that it made that much of a difference for live audiences, but a trombone versus French Horn might be noticeable.

I can't even remember if Brian's band had a French Horn on stage - did they?

Yeah, I think the substitutions were practical decisions based on necessity and onstage efficiency.  Probyn does play a mean French horn, and I'm pretty sure he did so somewhere during the live BWPS...can't quite remember where off the top of my head, but I can picture it in my mind's eye (maybe "Surf's Up"?).  But the "flutter horn" sound on "Heroes And Villains" was a French horn on the original sessions and a trombone on BWPS.  Virtually identical sound.  In a similar manner, when the Stones do "You Can't Always Get What You Want" these days, one of the guys in their horn section plays the intro on slide trombone instead of French horn (which Al Kooper played on the record).  So, depending on the part, the two instruments are somewhat interchangeable,

[Dunderhead]

I totally forgot this information was in the book. I really asked this question because I was curious about how the arrangements changed through the sessions.
I'm interested in how you think minimalism started to creep into the sessions. I've noticed the earlier songs like Wind Chimes, Look, Holidays have a very different Pet Sounds-y feel to them that slowly goes away. How do you guys think Brian's approach to instrumentation changed over the course of the sessions?


From The SMiLE Sessions Book:

August 3rd, Wind Chimes: Electric Harpsichord, Celeste, Tack Piano, Grand Piano, Dano Bass, Fender Bass, Upright Bass, 12 String Guitar, Clarinets, Tenor Saxophones, Drums & Percussion

August 12th, Look: Harpsichord, Grand Piano, Dano Bass, Fender Bass, Upright Bass, 12 String Guitar & Rhythm Guitar, Flute, Trumpet, French Horn, Tuba, Bongos; Drums & Percussion.

August 25th, Wonderful: Harpsichord, Grand Piano, Upright Bass, Ukulele, Trumpet

September 8th, Holidays: Marimbas, Piano, Fender Bass, Clarinets, Flutes, Drums, Slide Whistle

October 3rd, Cabin Essence: Piano, Banjo, Acoustic Guitar, Bouzouki, Dobro, Dano Bass, Upright Bass, Cellos, Flute, Harmonicas, Accordion, Bells & Tambourine

October 5th, Wind Chimes (Second Version): Marimba, Grand Piano, Tack Piano, Upright Bass, Percussion

October 7th, Child: Vibes, Grand Piano, Electric Guitar, Fender Bass, Upright Bass, Drums & Percussion

October 11th, Child (Second Version): Tack Piano, Grand Piano, Electric Guitars, Fender Bass, Upright Bass, Trumpet, Drum & Bells.

October 18th, Do You Like Worms?: Piano, Harpsichord, Tack Piano, 12 String Guitar, Slide Guitar, Fender Bass, Upright Bass, Tympani & Drums

October 20th, Barnyard: Tack Piano, Acoustic Guitar, Dano Bass, Upright Bass, Harmonica, Congas & Shakers

October 27th, I'm In Great Shape: Piano, Harp, Fender Bass, Saxophone

November 4th/7th, Surf's Up: Upright Piano, Electric Guitar, Fender Bass, Upright Bass, Trumpet, Wagner Tuba, French Horn, Glockenspiel & Percussion

November 14th, My Only Sunshine: Saxophone, Violins, Violas, Cellos

November 28th, Fire: Dano Bass, Fender Bass, Upright Bass, Violins, Violas, Cellos, Flutes, Drums & Percussion

November 29th, I Wanna Be Around/Friday Night: Vibes, Upright Bass, Acoustic Guitars, Drums & Percussion

December 19th, Heroes and Villains Intro?: Grand Piano, Celeste, Organ, Chimes

January 3rd, Heroes Sections: Grand Piano, Upright Piano, Tack Piano, Percussion

January 9th, Wonderful (Version 2): Harpsichord, Dano Bass, Upright Bass, Mandolin, Drums

January 27th, Heroes Sections: Tack Piano, Mandolin, Percussion

February 15th, Heroes Prelude To Fade: Piano, Fender Bass, Dano Bass, Upright Bass, Acoustic Guitar, Harmonica, French Horn, Violins, Violas, Cellos, Drums & Percussion

February 27th, Heroes: Tack Piano, Harpsichord, Upright Bass, Percussion

February 28th, Heroes Fade: Piano, Upright Bass, 12 String Guitar, Harmonica, Flute, Violins, Violas, Snar Drum

March 1st, Heroes Verse Remake: Tack Piano, Dano Bass, Upright Bass, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Ukulele, Drums

April, Vegetables: Grand Piano, Upright Bass, Percussion

April 10th, Wonderful (Version 3): Grand Piano

April 7th, Sleep A Lot/Chorus/2nd Chrous/ Part 4 Insert: Grand Piano, Percussion/Electric Harpsichord, Fender Bass, Xylophone, Drum/Electric Harpsichord, Fender Bass, Percussion/Grand Piano

April 12th, Vegetables Fade: Vibes, Fender Bass, Upright Bass, Ukulele, Violins, Violas, Cellos, Percussion

April 14th, Ballad Insert: Grand Piano