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Author Topic: The Beach Boys in Full Score: A demo - In the Back of My Mind  (Read 3961 times)
Joshilyn Hoisington
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« on: February 12, 2020, 04:55:35 PM »

Hello all,

Since I have not been able to do videos I've gotten back to work at my transcription project.

Here is a little preview of a work in progress:

Click Here!!!!

This is a nearly complete layout of my transcription of everything happening musically in In the Back of My Mind.  Missing are a few notes, but mostly the dynamics, other textual notes, expression symbols, etc.  I also may write out the second ending because enough is different in the second verse it might be less cluttered that way.

The hope would be to get this, plus a whole host of others, published in a book not unlike the Beatles scores book that came out a few decades ago.  I'm hoping that by putting this out there, maybe somebody who can do something about that will see it.

The finished product would have copious session notes, performance notes, and suggestions for performing the pieces with smaller ensembles.  Beach Boys covers have suffered from very wrong chord progressions, which, I think rather than being intentional most of the time, are down to the difficulty in being able to pick out chords sometimes.  So I hope that having a solid musical representation of some of the more dense and inscrutable tracks can only encourage the band's legacy.

As usual I welcome and hope for feedback.  I know the actual music of the band is not a hot button topic around here any more, but I hope somebody sees this and learns something.

« Last Edit: February 12, 2020, 04:56:53 PM by aeijtzsche » Logged
JK
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« Reply #1 on: February 13, 2020, 03:16:47 AM »

You will get feedback, JH--count on it! I'm sure others will follow.

I suppose the main thing we can learn straight off from this fantastic labour of love is that there's so much still to fathom out in Brian's arrangements. And that it takes a lot of hard work--frustrating work at times, I should think, when this sax line or that string part just refuses to be nailed! Wonderful to see (and hear) Carl's little descending flourish in the coda--I nearly fell off my chair the first time I heard that!

As an avid follower of scores (as opposed to someone who can pick up a hitherto unknown score and hear in their mind what they're reading--if only!) a book along these lines would make a wonderful and unique addition to my (and anyone's) music bookshelf. Needless to say, the notes and suggestions will benefit enormously from your writing style, which is a treat in itself.

I sincerely hope this new project of yours gets further than this one thread! I shall certainly be drawing attention to it elsewhere. As for your "hot button' comment, I'll stick my neck out and say you are gradually being proved wrong on that score (no pun intended), judging from the recent generous response to your funding campaign.

All in all, it's a most encouraging state of affairs!  
« Last Edit: February 13, 2020, 10:58:57 AM by JK » Logged

"Ik bun moar een eenvoudige boerenlul en doar schoam ik mien niet veur" (Normaal, 1978)
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« Reply #2 on: February 13, 2020, 02:55:50 PM »

Wow, thank you so much for this! I love it.
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« Reply #3 on: February 13, 2020, 04:34:43 PM »

Thank you for this.
I absolutely love this song. It’s one of the best Brian ever did. The middle section is amazing.
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"(Brian) got into this really touching music with songs like 'In My Room', and 'Good Vibrations' was amazing. The melodies are so beautiful, almost perfect. I began to realize he was one of the most gifted writers of our generation." - Paul Simon

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« Reply #4 on: February 13, 2020, 11:22:25 PM »

Chiming in on this forum for the first time ever, because as an individual who pretty much just transcribes music and makes charts in Sibelius all day vocationally, this thread is very much my jam – good on ya for tackling this tune! Fun project, I'm very interested.

As for feedback, I know it's a work in progress, but my advice is that if you're satisfied with your transcription, take the next step by going back in and making your engraving look really slick and readable. For example, you've got some spots in the Tenor Sax line where ties overlap and the stems for the high and low melody go the wrong way (assuming you're using Sibelius, you can just hit 'X' and it'll flip them the right way around.)

You mention the 'Beatles Complete Scores' book – while the creators of that book cut a lot of corners and left a lot of errors in, it would actually be a really great template to use for formatting your scores... If you have it to reference, you can pull out all kinds of ideas that would make your project more palatable to the average musician: lyrics included on the vocal line, rehearsal marks, guitar and bass parts in tablature with rhythm, overall harmony indicated by chord symbols at the very top, etc.

Also, re: typical covers suffering from wrong chords – this is 100% true, and maybe in addition to your full scores, it would be cool to see master rhythm charts or lead sheets for these songs. There's that 'surfer moon' site that someone made, but some of those are a bit wonky, and chords on top of lyrics just ain't the same as a nice, clean, crisp lead sheet.

I don't know! But I'm happy to lend an opinion if you need one. Cheers
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Joshilyn Hoisington
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« Reply #5 on: February 14, 2020, 11:14:01 AM »

Thanks for de-lurking to comment, I really am grateful for any discourse on these matters.

I figure I’ll wait to really sort out the aesthetic matters until I can either afford a proper notation program (I use musescore, which....is free...) or feel good enough about everything to engrave it by hand, which I would love to do.  It’s not really worth making things look like I know what I’m doing until I get the sense that it matters to anybody besides me.

You’re quite correct about adding tablature—I would definitely do that and as much as I’m ambivalent about it as a notation system it categorically makes parts more accessible to more people.  In the case of some of these scores, adding tab will add up to six or seven “staves” to the score, which is fine I suppose.

A chord/lyrics option would very likely be actually useful, yeah, I suppose I could include something like that as a preface to the full score.  Utility certainly is the friend of publishability!!!
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« Reply #6 on: February 15, 2020, 03:16:55 AM »

JH, I think it will take some serious consideration on your part about which of these aspects to include so that it doesn't get top-heavy and cancel itself out.

Whatever else, this book must have you written all over it--they are your scores and your notes. That last-named aspect is a wonderful addition to the project (he said for the umpteenth time) and should not be allowed to suffer in terms of book space. Happily, I know by now that no one (including me) is going to sway you in a direction you never intended to take.

Lastly--re not mattering to anybody besides you--I hasten to disagree, and so would everyone else who has posted in this topic. The BB full score project is long overdue. And in your hands it will be a labour of love. Let's hope that the someone who can do something about it does see this--and sees it soon!
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"Ik bun moar een eenvoudige boerenlul en doar schoam ik mien niet veur" (Normaal, 1978)
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« Reply #7 on: February 15, 2020, 06:46:29 PM »

Ay, yeah, the other unsolicited piece of general advice I’ll offer is just do the stuff you want to do, because you want to do it... I wouldn’t wait around for people to express interest first (and certainly not on message boards, which are pretty anachronistic in 2020). Content creation is very much an “if you build it, they will come” kind of endeavor. P.s. I found the other thread about the YouTube channel, those videos are really fascinating, well done!
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« Reply #8 on: February 16, 2020, 02:42:20 AM »

Ay, yeah, the other unsolicited piece of general advice I’ll offer is just do the stuff you want to do, because you want to do it... I wouldn’t wait around for people to express interest first (and certainly not on message boards, which are pretty anachronistic in 2020). Content creation is very much an “if you build it, they will come” kind of endeavor. P.s. I found the other thread about the YouTube channel, those videos are really fascinating, well done!

Thank you.
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« Reply #9 on: February 16, 2020, 04:26:57 AM »

I found the other thread about the YouTube channel, those videos are really fascinating, well done!

Hi 0oo0oo0. You must hold the record for the longest gap between joining and posting! Grin

You know, if you like the videos and would like to support aeijtzsche's venture, feel free to make a donation, however small. It would be greatly appreciated!

Sorry, but I have to say this: Long live message boards in the age of social media! If they're good enough for Bruce they're good enough for me. Wink
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"Ik bun moar een eenvoudige boerenlul en doar schoam ik mien niet veur" (Normaal, 1978)
You're Grass and I'm a Power Mower: A Beach Boys Orchestration Web Series
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« Reply #10 on: February 16, 2020, 07:00:08 AM »

I agree with both sentiments; message boards are anachronistic, but I still want them to live on.

I think I just have too vivid a memory of the time when discussions about The Beach Boys music would go on for page after page, dozens of curious contributors posing new questions and answering lingering old questions.

It was a glorious time and I guess it’s hard to accept that The Beach Boys message board fandom is on life support.  But the truth is there’s just not much going on unless it involves a member of the band doing something besides music.

And I guess that’s why it’s increasingly gratifying to get any acknowledgment at all.

Strange days!
« Last Edit: February 16, 2020, 07:02:23 AM by aeijtzsche » Logged
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« Reply #11 on: February 16, 2020, 11:02:58 AM »

But the truth is there’s just not much going on unless it involves a member of the band doing something besides music.

Or... unless a project as new and as exciting as your video series (or, for that matter, this full-score endeavour) comes along. Surely that's something to be jubilant about? You'd think it was the "something going on" everyone was waiting for! I'm still baffled by the relative lack of involvement.
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"Ik bun moar een eenvoudige boerenlul en doar schoam ik mien niet veur" (Normaal, 1978)
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« Reply #12 on: February 16, 2020, 03:10:04 PM »

I think I just have too vivid a memory of the time when discussions about The Beach Boys music would go on for page after page, dozens of curious contributors posing new questions and answering lingering old questions.

It was a glorious time and I guess it’s hard to accept that The Beach Boys message board fandom is on life support.

All those forum schisms haven't helped. The dozens of curious contributors you mention are now scattered far and wide and many of them are no longer on speaking terms. Such a shame. I'd say that's as much to blame as the rise of social media. Very sad.
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"Ik bun moar een eenvoudige boerenlul en doar schoam ik mien niet veur" (Normaal, 1978)
You're Grass and I'm a Power Mower: A Beach Boys Orchestration Web Series
the Carbon Freeze | Eclectic Essays & Art
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« Reply #13 on: February 16, 2020, 07:08:02 PM »

I think I just have too vivid a memory of the time when discussions about The Beach Boys music would go on for page after page, dozens of curious contributors posing new questions and answering lingering old questions.

It was a glorious time and I guess it’s hard to accept that The Beach Boys message board fandom is on life support.

All those forum schisms haven't helped. The dozens of curious contributors you mention are now scattered far and wide and many of them are no longer on speaking terms. Such a shame. I'd say that's as much to blame as the rise of social media. Very sad.

The audience is scattered.  I guess I need to take out a Super Bowl ad, and a UEFA cup final ad.
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« Reply #14 on: February 16, 2020, 11:08:25 PM »

I haven’t been as active as I’ve been in and out of the hospital and the WiFi there is garbage. I think once the boxed set comes out there’ll be more activity
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« Reply #15 on: February 17, 2020, 01:45:37 AM »

I haven’t been as active as I’ve been in and out of the hospital and the WiFi there is garbage. I think once the boxed set comes out there’ll be more activity

Sorry to hear that, Billy. I hope you're on the mend now. Wink
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"Ik bun moar een eenvoudige boerenlul en doar schoam ik mien niet veur" (Normaal, 1978)
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« Reply #16 on: February 17, 2020, 08:55:48 AM »

I haven’t been as active as I’ve been in and out of the hospital and the WiFi there is garbage. I think once the boxed set comes out there’ll be more activity

Sorry to hear that, Billy. I hope you're on the mend now. Wink

+1, sending you good vibrations, Billy
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« Reply #17 on: February 17, 2020, 08:57:39 AM »

aeijtzsche - I wish I read music (I don't), but I greatly appreciate all you're doing! I also wish there was more discussion about the minutia like there used to be, but please know that there are definable people out there who appreciate the time-consuming nerdy examinations like this Smiley
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« Reply #18 on: February 18, 2020, 11:07:24 AM »

My apologies to "H" for not adding my thoughts and support earlier. This of course is a very worthwhile and welcome project in terms of appreciating and keeping the legacy alive in terms of the incredible music and arrangements Brian Wilson did for The Beach Boys. Anything toward advancing that goal gets my full support. As I've said before, for those who do not have experience in transcribing and writing arrangements, it is very time consuming and labor-intensive, along with requiring a great deal of patience and a love for the material itself. I used to do this, but it became too much like manual labor and the actual physical part of writing the stuff started to eclipse the music itself - unless it was a paid required gig - so I backed out of it. My tools were pen/pencil and score paper...I could never get into the notation programs, just as they were still coming out and being refined...That too takes a level of patience I just don't have for hours of dragging and dropping data entry. But having done it, I can say to all that what H is doing here is a labor of love that takes up a lot of time, and is well worth our support and our interest wherever it's needed.

I just want to add a few thoughts to comments previously posted.

First, so message boards are anachronistic. So are vinyl records, cassette tapes, analog recording, the Fender Twin Reverb amp, the LA-2A and 1176 units, and a whole host of other things from bygone eras. Who cares. People enjoy it and continue to participate, some official "camps" even monitor the discussions daily, the view numbers here are high and have remained high in recent years...It's all good. At least fans have an outlet to talk and vent and interact and connect without being censored and harassed as happened previously and is still happening elsewhere. Again, it's all good.

If I may add some observation for H and the project(s) overall: I'd consider zeroing in on a focus and an audience before the availability of directions to go threatens to overtake the scope of the project itself. If you're targeting "cover bands" and all that scene, you could focus in on scoring out one of the Greatest Hits comps and packaging that in a complete scores format as was done with other bands for decades. The people these bands get paid to play for want the hits, and playing an album cut from Sunflower will not be their focus or purpose for buying such a set of accurate transcriptions.

And, as of my daily interactions in the year 2020, reading parts in traditional notation for guitar and bass is pretty much a non-entity. Working players simply do not learn or seek out traditional notation when working up songs for gigs. The main users of traditional notation now seem to be pit bands and jazz bands, and various house bands for TV competition shows like Idol or The Voice. I don't know if gearing a project toward bands and covers would be the best route in 2020.

Getting it into an analysis/study mode opens up a lot more doors, I think. Take the best or most unique of Brian's arrangements and have them offered accurately for analysis and study. Leave the 55-year-old guys wearing Hawaiian shirts playing a beach bar gig in July to do their own thing with the songs like Kokomo and Surfin USA...it's not rocket science. And I'm sure whatever they do will fit well next to "Wagon Wheel" and "Red Solo Cup" under the hot sun and a Bud Light banner.  Grin

It's difficult to balance or determine what an audience or publisher may want versus what you think is worthy of inclusion. I think that has to come from the heart, and the right directions will follow. I honestly do not think a "Complete Scores" as the Beatles book did would serve as much purpose considering how much music released by The Beach Boys since the Capitol era is simply disposable and/or forgotten. Does anyone want a series of "Keepin The Summer Alive" transcriptions? I highly doubt it.

Again, I wish the best of luck, and suggest sticking with what's in your heart regarding what to include in the project versus trying to please certain demographics.

I'd also add, regarding the visibility and interaction among online fans - Many fans simply do not read traditional sheet music and notation, so it seems like a foreign language. *That* could be one element to make it a hook outside musicians who read - Decipher all of this for any reader to enjoy and understand. Perhaps an online outlet and delivery system would serve that better than a traditional book of scores and traditional sheet music.
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"All of us have the privilege of making music that helps and heals - to make music that makes people happier, stronger, and kinder. Don't forget: Music is God's voice." - Brian Wilson
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« Reply #19 on: February 20, 2020, 12:16:35 PM »

Getting it into an analysis/study mode opens up a lot more doors, I think. Take the best or most unique of Brian's arrangements and have them offered accurately for analysis and study.

It's difficult to balance or determine what an audience or publisher may want versus what you think is worthy of inclusion. I think that has to come from the heart, and the right directions will follow. I honestly do not think a "Complete Scores" as the Beatles book did would serve as much purpose considering how much music released by The Beach Boys since the Capitol era is simply disposable and/or forgotten.

Again, I wish the best of luck, and suggest sticking with what's in your heart regarding what to include in the project versus trying to please certain demographics.

I'd also add, regarding the visibility and interaction among online fans - Many fans simply do not read traditional sheet music and notation, so it seems like a foreign language. *That* could be one element to make it a hook outside musicians who read - Decipher all of this for any reader to enjoy and understand. Perhaps an online outlet and delivery system would serve that better than a traditional book of scores and traditional sheet music.

Hopefully I'm not speaking out of turn here. As a "newcomer" who takes a keen, no-strings-attached interest in aeijtzsche's current projects, I've picked out a few things that to my mind hit the nail firmly on the head. (So does your riposte to the accusation of anachronism.)

Still out on your last comment but in many ways it makes sense.

Thank you, sir. Yours was the one voice that still needed to be heard!
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"Ik bun moar een eenvoudige boerenlul en doar schoam ik mien niet veur" (Normaal, 1978)
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« Reply #20 on: February 21, 2020, 01:55:47 AM »

I would say that having chords 'all the way through' (i.e. not just when they're being explicitly played by the chordophones) would be good - including the inversions even if the chord instruments aren't actually playing them as such.

« Last Edit: February 21, 2020, 01:56:14 AM by UEF » Logged
Joshilyn Hoisington
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« Reply #21 on: February 23, 2020, 03:44:24 PM »

I would say that having chords 'all the way through' (i.e. not just when they're being explicitly played by the chordophones) would be good - including the inversions even if the chord instruments aren't actually playing them as such.



Certainly a good idea.

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