Song
List:
1. GRATEFUL
2. SWEET DREAMS
3. THAT SMILE
4. IT FEELS LIKE HOME
5. A POWERFUL MAN
6. UNEXPRESSED
7. TEMPORARY
8. DANCING
9. IF I EVER SAY I'M OVER YOU
10. SEPIA LIFE
11. THE SONG WITH THE VIOLINS
12. IN A RESTAURANT BY THE SEA
13. NOT A CLOUD IN THE SKY
14. TAKING THE WHEEL
15. BETTER THAN I
16. THIS MOMENT
(Now
Available: Note for note transpositions of all the
songs! Click here
for information.)
Author's Note
Since I don't read music, getting these songs onto paper has
meant translating that which is most dear to me into a language
I don't speak. Add to that the fact that freezing something
which I see as a living, evolving piece of art onto a page
feels much like pinning a butterfly to a board. I never play
the songs the same way twice -- there's always the serendipity
of the moment affecting a chord choice, tempo or a bit of
counterpoint. So, determining the essence of each song and
how to standardize it for a printed version posed a problem.
And then there was the issue of trust -- finding someone to
facilitate the notation process who would be as committed
as I to transcribing my truest intentions. Through a long
series of phone calls and referrals I was led to the only
person I believe could have seen this project through. His
name is Mario Vaz De Mello. Mario came to New York City from
Brazil where he had a very successful career as a composer,
primarily of incidental music for plays and films. He is the
most patient person I've ever met, an attribute which may
have saved both our lives -- anyone else would have surely
killed me and/or themselves! We worked like this: I would
play the song into his computer via two electronic keyboards,
the left hand part on one and the right hand part on the other,
so the computer could tell what was in the treble clef and
what was in the bass clef. Then came the tedious tasks (usually
at least 10 days) of cleaning up the computer's inaccuracies
and over-accuracies, separating voices, playing in the melody,
changing notes and rhythms again and again, typing in the
lyric, deciding on the appropriate expression markings and,
finally, coming up with chord symbols that would encapsulate
the often contrapuntal harmonic motion (pianists, PLEASE read
the notes as much as possible!). Through it all, Mario served
as friend and expert guide. And so it is to him that I owe
the greatest debt of gratitude for this songbook. It would
not exist were it not for his talent, good humor and able
assistance.
Enormous
thanks also go to Maxyne Berman Lang and everyone at Williamson
Music. Again, this book would not exist without their faith,
support and hard work on my behalf.
Thanks
to pianist/songwriter Steve Sweeting who generously lent his
time and expertise proofreading the manuscripts, and pianists
Christopher Denny and Alex Lacamoire who gave them a final
once-over.
And
thanks to you, dear reader, for doing me the honor of singing
and playing my words and music. The best advice I can give
you is to sing them conversationally. The written rhythms
of the melodies are as close as we could get to the natural
rhythms of speech. When in doubt, sing it the way you would
say it. I hope you enjoy!
John Bucchino
New York City
2000
