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Old 02-23-2015, 09:59 PM
rrayner rrayner is offline
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Default Pleasingly Plump Septet

"Pleasingly Plump" was written by Quincy Jones in 1963 for the Count Basie Band. Jones did a very good job of providing an arrangement that emphasized the relaxed, laid back style of the Basie Band.

This arrangement is a reduction of that piece that I did back in the mid-60s for my working septet. I have not spent any extra time on the drum part as I am not preparing this for being played by humans. Also, I only tried to replicate a few lines of Bill Basie's actual piano part. The bass part is pretty much a copy of what I hear on the recording.

There are a couple of special effects that I spent a little extra time on. I have used the GraphOverNotes feature to simulate scoops and drops. A scoop is created when a wind instrument player loosens the embouchure (lip) so the pitch of the note is lower than it would normally be, and then tightens the embouchure to return the note to the proper pitch (see measures 1, 19 & 51). A drop is created by somewhat doing the reverse, loosening the embouchure after the pitch is started. With valve and pad instruments, this is usually accompanied by fingering a downward glissando that disappears (see measures 13, 17, 45). The instruments named "Work" are the ones that actually play these special effects. If you look in the Working Score, you will see that the non-Work instruments have a volume level of 1 in these measures, making the sound virtually inaudible. If you would like to know more about my usage of Pitch Bend in this piece, see my Pitch Bend thread (http://www.notation.com/vb-forum/showthread.php?t=30650) in the General music tips and questions part of the User’s Forum.

Also, I have implemented a suggestion made by Herbert -- I put the attack for the Hi-hat at -7 to create a little bit of pushing the song forward, while the ride cymbal and the bass drum keep a steady attack on the beat.

For any of you who are new to this Forum and are curious about the Swing Feel that I have generated, please see my thread at: http://www.notation.com/vb-forum/showthread.php?t=30356

Ralph Rayner
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File Type: not Pleasingly Plump.not (234.4 KB, 9 views)

Last edited by rrayner; 02-24-2015 at 02:39 PM. Reason: Added reference to Swing Feel thread
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Old 02-24-2015, 11:59 AM
dj dj is offline
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Default Re: Pleasingly Plump Septet

Nice.

Very hard to simulate horn or sax scoops, but they sound very authentic.

I did have to add an empty bar to the beginning to hear the first scoop. I think the "silent" attack time was actually moved before the beginning of the piece.

I'm working on some big band arrangements for one of my shows for next year, so you've given me some inspiration.

David
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Old 02-24-2015, 02:33 PM
rrayner rrayner is offline
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Default Re: Pleasingly Plump Septet

Quote:
Originally Posted by dj View Post
I did have to add an empty bar to the beginning to hear the first scoop. I think the "silent" attack time was actually moved before the beginning of the piece. David
Interesting, David. I don't see that on my PC. I am at:

Windows 7 Home Premium Version 6.1 (Build 7601: Service Pack 1)

Probably there is something different in our two setups that makes the difference.

Thanks for the compliment and I am more than happy to inspire you.

Ralph

Last edited by rrayner; 02-24-2015 at 03:27 PM.
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Old 02-25-2015, 01:53 PM
dj dj is offline
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Default Re: Pleasingly Plump Septet

Hi, Ralph:

I've started a thread about this on the Beta Testing forum.

I think it's an internal/external synth issue.

David
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