“Don’t Stop Believin”

Of all the songs I’ve heard in my life, Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin” was one that I just couldn’t wait any longer to arrange for orchestra.

This arrangement took a lot of different turns. I originally had the xylaphones performing the opening chord progression, which the piano plays in the original, but then settled on having the strings perform it. I also wanted the strings to breathe, and sway more throughout the piece as opposed to my previous arrangements.

I believe a big part of the success of this piece is the drums. Not only the drum rhythm, but leaving out the drums for the first minute. It’s similar to how I feel about the drums in the Kings of Leon song. It’s all about building suspense and not throwing everything at the listener all at once.

The wind section also plays a big part in this arrangement, as I have them perform the verse before the last chorus. Overall, I’m thrilled with the ending.

Formed in 1973, Journey released this song in 1981 on their CD Escape, and it went on to broaden their fanbase explosively – having even become the most downloaded song on iTunes.

The lyircs are beautiful, because it’s always important to remember in the tough times to keep on going. And the band name is quite fitting, because I always say that life is all about the Journey from adventure to adventure.

You just have to keep your head up high. And that’s worth believing.

“I hope it’s gonna make you notice / Someone like me”

I first heard about Kings of Leon about a year ago, but it wasn’t until recently that my friend Katie introduced me to them more in depth, and Jeff Pulver mentioned them to me, too. I heard this composition, the lyrics, the drum beat, and was hooked. So I’m thrilled to have arranged it this week.

We’re all looking for something. We’re looking for our friends, people who understand us, a career we’re crazy about, and somebody to love us back. Sometimes it can feel like a lonely world, and we’ve all been there. We could use somebody to help us along the way, listen to us, hold our hand, and be a part of who we are and our lives.

Life is a learning process. It is something that brings us joy, understanding, desperation, growth, passion, and thought. I feel these lyrics capture our cries to be wanted. This piece speaks volumes, and each musician has a key role that I love in this piece:

1.) Keeping the drums out in the first verse. It builds tension, and allows the piece to grow rather than hitting it’s climactic moment too soon.

2.) The bass line in the second verse. It s perfect syncopated passage that compliments the drum pattern. Breaking away from simple ‘whole notes’ created a sense of movement, and freshness.

3.) The lyrics “Someone like you and all you know and how you speak” leading into the second half of the first verse. It hints at the lyric that enters the chorus, and creates uniformity throughout the piece.

4.) The guitar part underneath the last chorus.

This carefully crafted composition allowed the flutes to introduce the verse perfectly while the trumpets performed the chorus. Last week when I arranged the Foo Fighters, I was told I didn’t bring out Dave Grohl’s drums enough – so I was happy to bring them out more here.

Congrats to KOL on their role at the 2010 Grammy Awards. I hope I was able to capture the beauty of this piece within the orchestra.