Every performance was great, so it was awesome to Lady Gaga’s performance last night at the CBS. I try to arrange songs that really are fun and artistically inspiring to me. So it felt good to see that the choices you all help me pick out are favored on a worldwide stage. It’s cool when your work comes to life – so my most recent performance by Amanda Palmer on New Year’s Eve was a blast.

I also noticed that TPain was mimicking conducting an orchestra during Jamie Foxx‘s performance – which was very cool to see. I feel really good about classical music and where it’s headed!

We have a lot more songs to come. Some big surprises in store!

“Hey Walt, we’re gonna have you on in 5 minutes, tell us how to pronounce your last name. Ready?” “Ummm, Hell Yea!”

It was super quick (probably about 2 min. long) and was my first radio interview in a while. The thing is, that these things happen so fast that when you’re on air you forget what to say. When asked “So what songs have you done?” I kind of choked and only remembered Lady Gaga, Beatles, BT, and The Roots. I totally forgot about Bon Jovi, Michael Jackson, Radiohead, MGMT and more. Seriously, how are you supposed to prepare for a radio show with tons of listeners and an on-the-spot appearance?

There were events for Mashable at RS Hotel, Drop.io, and NY Times which I turned down and instead got a FULL night’s sleep and tons of work done. I’m usually out late to these things anyway, and if I had, then I would’ve slept in and surely missed this early surprise 8am phone call.

I like how things are going and people are beginning to really enjoy what I do here. But I’m a little upset – am I the only one who chokes under pressure? haha

“Sxephil he’s not sexy”

OK – this one is short… but its a Theme Song! Well… sort of. SxePhil is one of the most popular channels on Youtube. I thought it’d be fun to do something a little ‘outside’ of the lines, and in traditional fashion of mine – unpredictable. I’ve done Lady Gaga, Rick Astley, Michael Jackson, and even more. But what about theme songs, or Rage Against the Machine, or Kanye West? What about the Philadelphia Eagles chant, or the Keyboard Cat theme? I’ll get to them… give me time :)

First I’d like to say that this song meant a lot to me because SxePhil is a cool guy who openly discusses his health issues. Why is this important to me? Well, its important that people remember that every one has their own problems – including me. Hopefully, I have this correct – but Philip Defranco (AKA SxePhil) was diagnosed with PKD, and actually started Youtube’ing due to his grandfather also being diagnosed with it and raise awareness for it. There’s something cool about doing things to help others, and seeing that they were successful at raising awareness. So to you readers – keep your chin up, and carry on.

I like interesting things. I like the orchestra. I like doing interesting songs and ideas WITH the orchestra. So this week was a good introduction to doing something new. The funny thing about arranging a song For Orchestra is that an 11 second song takes JUST as long as a 4 minute song. This is because the orchestration, production, and transcribing is where 90% of the work is from, which you have to do in every song anyway. In addition a 4 minute song usually has Verse / Chorus / Verse / Chorus. So the result is that once you transcribe the first Verse / Chorus, then you’re already 90% complete – just simply repeat!

In the video you can watch the difference between the original and the new orchestrated version. So check it out! I took the guitar part and gave it to the violin, and the doubled it with the flutes!

Doing new things is always what has inspired me. I constantly try new foods, travel, experiment, meet people, and write interesting music. Its’ what gets me up in the morning. SxePhil was a fun one to do as opposed to say.. the Pokemon Theme Song because I liked the context of this piece and the short duration of it. Not that the Pokemon Theme song would be a bad suggestion…

“We’ve gotta hold on to what we got”

It’s Friday. And you know what that means… New Music! So here’s this weeks arrangement is Bon Jovi ‘Livin on a Prayer’. This request was by iJustine. She told me that this is her favorite song, and I agree, this song rocks – so I hope you and her all like it!

The violins on this track gave me SO MUCH trouble I’m surprised I got it out this early as opposed to Monday. The song builds up pretty big, and I learned a few more technique in my writing and music production that are a huge leap in my knowledge. Also, I made a video to it!

I knew this song was going to sound good, so I was excited, and if you listen closely there is a key change 3/4 of the way into the piece! This was my first orchestrated arrangement with a key change, and it sounds epic.

So I like to orchestrate in the way people talk. When you speak not everything is ALWAYS loud, or soft, or fast, or slow. As a result, I had the flutes play some verses, and the brass play others, and then the strings come in on others. This variation kept it interesting, and at the same time built up the tension as you continue listening. The brass sounds so awesome in this piece, that I plan on doing more in future arrangements of maybe dropping out the entire orchestra and just having the brass play. I did something like that with the strings in my Michael Jackson ‘Beat It’ piece towards the end.

I like this song because it pertains to me as a musician. I’m ‘Living on a Prayer’ as I start this ‘For Orchestra’ idea I came up with. It’s scary starting something new, but liberating, too. I tend to worry alot (will people like the idea? Will it take off? Will anybody buy my arrangements that I work hard on?). This goes without saying my own questions and concerns in my own life. So just like I’m ‘Livin on a Prayer’ with my decision to be a musician at a time when there are probably other ‘stable’ careers, I chose to now start something that has another uncertainty – ‘For Orchestra’. But one thing is for certain: living my life the way I want to, taking chances, meeting all of you, and hearing all the positive reinforcement is what’s gets me up in the morning. I don’t want any regrets, and that’s a life worth living. I’m halfway there ;)

“Just Beat It”

Michael Jackson was the man. This is my way of saying thank you.

These arrangements take 40+ hours to make – but I figured of all the happiness he brought to my life (whether it was karaoke with friends, or driving down the shore, or singing as I was walking down the street) – my time spent on this isn’t comparative to the hours his music inspired me and added to my lifestyle. Also, I added the arrangement to the original video for you guys to enjoy, too.

This is a tribute. My arrangement was between ‘Beat It’, ‘Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough’, ‘Billie Jean’, and ‘Thriller’. I chose ‘Beat It’ because it sounded good in my head for orchestra :)

Music is amazing how it creates emotion. fear, Love, Hate, Mystery, Dancing, etc. It’s extremely powerful, and to rearrange it in a way that an orchestra can capture that power and excitement and transition it to another is something I feel is what music is all about. It’s about passing it on. It’s about creating emotion.

Hope you enjoy this arrangement, and that it makes you smile in the same way MJ’s music and work made me happy.

Stay well everyone. RIP Michael Jackson.

-Walt