"Out Of Nowhere" – UfbP #8

"Out Of Nowhere" (Music Johnny Green /Words Edward Heyman) – UfbP #8

this is a great tune that i never really knew before. i was spending time with my hal leonard "real jazz standard fake book" doing some sight reading of songs i do not know and this one popped out at me. 


since it is a song that is really not in my memory it makes a good example of how i arrange a piece. so i journalled my approach and progress more or less and these are some thoughts that and ideas that i use to arrange a piece.

first learn the song – listen to versions and learn the melody and the off melodies people play. YouTube is a valuable resource for this. My favorite is a compilation from the Jackie Gleason Orchestra which is a more melancholy somber rendition (got it on I-tunes).

Write the piece out with the melody line only and the chord names. I use guitar pro (version 6 now i started with version 2). in the first writing i don't do anything fancy with the arrangement. Just have it on paper so that i can put together the arrangement. I will play the melody then the chords and with an iterative process triangulate to the the arrangement. I try only to do this in my head or on paper, i try not to arrange with the computer.

arranging with the computer can be dangerous since you have a tendency to put in everything that you know into the piece. Often times it is too complex that you cannot play it. you need to play the piece within your capability. the other thing about arranging everything that you know into the pieces is it lacks subtleties that make it a great arrangement.

next i really learn the piece. i try to put it into blocks that i memorize and put these together into the total piece. i put these blocks into musical theory segments (ii-V-1M7, vi-ii-7....) you would get this if you understand musical theory. this helps me wrap my head around the mood and transitions of the piece.

then i learn to play the piece with out the music. i am hoping for happy mistakes that take me to the next level of the arrangement. you see if you have the music in front of you the 'happy mistakes' never happen as you are too concerned about playing what is written. a happy mistake is playing a different chord as passing tone, a chord inversion, a off rhythm, that is not written. In this piece i found the GM7 inversion that i use between the phrasings of the chorus.

i also do a video or two of the piece to see what it looks and sounds like and where i have difficult measures that need fixing.  you will know where these places are as you stumble or hesitate.  the camera does not lie. for example the beginning phrasing of eight notes i play as closed note (fretted) the E on the 3^rd string and the A on the 2^nd string as it is easier.  the ending phrasing of this piece was particular difficult at the melody notes do not follow the basic chording. the solution is the two string picking, and rather than playing the A on the A-string and going to F# on the second string it makes more sense to play all notes on the second string grabbing the A at the 5^th fret.  these were happy mistakes that i picked up on though using my video camera.

then i play the song for a week to get it to be mine.iIn reality this is too soon for a piece for me as i need a month or more. but in this project i am trying to keep the blog fresh, doing one or two piece a month. 

was great for me as i would have a couple of month or so to prepare about 4 new songs for each show. i would actually prepare six tunes and through out two the day of the show, opting two for pieces that i had played previously and fit my mood of the night. mood has a lot to do with playing a piece, you do not play a piece (or video record) when your mood is opposite to the piece.  i will talk about mood a little later (foreshadowing).

so here it is – "Out of Nowhere" A piece by Johnny Green and words by Edward Heyman – from the Paramount Picture "Dude Ranch" with a copyright of 1931.

as always the basic arrangement can be made available to you for $ 2 through paypal to jazzukes@verizon.net. you will get the tab arrangement, a slowed midi file for timing.

i thank you in advance for your consideration.