Youtor
Close to You
>> YOUR LINK HERE: ___ http://youtube.com/watch?v=QO-PgehiEnY
“Close to You” … a new solo piano arrangement of the well-known early 1970s ballad – originally titled (They Long to Be) Close to You”. • This song became The Carpenters first major hit and was the title track of their second album, released in 1970. It reached #2 on the US pop music charts and earned a Grammy for the album. In fact, the album is still holding its position at 175th of the top 500 albums of all time. • While this song is forever linked to Karen Carpenter’s amazing voice and Richard Carpenter’s keyboard plus arranging talents, it was not written by the Carpenters. The song was actually written by Burt Bacharach (music) and Hal David (llyrics), with some sections by Cathy Steeves. In fact, the song was first released by Richard Chamberlain in 1963 but failed to do well for him. Similarly, its next releases by Dionne Warwick (also in 1963) and Dusty Springfield (in 1964) also did not do well. In 1968, Herb Alpert worked with Bacharach and David to release a version – also not very successful. • Even Bacharach’s own release in 1971 paled in comparison to the 1970 release by the Carpenters and the L.A. studio musicians Richard Carpenter used in its production (known as the Wrecking Crew – a team of extremely talented musicians who provided the backing for hundreds of top 40 hits). • The Carpenters definitely resonated with a large audience worldwide and, apart from their obvious financial success, their music – whether original or a cover of other works – certainly demonstrated their considerable talent and creativity. • They also handled human relationship themes very tenderly and did so in a way that transcended gender preferences or expression – another plus point for these amazing siblings and the reason I chose to arrange, perform, and release this song in the final days of Pride Month. After all, wanting to be close to someone is a natural human desire no matter who you are or who you wish to be close to … • • MUSIC INSIGHTS: • Bacharach’s music always appears to be deceptively simple. It is easy to remember, and Hal David was a master at popular lyrics. That said, while the structure of this song is a straightforward verse/chorus structure, Bacharach slid in some interesting harmonic transitions to build tension in perfect synchronization with the right moments in Hal David’s lyrics. Just as you become comfortable with what appears to be an inevitable cadence, you find the music moves in a different direction and delays the eventual cadence. • Bacharach also slid in chords which came out of the jazz world – major 7th, 6th and suspended 4th chords that assist in the movement of the song. The Carpenters also used a simple ½ tone modulation to lift the song up at its midpoint when they effectively do a recap of the lyrics. That simple move clearly also elevates the listener and gives the song powerful, positive energy as it moves towards its ultimate conclusion. • In my arrangement, I set the mood with a short introduction built out of the two main chords – though I modify those chords into their major 7th and 6th variants and use several inversions in the melodic arpeggios. That leads into the first statement of the original melody which I then repeat with increasing variation, eventually moving it up into a higher register. Instead of using a series of solid chords with intervening notes (typical of Richard Carpenter), I break apart the left-hand chords into a counter melody which synchronizes key passing notes with Bacharach’s original harmonic choices. • I conclude the arrangement by also modulating up a ½ tone, slowing down the restatement of the original melody in that new key, and then using a climbing, followed by a descending, pentatonic scale to create a final simple cadence. • • VIDEO INSIGHTS: • Given that the lyrics focus on a couple’s desire to be close to one another and given that this is the end of Pride Month, I decided to use scenes featuring a variety of gender preferences and gender expression as such desires are so universal for everyone! • • Please do indicate if you like the music and/or music video – it would encourage me to release other new works. Also, please do subscribe to this channel so that you get announcements of all future releases. • • “Close to You” was arranged, performed, and recorded in late-June 2024 using Ableton Live with instrument voices from the sample libraries of Spitfire Audio and Native Instruments. A Nord 3 Stage Piano was used to perform the arrangement. The post processing and master mix was done with iZotope Ozone 9. • • At some time in the future, it will be released for streaming. • • Be sure to subscribe here and follow-on social media or signup for the weekly newsletter through the Solo Hands website (if you sign up for our newsletter via the website, you will also receive our free eBook, Musical Notes – Composing Arranging): • http://www.solohands.com • Facebook: @SoloHandsMusic • Instagram: @SoloHandsMusic
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