This page provides general Shag Evans sheet music info.
Everybody's throat is different. And the Pips & Peoples enjoy the music a lot more if they can sing the melody in a key that is appropriate for their own voice.
The Shag Evans sheet music operation seeks to eventually offer song keys for every set of pipes but it will be a while until all the bases are covered.
Generally the plan is to offer -- in the near term -- each tune in the following common and popular keys:
Then later add these two keys:
Then later possibly add both Ab and E -- but let's see what the demand is for those. Ab is a horn thing and E is a guitar thing.
Finally the least common keys -- Db, Gb, B -- will likely be special order only. (Yes, Pips, I'm afraid it will require a generous donation to get me excited about working on any of the last kooky keys.)
Certain vocal ranges are more common are more common than others and some ranges also work for both sexes -- and those will appear on the site faster. It's a two birds with one stone deal. Please be patient if your range is underrepresented right now.
I wish it was simply a matter of hitting one button to transpose each song: SHAZAAM. I guess that's how they do it at the big publisher websites. But I go in and tweak the individual parts -- to get the thing sounding as good as it can be in the new key. Frequently this takes a lot of time as there are various problems to solve when moving a composition up or down in pitch.
The instrument mix usually gets awkwardly thin or muddy very quickly if you just hit the "transpose" button. Depends on the song but sometimes I will use the sheet music software to move something only a minor third up or down and suddenly the intricately constructed and carefully balanced score sounds like trash???
Yeah. Transpose a tune a fourth or a fifth with no re-writes and/or re-edits and it will usually just sound idiotic. This is how it all goes down in the sheet music publishing trenches, Peoples. It feels like a never ending battle.
Specific colors on the cover of each piece of Shag Evans sheet music help punters* to keep things straight and not end up with the wrong sheet music in their shopping cart...
ORANGE - Rock music
RED - Country music
YELLOW - Bible music
BRONZE - Lounge music
The Shag Evans non-sheet music information only publications use colorless shades...
BLACK - eBook
Most Shag Evans songs are actually a mix or blend of musical styles. The colored ovals near the top of the cover are there to give Pips & Peoples a better idea of other stylistic elements present in the music.
The first digit of the arrangement number code roughly corresponds to how many instrument parts are in the score (NOT how many vocal parts).
I say "roughly" because the sound samples can contain more actual individual instruments than there are instrument staves seen on the page.
The reason is the sound fonts (computerized instrument samples or patches) used in the recordings often contain layers that include several instruments playing as a unit e.g. a string section, or horn section. But each patch will only get a single staff in the sheet music because the instrument groups are playing unison notes. (Btw I don't use any synth patches that include harmony intervals built in.)
So, here is the Shag Evans Arrangement code breakdown:
OK, now, having laid out all of the above: The guitar chord diagrams are a special case. They are technically an instrument part but they don't require their own staff. For #200s basic piano & vocal scores the guitar chords are counted as a second instrument part. For larger group arrangements the guitar chord diagrams can simply be assumed to be present as another instrument in the mix.
The chord diagrams will always be marked relative to whatever capo position is called for at the beginning of the music notation. So if the piece calls for a 2nd fret capo, and a guitar chord diagram is marked with, say, a "3" to designate the 3rd fret -- then that means play it three frets up from the 2nd fret capo (and NOT three frets up from the nut.)
This is the only way to do it and still be able to transpose the scores relatively quickly & cleanly.
Believe me I understand that there will be some folks who think all fret number notation should be permanently fixed in the universe (always measured from the nut of the guitar no matter what). Sorry, I disagree. You "nut" cases have been warned :)
I am using Musescore.org sheet music notation software. There are some issues getting the sounds I want to show up in the Christmas song and Happy Birthday song demo recordings.
Because the demos are created by the software outputing the exact sheet music notation you might notice some unusual markings on the scores. That is me employing various hacks and workarounds to force the the software to produce the sounds that I want.
I am new to sheet music publishing and (free!) open source Musescore is the only thing I can afford right now. I think it's a great software program in many regards. I do recommend it for beginners as an awesome learning tool.
Until I can get a budget increase for new equipment this is my songwriting and sheet music situation. It is a bummer. It is the reason that ringtones are delayed and also my demos don't sound great through the built-in cellphone speakers (use earbuds, headphones or any other external speakers to get vastly improved sounds).
The vocal parts are notated to be easy-to-read and universal. So, in most every case, a single treble staff is used for the lead vocal no matter what type: soprano or alto, tenor or bass. And the melody is shown written in the octave which will be easiest to read on the staff. This means the octave may be technically displaced on the written page (octave as written is not the octave heard).
Meaning Shag Evans scores generally do not employ classical music notation: where the vocal parts are exact and even different octave-specific staves are used for the different voices (soprano, alto, tenor, bass etc).
Singers can use their own discretion and overall should infer the appropriate octave range for the sheet music -- and also feel free to sing the part in whatever register they want to sing it.
Instrument parts are, in most every case, notated in an exact register. This makes the instrument parts harder to read, of course. Especially when I need to get certain sounds in the recordings.
For example: I use a lot string bass parts where the written notes are far above the staff -- but I don't switch the bass to cello because the cello (sound font) software sounds are not the bible psalm song sounds that work best. But in the real world the part can obviously be played by cellos instead of string basses more transparently.
For now separate instrument parts will be special order only -- with pricing according to how complex the music is.
For now the Shag Evans sheet music production default setting for horn parts is CONCERT PITCH. Contact me if you need horn parts written in their own keys. I will roll out those parts as necessary. Not sure about pricing at this time.
The various instrument samples and patches (sound fonts) that I'm using are of uneven quality. The volume dropoffs or spikes in certain instruments depending on the note range must be addressed so I control the volume changes with extra dynamics markings.
I realize that this is an unorthodox and annoying workaround. So, lately I am printing the scores with the dynamics font setting at microscopic 2pt size. This reduces the visibility and distraction.
I use the computerized piano pedal effect in Musescore to smooth out the sounds of not only keyboards but also bass and whatever else I need. So these unorthodox uses will show up in the sheet music notation.
Sorry, I know that looks crazy on the written page. But I'd rather have weirdness in the written score -- and the resulting demo recording sounding like I want -- than a cleaner score with the wrong sounds ruining the recording mix.
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