Guitar Ensemble Guitar - Level 3 - Digital Download
SKU: A0.797818
By Supertramp. By Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson. Arranged by Derek Hasted. Pop,Rock. Score and parts. 24 pages. Derek Hasted #6345113. Published by Derek Hasted (A0.797818).
TAKE THE LONG WAY HOME (Supertramp) - 4 GUITARS/LARGE ENSEMBLE
For Classical or Acoustic Guitar - sometimes it's erroneously listed here as Electric Guitar.
Derek Hasted writes This is an arrangement for 4 guitars (or a large ensemble) of Supertramp’s 'Take The Long Way Home'.
The original is nothing less than spectacular, running for a full 5 minutes with verse, chorus and instrumental breaks, and utilising rich orchestration and texture. I’ve captured all of the material in my arrangement, changing the key just slightly so that the shapes and melody are comfortable, and simplifying one or two non-guitar-friendly progressions in the breaks. The bass-line and harmony are close to the original. Guitar 4 could be played an octave lower on a contra guitar, although I’ve used subharmonics in the opening to give the illusion of a deeper bass than a guitar can manage.
In order to make the piece music-stand-friendly, I’ve needed to use repeat marks meaning that the second verse has the same bass-line as the first, but a simple change in volume will provide a suitable feeling of building as the piece progresses. The opening section needs to imitate the indefinite sustain of high-pitched violins. By using harmonics across all four parts, and interleaving the repetitions, we can get a convincing sustain (or plucking at random times across the parts, or even a tremolo would also create the illusion of indefinite sustain). But if it doesn’t work in your ensemble, simply start the piece at A and omit all harmonics from that point onwards.
My arrangement will suit an intermediate ensemble. Parts 3 and 4 are slightly easier, but skilled players on these lines can make magic happen by a confident use of articulation to shape the music’s texture.
I hope you enjoy performing this!
Take The Long Way Home
Supertramp $4.99 4.72 € PDF SheetMusicPlus
