"DREAMS" LYRICS - Lyrics to "Dreams", a student-written musical that I wrote the score for.

A cappella arrangements:

$200 or 20,000 yen per song, $150 or 15,000 yen if you have sheet music. E-mail me if you are interested or for more info...please be prepared to send me a tape, CD, or mp3 of the song.

Songs arranged to date:

I Knew I Loved You, Savage Garden
Freedom, George Michael
What You Own, from the musical Rent by Jonathan Larson
I Want You Back/Everybody (Battle of the Bands Medley), 'N Sync/Backstreet Boys
Time After Time, Cyndi Lauper
For the Longest Time, Billy Joel

Compositional Notes in Pops/Rock:

-Don't be afraid of purely diatonic melodies.
-Don't underestimate the role of percussion.
-Avoid very dense texture.
-Feature. Occasionally allow each voice a moment in the spotlight.
-Experiment with the iii. iii64 forms an effective passing 64 but try going to iv6 or vi9 instead of a plain vi. Maybe a double passing 64 (i-iii64-ii64-V) would be interesting.
-Drop a few 5/4 or 2/4 measures in 4/4.
-Shoot for groove over sonority in faster pieces.
-Don't limit yourself to 8 and 12-bar phrases.
-Don't be afraid to double the melody or to switch voices.
-Jazz it up...literally. But not too much.
-Change the instrumentation and drum pattern for the chorus.
-Write the title first. Then think about overall form. Write the chorus melody, write the bass line, fill it out, and go to the verse. Take a bit of it for the intro and change it a bit for the bridge. Lyrics last, except for where the title goes.
-Modulate like mad in the bridge...at least keep things on edge.
-Rock: use circle of 4ths, write in minor. Use simple progressions. Alternations would work well, especially in the verse.
-One secondary dominant can change the whole color or a verse/chorus!
-So can triplets.
-Write good bass lines! Don't be afraid of leaps here, especially of the octave.
-Don't feel bound to a set pattern...break out of them.
-Same with harmonic rhythm.
-Overkill is just as bad as not enough change.
-Don't try to shove too many notes in one verse.
-If you're introducing a new color chord, let it sit!