# Orchestral arrangement of Mr. Sandman



## Guy Bacos (Jun 26, 2017)

I made a light orchestral arrangement of Mr. Sandman, originally sung by The Chordettes in 1954. 

Hope you enjoy!

Mr. Sandman arranged by Guy Bacos


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## NoamL (Jun 26, 2017)

Is this with the new VSL percussion? The tonal perc sounds lovely and the clarinets sound really natural.

EDIT: just got to the piano solo! It's great! Very witty.


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## Guy Bacos (Jun 26, 2017)

Thanks for your comment NoamL!

Some of the perc instruments are performed with "Synchron Percussion I" instruments, if I remember correctly, the glockenspiel, xylophone, shakers, snare (brushes), other percussion instruments such as vibraphone, marimba, crotales and small bells, are from the regular perc. libraries, however rendered through MIR PRO and "Synchron Stage Vienna Roompack". 

The clarinets sound you are referring to, is actually 2 tenor sax, 2 alto sax and clarinet on top, the same distribution as Glenn Miller used.


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## zolhof (Jun 26, 2017)

Oh boy, that just made my day! What a lovely rendition of a classic.

Guy, I'm a fan!


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## AlexanderSchiborr (Jun 26, 2017)

Guy Bacos said:


> I made a light orchestral arrangement of Mr. Sandman, originally sung by The Chordettes in 1954.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!
> 
> Mr. Sandman arranged by Guy Bacos



Hi Guy, 
Great choice of instruments and arrangement here. How did you approach that arrangement? Are these all sounds from VSL? Sounds very detailed, really nice.


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## Saxer (Jun 26, 2017)

Very nice arrangement in the style of David Rose, Les Baxter, Billy May... only the swing feels a bit 'academic' for my taste  But very tasteful colors and sound! I love that style!


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## leon chevalier (Jun 27, 2017)

sexy ! as always !


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## Maxfabian (Jun 27, 2017)

This was nice and very well orchestrated! I do agree with Saxer about the timing, it didn't really swing enough for me but i really think you did a great work hear 

Cheers and thanks for sharing!


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## Carles (Jun 27, 2017)

Listened with great pleasure, neat arrangement (also always loved that song). The only thing that felt slightly off is when the glockenspiel carries on the melody alone, since the VSL glock has no much body it sounds a bit hollow to me in some moments (not always. I'd sort out these little moments doubling the glock with staccato flute which is also a nice combo itself, but that's just a personal thing I guess).


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## Emmanuel Rousseau (Jun 27, 2017)

Sorry I can't give a better comment than : WOW.


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## handz (Jun 27, 2017)

Really well done, I like the mix - it has a nice feeling of space.


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## Guy Bacos (Jun 27, 2017)

Thanks for your comments guys! Glad the arrangement was enjoyed.

Alexander, I don't really plan, one thing tends to leads to another, so after the delicate bell opening, something light, such as pizz seemed appropriate, and I wanted to continue with the bell-ish sound using the glockenspiel, and then gradually bring in new instruments and have fun. The more important work, for me at least, is at the end, improving each section, removing what is not helping. One thing I changed for example was that I had too much strings, I thought it was getting a bit on the mushy side even though the strings sounded good, so I cut some string sections with the idea that "less is more". Yes, it's all VSL, I really like the synchron stage using the primary and secondary mic.

Saxer, it's barely 101 swing, agree. Originally I had started the arrangement with the idea of making a swing arrangement, I've seen live the Glenn Miller orchestra several times, love that stuff, but I don't have enough experience with this genre, what I found the most challenging was that there is a groove WITHIN each note from wind instruments. In other words, it's more than having the notes in the right places. Not being able to render this properly, I feared I'd mess it up, so I went with some basic muted trumpet/tromb accents and the sax/clar section à la Miller. I wasn't able to do justice to the swing style, which frustrated me, so I went with something more hybrid. I opted to take a direction I'm more comfortable with, for example when the playful piano comes in, which is closer to Gershwin approach. But maybe some of you jazz cats could help here. I'd like to one day do a cool swing piece.

Maxfabian, I'm a fan of your jazz piano playing, so nice to hear from you, and my response is the same as what I said to Saxer.

Carles, I know what you mean, the glockenspiel is lovely but also a bit thin to hold the entire melody. Maybe with a different balance, pizz softer? Or as you say doubling it with another instrument.


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## TGV (Jun 27, 2017)

Lovely arrangement and execution. It does sound a bit clean/academic, that's true. It did deserve a slightly more theatrical ending (a soft low chord, repetition of the first notes of the theme, something like that).


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## patrick76 (Jun 27, 2017)

When I originally looked at this, I thought you were doing a light orchestral arrangement of Enter Sandman by Metallica. I was mortified and confused. I was wrong of course and pleasantly surprised! Mr. Sandman is such a cool tune. Very nice work. I guess I can't read.... also, my mind immediately then wandered to the scene in Stand by Me with the song Lollipop by The Chordettes. Great movie. What the hell am I talking about? Ah, yes, as always very nice work sir.


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## Guy Bacos (Jun 28, 2017)

Thanks TVG and Patrick76.

Patrick, agree, Mr Sandman is such a cool tune, in my opinion, it's among the best chord pattern ever written for a pop song.

TVG, Agree, it's a bit too clean, I'm tempted to improvise a piano line somewhere.


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## synergy543 (Jul 5, 2017)

This is not only a great arrangement but one that works and is performed very well with samples. OTOH, its not like there isn't a live musician, Guy you're still alive right? And I think that's the key that makes it work so well, both the arrangement and the performance are infused with the character of Guy Bacos. Its the sum that makes it greater than the ingredient of its static parts. Not unlike the way we can feel emotion from watching a movie which is just a combination of recorded music and moving pixels on a screen, yet we can still feel so much emotion.


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## Guy Bacos (Jul 7, 2017)

Thanks synergy543!


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