My Foolish Heart - Jeff Arnold Jazz Ballads Book, Song #6

[Mick-7]

The new tune for our study group is: My Foolish Heart

This is the book of chord melody arrangements we are studying -- Jazz Ballads; Jazz Guitar Chord Melody Solos - Amazon.com

There is a free PDF of the book available online which you can work from if you have not ordered the book.

Our mission is to learn Jeff Arnold's chord melody arrangement and record and share our rendition of it. You may want to modify it or add an introduction to it, but learning Jeff's arrangement is our primary assignment.

Tony Bennett and Bill Evans (with an introduction sung by Tony)

[alpop]

I know that this thread concept has run out of steam but I am still working on these cause I like doing it. It's forcing me to stick with something until I get it to performance level and that's valuable for me.

I added a tag that wasn't in the original arrangement.

[Mick-7]

I haven't really gotten to this, working on too many things at once.

However, looking at the original lead sheet for the tune, I noticed that the composer (Victor Young) implies certain harmonic movements (counterpoint) that Arnold overlooks in his arrangement. For example, there is a Bb pedal point throughout the first 5-6 measures. And in measures 13 & 14, Young has Gm >Gm#7 >Gm7, etc.

More on this later.....

[alpop]

I haven't really gotten to this, working on too many things at once.

However, looking at the original lead sheet for the tune, I noticed that the composer (Victor Young) implies certain harmonic movements (counterpoint) that Arnold overlooks in his arrangement. For example, there is a Bb pedal point throughout the first 5-6 measures. And in measures 13 & 14, Young has Gm >Gm#7 >Gm7, etc.

More on this later.....

Sounds like some nice stuff, hope you can find time to get to it.

[Mick-7]

Below is the chart to which I referred, written on top are the composer's original chords (supposedly) and below them are the common alternate jazz chord changes.

The chart is from this book: Jazz Standards Fake Book - Amazon.com

[Mick-7]

I added a tag that wasn't in the original arrangement.

Very good! I liked your ending better than Arnold's, which is abrupt and rather bland.

[pilotony]

Nice work. Thanks for posting.

Tony

[alpop]

Nice work. Thanks for posting.

Tony

Thanks Tony! Appreciate you for listening and commenting.

It does take me quite a bit of work, but I find that each one gets a little bit easier to learn. I figure that I will plow through most of the book as long as I like the songs.

[Mick-7]

Analyzing a few different charts of this tune and listening to Bill Evans and Lenny Breau play it has led me down a winding rabbit hole, so my rendition (coming to a forum near you very soon) will probably have next to nothing in common with Arnold's. What's new about that, right? I keep doing it.

In this take (below) Lenny plays the intro that Tony Bennett sang with Bill Evans. I haven't seen it on a chart so I think I'll transcribe Lenny's rendition.

[Mick-7]

First take, warts and all....

My Foolish Heart, Take 1 - Box.com

I really need to change my recording set-up, direct output from the amp into my Zoom unit records string and pick noises from my acoustic-electric guitar. I think I'll buy a good microphone. This sounded much better in person.

I transposed the tune from Bb to A Major so I could use open strings as pedal points, etc. Then I noticed that Lenny Breau also plays it in A, for the same reason I suppose.

P.S. - I wrote down my arrangement and will post it if anyone wants to see it, I managed to get a few more modern chords like Maj7#5's into it.

[Hyppolyte Bergamotte]

[Mick-7]

Another take, slower and smoother. I was going to try it as a samba, after hearing Astrud Gilberto's rendition of it, but I'll have to rethink the chords for that. I used many of the same chords as Arnold did, but they sound different on open strings.

My Foolish Heart, Take 2 (uploaded again)

My Foolish Heart 02 - Box.com

[pan60]

I was hoping to hear some of the takes from everyone, really looking forward to what Mick-7 was doing but I guess they are no longer avalible?
: (

[Mick-7]

I was hoping to hear some of the takes from everyone, really looking forward to what Mick-7 was doing but I guess they are no longer avalible? : (

Well, thank you, I'm flattered.

I think I deleted the recordings from my "hissy fit" period, i.e., the period before I learned how to prevent my Zoom recordings from hissing (it was quite annoying), but I did save them and can upload them again (I just uploaded this one again). And I usually write down my arrangements so I'll have a record of them, I have attached a pdf of this one.

By the way, if anyone wants to revive this study group, it would be fine with me.

[pan60]

I am no where near were I want to be to attempt it but I do enjoy seeing what everyone is doing
I have a was to go on my reading skills but I am working diligently on it.

[Mick-7]

I am no where near were I want to be to attempt it but I do enjoy seeing what everyone is doing. I have a ways to go on my reading skills but I am working diligently on it.

Arnolds arrangements are not too difficult, he uses common chord voicings, and he provides tablature for all of them so you don't have to be a good music notation reader to learn them.

[Bob_Ross]

There is a free PDF of the book available online which you can work from if you have not ordered the book.

Do you have a link to the free PDF?

Every allegedly "free" PDF of this book I could find online was either drastically incomplete -- like, it included the table of contents only! -- or, in most cases, not truly free, required a subscription to Scribid or some service that would start billing monthly after a trial period.

Thanks.

[pan60]

Arnolds arrangements are not too difficult, he uses common chord voicings, and he provides tablature for all of them so you don't have to be a good music notation reader to learn them.

I might've it a try I never did tab so I am sure I could figure it out but I am focusing on reading.
putting in about six plus hrs day and starting my first lesson today in fact LOL nervous

@Bob_Ross
this is what I found the otherday

https://dn720003.ca.archive.org/0/it...llads_text.pdf

[jazzshrink]

Do you have a link to the free PDF?

Every allegedly "free" PDF of this book I could find online was either drastically incomplete -- like, it included the table of contents only! -- or, in most cases, not truly free, required a subscription to Scribid or some service that would start billing monthly after a trial period.

Thanks.

That "free PDF" of copy-written material was uploaded illegally. Support the artist and publisher. Buy the paperback, or the Kindle or AppleBooks version, for less than $20.

[Mick-7]

I might've it a try I never did tab so I am sure I could figure it out but I am focusing on reading. putting in about six plus hrs day and starting my first lesson today in fact LOL nervous.

@Bob_Ross, this is what I found the other day

That copy looks to be complete.... I remembered why I deleted my "My Foolish Heart" rendition, I made it too complicated and it sounds stilted. I think I was translating Bill Evans chord voicings at the time and got carried away with it. The ending is nice though, believe I borrowed my final chord from him.

But as I said, Arnolds arrangements are pretty straight forward, few if any chord subs unlike, say, Barry Green, who tends to go overboard with that.

That "free PDF" of copy-written material was uploaded illegally. Support the artist and publisher. Buy the paperback, or the Kindle or AppleBooks version, for less than $20.

Yes, the ebook is only $10 at Amazon and Google Play -- Books by Jeff Arnold on Google Play

[Bob_Ross]

@Bob_Ross
this is what I found the otherday

https://dn720003.ca.archive.org/0/it...llads_text.pdf

Thank you!

[Mick-7]

I think I will revisit this tune, there are some good transcriptions and analyses of Bill Evans version on YouTube.

For example -- My-Foolish-Heart-BEV.pdf

[Tom Karol]

Wonderful song! Gary Burton did a terrific solo version on Vibraphone on a 1969 album called, "Country Roads and Other Places."

[Mick-7]

Wonderful song! Gary Burton did a terrific solo version on Vibraphone on a 1969 album called, "Country Roads and Other Places."

Ah, his quartet with Jerry Hahn! Thank you..... I will not be transcribing it though.

[Bob_Ross]

My favorite guitar version of this tune, from John McLaughlin

(...although, listening to this now, I wonder if my old turntable was running fast all those years ago when I first heard this? I don't remember it being so slow, almost lethargic!)