stranger on the shore , lap steel instrumental

[Jean Pierre]

this is a theme normally written for clarinet by Acker Bilk in 1962

I made two versions :

- the final version, in this message
- the preparatory version, before I received the tablature of the arrangement which is by Bert Farroach in the second message

Why 2 versions? ...explanations

I had set out to make a jazz standard "stranger on the shore", normally a theme written for clarinet, but I found on YouTube a nice version in Lap steel guitar by Bert Farroach, in C6 tuning.

on the Steel Guitar Forum website,.there was only the first page of the tablature, I asked Bert for the full score but I hadn't received it when I started working on this piece.

I started with this first page ...and then I realised that there were some harmonic similarities with Charles Trenet's "La Mer" (Beyond the sea).

So I mixed in a kind of entertaining elucubration :

the first two measures: the sound of rain on the VELUX windows of my attic/home studio (for lack of wave noises...)
the first four bars of Trenet's song
the first eight bars of Bert's arrangement
then the next 6 bars of Charles' song
Then, as I didn't have the complete score, I went to improvise on the harmonic grid of La Mer and it's very pleasant in fact to improvise with a C6 tuning by Lap Steel

[Jean Pierre]

the preparatory version
...of course it is better to have a Hawaiian shirt and a good rum/coca to enjoy this music

[bruno]

Listened to this earlier on my walk.
This is all about the tone. This sounds fantastic. Very nice playing - but that tone man. Awesome.
B