Slow live guitar music, Moon River, Thomas Lorenzo

Slow live guitar music, MoonRiver, Thomas Lorenzo

Moon River” was composed by Henry Mancini . .As many jazz standards, it has its origin as part of a soundtrack. In this case, the movie, released in 1961, staring Audrey Hepburn: Breakfast at Tiffany’s. The sound track won an Academy Award for Best Original Song.

Henri Mancini is one of my favourite composers and arrangers. While I was at Berklee College of Music in, Boston, U.S.A,  studying Arranging and Orchestration, I devoured his book on arranging: Sounds and Scores ( Henry Mancini)

Simple Arranging

The simplicity of all his melodic lines in unison, the clarity of all his arrangement and orchestration is a must to study, for all serious arrangers and orchestrators. What I have learnt most from Mancini ´s scores, is how through intelligent orchestration, he made small ensembles sound bigger, without overdubbing techniques as they attribute him to use 

For example:

• 6 violins in octaves with two cellos sounding as fat as a 20 piece orchestra. 
• Mixed brass ensembles with extremely melodic lines, again in octaves or unison, that sound massive. 
• Clear piano, guitar, written, comping and lines.
• Implied harmonic tension by orchestration in relation to the harmonic series.
• And much more. 

You may read all about his techniques and compare them with Gil Evans, Thad Jones, Rimsky-Korsakov, Nikolay, Sebesky in my book on arranging and orchestration in the Spanish Language called:

Favorite songs

Some of my favourite Mancini songs include classics like: Peter Gun( later performed by Emerson Lake and Palmer), Luojn, Days of Wine and Roses, Baby Elephant Walk , The Theme from the Pink Panther, Charade and Royal Blue.

These tracks represent a total delight to my musical senses; good music everywhere and at all times. Once again, my sincere admiration for this musician.  

Music Production Menu

Music and layers 

Composers as Henry Mancini were masters of layering backgrounds over rhythm sections, and behind melodies.  I simply adore music where you can here three distinct planes of listening. It creates great depth in the listening experience, and a huge overall sound.

Most monophonic music, as classical music in some eras, did not have this depth of sound. A lot of contemporary pop and rock, also lacks this colour of layers and depth .

Another Master to reference for layering is Quincy Jones, especially with all his albums with Michael Jackson. Listen to these albums, the lyrical quality of all lines, either bass, background and melody, and hear how you are always able to distinguish them with clarity.

This is not a studio technique. It is a more a consequence of the way of writing.

Slow live guitar music, Moon River

I love this song. I have chosen to perform and produce an instrumental version of it on my Flamenco Guitar Conde. The beauty of the original song comes through by the great contrast of the harmony and melody. The flamenco guitar, nylon strings in general, do not produce sustained sounds and I focus on creating expression, through silence, space, and simplicity of all harmonic voicings used.

The Spanish guitar in a recording studio allows the composer and musician to explore harmonic tension with ultimate delicacy. I approached this composition by simply adding notes of harmonic value to the existing melody. I avoided harmonising vertically most of the melody, but rather let the melody ring and developed the rhythm with a single line approach. These single lines define harmony, but also act as melodic embellishment to the main melody, and also as background lines and fills to it.

I am not a great fan of fingerpicking; where bass, chords and melody are played simultaneously. I love to hear the melody on it´s own and then add whatever I need, in a melodic manner, to define the rhythm and create the feel of the song.

The song is not a written arrangement, but after having played it a few hundred times, I have perfected it so as to sound so. I am constantly varying the melody as I go along, and in all takes.

I have learnt to perform in this monophonic manner, where I concentrate on melody only, through flamenco. Flamenco guitar music is very rhythmic, and the variation of tension, that we need to make a song move forward, comes through rhythmic intensity, silence, and clear harmonic precision.

Recorded and Produced at

The video is recorded live at Thomas Lorenzo Recording Studio here in Melbourne. I have also chosen to portray this song for you the same manner as I would perform such at my concerts here in Melbourne.

Upcoming Concerts

You may view all my upcoming concerts in Melbourne and Victoria through the following link. This year I will be performing also in: Mornington Peninsula, Frankston, Queenscliff, Lorne  Apollo Bay, Ararat, Ballarat Bendigo, Albury, Wodonga and Wangarrata. We are currently finalising the dates of our tour in Victoria. They will soon be available on my website.

Moon river is one of my latest tracks. It is a single, but forms part of the compilation of compositions I will perform at all my concerts in Victoria and MELBOURNE.

Please subscribe to my you tube channel to see new videos and teaser all my concerts .

Slow live guitar music

Life evolves at great speed now days. I am constantly bombarded by so many visual cues from internet, tv, cars, trains, that at all stages of the day, I need to feel I can be slow and enjoy each movement I make. Especially when I pick up the guitar,  I will play all notes with delight and pleasure.

Slow music allows me to explain wth clarity emotions, and to create new melodies and harmonies on the go, with no other goal than that of pure pleasure. Music is the language of emotions and I simply adore this gift of nature. Therefore, I am very happy to use it every day, just to colour my existence with beauty. Moon River is part of my daily intake of slow music. Please join me at my Melbourne Guitar school for structured learning, guitar lessons on all the guitar concepts exposed in this article.

The should be, live feel, of all  recorded music.

I personally believe recorded music should be a clear reflection of a live interpretation. I always record live songs from beginning to the end. After the recording is done, if I need to, I may overdub some sections, but the general first feel of the first recording, is most  of the times, more than enough, and I hardly every need important fixes through overdubbing sessions.