Soyilwela

A traditional South African protest song.  Scroll down for practise tracks.  I’ve transposed this song into the key of A, a little higher than the “original”, in G,  further down the page. Sheet music in A Midi File in A Practice Tracks in Key of A Listen live, or right-click on the track title to… Continue reading Soyilwela

Dark As A Dungeon

Here is Doug McPherson’s arrangement of a Merle Travis song, with practice tracks, chords, lyrics, and 3 part harmony in the chorus.  The lyrics are from the Merle Travis 1946 recording on the 78 RPM box set, “Folk Songs of the Hills”. I used the  Country Gentlemen’s arrangement, as performed at their reunion show at Woodstock… Continue reading Dark As A Dungeon

It’s Time: A Choral Arrangement

The iconic song for Gough Whitlam and the Australian Labour Party’s victorious 1972 election campaign. A campaign that brought Australia free education and health care, an end to conscription, and equal pay for women, to name just a few reforms. Perhaps its’ time again! My arrangement is an SATB version for the Illawarra Union Singers.  It’s clearly slightly different… Continue reading It’s Time: A Choral Arrangement

Bolujem Ja / My Love is True

This is another great gypsy tune I’m arranging, at the moment for guitar and three voices.  It’s part of the repertoire of Zlatkos’ Balkan Cabaret Practice Track: Alto, Tenor, Baritone Practice Track: Alto, Tenor Sheet Music: Alto, Tenor, Baritone Sheet Music: Alto, Tenor -And a practice performance, (some of which is in Serbian), from Zlatko’s Balkan… Continue reading Bolujem Ja / My Love is True

Jelem Jelem: Arrangement for Two Voices and Guitar

My arrangement of Jelem Jelem: Click here to download or view the sheet music. Click here to stream or download a practice track: melody, harmony, and chords. We recommend using the Music Player for Google Drive app for streaming. Jelem Jelem, (or Gelem Gelem, or Djelem Djelem) is a song composed by Žarko Jovanović, often… Continue reading Jelem Jelem: Arrangement for Two Voices and Guitar

We Shall Overcome: Choral Arrangement

-An arrangement of the traditional protest song often attributed, wrongly, to Pete Seeger. Download Words and Notation, (SATB)  Here! Practice Tracks to Download: Soprano/Melody, -With Chords Soprano Sung   Alto Alto Sung   Tenor Tenor 1: Sung, (Final note resolves upward) Tenor 2: Sung, (Final note resolves down)   Bass Bass: Sung Full SATB Arrangement,… Continue reading We Shall Overcome: Choral Arrangement

16 Tons

  A song by Merle Travis, arranged for 4 voices and guitar by Doug McPherson.  Scroll down to the link below, for the sheet music, in PDF format, or the images below that. The melody, on the top line could be sung by sopranos or tenors. The top line, the alto line and the bass line,… Continue reading 16 Tons

Ode To Joy: Choral Arrangement

“Ode to Joy” was a poem written by  German poet, playwright and historian Friedrich Schiller, best know for its use by Ludwig van Beethoven in the final movement of his Ninth Symphony. The words in the version available below, arranged by Lachlan McGowan in 2005, with some adaptations by Douglas McPherson, uses very different words, origin unknown, from the original. These words,… Continue reading Ode To Joy: Choral Arrangement

Agitate in April; “Nonsense Song”; Verse of the day:

Australia is getting much hotter, (It’s hot!) But the government reckons it’s not, (It is!) There’ll be no carbon tax, so our future’s been axed, And it sounds like a whole lot of rot! Well, it’s nonsense, nonsense, it sounds like A WHOLE LOT OF ROT to me, Nonsense, nonsense, it sounds like A WHOLE… Continue reading Agitate in April; “Nonsense Song”; Verse of the day: