'Chord melody' isn't quite correct either. That tells the player to 'bring out' the melody, with suitable accompaniment/voicing underneath. Much as in that example of the intro to 'Unforgettable'. If I wrote that for a guitarist I'd write only the melodic line, with the text 'Chord Melody'. Writing that intro for piano, I have previously written the voicings in full, although 'locked hands' is a good shortcut.
I'd never heard the term 'topline notation' until this thread, and never discussed the style with other copyists or arrangers, but all my colleagues back in the hand-written days used it. It's a shortcut for a hand copyist, obviously, and with simple pop songs, is also easier to read for pianists and guitarists. I don't think it was mentioned in the Clinton Roemer book. However, more importantly, I'm hanging out for this plugin. Does it exist? I'd better re-read the thread. On 27/11/2010, at 5:24 AM, Christopher Smith wrote: > > On 26-Nov-10, at 26-Nov-10 1:03 PM, David W. Fenton wrote: >> >> Why is the terminology so narrowly used, though? I'd think Google >> would know more about it if it were widespread (though, of course, >> all the people in the discussion who are dedicated to playing in the >> relevant repertories know the term already). >> > > > I hadn't ever heard the term before it popped up here on the list. I called > it "chord melody" and wrote that text expression on guitar and piano parts > where I wanted the technique. Some pianists call it "locked hands", "block > chords" or "George Shearing" style. > > Christopher > > > _______________________________________________ > Finale mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale > > _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
