Isnt She Lovely

Written by Stevland Hardaway Judkins

Arranged by Andrew Piper

Pop Song, over chord changes that feature numerous ii-V relationships
Love song written to celebrate the birth of Stevie Wonders daughter, Aisha.
Written for his groundbreaking album Songs in the Key of Life, which
showcased the diversity of his influences, and how Wonder fused together
different styles of music along with poignant lyrics to create a culturally
significant album for which he was nominated for 7 Grammy Awards.
Has since become a light jazz standard, due to the works harmonies having
many dominant-tonic relationships. Stevie himself often improvises over this
tunes changes using his harmonica.
Originally in E major, the tune starts on a C#m7 chord, the vi of the key.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Pentatonix were the season 3 winners of NBCs the Sing-Off, and are known
for their R&B and electronic-music influenced covers of popular songs from
Beyonce to Daft Punk. Recently, they were nominated for a Grammy for their
arrangement of a Daft Punk Medley. They have a huge YouTube presence,
with over 7 million subscribers (according to a quick internet search for their
channel). In my opinion, the rhythm section of Kevin Olusola and Avi Kaplan
are behind the success of their astonishingly full sound, which is filled out by
the triadic trio of Scott Hoying, Mitch Grassi, and Kirstie Maldonado. Avi
Kaplan is actually an alumnus of Mt. San Antonio Colleges award-winning
Vocal Jazz Ensemble Singcopation under the direction of Bruce Rogers.

Duwende filles an acappella niche by using light R&B stylings mixed with a
jazz influenced arranging style to take on a funk/pop style of music that at
times can be unsettling, but no doubt virtuosic. All parts are learned by ear
from Abbey Janes, their lone female member (soprano/alto/anything they
want), and they have two high tenors, creating an interesting sound for an
STTTB voiced ensemble. They gained minor YouTube celebrity status with
their Michael Jackson Tribute Album Videos, and from which their Thriller
arrangement has been viewed almost 700,000 times. They were also guests
at the Java Jazz Festival in Jakarta in 2012, alongside headliners Stevie
Wonder, Pat Metheny, Herbie Hancock, and more. (http://www.duwende.com)

This arrangement is a blend of the two arrangements from these groups. By

transposing Duwendes arrangement back into the original key, I found that
most of the backing trio occupies a sonic space approximately a major third
higher (or more) than the lower male members of Pentatonixs trio. As a
larger portion of Pentatonixs cover sought to cover the rhythmic background
to the song, this meant that at times combined there were very different
functions of each arrangement. Harmonic foundation was provided by the
bass and the transcribed parts of Scott and Mitch, whereas extensions and
chord tones from substitutions in the Duwende arrangement fill out the top
end. It was exciting to then have a product that can utilize the higher ranger

of sopranos while still keeping a solid lower core sound in a larger mixed
ensemble.

ELEMENTS OF MUSIC
Form

is the organization of musical elements in time. In a musical composition, pitch,

tone color, dynamics, rhythm, melody, and texture interact to produce a sense of
shape and structure.
ORIGINAL

A major

Intro (guitar motive)

Verse 1
Chorus/B section

m.1-4
m. 5-12
m. 13-20

Transition (guitar
motive)
Verse 2
Chorus/B section

m. 21-22

Solo
Chorus/B section

m. 39-46
m. 47-54

Transition (guitar
motive)
Coda (end of B
section + guitar
motive)

m. 55-56

m. 23-30
m. 31-38

m. 57-60

NYV CHART
(ABABB)

D major

[A] Verse 1
[B] Chorus/B
section

m.1-8
m. 9-16

[C] Verse 2
[D] Chorus/B
section

m. 17-24
m. 25-32

[E] Chorus/B
section

m. 33-40

Coda/Tag

m. 41-44

Rhythm

is the flow of music through time.

Meter 4/4
Tempo Freely with great expression ( J = ca. 62-66)

Many opportunities exist in this ballad to push and pull the tempo most easily led
by each soloist when they have their lines. Many intricate sixteenth note
movements mean the piece should be held around the suggested tempo (taken off
the New York Voices live recording) so that these notes come across in nice
homophony, rather than feeling rushed by a certain section. If you listen to the live
recording, the ensemble really lays into some of the voice consonants (and
subsequently slows the speed of line), particularly at the end of phrases like love
you M-ore. This idea of English clarity through emphasis on the English language
and stress on voiced consonants is strongly heard in collegiate vocal jazz recordings
and stressed by the likes of Dr. Zegree.

Melody

is a series of single tones which add up to a recognizable whole. A melody begins,

moves, and ends; it has direction, shape, and continuity. The up-and-down
movement of its pitches conveys tension and release, expectation and arrival. This
is the melodic curve, or line.
Major tonality, I do not believe the melody ever arrives on tonic typically ending a
phrase or a partial phrase on a F# or an E, the median and supertonic of the scale.
This, along with the re-composed melodies present in the bass and alto lines could
present an issue when singing in closed close-harmony voicings. It is important as
an ensemble director or ensemble to determine the importance of each note in the
chord in relation to function and melody I would suggest making sure the
ensemble knows how the melody morphs and transitions from voice to voice and
work to seamlessly keep that aurally above all else.

Harmony

refers to the way chords are constructed and how they follow each other.

The harmonic rhythm is moderate; the piece stays centered around D major,
with diatonic harmonies throughout. However, the nature of the original work
(bVII and vi), along with the choices of the arranger mean unexpected
extensions and crunchy closed voicing arrival and passing harmonies do
occur. Some of the hardest things to get right are the upper neighbor
harmonies near the end of A sections. Many of those notes are chromatic
(not found in the original key), and its important to try and find a balance
between overemphasizing them, and letting their clarity fall to the wayside
during performance.
At m.25 ([D]) the arpeggio in the lower voices creates beats or moments of
tension and release with some harmonic extensions; for example, the tenor
line may be the 3rd, the 2nd or the #4 of a chord in a relatively short amount of
time, and the minute tuning differences are very important as part function
within the chord actually affects just intonation.

Timbre

the color and quality of your voice.

As the range of this tune favors basses and altos on the solo line, it is OK to
aim for warmth and depth within the colors of your voice when those
moments occur. That being said, timbre choices would also be affected by
the size of the ensemble singing this piece. As New York Voices tend to sing
solos in this piece with warmth and richness, but back off when singing
backgrounds for a lighter, potentially brighter sound. I think this piece and
the use of homophony and background pads will be a challenge for a director
to determine the sound they would like with a bigger group. I would caution
singing too full and warm on some of the jazz harmonies, as they are typically
too close in voicing and of a male higher range where different voices could
become strained and through off balance when attempting to maintain
warmth. Like with many different choral styles, aim to minimize vibrato.

Texture

Homophonic: This is the typical setting for this arrangement with a texture
in which two or more parts move together in harmony, creating chords.
There are also moments of where the melody is dominant in the homophony,
creating the background pads arrangers speak of as a means to fill out the
harmony with little relation to the melodic line or text.

Expression
What are the dynamics, phrases, articulations, and tempi for this piece?
How and when is each element applied?
[A]
m
p

[B
]

[C
]

[D
]

[E]

Coda/Tag

Mf>mp<f, fermata,
mf>mp

Mf, Ritardfermata, p

There are very few dynamic markings for the piece until the final B part of
the form. At letter [E] the reprise of though I know Ill never in homophony
is marked at mf, with more open voicings and wider-range throughout the
four voices. Almost immediately it is brought down to mp as an alto solo
finishes of the sentence. The next sentence raises the dynamic level to
forte, pausing with a fermata to text-paint stop, before resuming the line
with a lighter mf. Also, see RHYTHM category in regards to tempo.

Additional Considerations
How does the arranger create moments of tension and release?

Syncopated arrivals on extended or substituted harmonies.

Use of quick upper neighbor tones.

Re-composed/imagined melodies, particularly in the bass line.

Chromatic movement, particularly in the tenor line.

Suspensions throughout all vocal lines, include late arrivals to the root of the
chord.
How

does the arranger use and create contrast?

Use of homophony or background pads to accentuate harmony or melody.
Varied closed and open voicing for harmonies throughout piece.
Moments of unison lines to begin or end phrases.

How does the arranger unify the composition?

Text, Melody, Harmony.

How does the composer sustain interest throughout the composition?

Dynamics, various solo lines and ranges, extended harmonies, rhythmic

movement in background accompaniment, and more.