[Saxplayer67]

Hi guys

I've been asked to play for (yet another ) funeral next Monday, for the exit music. Two names have been thrown into the hat - Queen and Rod Stewart (since he liked both). So although it's only instrumental solo sax, I guess people who know lyrics will have a make a connection based on the connotation of the lyrics. So nothing like Bohemian Rhapsody.

I can only think of Sailing, the lyrics are fairly apt for a funeral, I feel but the melody is a little uninspired and if memory serves, there's no middle eight, so I may improvise something. Anyone any other ideas but I do feel it has to be something gentle for reflection, not too heavy? I listened to some songs by both Queen and Stewart on Youtube to try to get some ideas. If I don't have it, I can buy a download of the sheet from Musicnotes etc.

 

[Souportwenty]

Perhaps Rod Stewart's cover of Van Morrison's tune: "Have I told you Lately that I love you". There are also Stewart's covers of the American Songbook. "The Nearness of You" may work for you.

 

[Saxplayer67]

Hi Soup

I did think of the Van Morrison cover, it's one I'll suggest when I meet with the widow this week. Also thought about the Great American tunes but of course it's not Stewart per se. But again I'll be suggesting it but I expect she may have specific titles in mind when speaking at length and he may have had some favourites. We'll see.

 

[Enviroguy]

Listen to Queen's "The Show Must Go On". It sounds great on sax and has a great impact.

 

[CrazeeAyDee]

Freddie Mercury's 'Exercises in Free Love' - i wonder if that had ever been translated to sax, would be great if accompanied by piano - watch/listen on youtube - chills !!!

http://www.queensongs.info/sheets/pdf/exercises-in-free-love.pdf

 

[RootyTootoot]

I'm pretty sure Rod Stewart covered Tom Waits's "Shiver Me Timbers" which is a beautiful song, appropriate and straightforward as a sax solo.

 

[Enviroguy]

If interested, here's my Bb Sax arrangement of The Show Must Go On.

http://cierra.cc/The Show Must Go On by Queen-Bb Sax.pdf

 

[Grumps]

I would avoid Another One Bites The Dust...

 

[Saxplayer67]

Funerals are like buses - not one for ages then two come along at once - I also have my dear sister in law's to play at probably soon after this one. My wife's mother died in July and now my wife's 48 year old sister has followed just four months later (Sunday just gone) - from that evil, horrible thing called cancer. I played by request Moon River at my Mum-in-law's funeral, so now to think of something for my sis-in-law's, concurrently with the one mentioned at the start of this thread.

 

[Enviroguy]

Funerals are like buses - not one for ages then two come along at once - I also have my dear sister in law's to play at probably soon after this one. My wife's mother died in July and now my wife's 48 year old sister has followed just four months later (Sunday just gone) - from that evil, horrible thing called cancer. I played by request Moon River at my Mum-in-law's funeral, so now to think of something for my sis-in-law's, concurrently with the one mentioned at the start of this thread.

Sorry to here this. Where I'm from, the old folks always say that death comes in three's. Luckily you have the talent that can be used to help others with their pain. But don't ignore your own. He that serves in a funeral often has to cry alone later. Keep friends and loved-ones near and don't get too caught up in the music that you forget that it's your time to grieve too.

 

[Saxplayer67]

Thanks, Enviro - playing music is something I can do, a God-given talent and my way of paying respects. I grieve through the horn, if that's not sounding too cliched.

 

[CrazeeAyDee]

this got me thinking, is there a resource for funeral music?, and found this http://www.funeralhelper.org/funeral-music/popular-funeral-music.html

Seeing 'we'll meet again' had me thinking of my dear old father, a WWII vet who passed away 10 years ago.

 

[AltoLemur]

If those two are in his favorite list of performers, then I think it's a case of finding out what were his top 2-3 songs from each one and picking from that. It's probably best to think of the song selection as being indicative of a life lived, not a life lost.

You could choose The Show Must Go On, The Miracle or A Kind Of Magic, but if he prefered Who Wants To Live Forever or Fat Bottomed Girls then the choice comes down to who it is you think you're paying respects to (the departed or the ones in the pews).

A friend of mine had the complete Dark Side Of The Moon played throughout his service and I was really pleased that his family saw fit to allow it as he'd actually told me (in one of those late night conversations) that it was what he wanted, along with my band playing a couple of things.

The logistics of us playing at the service didn't work, so for the next 4 years we booked a venue in his name and put on a performance with guest musicians who all new him and, as he also wanted, got royally drunk and celebrated his life.

 

[gary]

Just something to think about - if you play something Rod or Queen covered of another band/artist (pardon the misuse of the word), and you don't sound like Rod or Freddie Mercury but a sax, how are the listeners at the funeral going to know it's a supposed to be Ron or Freddie and not the original version? In other words, Rod might have done a cover of Elvis' "Heartbreak Hotel" but if you play it on the sax, the listeners will associate it with Elvis, not Rod.

 

[Saxplayer67]

Instead of Rod or Queen, another member of the family has thrown in The Sorcerer's Apprentice as another fave of the deceased. Totally different and I found a clarinet sheet that I can do on soprano but I think it won't sound great solo, as Dukas was a master of orchestration. I'll give it a practise tomoz but still thinking Sailing, now I have written it out - with pen and manuscript paper - the good old fashioned way - and put in a keychange to make it more oomphy.

 

[drwhippet]

OK, one more post because I want to end things on a helpful note and since I am very well-versed in Rod's music (my Mom had a thing for him when I was growing up so I've heard all of his songs over and over...).

And I think a great one for its somber and bluesy richness is "I would rather go blind." It was written and originally recorded by Clarence Carter, a very underappreciated R&B singer/songwriter, but Rod really made it his own and eclipsed any other versions (with the possible exception of Etta James's; but I still think his is famous enough to where folks would think of him when they heard it.)

The lyrics might not be perfect, but it is about loss (lost love in as in most pop songs).

Anyway, I like it better than Sailing personally as I think it's just a deeper, sadder and more moving melody.

Studio:

Live:

To be honest, this is my favorite "Rod Stewart" song.

"Mr. C.C.'s" original, for comparison:

 

[Saxplayer67]

Hi Guys... I went for my first instinct, 'Sailing' in the end - I was listed on the service sheet as exit music but the congregation stayed for the full rendition - I thought they may be filing out during my playing, so took it to a great crescendo as my tribute to the deceased.

Next up, my sis in law's next week, decided on 'Eidelweiss' as she loved The Sound of Music. Too many funerals in only a short space of years...

 

[Saxplayer67]

The funeral for my friend's Dad was today, went for my first instinct, 'Sailing' on soprano.

Next week is sis-in-law's funeral and since she loved Sound Of Music, going for Eidelweiss. Other ideas were something from Grease or her childhood fave David Cassidy.

 

[Saxplayer67]

Well, the funeral of my sis-in-law was this afternoon, I played Edelweiss and this morning was struck by inspiration and jotted down in literally a couple of minutes, a variation and then a repeat of the latter bars, to extend the performance from under a minute to over a minute and a half. Pleased with what I knocked out so rapidly and it was part of my tribute to her.