Why Are There No Herb Alpert Songbooks Available ??

[patton45]

I've been trying to find for years the muisc/brass parts for the Whipped Cream album. Actually I cannot find his stuff at any online sheet music site or any music store. I found one beat up old book from around 1967 on ebay and the brass section was torn out.

Both my kids want to play his music. Why is it so hard to find?

Are there legal reasons why his music has not been made available to the public?

How can I get the sax and brass parts to the Whipped Cream album?

thx - Craig

 

[Mike Blakesley]

I guess the sheet music publishers see limited sales potential. eBay is probably your best bet, unless someone else here knows of an alternative.

 

[audiofile]

Transcribe them.

 

[patton45]

mmmm sounds easier than you make it. I'm an old alto sax player who knows nothing about transcribing trumpet music....

Craig

 

[Captaindave]

They are out of print and have been for many years.

You can't get parts pre-transcribed for you anymore, unless you can find one of those out of print books.

So, either watch ebay carefully or begin doing your own transcribing. It isn't hard.

There never were any sax transcriptions. I used to have all the Hansen and Key-Pops books which included all the brass and rhythm parts, but they have been lost for many years.

The best transcribers are piano players. Learn the songs by ear. It isn't necessary to have all the parts written out. Songs often are created out of nothing - no pre-written parts. Each musician brings an idea to the studio and contributes. Thus, songs are born.

I have played many songs with bands where we each listened to the record and learned our parts from the record.

And yes, some of the songs from some of the albums were not included in the song books due to copyright restrictions.

 

[Captaindave]

FYI...

Not all the songs from the Whipped Cream album were in the old books.

The books were published by Hansen Publishers and Key-Pops Publishers. I'm doubtful if those companies even exist anymore. It was back in the later 1960s - after Sounds Like - when they were readily available for purchase. I would say it has been about 40 years since those books have been published.

The old combo books were written for 2 trumpets, trombone, and the rhythm section. So, a band such as the one with which I used to play many years ago, and having the basic TJB instrumentation, could read the music and have a pretty good TJB repertoire almost immediately - up through Sounds Like.

Later albums didn't get transcribed. Some songs from the Sounds Like album were the last ones I remember - nothing recorded after that was in a song book.

We did play a number of songs that were not in the books - Slick, ObLaDi ObLaDa being songs I remember well that we wrote out ourselves - mostly the piano player, the trombone player, and me (trumpet) doing the parts for the group.

 

[patton45]

thank you very much for the update. My kids are both in band and have discovered the Whipped Cream album and are bummed out that they cannot find the music for the songs.


Craig

 

[jazzdre]

I remember in the early 80s, there was a music book on Herb, and it was called THE BEST OF HERB ALPERT. The cover had a purple backdrop, and there was an inset picture of Herb,circa 1983. The book covered his biggest TJB and solo hits from 'The Lonely Bull' to 'Route 101'. There were also a lot of photos of Herb,color/black and white.

Also, if memory serves me right, there was also a music book based on the Herb Alpert/Hugh Masekela collaboration/album, and also there was another song book based on the KEEP YOUR EYE ON ME album. Like everybody around here has said, your best bet is to go to ebay, or go to your favorite music shop where they sell instruments; there are usually a selection of musicbooks there. I wish you well on your search!

 

[Dave]

I believe my Selecciones songbook might be back at the Old House in my "saved" Music Magazines/Memorabilia which I may or may not consider hauling over here...

The songbook was bought for a Buck more than 20-years ago...!



Dave

 

[4haverstocks]

Take a look at a couple of new listings on eBay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/HERB-ALPERT-TIJ...ryZ43391QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/HERB-ALPERTS-NI...ryZ43391QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

The frist one has songs from the Whipped Cream album.

In the future, just search under "Herb Alpert;" you will find music books listed under "musical instruments."

All the best,

Dan