Killing me Softly

Killing Me Softly … a new music video featuring a new arrangement for electric piano of the well-known song from the 1970s. The original was a major hit for Roberta Flack, who sang it as a tender ballad early in her career. However, she was not the songwriter - and in fact, the story of this particular song illustrates how dangerous the music industry was, and still can be, for young, talented song writers. The song lyrics were written by Lori Lieberman: Lieberman had started her career as a young singer/songwriter. She met a composer/songwriter team who signed her under their management. She released her first album and that album contained this song – she sang its first release. She originally wrote the song while at a Don McLean concert. Evidently his songs resonated well with her. McLean is in fact the young man referred to in the lyrics. Her album didn’t chart but had started to gain ground when her “managers” moved the song to Roberta Flack, who immediately had a number 1 hit with it. However, those “managers” didn’t share the writing credit with her. Worse still, years later they denied she had ever been involved in the creation of the song. In fact, one of them tried to get Don McLean to remove the write up on his website about the song. McLean had his lawyers surface the industry articles from when the song initially charted in which her “managers” had admitted her involvement, at which point the truth was substantiated and her now very much ex-managers ceased their attempts to deny her involvement. Ms. Lieberman released several albums to some degree of success in the 1970s but eventually turned her back on an industry that had really treated her so badly. Eventually she was encouraged to return to the music industry in the late 1990s. This time she released first on an independent label, then on her own label and eventually became a major label artist in Europe, where she has since successfully toured. It is so sad to discover yet another case of a young, impressionable artist who was taken advantage of in this way. The song that started as her poem, literally written on napkins during a Don McLean concert, has gone on to be performed by a vast range of artists from Frank Sinatra to the amazing “must see” urban version by the up-and-coming Puerto Rican artist Elysanij. MUSIC INSIGHTS: The original song is a ballad that is clearly loved by singers and their audiences. It has an interesting harmonic structure – moving between related major and minor keys with plenty of options for various jazzy chords – major 7th, diminished, augmented, suspended, etc. It has been arranged in many genres – from solo guitar/singer versions to full orchestral scores. When I first heard this song, it was used in a stage production in Paris – a musical revue. That version used the electric piano sound that is present on in the Flack arrangement. It was also sung in a touching, uplifting style. So, for me, the electric piano is quite fundamental to the song. With that in mind, I arranged themes from the original song into an arrangement simply for electric piano. The result is a somewhat chill version of the song. However, there’s a bit more depth to the arrangement: in fact, I am playing two electric pianos during the recording, effectively doubling the melody, harmony, and rhythm – what in orchestration terms is called “Tutti”. They are, of course, different types of electric pianos – one emphasizes high tones in its note color and the other possesses more power around lower tones. The pianos are also separated in the stereo field so when this arrangement is heard with good stereo speakers, you can hear notes move laterally between the pianos. VIDEO INSIGHTS: Given the lyrics of the original song, the video focuses on couples in relationship. Relationships often start with the simple act of holding hands. From there they develop in various directions, many eventually becoming lifelong commitments between people. The video attempts to capture this no matter what the nature, background or goals of the various depicted couples are. If this music, or the video, resonates with you, please, take a moment to share your comments and to share with others, whether via social media or a personal video. Part of the joy is in creating music, and part is in sharing. “Killing Me Softly” was created in early April 2022. Its musical underscore was performed and recorded I Paris with Ableton Live 10 using a Nord Stage Piano. Final mastering was done with iZotope Ozone 9. At some time in the future, the underscore will be released for streaming. Be sure to subscribe here and follow-on social media or signup for the weekly newsletter through the Solo Hands website (if you sign up for our newsletter, you will also receive our free eBook, Musical Notes – Composing & Arranging): http://www.solohands.com Twitter: @SoloHandsMusic Facebook: @SoloHandsMusic Instagram: @SoloHandsMusic