Over The Rainbow (arr. Richard Hirsch) by Judy Garland Sheet Music for Solo Guitar at Sheet Music Direct

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With inspiration in Isreal Kamakawiwooles Somewhere Over the Rainbow and What a Wonderful World mashup, I offer an arrangement of the song Over the Rainbow for solo acoustic guitar. In my childhood The Wizard of Oz was one of my favourite fairy tales, especially as I spent a few of my early years in the little town of Winfield Kansas where tornadoes were a constant threat. I still remember huddling in the cellar with my mother and little brother when a tornado warning had been broadcast.

With this in mind, the first part of the arrangement is meant to resemble a whirlwind that takes us up to the dreamland of Oz portrayed in the slower second part. In the third part, we come back down to waking reality in another mirror image whirlwind.

The arrangement has an afro-flamenco character with two tiers of rhythm. Tier one is the normal 4/4 rhythm with accents at 1 and 3. Tier two consists of accents falling on beats 2 and 2& and 3& of the 4 beat measures. Tier two can be highlighted by clapping or tapping with a table knife on a bottle at beats 2 and 2& and 3&, with the strongest accent on 3& (an upbeat). The piece ends with a chord of natural harmonics on the 3& upbeat. The natural harmonics in the rhythmic fingerpicking resembling a kalimba (thumb harp) add an African touch to the piece.

The piece is within reach of advanced intermediate students of fingerstyle or classical acoustic guitar. Besides the polyrhythmic fingerpicking, in the second dreamland part the piece offers the opportunity to play a broken chord of right hand harmonics, usually a real hit with listening audiences. I give suggestions for left and right hand fingering where I think necessary. The suggested tempo is presto for the fast first and third parts, but they could be played even faster for dramatic effect. The slow dreamland second part should be played with the melody floating lazily over the beat.

The piece is a good follow up to my arrangements, also available at SheetMusicDirect and SheetMusicPlus of Freight Train and What a Wonderful World that use the same fingerpicking techniques.

This product was created by a member of ArrangeMe, Hal Leonard's global self-publishing community of independent composers, arrangers, and songwriters. ArrangeMe allows for the publication of unique arrangements of both popular titles and original compositions from a wide variety of voices and backgrounds.

Other Arrangements

Piano, Vocal & Guitar Chords (Right-Hand Melody) by Judy GarlandE-Z Play Today by Harold ArlenUkulele by Israel "Iz" Kamakawiwo'oleSuper Easy Piano by Harold ArlenPiano & Vocal by Harold ArlenEasy Piano by Harold ArlenEasy Lead Sheet / Fake Book by Harold Arlen2-Part Choir(arr. Roger Emerson) by Israel "Iz" Kamakawiwo'olePiano & Vocal by Harold Arlen5-Finger Piano by Judy GarlandPiano, Vocal & Guitar Chords by Eva CassidyPiano & Vocal by Nikki YanofskyBeginner Piano (Abridged) by Israel "Iz" Kamakawiwo'oleUkulele Tab by Israel ''Iz'' Kamakawiwo'olePiano Solo by Harold ArlenVery Easy Piano by E.Y. "Yip" HarburgPiano Transcription by Oscar PetersonPiano & Vocal(arr. Phillip Keveren) by Harold ArlenAccordion by Judy GarlandSolo Guitar(arr. David Jaggs) by E.Y. "Yip" Harburg & Harold ArlenSAB Choir(arr. Audrey Snyder) by Harold ArlenSAB Choir(arr. Roger Emerson) by Israel "Iz" Kamakawiwo'oleEasy Piano by The Piano GuysUkulele Chords/Lyrics(arr. Elise Ecklund) by Harold ArlenChoir(arr. Jacob Narverud) by Harold Arlen & E.Y. Harburg2-Part Choir(arr. Audrey Snyder) by Harold ArlenLead Sheet / Fake Book by Eva CassidyViolin Duet by Harold ArlenUkulele Chords/Lyrics by Harold ArlenKeyboard (Abridged) by Israel "Iz" Kamakawiwo'ole