I'm Not In Love (arr. Des McNutty) by 10Cc Sheet Music for String Quartet at Sheet Music Direct

Product Details

Artist 10Cc

Score Type

PDF, Included with PASS

Composer Graham Gouldman Eric Stewart

Arranger Des McNutty

Format Digital Sheet Music

Pages 17

Arrangement String Quartet

Publisher Des Press

Level 4

Product ID 1693321

Genre Pop Disco

Instruments Cello Viola Violin

Performance Group String Quartet

Product Description

I'm Not in Love was released in May 1975 and took 10cc from being a popular UK band - with a number one under their belt - to international stardom, reaching the top ten in several countries and the number-one spot in a few more.

I'm Not in Love started off as a bossa nova that the band had rejected and ended up transformed into a hugely influential song that changed the production of pop music.

The production was built around what might be considered an iconic aaaahh synth sound, which was not played on a synthesizer at all! Instead, it was a choir; voices of three band members were recorded singing several notes, overdubbed several times and multi-tracked. This was mixed onto infinite tape loops four meters long, which in itself required an innovative solution with microphone stands and extra spools needed to keep the loops in line with the correct tension to feed them through the tape machine.

The mixing desk was effectively used as an instrument, with musicians sliding its faders in real time to bring out the desired notes when needed. The faders were blocked at the bottom to prevent silencing any of these tracks, giving a constant ethereal background to the song.
This was all achieved with imagination and persistence on analogue equipment; it would be another decade or so before MIDI sequencing existed and longer still until the introduction of digital sampling. The only electronically produced sound in the song is the bass-drum, programmed on a Moog analogue synthesizer.
This arrangement for string quartet is a relatively straight-forward idiomatic transcription in the same tonalities as the original recording, so you could even play along with it for fun.
The level is on the easier side of advanced; quickly rehearsed by professional quartets and an accessible challenge for experienced students.
There are a lot of double-stops and effects such as false harmonics.
There are also whisper tones in the second violin, signified by crossed noteheads, which have undefined pitch. These are produced by moving the bow longitudinally along string (away from and back towards the bridge), with the left-hand fingers not fully pressed down on the fingerboard.

Enjoy!

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.