Sleepy Shores - 4 Guitars

Johnny Pearson was a prolific composer and ran the BBC Top Of The Pops orchestra for 16 years.

My arrangement captures all of the stunning and uplifting key changes of the orchestral version. The key here is different to the original, so we can use the full playable range of the guitar and play in some keys that are less alien to guitarists!

The original was scored for piano and orchestra and featured a guitar to provide a rhythmic backdrop; that is captured here too, along with the electric bass guitar line.

From the perspective of a guitar teacher, this piece is a wonderful worked example of the Circle of Fifths in action, and the final key change uses the A#(Bb) and E that are common to the chords of F#7 and C7 to create an effortless movement right across the Circle of Fifths from bottom to top in one easy action!

From the perspective of the players, the arpeggios are moveable chords and so the section with the most key changes is also a section that’s easy to play!

And from the perspective of the audience, the key changes make this a remarkable and engaging piece...

Click see/hear/buy (on the right)Tap see/hear/buy below for sample score & audio