Customer Reviews of 'The Long and Winding Road' Sheet Music by The Beatles

Amazing as usual!

2/27/2017 4:41:08 PM

Great arrangement! Very easy to play and sing at the same time. Thanks Musicnotes! This was a crowd pleaser.

Nothing but a hodgepodge

2/14/2021 6:39:14 PM

The arrangement is just a hodgepodge of the original piano part played by Paul McCartney, the orchestral overdubs that Phil Spector later added, and the arranger’s wild imagination. The resulting patchwork has lost most of the song’s consistency and its artistic value. You can compare the score with Paul’s piano part that’s easily distinguishable on “Let It Be… Naked” album and in Sir Paul’s numerous solo performances found on YouTube. The difference is apparent: Sir Paul plays simple chords, but their sequence is consistent in terms of both music perception and piano technique which is not the case of this arrangement. The implantation of the original strings solo into the piano arrangement is particularly disappointing. I wonder if the arranger had ever tried to play this section. No doubt it’s technically playable, but it sounds as “counter-pianistic” as possible. If, for some reason, the straightforward transcription of the real McCartney’s piano part wasn’t an option, then the arranger should first learn how to make adaptations. See, e.g. Liszt’s piano transcriptions of Beethoven Symphonies.