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Thread started 06/16/04 7:54am

laylow03

I know Prince is the boss, but does he allow input from band members for live shows?

I know Prince is the boss and shit, but I've always wondered about the music arrangements for live shows. For instance, Prince doesn't play horns, so my question is: Does he arrange all the parts, or does he allow input from each of the musicians? Does he allow them to improvise, or is he in control of all of that?

If anyone who's been to a rehearsal can help me, I'd appreciate it. It's sometime I've always wanted to know...
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Reply #1 posted 06/16/04 8:09am

langebleu

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laylow03 said:

I know Prince is the boss and shit, but I've always wondered about the music arrangements for live shows. For instance, Prince doesn't play horns, so my question is: Does he arrange all the parts, or does he allow input from each of the musicians? Does he allow them to improvise, or is he in control of all of that?

If anyone who's been to a rehearsal can help me, I'd appreciate it. It's sometime I've always wanted to know...

In terms of horn arrangements, although Prince has had input, he has also on occasions asked the horn layers to work on arrangements for live shows.
ALT+PLS+RTN: Pure as a pane of ice. It's a gift.
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Reply #2 posted 06/16/04 9:27pm

Lastochka74

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eek Prince has on this right! music
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Reply #3 posted 06/17/04 8:45am

krebsne

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laylow03 said:


If anyone who's been to a rehearsal can help me, I'd appreciate it. It's sometime I've always wanted to know...


I was at the ONA soundcheck in KC which was Candy's first show on the tour. They were working very hard on the horns that night. It seemed to me that Prince knew basically what he wanted them to do. He may not play horns but he knows what parts of the scale he wants (3rds, 7ths, 9ths, whatever). He was talking to them and instructing them with regard to what he wanted. I also think he occassionally played them something on keyboard. So I think he does direct them a bit although I'm sure he trusts them to flesh out some stuff as after all they are all top notch professionals.

Regarding other instruments I'm sure its similar. He has some things he wants just so and some things he lets them run with. I also bet some outside people have presented arrangement ideas to him that he has used over the years. That's just my gut feeling.
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Reply #4 posted 06/17/04 11:58am

TonyWilliams

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To those of you who have seen "The Art of Musicology" :
Have you noticed that the horn part of the arrangement of "Race" back from 1993 appears in the updated horn arrangement of "Musicology" ?

Also, Brian Lynch(played trumpet on Emancipation) told me that Eric Leeds is the man behind the horn arrangements for almost most of the 80`s stuff.

Check out the 2cd set of Parade rehearsals. When the band rehearses Anotherlover Prince tells Eric to write down a melody for the horns
for the part "....when the strange strings come in...". If you have the 12" of the song, or the Detroit 86 gig, what you hear is Eric`s stuff.

Not sure if this answers you question, but i tried.
[This message was edited Thu Jun 17 12:00:43 2004 by TonyWilliams]
Love...thy will b done
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Reply #5 posted 06/17/04 12:26pm

Jestyr

TonyWilliams said:

To those of you who have seen "The Art of Musicology" :
Have you noticed that the horn part of the arrangement of "Race" back from 1993 appears in the updated horn arrangement of "Musicology" ?

Also, Brian Lynch(played trumpet on Emancipation) told me that Eric Leeds is the man behind the horn arrangements for almost most of the 80`s stuff.

Check out the 2cd set of Parade rehearsals. When the band rehearses Anotherlover Prince tells Eric to write down a melody for the horns
for the part "....when the strange strings come in...". If you have the 12" of the song, or the Detroit 86 gig, what you hear is Eric`s stuff.

Not sure if this answers you question, but i tried.
[This message was edited Thu Jun 17 12:00:43 2004 by TonyWilliams]


Excellent stuff, H!!
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Reply #6 posted 06/17/04 3:28pm

laylow03

TonyWilliams said:

To those of you who have seen "The Art of Musicology" :
Have you noticed that the horn part of the arrangement of "Race" back from 1993 appears in the updated horn arrangement of "Musicology" ?

Also, Brian Lynch(played trumpet on Emancipation) told me that Eric Leeds is the man behind the horn arrangements for almost most of the 80`s stuff.

Check out the 2cd set of Parade rehearsals. When the band rehearses Anotherlover Prince tells Eric to write down a melody for the horns
for the part "....when the strange strings come in...". If you have the 12" of the song, or the Detroit 86 gig, what you hear is Eric`s stuff.

Not sure if this answers you question, but i tried.
[This message was edited Thu Jun 17 12:00:43 2004 by TonyWilliams]


That arrangement during the Art of Musicology is PRECISELY why I posted this question in the first place. [You read my mind.] I just think that for someone who doesn't play horns, that particular arrangement wouldn't solely be Prince's ingenuity. But horns are just one example. I wonder if he allows input from the musicians [all top notch] on the arrangments in general, or he just a s. gali?
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Reply #7 posted 06/17/04 3:43pm

TonyWilliams

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laylow03 said:

TonyWilliams said:

To those of you who have seen "The Art of Musicology" :
Have you noticed that the horn part of the arrangement of "Race" back from 1993 appears in the updated horn arrangement of "Musicology" ?

Also, Brian Lynch(played trumpet on Emancipation) told me that Eric Leeds is the man behind the horn arrangements for almost most of the 80`s stuff.

Check out the 2cd set of Parade rehearsals. When the band rehearses Anotherlover Prince tells Eric to write down a melody for the horns
for the part "....when the strange strings come in...". If you have the 12" of the song, or the Detroit 86 gig, what you hear is Eric`s stuff.

Not sure if this answers you question, but i tried.
[This message was edited Thu Jun 17 12:00:43 2004 by TonyWilliams]


That arrangement during the Art of Musicology is PRECISELY why I posted this question in the first place. [You read my mind.] I just think that for someone who doesn't play horns, that particular arrangement wouldn't solely be Prince's ingenuity. But horns are just one example. I wonder if he allows input from the musicians [all top notch] on the arrangments in general, or he just a s. gali?



Well, i think Prince has been defenitly hooked up with some albums that bandmembers listened to. Eric Leeds gave him ALL of the Miles Davis albums as a birthday gift once.
Since Prince loves to jam for endless hours, it`s just natural that certain stuff by bandmembers end up beeing an arrangement.
Probably Blackwell played the "Funky drummer" (JB) pattern when Prince gave him a solo during a Musicology rehearsal - he then tells him to keep that.
During some soundcheck in 2002 i remember how he asked Renato to tell him how to improvise over some chord progression.
Well, i guess i still haven`t answered your question...
Love...thy will b done
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