EVA CASSIDY SONGBOOK FOR GUITAR


Guitar Songbook The Eva Cassidy Songbook for Guitar is a "MUST HAVE" for Eva Cassidy fans!  The songs included in the book are:  Ain't No Sunshine, Anniversary Song, At Last, Autumn Leaves, Fields of Gold, I Wandered by a Brookside, Nightbird, Over the Rainbow, Penny to my Name, Say Goodbye, Songbird, Time After Time, Wade in the Water, Way Beyond the Blue, Wayfaring Stranger, and What a Wonderful World.  Tina Davidson, who transcribed the arrangements for the book, tells me, "As you can see, it is a variety of songs from all Eva's albums. Some of the songs just have Eva's accompaniment -- with her strum/picking style written out in tablature. Others have her intros & solos written out (Autumn Leaves, Over the Rainbow, I Wandered by the Brookside, Fields of Gold, Songbird, Time After Time).  I asked Tina Davidson whether she noted that Eva often used a capo. She replied, "Yes, I have indicated the capo-fret on each song -- AND have transposed the songs to the capo key. For instance, if Eva played a song in the key of G, capo on the first fret -- that's really concert pitch of G# (or Ab), so I wrote the song out in the key of G so the guitarist is reading the music in the same key as the chords they are playing. The piano books have written the songs in concert pitch, and guitarist don't like to play the chords that are in rotten keys [for guitar]. Eva's guitar solos and accompaniment are also written out in tablature -- I'm very proud of the work!!!"  Davidson has written over 50 songbooks for children and adults, including the "Woody Guthrie Song Book."  

The executive editor of the songbook, Elana Byrd, adds, "The notes and lyrics are literally hand written by Tina, who is a master music copyist and calligrapher. There are pictures by Eva scattered throughout the book, as appropriate to the songs -- Eva's darling sketches and things taken from larger art works. The introduction is gorgeous with photos of Eva not seen elsewhere. It's great for guitar players, but Eva fans might want it for the intro and the artwork too! It's the book we insisted on doing rather than the standard piano, voice, guitar book with only guitar chords. This book has guitar tablature, and tells you how to capo the guitar to play along with the recordings, if you want to do that! The cover photo was done by Eva's friend Larry Melton and is the best quality. You are going to scream when you see this music book. It is the best!"

**UPDATE: GOOD NEWS! Richard Martin of Warner/Chappell Music assures me that the book WILL be sold through Amazon.com, probably by the end of the month.  I will of course keep you informed.   Amazon.co.uk already has it listed.  It can currently be ordered from the Warner website (though it gives virtually NO information about the songbook, not even a photo of the cover), at this link, http://www.warnerbrospub.com.  Linda in DC ordered hers from them today (Thursday), and she will let me know when it arrives.   The other on-line sources I have heard about so far are Musicroom.com in the UK, and also www.sheetmusicplus.com .

WHERE ELSE TO FIND THE BOOK:  Elana Byrd tells me, "It is in 1400 music stores in the United States, plus it can be ordered in a variety of ways. To place phone orders in the US, call 1-800-628-1528. For phone orders outside the US, call 305-620-1500 x 7399. This is through the manufacturer Warner/Chappell Music. You can also write to Note Service Music, 15800 NW 48th Ave., Miami, Florida. I think it sells for $19.95 in the US."

Here's an article from Maria Villafana at Washingtonpost.com, dated August 21, 2002, with a little more information about the Songbook for Guitar.  Scroll down to read the part about Eva.


IT CAME TODAY!  And yes, I almost DID scream, but my baby is napping so I had to restrain myself. The songbook is gorgeous. I will write about it in more detail in the next few days. If anybody else has already received your copy of the book, especially if you play guitar, please let me know your thoughts.  Glynne in the UK has her copy already -- she writes, "The introduction and photos are a treat. The book is perfectly set out with Eva's drawings or the photographs used fitting beautifully with each song. It has obviously been done with care, love and a respect for Eva."


Eva drew this gnomish figure playing a guitar in 1982.  Under her signature she wrote "Larry's birthday! Hurray"












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