Wicked - Piano/Vocal Arrangement [Paperback]

Stephen Schwartz (Author)

Book Description

Series: Pvg | Publication Date: June 1, 2004

Nominated for a whopping 10 Tony Awards in 2005, Wicked is an undeniable Broadway smash! A prequel to the all-American classic The Wizard of Oz, this new musical is a character study of Elphaba and Glinda, school roommates who grow up to become the Wicked Witch and the Good Witch, respectively. We are very proud to offer several songbooks featuring this delightful music, including a Vocal Selections book which contains the vocal line with piano accompaniment (00313268), and a Piano/Vocal Selections book, in standard piano/vocal format with the melody in the piano part (00313267). Songbooks feature a special section of color photos from the production, a note from composer/lyricist Stephen Schwartz, and these fantastic tunes: As Long as You're Mine * Dancing Through Life * Defying Gravity * For Good * I Couldn't Be Happier * I'm Not That Girl * No Good Deed * No One Mourns the Wicked * One Short Day * Popular * What Is This Feeling? * The Wizard and I * Wonderful.

Product Details

Sample Music Notation [24kb PDF]

• Paperback: 120 pages
• Publisher: Hal Leonard (June 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 063407881X
• ISBN-13: 978-0634078811
• Product Dimensions: 11.8 x 9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (59 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,143 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #24 in Books > Arts & Photography > Music > Songbooks
  • #34 in Books > Arts & Photography > Performing Arts > Theater
  • #57 in Books > Arts & Photography > Music > Instruments & Performers

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

169 of 170 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great score, arrangements! (melody in the piano part), July 8, 2004

By 

Sydney Head (Newport Beach, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wicked - Piano/Vocal Arrangement (Paperback)

After waiting for so long to finally get this book, I've discovered it to be well worth the wait.

Stephen Schwartz is releasing two versions of vocal selections for wicked, this version containing the melody interpolated into the piano part, and another book that is billed as a professional acompaniment without the melody necessarily built into the piano arrangement. This led many to speculate that the "with melody" version would therefore be much easier and less true to the music. Although I haven't seen the other book yet as it has yet to be released as I write this, you should definitely know that this book has not one "easy" arrangement. The arrangers have done a really excellent job of keeping the parts interesting while building in the melody. For instance, "Defying Gravity," the amazing Act-One closing number, is particularly well done, and if you can work through the key-- (it remains, as in the show, in Db) you will be VERY satisfied with the richness and fullness of the sound.

Schwartz has adapted the songs for use as solos or (where applicable) duets, removing longer instrumental breaks, trimming ensemble sections, and providing some new lyrics and endings to make the songs work really well for this new format. This in my opinion is yet another reason to purchase the book, as it gives fans of the show a way to interpret small sections of some of the songs differently.

Sometimes I do wish some cuts could have been avoided (notably I miss the wonderful "We deserve each other" theme that appears on the cast album intersecting "Dancing through Life" and the counterpoint melody "Who's that mage..." in "One Short Day"), but Schwartz is right, it would have impeded the creation of solo pieces to put those in.

The score for Wicked is definitely not to be missed, it really is a must have-- (especially while I wait patiently for the imminent release of the other version of the score!)

Overall, the music is wonderful, the arrangements remain challenging, but are extremely well edited and contain chord diagrams to help you along as well. Well done.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great arrangments of great music, October 1, 2004

By 

Music lover "A fan" (Illinois) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wicked - Piano/Vocal Arrangement (Paperback)

The piano arrangements in this book are very faithful to the orchestrations. If you're like me, you ordered this book because you are familiar with the recording; you will not be disappointed with the accompaniments. A couple of the songs have been edited down, presumably to avoid the selections becoming too long. Very good buy.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wicked Piano/Vocal Selections, April 23, 2006

By 

Bonny (Orlando, FL) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Wicked - Piano/Vocal Arrangement (Paperback)

I bought this book because a friend gave me the Wicked CD and I fell in love with the show. This book is a selection of the most popular songs from the show, in a format where a singer could perform them with only piano accompaniment. Most of the songs are pretty close to the versions that you hear on the CD, but some have been altered to make them easier to perform as solos or audition pieces. Most of the speaking and chorus parts (like in "Popular" and "One Short Day") have been removed and some of the songs have new endings. In "Dancing Through Life", the second half of the song has been cut so the entire song can be sung by only one person. Also, the part in "The Wizard and I" where Elphaba has a vision also appears in "Defying Gravity". Lastly, "For Good" is written so it can be sung as a duet or a solo.

This book is good for anyone looking to sing these songs as a solo, duet or for an audition. The piano part is a simplified version of the orchestral score with the melody line usually occurring in the right hand and it is easy enough for almost any accompanist to play. However, if you are looking for an exact translation of the songs from the show, you will be disappointed. Otherwise, this is a good buy for any Wicked fan who wants to perform their favorite songs from this fantastic show!