Stevie Wonder "Isn't She Lovely" Premium Transcription

Stevie Wonder "Isn't She Lovely"

Live at Hyde Park 2016

(Original video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfHQOlHJczU)

This lays GREAT for alto sax, so I've also included an Eb alto version. If you want Bb tenor/trumpet, just email me and I will send it to you free of charge. Just keep in mind it may not play as well in that range.

Stevie Wonder's melodic sensibility and phrasing are legendary, not only in his unforgettable vocals but also in his harmonica playing which has dazzled and delighted audiences worldwide for decades. The original version came out in 1976 on his Songs In The Key Of Life album, one of the greatest pop albums ever made.

I hesitated to put out this video because transcriptions of it are already out there, but I think the extra attention to detail I added is worth a second look (and listen). I wanted to do the original recording but I was also curious about how he plays it live (he reuses the vast majority of the original recording's material) and how he's changed over the years (very little, if it ain't broke don't fix it!) and I stumbled on this 2016 version which I thought was worth diving into.

A few important notes about this particular performance: I tried to differentiate between faster and slower vibrato, as well as bends vs grace notes (there are a lot of them!) and get his rhythm as accurately as possible. Of course others may interpret some parts slightly differently, but that just goes to show why notation is flawed and proves that "the map is not the territory"!

I spent a lot of time on the dynamics, crescendo and other expression markings so pay close attention to those. Where in the bar/note he starts or ends the vibrato or crescendo is key to playing this as closely to the original as possible. Typically a decrescendo into a rest will be decrescendo into nothingness, but also do pay attention to where that rest note is written because I also wrote them to signify the ends of phrases as closely as possible. Of course we can split hairs about all of these aspects, as well as my dynamic markings, but this is as close as I felt I could get it.

The way Stevie plays weaves his solo around the melody, his impeccable time feel and syncopations all combine to just make this performance so memorable and classic that you just never get tired of hearing it even though it's so simple in many ways: mostly diatonic with a few blue notes and leading tones on the V of vi chord, and always rooted in the melody.

As it is so often with the greats, it's not WHAT you play but HOW you play it, and in my opinion Stevie is a master of melodicism and stands out even amongst the all-time giants in this respect. Enjoy and listen deeply! As always, the notes on the page are just a fraction of, and a distant approximation of, the music itself. One must listen closely and repeat many times to get all the details of the nuance out. My only hope is that writing the notes out in this more detailed fashion helps people to HEAR more clearly. Please let me know what you think in the comments and don’t forget to check out my other transcriptions.