Complete Transcription: Bill Evans - Danny Boy (solo version)

Bill Evans, piano solo, recorded April 4, 1962. Recording cited for educational purposes only.
Transcription by William Hughes
drwilliamhughes...
This complete transcription replaces my earlier sample post, which is now redundant.
ERRATA: bars 118 and 129 - Gb in L.H., for some reason this accidental was hidden by Finale.
Bar 69 - last minim chord R.H. add f', L.H. add d' at the end of the upward semiquaver run (this note is both lightly played and occurs exactly when the pedal is lifted, obscuring its entry).

[@MrLewis-lk8us]

Bill Evans breaks your heart, rips it out, rearranges it, hands it back to you, pats you on your back and leaves. And you are in know position to argue. Just sob.

[@danielcropp8553]

I like how a lot of the comments are that the transcription is too accurate. Thanks for the hard work I'm sure it took to transcribe this.

[@zenobardot]

The complaint doesn't boil down to "too accurate", but rather "needlessly complicated and misleading." It's not like Bill Evans sat down and said "I'm going to play an avant-garde interpretation of Danny Boy where I change the meter constantly..." Ultimately, there's no way to transcribe a performance like this with 100% accuracy...there are always judgement calls. Having lots of meter changes does produce a score that sounds more like the recording when played by a computer, but why is the computer's audio reproduction of a score the driving force for music notation in the first place?

[@benjaminlavoie-doyon4002]

Simply because no one writes down the exact rhythms of a rubato feel, sort of kills the concept of rubato

[@frednow]

I acknowledged and thanked the transcriber for his hard work. My point is that he worked *too* hard, missing the point as others have also mentioned.

[@michaeldumas4907]

I agree!!...he worked too hard on this?...are you kidding me? your complaining about the addition of meters?....it's too complicated??....too confusing???...not what was in Bill Evan's mind??...Then go take some damn piano lessons and create your own arrangement!...lol......how about taking some of the harmonic content he has taken the time to give you from Mr. Evans?.. and embellish on that?...how about use this as a starting off point?...you want everything handed to you on a silver platter wrapped up in a bow.?...no wonder this country is screwed!..LMFAO!

[@frednow]

@@michaeldumas4907 oh, believe me, I've not only taken piano lessons, I teach them as well. And have been doing both, as well as performing and recording, for many decades. I don't know what you're going on about as far as Bill's harmonic content, etc. ... you're missing my point. I have absolutely no problem with Bill's arrangement, it's impeccable; there is no bigger fan of Bill Evans than me. My problem is that the transcription is needlessly fussy in its rhythmic notation; it makes it illegible to no purpose whatsoever. I guarantee you, Bill was *not* conceiving a measure of 4/4 plus 1/16; it's called "rubato" ... look it up. Maybe *you* should take some piano lessons? Or not. Just don't insult me with your misguided assumptions of what I know, or that I want everything handed to me on "a silver platter." That's offensively ludicrous.

[@Manofpeasable]

A few years ago I was driving by a lake listening to a pianist on the radio. I thought, "Who is this guy? Oh well, I quit". Then they said, "that was Bill Evans and so I thought, "Oh good, whew, he's dead! I guess I'll keep on playing then." This transcription is quite accurate, but, it's "Danny Boy" and that's like "Georgia". It's a strong yet simple love song and Bill isn't even playing the notes; he's playing the words... all keys touched turn to golden sound beams.

[@nvotto]

Love when Bill changes the entire feel at 7:55 and just swings the hell out of it, still my favorite player ever

[@tpiskor]

It is very humbling to see how many keys he could play this tune in. Guess he could transpose anything to any key because he was such a master of his instrument and also a genius. And by the way fantastic transcription Mr.Hughes

[@rtfgx]

Honestly i've been listening to jazz for last 4 years al the time and this is the best thing i've ever heard !

[@SarahConnolly63]

Astoundingly beautiful and vintage Bill Evans.

[@jazzerson7087]

Yeah the key changes in this and interpretation is a clear example of his genius. It's incredible.

[@420maryjaneat]

Never tire of this beautiful song.......

[@420maryjaneat]

Brings tears to my eyes!! Love it!!!

[@WilliamSlaght]

+James Anderson I really don't get the time signatures though. As this piece was played with rubato, but yes I nevertheless feel the pulse that Bill plays. It makes me view rubato in a different sense. There can still be a pulsation with rubato, it doesn't have to have that drag feeling with it.

[@normsantos1274]

as far as the notes are concerned this transcription is excellent. the frequent changes in meter seem more geared to allow a computer to render this piece with some measure of the free ranging rubato so intrinsic in a bill evans solo utterance.

[@mreverbel]

I don't really understand the point of writing meter changes like: 7/8 to (4/4+1/8) back and forth That's the same as two 4/4 bars where the second bar has each note anticipated and coming on the upbeat. And it makes much more sense to be able to visualize when the notes are on the upbeat, instead of altering the meter all the time to make them fit a completely artificial idea of meter/beat that one cannot feel.

[@nigelsimpson9713]

Brilliant and a great help in harmonising this deceptively simple song

[@Larnold01462]

Thanks for posting this. What genius and thanks to William Hughes for transcribing it and syncing the notation with the recording - what a great idea!

[@MartinFritter]

A revelation. An amazing feat of transcription. It's really hard to get one's head around what a genius - and great pianist - Evens was.

[@jimhendricks88]

This is such a fabulously accurate transcription, I cannot believe how well done this is! And I say this with deep humility and respect, but might it make for easier reading to mark it as rubato and not have all the meter changes? Just a thought, but I there's no arguing that this is a superb transcription, done with meticulous accuracy. Thanks for your post and all your hard work!

[@Katmangaru]

Jim... If it were rubato, the notes would be impossible to write and read because their derivation would be only in Bill's head.

[@jimdixon3470]

@@Katmangaru That's kind of the point of jazz, isn't it. Bill has something going on in his head, he shares it with us, we as musicians take inspiration from it (with it be just a lick or a whole arrangement), and then we add in the stuff that's only in our own heads. There's a reason that Jean-Yves Thibaudet's "Conversations with Bill Evans" album landed with a thud. Treating this as classical music to be done recital-style is a dead end.

[@michaelfradley6950]

That cluster chord at 9:29 always blows me away

[@jiffyhopper]

warning- esoteric content-- may contain abnormal voicings and content

[@allanmaulana85]

I've downloaded this transcription on your blog, and it's PDF. Oh my.........may God bless you, thank you very much

[@Milan19477]

Allan Maulana is it free? If it is,can you please send it to me? Because I am having a problem with site. Maybe it is because of my phone...I dont know. Anyway,my email is [e-mail] ,Thank you !!

[@youareveryundude]

thanks a lot! It has become one of my all-time favorite tracks! A real gem...

[@HannaShybayevaPianist]

Can't wait to see your 'Bill Evans: The Solo Piano Recordings 1956-1963'... Thank you for what you are doing!

[@Jazzman90712]

Freaking love it....amazingly beautifull

[@dominiqueadam5749]

Merci beaucoup pour cette transcription. Je n'ose imaginer le temps que cela vous a pris. Internet a fait beaucoup pour la diffusion de la musique. Take care.

[@thellamaking_]

Love this, and love to play Bill Evans myself. Such precision the harmonies are transcribed with! Amazing job. Halfway through learning it! My second favourite BIll Evans arrangement next to My bells. Great stuff!

[@monsterjazzlicks]

The way to cut out the middle man is to learn it, memorize it, and play along to the recording of it as much as possible. That way you are internalizing it rather than relying on your eyes and brain.

[@Bird_Coltrane_Monk_Dizzy1113]

Bill Evans: GOAT

[@mixolydianmood7893]

Thank you for your extraordinary trascriptions, we all learn a lot from them!

[@TheFerny52]

Bravissimo, William! Un grande regalo per i nostri occhi ed i nostri cuori! :)

[@RomanticRandomStuff]

Just thank you. Being able to se what Bill was really playing is really instructive... and inspiring. Cheers!!

[@magicmrpenis]

This is an absolutely incredible transcription

[@KhoeblalSonny]

What a great job you did Bill Hughes !

Great Job man!! Congratulations. Do you have de sheet music in a pdf format? How do I can get this? Tks!

[@sallemjazz1]

....In striving to be accurate you are going from 4/4 to 3/4, 7/8....this is confusing and shouldn't be....all you really need is to emphasize that this is performed rubato...

[@brentonsmith6526]

and 4/16 at the beginning.

[@frednow]

While I really admire the amount of work and dedication the transcriber put into this, I agree with Franck; it's just performed rubato. Bill certainly wasn't conceiving of all this metric complexity. Same with the Peace Piece transcription. Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but, dude, you don't have to work quite that hard! Thanks for doing it anyway, though!

[@sallemjazz1]

I actually don't think so.

[@WilliamSlaght]

I think this person is Bill Evans purist, and wanted to get every sense of the rubato performed perfectly, so one can take this transcription and play it with every detail that Bill did, but he/she certainly isn't going to play it with the same feel that Bill had.

[@jimmyhayes4682]

I believe you must also take into consideration that Evans improvised this version from top to bottom. Trying to play it exactly as he did is not only impossible for most, but pointless because one simply cannot capture that sense spontaneity.

[@z-e-r-o-]

Thank you so much for your transcription! ありがとう！ With love from Japan.

[@Аса-щ2г]

Я очень рад, что подписался на ваш канал. По вашим ссылкам столько нового узнаю из жизни великих музыкантов. Спасибо вам 👍👍👍🌹🌹🌹

[@anthonykerr6657]

Thank you for this transcription.

[@鈴木久美子-w5r7l]

I like this song✨The tones very gentle🌸 thanks🙏🎹

[@jeffsmith1798]

Thank you so much for this transcription!

[@pnojazz]

Very close to the original. Rest in peace Bill Evans.

[@musamor75]

William, I have just read several pages of your blog (ugly little word, that one) and am I right in presuming that you seem to have written a thesis on Bill's music, or even on Jazz alone ? Very deep and thorough reading all round. It will take some time to absorb the many precepts dealt wit in your writings, but they will certainly enrich my musical culture. Thank you ever so much for sharing.

[@redleafproduction]

GREAT JOB!! Just out of curiosity, how long did it take you?

[@panagiotisvasilopoulos2445]

This is great! Thank you very much for sharing!!!

[@Luke-qn8qv]

Thank you so much, very kind of you

[@ItamarErezMusic]

Incredible work...thanks for sharing William Hughes!

[@TerryAyers]

Thank you soooooo much!!! Wish our children were hearing this (rest assured, mine are!) rather than the garbage that passes for music these days!!

[@juergloeffler7711]

Everything has been said here already: the beautiful song by Frederic Weatherly, the amazing interpretation by Bill Evans, the precise transcription by William Hughes. One thing I want to add: the sound of the piano is just wonderful! Is it possibly Glenn Goulds Steinway CD 318, that was also used for "Conversations with Myself"? It just sounds fabulous.

[@povgrounch]

Beautiful song, and great job. Thanks William

[@wielandmoore6108]

How can i get the full transcription so that i can print it? Thanks

[@maxxzz5841]

Of course, you'd never see a professional transcription with this metering. But since this is a "metering" of an existing recording, it's understandable that when you overlay a steady metronome to passages that were played rubato, the resulting written time signatures would be complicated and visually jarring. Later, when it's clear Bill Evans is playing to a steady internal metronome, the notation naturally lays in 4/4.

[@katherinejohnson2288]

Aren't the professional transcriptions you mention in the first sentence also "'Metering'... an existing recording"? Why would they not follow the same methodology?

[@kooky74]

Amazing job! Thx for sharing, now must work on it :-)

[@paulh9277]

thank you thank you WIlliam!!

[@robertbairdmusic]

Amazing - thanks so much for sharing!!

[@kountchev1]

hi! do have the transcription in pdf or so so that i can print and "play" it? thank you jordan

[@pnojazz]

+kountchev1 thanks to poster above - www.mediafire.com/view/csuycoik1dejgcl/Danny_Boy_-_Bill_Evans_%28transcribed_by_William_Hughes%29.pdf

[@johnkhobson]

A less rambling arrangement, but no less satisfying, is the venerable Percy Grainger's, "Irish Tune from County Derry". Not difficult, easily available.

[@studogable]

Apples and oranges.

[@BruceRichardsonMusic]

I wouldn't call it apples and oranges. Grainger's approach is actually much like this one, in fact, Evans seems to be influenced by it. However, I would not call Evans's approach rambling, for sure.

[@chenyanhao676]

No, it really is apples and oranges, Grainger's approach is highly organised, his voicings are extremely intricate, akin almost to a choral transcription. In this sense, Grainger's arrangement can be seen as less "rambly", which well, a composition will usually be btr at. Its like comparing a speech to a conversation, obviously Evans will dally a bit here and there, but its beautiful in that way. I wouldnt definitively say that Evans was influenced or even knew of the existence of Granger's version

[@moonbeam2672]

absolutely fantastic! Miles Davis, Coltrane and Evans were truly the greatest!

[@LGSurge]

Great job on the transcription. You must have pretty damn good ears. Don't listen to the haters, keep up the good work!

[@jacquesmertens3369]

Warning: hitting the replay button 1000 times can cause injury.

[@jsbach777]

Seriously?? The 2nd beat of 150 should be an F#. Horrendous transcription. just kidding. THANK YOU SO MUCH DR WILLIAM!!!!

[@LGSurge]

Amazing performance. Amazing transcription. It takes exceptional ears to be able to transcribe the notes alone in this performance, not to mention the rhythm, etc. To all the haters... I'm very glad that your piano teacher taught you the term "rubato". It really shows some substantial erudition on your part.. I'm thoroughly impressed, don't get me wrong. But.. seriously. Until you can transpose "twinkle twinkle little star" to F sharp major, I advise you to hold your opinion to yourself. Just a thought...

[@arnoldrboyluh892]

That’s freaking awesome!

[@rsorensen9564]

Is it possible to download a pdf of the transcription?

[@martinianotanoni]

Wonderful

[@tedjohnsrude]

Gorgeous!

[@ColeTheCrazyComposer]

Simply amazing

[@arnoldrboyluh892]

Hi May I ask you where can I get this score?

[@erickborling1302]

OH THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU ! ! ! ! Salvation.

[@gregbreslen8488]

Is there a Midi file download for this? would love to learn this version.

[@rafaeldias3077]

Where find the transcription of this score in PDF Adobe?

[@eurisko618]

I certainly would love a score to print & learn Can someone point me to it?

[@RatormaHS]

Excuse me, but is it possible to get this as a .PDF or something similar? I would greatly appreciate it. As it would make it easier to play by the piano.

[@무과금탈모]

bill evans ... very good !

[@KarieAnneMitchell]

this is amazing.....

[@96deloused]

Fantastic

A g sharp is missing in the melody on bar 50...

[@billevanspianoacademy6706]

Great job ! Thank you !

[@SanneGraulund]

Is it possible to get the transcription on pdf? its wonderful.

[@duabtxoovwj9217]

I like this piano music soo much that I put it on facebook

[@richard9480]

Brilliant, thank you.

[@janeyang9418]

thank you so so much

[@musamor75]

Fabulous job you've done here once again. I defy any of the silly commentators to do a fraction of what you've achieved here. You must possess a phenomenal musical culture. Bill Evans is sacred ground, and you well deserve to tread on it. My respects.

[@olwencarolan5490]

Beautiful. Thank you.

[@jonathanw3909]

Measure 7 the Gm9 chord, bottom note in the treble clef should be a D not an F, otherwise excellent job!

[@greob]

This transcription must have been a lot of work! All of your transcriptions are very precious pieces of work, Doctor Hughes. If you even publish them, let us know!

[@youareveryundude]

gorgeous, please, on which album was it released?

[@fishbonegroove]

@ herbert ebenhauer : The album is called 'Time Remembered', Milestone MCD-47083-2.

[@samuelleesalter]

Is this, can this, will this be published? love to buy a copy of this transcription.

[@Deluca-Piano]

If this is how well you transcribe, man, what must you sound like on your instrument? Must be pretty hardcore.

[@georgebruce7288]

Bravo sir!

[@jackschiff8265]

Just close your eyes and you'll know what its like to be in heaven.

[@rnethercutt]

If you would like to know more about Bill Evans go to this URL kzbin.info/www/bejne/j6LbkpqdgLVlpaM It is a 27 minute video I presented with videos, recordings, interviews, and photographs

[@Deluca-Piano]

Wow, astounding. is there some way I can purchase this from you?

[@EberFilipeSunlight91]

That's Bill!

[@ЛюдмилаГорячкина-о8к]

Где первоисточник???Как найти??? Это сдожно.

[@Pedraga]

Wish I could play like that..

[@nachogaz]

Che pero esta versión no es para manos de 6 dedos?

[@BazzTriton]

Grande. Muito bem.

[@SheetmusicLessons]

Yeah!

[@keitsukumo2840]

綺麗すぎる

[@brendaniego5718]

YES

[@joaobatistakzamgama781]

Adaptação de melodia tradicional irlandesa, conhecida como hino "Lindo País"

[@hauke1980ify]

Hello William, it's really great! is it possible to get the sheet music of this?

[@alanleoneldavid1787]

Would be amazing a orcherstral transcription on ravel/messiaen style

[@stuartdryer1352]

What great work this is. All the time signaexture changes are intense but it is exactly what was played. I wonder how long this took you?