One day while searching ccMixterfor some interesting ideas to remix, I came across a piano arrangement by Kara Square entitled “Piano Triumph”.I decided to use her composition as the basis for a PoP Song. But then I noticed that Stefan Kartenberg had already composed and recorded a complete instrumental work around her piano. I must admit that at first I was disappointed, since I had my heart set on creating a composition around Kara’s piano, but Stefan had already stolen my thunder! However, I soon recovered when I listened and realized that Stefan’s arrangement was quite complete and very well done. Looking at the bright side, this gave me the freedom and the luxury of working out lyrics and vocals without wearing myself down.

Orchestrating and arranging can be quite enjoyable, but the process can be mentally exhausting. Since I have limited mental resources, this is am important consideration! I quickly worked out the lyric and then added the vocal to the mix. I heard some backup vox singing in my head, and so I added those too. I added some synth pads, a slide guitar that I played on an old Epiphone, and I added a string section. The string section was the most difficult to imagine, but I’m satisfied with how it turned out. The Sax Solo I pieced together from loops that were provided by Slap Johnson. I really enjoyed doing this remix and many thanks to Kara Square and Stefan Kartenberg for the great source material!