Somewhere Within
Joe Bongiorno
2007 / Mellow Sounds Recordings
54 pages / 11 songs
Review by Kathy Parsons
The Somewhere Within songbook contains all eleven of the pieces from Joe Bongiorno’s 2007 CD of the same name, transcribed note-for-note by Rebecca Oswald and David Shenton. Most of the music is not difficult and should be playable for late-intermediate and early-advanced players. A few pieces are not as easy as I expected due to some complicated key signatures and extended ledger lines, but most of the songs should be easily accessible to players of modest playing abilities. The music is melodic and expressive, making it fun to play and to learn. The music is printed on a heavy high-quality stock that has a very clean, crisp look, and the spacing is roomy and open so the pages don’t look cluttered or intimidating. I thoroughly enjoyed playing this book and will return to it often. Recommended!
The contents of the book are listed below in the same order that the songs appear on the CD. I’ve included a difficulty ranking with 1 being the easiest of Bongiorno’s pieces and 5 the most advanced. I have also indicated what key the pieces are in, how many sharps or flats there are in the key signatures, and how many pages the songs are. The book is available from Joe’s website.
Walk With Me - Key of D (2 sharps) - Level 3 - 5 pages
Ascent - Key of Eb Minor (6 sharps)/A (3 sharps) /A Minor (no sharps or flats)/Eb (3 flats) - Level 4 - 4 pages
Melancholy Morning - Key of G ( 1 sharp)/D Minor (1 flat)/ D (2 sharps) - Level 3 - 5 pages
Tears of Joy - Key of B (5 sharps)/ G (1 sharp) - Level 4 - 8 pages
Touched - Key of G (1 sharp) - Level 3 - 3 pages
Once a Child - Key of C - Level 1 - 2 pages
Somewhere Within - Key of G Minor (2 flats) - Level 3 - 6 pages
Introspect - Key of E (4 sharps) - Level 3 - 3 pages
Dark Night - Key of E Minor (1 sharp) - Level 3 - 5 pages
Where There’s a Will - Key of B Minor (2 sharps) - Level 4 - 7 pages
Beyond Forever - Key of F Minor - Level 5 - 6 pages
December 24, 2010