Musicnotes Employee Favorites

Over our 25 years in business, we have acquired hundreds of thousands of sheet music arrangements from all genres and eras. We couldn’t have made it to this point without the hard work and dedication of our employees! Many members of our staff are musicians, and they are making sure that we are offering customers a variety of quality arrangements of any song you want to play. We asked our employees to pick a couple of their favorite arrangements from the site. Enjoy this list of their top favorites, spanning a variety of instruments and genres, and find out why these songs are so meaningful to them.

· “Over the Rainbow” by Judy Garland: Over the Rainbow, with only a few exceptions, has been on our top 10 sales list for 25 years! That song helped transport us to the Emerald City.

· “What a Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong: My six-year-old daughter sang this with her first grade class at a school concert. I’ll never forget hearing those children’s voices singing this sweet song.

· “Star Wars (Main Theme)” by Phillip Keveren: An absolute iconic piece of music in cinema that captures the fantasy and whimsy of a science fiction space opera in just the three measure introduction and sets a massive scale for the rest of the piece. Modern classic!

· “Learning to Fly” by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers: A song from one of my favorite artists and one that I had to sing as part of my Musicnotes onboarding.

· “Canon in D” by Johann Pachelbel: This beautiful melody warms my heart.

· “Clocks” by Coldplay: We played this song every year in middle and high school orchestra, so I have great memories of playing it with my friends!

· “Honesty” by Billy Joel: A beautifully composed pop song, a rewarding piano part to play, AND one of Musicnotes’ core values.

· “Human” by Rag’n’Bone Man: Perfectly captures the exasperation and frustration when people have unrealistic expectations of what you can do for them emotionally.

· “Prelude for Lute, BWV 999” by Johann Sebastian Bach: This was the first “real” piece of music I learned to play on classical guitar.

· “Savior, Redeemer of My Soul” by Rob Gardner: Played at the company party. Just a gorgeous song.

· “Songbird” by Eva Cassidy: I first heard this song during the movie “Love Actually” and was drawn to the beautiful melodic line sung by Eva Cassidy. I had this song performed at my wedding, so it definitely holds a special place in my heart!

· “Angela (Theme from Taxi)” by HDpiano: I associate this TV theme with some of my earliest fuzzy childhood memories. It’s also a great pop/jazz fusion piece and very fun to play as a keyboard solo (especially with a good vintage Rhodes patch!).

· “Cello Suite No. 1, BWV 1007” by Johann Sebastian Bach: J. S. Bach is the G.O.A.T. The cello suites were composed as mere exercises until Pablo Casals began performing in concerts. The emotion, movement, and implied harmonies make these suites absolutely perfect.

· “This Is a Low” by Blur: You’ll never find a more beautiful reading of the UK shipping forecast. Dripping with melancholy and yearning, the song paints a tonal picture while leading you on a virtual tour of England.

· “Life’s for the Living” by Passenger: The lyrics are gorgeous and paint a beautiful picture, and it expresses the deep meaning of treasuring the life you have while you still have it.

· “Unstoppable” by The Score: Being here almost 18 years, I have seen the company in various seasons, but no matter if it is a good time or tough time, the coming together of the employees to make it through brings a great sense of pride. 25 years of unstoppable.

· “Theme from Star Trek” from Star Trek: A driving, upbeat theme song daring the listener to look beyond our planet and current time to an optimistic and idealistic fictional future. Lyrics are entirely optional, with a rather difficult vocal part.

· “Etude No. 3 in A Major by Matteo Carcassi: A timeless piece of music which I’ve played to a couple walking down the aisle at a wedding.

· “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” by Roberta Flack: I’m a big fan of Roberta Flack’s early music, which was more acoustic and piano-driven. This song has such a simple melody, but she brings so much emotion to the song.

· “Howl’s Moving Castle Theme” by Kyle Landry: This was the song that first introduced me to Musicnotes and made me aware of its existence. Composed by the legendary Joe Hisaishi, Kyle Landry’s version of this song is so popular, we frequently see it in our top sellers.

· “You Can Play” by Musicnotes: A wonderful piano arrangement that came to be through collaboration between super talented Musicnotes employees and local songwriters.

· “Recuerdos de la Alhambra” by Francisco Tárrega: This is my favorite piece to play on classical guitar.

· “Feels Like Home” by Bonnie Raitt: I sang this at a cousin’s wedding, and it is one of the sweetest love songs. Written by Randy Newman, but I like Linda Ronstadt or Bonnie Raitt recordings.

· “I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times” by The Beach Boys: I love a good chord progression, and this is one of Brian Wilson’s most lush and transcendent, combined with introspective lyrics that were way ahead of their time.

· “18^th Variation from Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini” by Sergei Rachmaninoff: Something aged well.

· “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me” by Dusty Springfield: Dramatic love ballads from the 60s are pretty fantastic, especially with the lush orchestral instrumentations. I enjoy this classic by Dusty Springfield because of the triplet doo-wop feel and the shifts in the mood from minor to major from the verses to the chorus.

· “Etude No. 1 in E Minor” by Joe Harris: I play this piece almost every day.

· “Interstellar (Main Theme)” by Patrik Pietschmann: Classic!

· “Dark Blue” by Jack’s Mannequin: I love the piano in this song, it’s one that my friends and I have enjoyed for many years!

· “Ghostbusters” by Ray Parker Jr.: Shows up every quarter when processing reports and never fails, I sing the song when reviewing the report.

· “Uptown Girl” by Billy Joel: This song cheered me up when I first went off to college, and it’s always kept a special place in my heart. I even arranged it for violin choir for my senior recital!

· “Rock ‘n’ Roll Heaven” by The Righteous Brothers: Heard this in concert with a friend many, many years ago. That friend passed a couple decades ago, and I have thought of her every time I hear it since.

Click here for full access to these sheet music favorites or purchase a collection of the highlights here, and don’t forget to download the Musicnotes app!