DESCRIPTION:
This piece was written by Thomas Newman.

I transcribed the notes by ear, arranged it for solo piano, recorded it for my own learning experience, which I share.

A piano arrangement of any of Thomas Newman's pieces is difficult because much of his sound is in sustained ambient sounds. These are really great but of course hard to translate on the piano.

This piece is a classic Tom Newman piece. The modes and harmonies point towards IV often (c minor to F major). Some harmonies seem to arise incidentally; they are a result of melodic lines going their own ways and making a horizontal harmonic sound.

The electronic sounds in the original support the solo piano which, because of its light usage and register, gives off an innocence and preciousness.

As for the gestures... I count 3 of them.

Let's say that 1 begins at 0:12. It begins on a G and the first harmony is C minor (for the sake of identification).

The second gesture begins at 0:28. It begins with an F major chord with an A on top.

The third gesture begins at 0:38. It begins on a C chord with an A on top. It is similar in feel to the second gesture because of the grace notes.

The form of the entire piece, in terms of gestures (with slight variation), is then:

Intro 1 1 2 [3 3 1 2 3 3] bridge 1 1 Improv [3 3 1 2 3 3]

This piece is extremely consistent with character and plays well against American Beauty. Thomas's unique sound fits the uniqueness of this particular film.

Of course, there are a thousand different ways to write this into notation. I went for simplicity yet accuracy.