Over The Rainbow

By Thomas Gunther

January 21, 2023

Jazz Standards, Piano Solo

About the arrangement

Over The Rainbow is one of my favorite classic jazz standards. Most of you might know it from the classic movie The Wizard Of Oz, for which it was actually composed.

I love everything about this song, it’s melody (which is so cleverly based on a descending diatonic stepwise motion during the [A] section), the harmony, and of course the lyrics that make us hope there could actually be more to life than what we are experiencing day in and day out. Something worth dreaming about and searching for.

The sheet music of this arrangement is available for purchase online for only $4.99 as a pdf download at SheetMusicDirect. Grab your copy now, as long as this low price still stands.

The Beginning (A1)

Before I start arranging one of the classics, I always listen to the original version. This way I can be sure I know the song correctly, and that I get its emotional intentions right when arranging the music. It also assured that I am working with the correct melody and chord changes.
Once I was done doing that, I began collecting ideas for my solo piano arrangement of Over The Rainbow. After reading the lyrics it occurred to me that it might be nice to imitate a wind-up music box, which was often used to play back a Lullaby to a child going to sleep. This approach was inspired by the opening lyrics "Somewhere over the rainbow way up high, There's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby". Ultimately, I decided to start the song like this. So I created a glockenspiel like 8th note repetitive line for the left hand placed in the mid-higher register of the piano. This line continues similarly throughout the first A section.

The second [A] section

The second [A] section is more like a Chopin prelude in style, featuring polyphony in both hands. The left hand continues the steady 8th note idea from the beginning, but is placed in the lower register.

The Bridge

The bridge is very calm and emotional, free of tempo, inspired by the little girl Dorothy singing about her dream of a carefree land somewhere over the rainbow.
Someday I ... wake up where the clouds are far behind me,
Where troubles melt like lemon drops,
... That's where you'll find me.

The Last 2 [A] sections and the outro

The last A section is in tempo. Here I focused on bringing out the beautiful harmony of the song.
It leads into the last section that has elements of both the A and B section, featuring a steady tempo and 8th note triplets in the left hand, which creates the impression that the tempo has increased with the intention of creating a sense of excitement similar to the moment when Dorothy arrived at her fantasy land.

The outro calms everything down again, signaling the end of the dream.

About the author

Thomas Gunther, also known as Thommy Günther in Germany, is a highly versatile jazz pianist, keyboardist, music producer, and educator with international recognition. He was born and raised in Germany, where he earned a Master’s Degree in Teaching and Performing Jazz and Popular Music from the State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart.

After relocating to Chicago, Thomas quickly became the principal pianist for the Chicago Jazz Ensemble, which is directed by the esteemed music arranger and composer William Russo. In this role, he had the opportunity to collaborate with renowned artists such as Randy Brecker, Body DiFranco, Archie Shepp, Jon Faddis, Cassandra Wilson, and Orbert Davis.

Currently, Thomas is an integral part of the Chicago music scene, performing with various groups both as a sideman and as a leader. He heads the Thomas Gunther Trio Plus and has toured Germany with the Thomas Gunther’s Taste Of Chicago Band. In addition to his performance career, he has produced, arranged, and recorded a substantial body of work, serving both in leadership roles and as a collaborator.

Thomas also provides music arranging and orchestration services for ensembles of all sizes, including contributions to the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic. As an educator, he shares his expertise as an Adjunct Professor at Columbia College Chicago. For more information about Thomas, visit https://www.ThomasGunther.com.