Friendly People

Sadly, this year saw the passing of a folk rock icon, Gordon Lightfoot. "Friendly People" was written to honor his memory – a mid tempo number reminiscent of his unique style. It's also an excellent piece to use for Valentine's Day, or any time really, with older kids.

Though it's presented as a 3-part arrangement it could also stand well as a unison piece. You'll want to think of parts 2 and 3 as "the background singers," rather than having equal billing. You'll hear that reflected in the mix as well. And you can hear a unison version of this song on our web site along with isolated rehearsal tracks for parts 2 and 3.

An acoustic guitar riff leads you right into verse one, unison only. Parts 2 and 3 enter the first time at measure 13 with their oohs and echos before joining together in bar 16. Then it's off to the races with the background singers spicing up the main lines. Feel free to stylize it a bit, scooping, etc. You have some options at measure 29. We recorded it as written. But you could play around with it by making the first time unison, then adding a part at each repeat, in which case you'd be all in for the third and fourth times. Make sure to keep the energy up.